Bryant, Gasol help Lakers down Kings for 50th win of season

Basketball Betting Lines

03/17/2010 - Sacramento, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kobe Bryant posted a near triple-double and Pau Gasol ended with 28 points on 12-of-14 shooting, as the duo led the Lakers past the Kings, 106-99, at ARCO Arena.

The win was LA's fourth straight and 50th of the season, the third consecutive year the reigning champions have accomplished that feat.

Bryant went for 30 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, while Gasol added 12 rebounds for Los Angeles, which had 23 second-chance points to Sacramento's nine. Andrew Bynum ended with 21 points and 12 boards for the victors.

Tyreke Evans had another balanced game with 25 points, 11 rebounds and nine helpers for the Kings, who had won two of three coming into the game. Carl Landry deposited 15 points to go with 10 rebounds, while Jason Thompson chipped in 14 and 10 in defeat.

Ahead 61-57 midway through the third, Bryant and Lamar Odom each hit from behind the arc to extend the margin to 10.

Odom's buzzer-beater made it 77-68 in favor of LA heading to the fourth, where the Lakers scored the first seven points to pull away.

Shannon Brown's dunk capped the run for an 84-68 cushion, and the closest the Kings got until the final minute was eight.

Bryant scored 11 of the final 13 points of the first quarter to put the Lakers in front 28-17.

Sacramento quickly answered in the second and went ahead, 37-34, following a pair of buckets from Evans near the midway point.

In the final minute of the half, Bryant threw an alley-oop to Bynum and hit a free throw for a slim 49-48 lead at halftime.

Game Notes

LA has won five straight over Sacramento...Odom checked in with 10 points and seven rebounds for the Lakers, who shot 48.3 percent from the field...Spencer Hawes contributed 13 points and Omri Casspi had 10 for the Kings, who made 42.9 percent of their shots.

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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.

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