Playoff-bound Cavs make a stop in south Philly

Basketball Betting Lines

03/12/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A large lead atop the Central Division and playoff berth already sewed up has allowed the Cleveland Cavaliers to give LeBron James some rest for the stretch run. The reigning NBA MVP is expected to return from his two-game respite tonight, when the Cavs head to Philadelphia's Wachovia Center to take on the struggling 76ers.

James sat out Cleveland's game at Milwaukee on Saturday as well as Monday's home matchup with San Antonio due to a mildly sprained right ankle. Although the team could have used the superstar in its 92-85 loss to the red-hot Bucks, the Cavaliers were able to come through with a 97-95 decision over the Spurs and become the league's first club to 50 wins this season.

Mo Williams helped offset James' absence with a 17-point, eight-rebound, eight-assist effort, while Antawn Jamison also scored 17 points before exiting in the third quarter with a stiff left knee.

"It got to the point where it wasn't painful, but I couldn't get into the motion I needed in order to push off the way I need to," Jamison said. "I could have played through it if it was that type of game, but [I] needed to take precautions and begin to rehab it."

The Cavaliers, already without center Shaquille O'Neal for likely the remainder of the regular season because of a fractured right thumb, have termed Jamison a game-time decision for Friday.

Cleveland may not need its full complement of players to get past a Sixers squad that suffered its seventh loss in eight games with Wednesday's 102-87 setback to Charlotte at the Wachovia Center. The defeat dropped Philadelphia to 23-41 for the 2009-10 campaign and furthered speculation that head coach Eddie Jordan could be let go at season's end.

Rodney Carney scored 14 points and both Jrue Holiday and Andre Iguodala each netted 13 for the Sixers, who trailed 62-44 at intermission and by as many as 29 points in the second half.

"I have no problem with our effort," said Jordan, the subject of a Philadelphia Inquirer report earlier in the day that stated the 76ers will likely fire the former Sacramento and Washington sideline boss after just one season. "We played hard for 48 minutes. We couldn't take away [the Bobcats'] strengths [Wednesday]. They got to the basket, got fouls and got to the free throw line."

Philadelphia will be seeking only its second win in its last nine matchups with the Cavs, who have taken the previous two meetings between the teams this season and handed the Sixers a 108-101 loss at the Wachovia Center on December 16. The victory was Cleveland's sixth in a row in the City of Brotherly Love.

The Cavaliers currently own a 4 1/2-game lead on Orlando for first place in the Eastern Conference and are 15 games ahead of Milwaukee for the top spot in the Central Division.

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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.