Howard, Magic top winless Wizards

Basketball Betting Lines

11/08/2008 - Orlando, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dwight Howard scored 31 points and pulled down 16 rebounds to lead the Orlando Magic in a 106-81 blowout of the winless Washington Wizards.

Howard, who shot 11-of-13 from the floor, also had three blocked shots. Mickael Pietrus had 18 points, Keith Bogans 13 and Hedo Turkoglu scored 11 for Orlando, which has won four in a row since losing its first two games of the season

Nick Young poured in 20 points for Washington, which is 0-5 for a second straight season. The Wizards and Los Angeles Clippers (0-6) are the only winless teams this season. DeShawn Stevenson tallied 14 points and Caron Butler scored 10 for the Wizards.

Howard's three-point play extended the Magic to a 19-11 lead midway through the first quarter, and the home team held a 27-21 edge going to the second.

The middle two quarters proved to be dominant for the Magic, who held a 57-37 scoring advantage in the second and third.

Young's basket had the Wizards within 46-38 with just under four minutes left in the half, but the Magic scored the final 12 points of the period, capped by a Bogans layup for a 58-39 bulge at the break.

Howard then scored 11 straight Orlando points in the third, moving the margin to 74-47. Pietrus followed with another bucket for a 29-point advantage, the largest of the night. Pietrus had 12 points in the third, and the difference was 84-58 going into the fourth.

Game Notes

The Magic have won five of the last six meetings...The Wizards host Utah on Wednesday, while Orlando's next game is Monday at home versus Portland...Magic forward Rashard Lewis shot just 2-of-11 from the field and finished with five points and seven rebounds.

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MySportsbook.com: New College Football Clock Rules Examined

Coaches and bettors alike are desperate to make sense of the new time-keeping rules on the NCAA gridiron. One of the big stories to come out of the Ohio State-Texas clash last weekend was Texas coach Mack Brown's criticism of the NCAA's new clock rules that are intended to shorten the duration of college football games, therefore affecting college football betting.

"They scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything," Brown told ESPN.com. "I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over."

Sure, it might be sour grapes; the Buckeyes thoroughly trounced the defending national champion Longhorns 24-7. However, Brown isn't alone in giving the changes their due thought. Bettors are also wondering about them, albeit for a completely different reason. Most experts agree that the changes will result in games being shortened by anywhere from 10 to 20 plays. The obvious consequence is lower scores, with more time rolling off the clock during changes of possession. (The Ohio State-Texas game flew well under the total of 52.)

According to research at the online sportsbook MySportsbook.com, more than 18 plays a game disappeared last weekend into thin air. That's a 10-percent reduction. In 2005, a typical game had 168.58 plays. For 2007 already, it's down to 150.26.

As a result, teams combined to gain an average of about 100 fewer yards a game last weekend versus the 2005 openers. Scoring was also down by about 4.5 points (attention Las Vegas sports lines).

Of course, oddsmakers were able to adjust to the changes before the season started. Proof of that came as the over went a balanced 8-9 at My Sportsbook on Saturday.

Other angles to consider:A shorter game should theoretically result in shorter lines. Whereas Team A might have been a 14-point favorite in a 168-play game (last year), if there are 10 percent less snaps in 2007, the line should also be reduced by 10 percent (to 13 or 12.5). Of course, this is an over-simplification of the matter, but something to keep in mind.
Less possessions means a better chance the game will be decided by three or seven points. For example, what might have been a 20-10 final score in 2005 may end at

17-10 in 2007. Granted, a 24-17 game last year might end at 21-17 these days, but the former - a three- or seven-point advantage being preserved as opposed to created - is the most likely scenario.

*UPDATE* - Sept. 25, 2007

New Clock Rules Boon for online bookmakers

By adjusting the time-keeping rules to shorten the duration of college football games, the NCAA hoped to make its product more enjoyable for the fans. While the NCAA's success in this regard is still up for debate, bookmakers couldn't be happier with the results.

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While not all bettors will choose to roll over their winnings, it doesn't take much for an impact to be seen on the bottom line. "Not all of the millions of dollars in morning payouts get re-bet. In fact, it's probably only 10 to 20 percent," noted the sportsbook management team. "Still, the increased football betting lines window will create a ton of growth for us over the course of the season."

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