Anthony, Denver sinks Dallas on free throws

Basketball Betting Lines

11/08/2008 - Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carmelo Anthony scored 28 points, grabbed eight rebounds, added six assists and made several key free throws to help give the Denver Nuggets a 108-105 win over the Dallas Mavericks.

Chauncey Billups scored 15 points in his Nuggets debut. He was dealt to Denver, along with Antonio McDyess and Cheikh Samb, in a Monday trade that sent Allen Iverson to Detroit. They did not dress for Wednesday's matchup with Golden State because Billups did not take a physical in time.

Nene finished with 19 points and seven rebounds, and made a key steal late in the game for the Nuggets, who had lost two in a row. J.R. Smith scored 15 points off the bench for Denver, while Linas Kleiza had 14 points.

Jason Kidd had 22 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists for Dallas, which has lost three of five to open the season. Dirk Nowitzki finished with 23 points and 10 boards in the loss, while Brandon Bass had the Mavs' third double- double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

In a back-and-forth game down the stretch, Nowitzki made a pair of free throws with 2:06 left to draw Dallas within 101-100. But Anthony responded with a pair of his own with 1 1/2 minutes left.

The same players each missed their next shots, keeping Denver's lead at 103-100 as the clock ran under a minute. With a little less than half a minute left, Bass came up with a block on Billups' short jumper, giving Dallas a shot to tie.

Kidd drove through the lane for a finger-roll layup with 21.6 seconds left, and was fouled on the play. However, he missed the free throw as Kenyon Martin grabbed the rebound.

Billups was fouled after a timeout, but made just 1-of-2 to give Denver a 104-102 lead with 17.5 seconds left. But Bass, dribbling above the three-point line, had the ball swiped away by Nene.

Anthony was fouled, and made both free throws. Still, Jason Terry drained a three-pointer to bring Dallas within 106-105 with 1.1 ticks left. The Mavs fouled Anthony once more with 0.4 on the clock, and he sank both.

Gerald Green missed a three-pointer from the right wing at the buzzer to seal the Nuggets' win.

Denver held a 26-25 lead after one quarter, but Dallas came back to take a 49-48 edge at halftime. The Nuggets built up a 79-72 lead after three quarters, and led 82-72 after Smith's layup just over a minute into the fourth. But Dallas rattled off the next seven points to draw within 82-79 with 9:30 left, and the game was close to the end.

Game Notes

Denver made 37-of-40 free throws, while Dallas made 14-of-16...The Mavericks attempted 35 three-pointers, and made 13...Green came off the Dallas bench to score 13...Josh Howard finished with 11 points for the Mavs.

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How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?

The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.

While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.

For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.

1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.

2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.

How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.

Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.

Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.

How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).

Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.

Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on college football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.