Heat visit nation's capital to take on Wizards

Basketball Betting Lines

02/10/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After getting their six-game road trip off to a poor start, the Miami Heat will dust themselves off for tonight's showdown against the lowly Washington Wizards at the Verizon Center.

The Heat had won three straight and 11 of 13 games before suffering a 102-89 loss at Orlando on Wednesday. Magic All-Star Dwight Howard single-handedly took care of the Heat by racking up 25 points and 24 rebounds, while Dwyane Wade led Miami with a team-high 33 points on 15-of-24 shooting.

"They set the tone of this game right from the get-go," said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra. "We were able to get to a little bit more of an aggressiveness and attack in a little bit more of a disposition in the second quarter, but they were able to sustain it longer and more consistently than we were able to."

LeBron James finished with 17 points, 10 assists and six boards for the Heat, who are 7-5 away from South Beach this season and are in the midst of playing 11 straight games against Eastern Conference foes. The Heat are 14-4 against the East this season and will also visit the Hawks, Bucks, Pacers and Cavs on the current road swing. Miami will play its 11th straight conference game versus Orlando at home on Feb. 19.

Heat guard Mario Chalmers did not play against the Magic because of a sprained left hand and is listed as questionable for Friday. In other team news, Wade has scored 20 or more points in a season-high six straight games and posted the 5,000th field goal of his career in Cleveland on Tuesday for the Heat, who are trying to match the best 27-game start in team history. The previous 20-7 records occurred in both 1996-97 and 2004-05.

Chris Bosh had 12 points and nine boards against the Magic, and was recently named as a reserve for the Eastern Conference All-Star team.

The Wizards will wrap up a three-game homestand this evening before embarking on a five-game road trip and suffered their fifth loss in six tries with Wednesday's 107-93 setback to the New York Knicks.

John Wall netted a game-high 29 points and Trevor Booker added 17 for the Wizards, who shot 45.8 percent and got eight points and nine rebounds from JaVale McGee. Maurice Evans had nine points and Nick Young only scored seven in defeat.

"This game boiled down to containment," Wizards coach Randy Wittman said. "We couldn't contain the basketball basically all night long."

Washington is only 4-16 against Eastern Conference opponents this season and a lowly 5-21 overall. Wall is averaging 22.3 points and 6.0 assists in his last four games for a Washington team that could be without Rashard Lewis for a third straight game. Lewis is bothered by a sore right knee and is just four points shy of reaching the 15,000-point mark in his career. He will eventually join Paul Pierce and Jason Kidd as the only players in NBA history who have scored at least 15,000 points, grabbed 5,000 rebounds and hit 1,500 three- pointers in their careers.

Tonight's game is the first of three meetings between the Wizards and Heat. The two teams will meet on April 21 in Miami and again on April 26 in Washington. The Heat won last season's series, 4-0, and have won five straight and 11 of the past 12 matchups between the teams. Miami has won six in a row at the Verizon Center, where the Wizards are 4-11 this season.

Young averaged 27.0 ppg in three games versus the Heat last season, while James had averages of 30.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists in four matchups with Washington in 2010-11. Wade averaged 30.0 ppg in four games against the Wizards a year ago.

Ww5dimes Basketball Betting News

<< Clippers resume road trip vs. 76ers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia 76ers will close out a seven-game stretch that head coach Doug Collins dubbed as "Death Row" when they entertain the upstart Los Angeles Clippers tonight from Wells Fargo Center. The Sixers are 4-2 on the

<< Thunder conclude road trip in Utah
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Oklahoma City will attempt to wrap up a five-game road trip on a winning note tonight when Kevin Durant and Company visit Salt Lake City to take on the Utah Jazz. The Western Conference-leading Thunder dropped to 2-2 o

<< First meets worst when Bulls visit Bobcats
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two streaks will be on the line this evening at Time Warner Cable Arena, as the Chicago Bulls go after their fifth straight win, while the Charlotte Bobcats attempt to avoid matching the longest losing streak in franchise his

<< Harvard battles Penn in pivotal Ivy League tussle
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 25th-ranked Harvard Crimson will try to maintain their spot atop the Ivy League standings, as they head to Philadelphia to take on the Penn Quakers tonight at The Palestra. Harvard is enjoying the best

<< Hantuchova advances, Zvonareva retires in Pattaya City
Pattaya City, Thailand (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defending champion Daniela Hantuchova was among the quarterfinal winners Friday at the Pattaya Open, while two-time winner Vera Zvonareva was forced to retire from her match because

Cavs and Bucks clash at the 'Q' >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cleveland Cavaliers rookie Kyrie Irving probably won't play again tonight after suffering a concussion earlier this week, but Ramon Sessions will be there to pick up the slack. Sessions filled in nicely for Irving the prev

Nets and Pistons finish home-and-home set >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Second-year center Greg Monroe is starting to heat up for a Detroit Pistons team riding a season-high three-game winning streak and is aiming for his fourth straight double-double tonight versus the New Jersey Nets in the bac

Red Wings shoot for 19th straight home win vs. Ducks >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Forgive the Red Wings if they are looking past the Ducks and towards this weekend when they could have a chance at matching the longest home winning streak in NHL history. After all, wins over Anaheim at Joe Louis Arena ar

Pacers battle Grizzlies on Beale Street >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The much-improved Indiana Pacers hope to salvage the back- end of a brief two-game road trip tonight when they square off with the Memphis Grizzlies on Beale Street. Indiana is coming off a 97-98 loss in Atlant

Mavs visit Love, Timberwolves >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Timberwolves will have Kevin Love back in the lineup tonight versus the Dallas Mavericks at Target Center after serving a two-game suspension for stomping on Houston's Luis Scola during the third quarter of Satu

Football Betting: Defensive Rookie of the Year Awards

Oddsmakers have released the odds for the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award and Seattle Seahawks linebacker Aaron Curry has been made the opening favorite.

Bet on NFL Football

Seattle took Curry with the fourth overall pick in April's NFL draft and plan on inserting him into its starting lineup right away. The Hawks traded linebacker Julian Peterson in the offseason, so Curry is expected to have a significant role in Seattle's defense next year and that's one of the primary reasons he is the favorite to win the NFL ROY Award.

Oddsmakers from online sportsbook MySportsbook.com have made Curry a 5/1 favorite to win this year's NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award. Given that he was the best defensive prospect in this year's draft and how he'll have plenty of opportunities to make plays in '09, Curry offers a ton of value at 5/1.

Another thing working for Curry is the position he plays. A linebacker has won the defensive ROY award six straight times and eight of the last nine years. Jerod Mayo, Patrick Willis, DeMeco Ryans, Shawne Merriman, Jonathan Vilma, Terrell Suggs, Kendrell Bell and Brian Urlacher were the most recent linebackers to take home the award.

Following Curry at 5/1 are Tyson Jackson (Chiefs) at 7/1, James Laurinaitas (Rams) at 8/1, Brian Orakpo (Redskins) at 10/1, Rey Maualuga (Bengals) at 10/1 and Jerry Peria (Falcons) at 10/1.

All the players mentioned above are expected to start for their respective teams, but Jackson and Peria are going to have a tough time being recognized on a national level given they're both defensive linemen. D-linemen rarely put up the numbers that it takes to win an individual award like the ROY.

A couple of players with some value are Clay Matthews (Packers) at 12/1 and Larry English (Chargers) at 15/1. Matthews is expected to start at outside linebacker in Green Bay's new 3-4 defense and could rack up a ton of tackles. English, who was an impressive player at Northern Illinois, is expected to be a situational pass rusher for the Chargers and could rack up a ton of sacks.

For complete odds on the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award, see below. And for complete odds for the 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award, click the link provided.

2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award

Robert Ayers (DEN) 12/1

Ron Brace (NE) 25/1

Everette Brown (CAR) 16/1

Darius Butler (NE) 40/1

Patrick Chung (NE) 30/1

Aaron Curry (SEA) 5/1

Brian Cushing (HOU) 12/1

Vontae Davis (MIA) 30/1

Louis Delmas (DET) 30/1

Larry English (SD) 15/1

Evander Hood (PIT) 25/1

Tyson Jackson (KC) 7/1

Malcolm Jenkins (NO) 25/1

Paul Kruger (BAL) 50/1

James Laurinaitas (STL) 8/1

Sen'Derrick Marks (TEN) 20/1

Clay Matthews (GB) 12/1

Aaron Maybin (BUF) 15/1

Rey Maualuga (CIN) 10/1

Roy Miller (TB) 20/1

Michael Mitchell (OAK) 45/1

Fili Moala (IND) 30/1

Brian Orakpo (WAS) 10/1

Jerry Peria (ATL) 10/1

B J Raji (GB) 7/1

Clint Sintim (NYG) 35/1

Alphonso Smith (DEN) 40/1

David Verkune (CLE) 20/1

Jason Williams (DAL) 30/1

Field (Any Other Player) 6/1

NFL football gambling

To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.