Sixers try to bounce back vs. bumbling Bobcats
Basketball Betting Lines
01/27/2012 -
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia 76ers try to bounce back from a rare loss
at home this evening when they welcome the hapless Charlotte Bobcats to the
Wells Fargo Center.
Philadelphia lost for only the second time in 10 tries in front of its fans on
Wednesday, falling in overtime, 97-90, to the New Jersey Nets.
Lou Williams ended with 17 points and six assists for Philadelphia, which fell
to 8-2 at home this season. Elton Brand and Jrue Holiday had 16 and 14 points,
respectively.
Trailing by four, 88-84, with 2 1/2 minutes left in overtime, Philly ripped
off six straight points to take the lead. Holiday capped the surge with an
easy steal off an inbounds pass and slam, making it 90-88 with 1:18 to go.
But Deron Williams made a jumper and three-pointer around Jodie Meeks' missed
three-pointer to give New Jersey a 93-90 edge with 26.8 seconds left. The Nets
then sealed the win with four free throws.
"We had five fast break points tonight. That was the difference," said Sixers
coach Doug Collins. "We never could get out and run."
After winning nine of 10 games, the Sixers have now lost three of five and
have surrendered 95.4 points-per-game in doing so. Not helping any is the fact
that the team is without its two centers Spencer Hawes (Achilles) and Nik
Vucevic (quadriceps).
"We definitely need our bigs," Brand said. "We're looking forward to getting
them back, but we just couldn't get stops."
The Sixers added some depth earlier Friday by signing veteran free agent
center Francisco Elson.
"We are happy to pick up Francisco Elson, a veteran big man who can help
bolster our front court, Sixers president of basketball operations Rod Thorn
said when announcing the signing.
Charlotte, meanwhile, continues to be one of the league's worst teams at 3-16.
The Bobcats dropped their sixth straight game on Wednesday to the equally
anemic Washington Wizards, losing 92-75.
Matt Carroll scored 17 points in his first start of the year for the Bobcats,
who were without starters D.J. Augustin (toe) and Gerald Henderson (back).
The Bobcats got help from rookie Kemba Walker, who scored eight points to go
with four assists and six boards in place of Augustin; and Tyrus Thomas, who
added 13 points, nine rebounds and a career-high nine blocks for Charlotte,
which has dropped seven in a row on the road.
"As I said last night, take three or four of your best players off any team,
and you're not gonna play well," Charlotte coach Paul Silas said about his
team's recent injuries. "Our scorers, our two leading scorers are not playing,
how are we gonna score?"
The loss was the 12th in 13 tries for the Bobcats, who will be without
Augustin again tonight. Henderson will likely be a game-time decision.
Philadelphia could have an even bigger edge tonight, as the home team in this
series has won the last four and seven of the last eight contests. Charlotte
has also dropped 10 of its last 13 in the City of Brotherly Love.
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Wagner will play FBS school for first time >>
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Wagner announced an 11-game schedule on Friday, beg
Phillies sign OF Pierre >>
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The 34-year-old veteran finished 2011 with a .279 average, two home run
Inter aims to bounce back against Lecce >>
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The 2-0 setback prevent
Raptors' Bargnani out with calf issue >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Toronto Raptors forward Andrea Bargnani will be
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'Melo to sit two games >>
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Anthony will sit out Friday's contest at Miami and will also miss Saturday's
contest at
Big East Conference odds
Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence
Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.
Work left to do:
Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.
Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.
DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...
West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.
Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.
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