Pierce eyes a legend in Celtics-Bobcats matchup

Basketball Betting Lines

02/07/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston Celtics forward Paul Pierce is on the verge of passing a legend on the team's all-time scoring list and will lead the surging squad into tonight's showdown versus the lowly Charlotte Bobcats at TD Garden.

Pierce is 10 points shy of passing Larry Bird (21,791) for second on the team's all-time scoring list. John Havlicek has a comfortable spot at the top with 26,395 points. Pierce trimmed the margin with a 21-point effort in Sunday's 98-80 triumph over the Memphis Grizzlies. Kevin Garnett had a season high-tying 24 points and nine rebounds in the recent win.

Ray Allen and Chris Wilcox each netted 12 points for the Celtics, who have won four in a row and eight of their last nine games. The Celtics, owners of a 9-6 mark as the host, also improved to 3-0 on a five-game homestand and will close out the residency Thursday versus the Los Angeles Lakers.

"I just wanted to come out and be aggressive and just give great energy. And that's what I did," said Wilcox, who tallied 10 of his 12 points in the first quarter and also grabbed five boards.

The Celtics had been 0-4 against Western Conference foes. Rajon Rondo had five points and tied a season-high with 14 assists in his second game back since missing eight in a row due to injury.

Not to make excuses for the struggling Bobcats but injuries have taken their toll on the team. Mired in a season-high losing streak of 11 games, Charlotte hopes to close out a four-game road trip tonight in Beantown.

The losing trend continued with Saturday's 95-89 loss at Phoenix, as rookie Kemba Walker had a team-best 22 points and Reggie Williams added 21 points, seven rebounds and six assists in his first start of the season. In his three games played, Williams has averages of 9.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 23.0 minutes.

Boris Diaw finished with 13 points and Bismack Biyombo made his first career start in place of DeSagana Diop, notching 11 points and 12 rebounds for the Bobcats, who have lost 11 in a row for the longest slide since a franchise- record 13-game skid from Jan. 11-Feb. 1, 2006.

"We just missed some shots that we should have made and they came down and executed their offense and they made shots," said Walker, who is averaging 14.1 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.6 steals in his previous 13 contests. "That's just the way it went in the second half. They really just outplayed us in the fourth quarter."

The Bobcats are only 1-13 as the visitor this season and have lost their last 11 road games. That's the longest road losing streak since Nov. 7, 2007 - Jan. 4, 2008. Charlotte lost 12 straight games away from home Feb. 4-March 19, 2005 and dropped a franchise-high 14 consecutive road games from Jan. 2-Feb. 27, 2006.

On the injury front for Charlotte, guard Gerald Henderson will miss 2-4 weeks of action with a right hamstring strain and forward Corey Maggette is slated to miss that same amount of time because of a strained left hamstring. Point guard D.J. Augustin (toe fracture) is expected to miss 1-2 weeks of action and Diop is listed as questionable Tuesday due to a balky knee. Henderson has scored in double figures in eight of his last nine games played, averaging 17.1 points on .496 shooting during that stretch.

After closing out the road trip in Boston the Bobcats will head home for three straight games versus the Bulls, Clippers and 76ers. The Bobcats haven't won since Jan. 14 versus Golden State and their last road victory was in New York back on Jan. 4.

Charlotte and Boston split four meetings a year ago but the Celtics have prevailed in 10 of the past 14 matchups between the teams. The Bobcats ended a five-game losing streak at TD Garden with an 83-81 victory last March 25. They have still lost 10 of the 13 encounters in Beantown.

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Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds

Super Bowl XLIII, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Super Bowl XLIII is now set, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers will meet each other on February 1st in Tampa's Raymond James Stadium to battle it out for the coveted Lombardi Trophy. The game kicks off at 6:00pm ET on NBC with announcers Al Michaels and John Madden covering the on-field action. Super Bowl XLIII betting odds at online bookmaker MySportsbook.com have the Steelers listed as an early -6.5 against the spread favorite.Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds

Pittsburgh earned their passage to the big game by beating their division rival, the Baltimore Ravens, 23-14 in yesterday's AFC Championship Game. The Steelers jumped on Baltimore early, building a 13-0 first half lead, and never let up on their way to a fairly easy win. Although the Ravens did close to within two points in the fourth quarter, it never appeared as if they had enough offense to pull off the upset.

The Steelers dominating defense held Baltimore to a total of 198 yards while allowing them to convert just three third downs in 13 attempts. Pittsburgh also forced quarterback Joe Flacco into three interceptions, one of which safety Troy Polamalu returned fourty yards for a touchdown.

The Cardinals, by far the playoff team with the longest odds to reach Super Bowl XLIII, did so yesterday with a 32-25 upset of the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship. Arizona charged out of the gates and built a 24-6 halftime lead that had the Eagles venerable defense reeling. Quarterback Kurt Warner and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald did most of the damage, connecting on three first half touchdowns.

Arizona, however, could not sustain their momentum and the Eagles took a 25-24 with 10:45 left to play in the fourth. The Cardinals, with the franchise's first Super Bowl appearance hanging in the balance, mounted a fourteen play, 72 yard touchdown drive that consumed 7:52 off the clock. Warner hit running back Tim Hightower on a short screen for the go-ahead, game clinching score that will forever live in Cardinal infamy.

MySportsbook.com's Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds:

Pittsburgh Steelers -6.5 (-110), Over 46.5 (-110), -260 (Money line)

Arizona Cardinals +6.5 (-110), Under 46.5 (-110), +220 (Money line)

Matt Foust won both of his conference championship plays yesterday and he is ready to serve up plenty of Super Bowl action. Each individual play costs $15.00, however, MySportsbook.com recommends purchasing Matt's NFL Playoff Package which includes all of Matt's Super Bowl props and picks from just $45.00.

Get free Super Bowl XLIII Betting from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online Super Bowl betting with credit cards