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07/08/2010 -
Boston Celtics general manager Danny Ainge wasn't worried about The Decision.
He's got his team back.
``We're the Eastern Conference champions,'' Ainge said Thursday. ``And we think we're going to be better next year.''
Ainge confirmed that the Celtics have agreements in place with Paul Pierce and Ray Allen that would keep Boston's new Big Three intact for a run at a third NBA finals in four years. Ainge also said he expects to sign free agent center Jermaine O'Neal to fill in while center Kendrick Perkins recovers from knee surgery.
``We intend to sign him,'' Ainge said. ``Our priorities to start the offseason were obviously Paul, Ray, and to strengthen our center position in light of Perk's injury. Hopefully by tomorrow we'll have these things taken care of and then we can continue working.''
Speaking after a summer league game in Orlando, Fla., a few hours before LeBron James announced he would sign with the Miami Heat, Ainge told reporters that he thinks Boston remains the team to beat in the East regardless of the reigning NBA MVP's decision. By joining Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade in Miami, James created a threesome that is perhaps even more daunting than the one Boston assembled in 2007 en route to a record 17th NBA title.
``I have a great deal of respect for all those guys - all the top-notch free agents,'' Ainge said. ``Whatever happens, I know that it's going to be a challenge. The East is going to be stronger. But I think everybody that's worth their salt thinks they can beat somebody.''
Part of the reason for optimism could be the fact that the Cavaliers, who had the best record in the NBA last season, are no longer a threat without James. (Even with him, Cleveland lost to the Celtics in the playoffs in two of the past three seasons.)
``There's a lot of franchises that are going to be changed for a long time,'' Ainge said, ``for the better and for the worse.''
And that's why the Celtics are happy to make another run with the core of the team that won one title and came within four points of another, losing to the Los Angeles Lakers 83-79 in Game 7.
``How the team played in the playoffs is definitely a sign that they have a lot of basketball left in them,'' Ainge said, noting that Perkins was injured in Game 6 and missed the finale. ``I was very encouraged with what I saw from this team. The overall play of defense and rebounding showed me how much our guys do have left.''
Pierce agreed last week to a four-year deal worth about $61 million, and Allen agreed on Wednesday to a two-year deal worth $20 million. O'Neal's contract is reportedly for the midlevel exception, about $5.76 million in the first year of a two-year deal.
Kevin Garnett, the other member of the new Big Three that led the Celtics to their record 17th NBA title in 2008, is under contract for two more years, and emerging star Rajon Rondo is locked up through 2014-15. Coach Doc Rivers also put off a long-debated sabbatical to keep the team together.
``Paul, I don't think he ever looked at another team. I think Paul was 100 percent coming back to Boston,'' Ainge said. ``He did a lot just by restructuring his contract to allow us to bring the rest of the team back.''
Ainge said Perkins tore his ACL and also injured the MCL and PCL; he could miss half the season or more. Surgery is scheduled for Monday, having been postponed at least twice to allow the swelling to go down and give him a chance to strengthen the muscles in his leg before the operation.
With Perkins on rehab, and backup Rasheed Wallace vowing to retire, the Celtics were in need of big men.
A six-time All-Star, O'Neal has averaged 14 points and 7.5 rebounds in a 14-year career for Portland, Indiana, Toronto and Miami. With the Heat last year, he averaged 13.6 points and 6.9 rebounds in 28 minutes.
Remaining on Ainge's list of potential free agents are re-signing longtime Celtics bench player Tony Allen and midseason acquisition Nate Robinson.
``We're trying to fill our roster in. Once we get this taken care of the next couple of days, then we'll start working on the next group of guys,'' Ainge said. We like Nate and Tony. I'm sure they're still looking at the market, too, because the market's pretty crazy right now. So we'll be patient and look at other options as well in case they go in another direction.''
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AP Sports Writer Antonio Gonzalez contributed to this story from Orlando, Fla.Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
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In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.
Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).
If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).
Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.
New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles
The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)
In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:
There was also the possibility that the final score could land exactly on the spread number (for example, the Pats winning 28-21 when -7), which is called a “push” or “no action” and a refund is then issued to bettors of both teams.
The same game with the same point spread can be considered from the weaker team’s perspective: The Underdog (Philly in the case of our example) is not expected to win the game and online football betting thus receives or “gets” points given by the stronger team. When a game is stated from the underdog’s perspective the team is listed with a plus sign and the number of points they are underdogs by:
Philadelphia Eagles +7 vs. New England Patriots
Keep in mind that Philadelphia +7 and New England -7 is the same point spread on the same game, simply stated differently. The first is from the underdog’s perspective; the later is from the favorite’s.
Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
Let’s look at the actual result of Super Bowl XXXIX: New England 24 Philadelphia 21
The favorite, New England, won the game but not by more than the point spread they were favored by (7), so the ATS result was a LOSS for Pats bettors.
Looking at it from the underdog’s perspective, Philly did not win the game, but they lost by less than the point spread (7), so the ATS result was a WIN for Eagle bettors.
Mathematically considered, 24 for the favorite Pats minus 7 equals 17, which is less than the 20 the Eagles scored, so the underdog Eagles win the ATS result (or you could figure 20 plus 7 equals 27 for the Eagles, which is more than 24 for the Pats).
Emily’s boyfriend understood the point spread and wagered $100 on the Eagles at +7. The Eagles may not have gotten a Super Bowl ring, but since they won the ATS result Emily’s boyfriend cashed his bet – giving him money to take her out to a nice dinner.
And now hopefully you understand how to read point spreads, putting you one step closer to joining the fun of sports betting.
To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting and World Series odds.
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