Best and worst clash as Cavs face Nets

Basketball Betting Lines

03/03/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Cavaliers will try to sweep the season series from the New Jersey Nets for a second straight year when the two teams collide Wednesday night at the Meadowlands.

The Cavs won all three meetings a season ago and the first three matchups in 2009-10, including a 104-97 triumph in the most recent encounter on February 9 at Quicken Loans Arena. Cleveland has topped the Nets seven consecutive times and is unbeaten in its last three trips to the IZOD Center.

Cleveland has won four in a row overall and recently handed the New York Knicks a 124-93 setback at home on Monday behind 22 points, seven assists and seven rebounds from NBA leading scorer LeBron James. Newcomer Antawn Jamison registered 17 points and 12 rebounds, while J.J. Hickson also scored 17 points for the Central Division-leading Cavs, who are the top team in the NBA and own the league's best record at 47-14.

"It was a good win. I thought that after getting up big, we did a nice job of staying focused, coming out in the third quarter and trying to close and finish the game the right way," Cavaliers head coach Mike Brown said. "Give everybody in that locker room credit for trying to string a game together for 48 minutes, even though we were fortunate to get off to a big lead."

The top team in the East learned earlier in the day that future Hall of Fame center Shaquille O'Neal is expected to be sidelined for the next eight weeks after undergoing surgery for an injured right thumb. Cleveland will have to make due without Shaq, and has won 12 of its last 16 road games. It is 21-10 as the guest this season. Cavs guard Daniel Gibson (personal) is questionable for Wednesday's game against New Jersey.

The Nets failed to build off a huge win at Boston by dropping an 89-85 decision to the Washington Wizards the last time out on Sunday in the opener of a three-game homestand. Yi Jianlian had 20 points and a career-high 19 boards to pace the Nets, who posted a 104-96 victory over the Celtics to snap a four-game slide.

Devin Harris had 18 points, 14 assists and seven boards, while Brook Lopez added 16 points and 10 rebounds in defeat.

"At the end of the day, they hit a couple of tough shots and we missed a couple of tough ones," Nets coach Kiki Vandeweghe said after the Nets fell to an NBA-worst 6-53 this season. "We missed a couple of free throws. But all in all, I thought we played 40 minutes of pretty good basketball and maybe didn't have the legs to finish it."

New Jersey will also host Orlando on the residency and is 3-26 at home. On the injury front, guard Courtney Lee is expected to miss tonight's game because of a sprained left ankle. The Nets are hoping to avoid breaking the NBA mark for futility held by the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers, who went 9-73 that year.

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MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.

Well, not quite $1 million, but MySportsbook.com is offering a 75% rebate for Kentucky Derby lines. Check out the exclusive horse racing bonus for all the details.

According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).

Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.

''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
    
Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.

Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.

''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.''

Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year.
   
Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.

”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?''
   
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.

For complete odds on the Kentucky Derby, visit MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.