Nuggets entertain Mavs at Pepsi Center

Basketball Betting Lines

02/08/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of Western Conference contenders mired in losing streaks square off in the Rockies tonight when the Denver Nuggets play host to the reigning NBA champion Dallas Mavericks.

The Nuggets dropped their third in a row on Monday, suffering a 99-90 setback to Houston at Pepsi Center. Danilo Gallinari had 14 points to lead Denver in that one before exiting with a left ankle injury. Al Harrington finished with 12 points and 15 rebounds.

A CT and MRI on Tuesday revealed a chip fracture in Gallinari's ankle, which the Nuggets said was from a previous injury that likely occurred prior to the start of Gallinari's professional career. He is expected to remain in a walking boot for 3-to-5 days and will miss about a month of action and receive treatment for "a significant" ankle sprain.

In his first full season with the Nuggets, Gallinari, who recently signed a four-year, $42 million extension, is averaging a team-high 17.0 points per game.

"No one's going to feel sorry for us except ourselves," coach George Karl said. "If we feel too sorry for ourselves, we're not going to bounce back."

Gallinari is far from the only injury Karl is dealing with, however. Starters Nene (left heel), Arron Afflalo (left ankle) and Timofey Mozgov (left ankle) were all out against the Rockets, along with reserve forward Corey Brewer, who was dealing with the death of his father.

Nene and Afflalo are expected back in the lineup tonight.

The Mavericks have also dropped three straight, the latest of which was a 91-88 loss in Cleveland on Saturday.

Dirk Nowitzki had 24 points and eight rebounds for the Mavs in that one but Dallas turned the ball over 21 times, leading to 19 Cleveland points. Jason Terry finished with 17 points in the contest.

"Combination of points off turnovers, 19 points off turnovers and 17 second- chance points was the difference," Dallas head coach Rick Carlisle said.

The Mavs are now just 1-6 when Nowitzki scores 20-or-more this season. The German star did pass Elgin Baylor for 22nd place on the NBA's all-time scoring list in Cleveland and is now 23 points behind Adrian Dantley (23,177) for 21st.

Denver has won four straight over Dallas, including a 115-93 win in North Texas on Dec. 26.

Wwwlive365 Basketball Betting News

<< Sharks, Flames clash in San Jose
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Staring at a two-week long road trip, the San Jose Sharks would love to pick up four big points before leaving the friendly confines of HP Pavilion. They'll look to accomplish step one of that plan this evening and extend

<< Spurs continue Rodeo Road Trip in Philly
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Antonio Spurs were able to get their annual Rodeo Road Trip off to a promising start, but must face a pesky Philadelphia 76ers squad that hasn't backed down from any team tonight at Wells Fargo Center. San Antonio

<< Skinner, Hurricanes begin trip in Anaheim
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hurricanes forward Jeff Skinner is starting to find his groove again after missing time with a head injury. Hopefully the club's cross country road trip won't derail his momentum. Carolina begins its three-game journey ton

<< Bucks and Raptors meet at ACC
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Milwaukee Bucks try to avoid a fourth straight loss this evening when they open a brief two-game road trip against the Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre. The Bucks played hard on Tuesday to no avail, as they overcam

<< Clippers continue road trip in Cleveland minus Billups
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Clippers eye a third straight win this evening, but their thoughts may be with their fallen veteran, as they continue a long road trip in Cleveland. Los Angeles will be without Chauncey Billups for the rest

Heat and Magic battle for Sunshine State bragging rights >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Since their heart-to-heart meeting among players and coaches following a loss at Milwaukee last week, the Miami Heat haven't suffered defeat and hope to continue that trend tonight against the Orlando Magic in the opener of a

Blue Jackets sign Prospal for another season >>
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Columbus Blue Jackets signed veteran forward Vinny Prospal to a one-year contract extension on Wednesday. Prospal, who turns 37 later this month, leads the team with 24 assists and ranks second w

Pistons and Nets kick off home-and-home set in Jersey >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Only one of Detroit's six wins this season has come on the road and the Pistons would like to change that as early as tonight, when they pay a visit to the New Jersey Nets in the opener of a home-and-home set. The Pistons

Bulls hope to have Rose in New Orleans >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The best from the NBA's Eastern Conference meets the worst from the West when the Chicago Bulls resume their grueling nine-game road trip against the lowly Hornets in New Orleans. The Bulls won their third straight con

Mr. Lin goes to Washington >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Linsanity has officially hit New York. Tonight Jeremy Lin tries to continue his amazing play when the New York Knicks go after a third straight win against the Washington Wizards at the Verizon Center. After netting

SPORTS BETTING - Tennis is an underrated and under-utilized bettors' sport.

Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"

A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."

Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.

In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.

"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."

Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.

But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"

Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.

This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.

Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.

In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.

No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.

And that's all any bettor can ask for.

To visit this sports book go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.