Last night, Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher joined forces in the final minutes to defeat the Jazz and preserve a ten point margin of victory. The  LA Lakers beat the Utah Jazz by a score of 119-109.

POINTSHAVERS.COM 4/22/09 - Public bettors felt the sting of another LA Lakers fourth quarter meltdown. The Lakers (favored by 11.5) led the Utah Jazz comfortably by a margin of 15 points as late as the fourth quarter. The Lakers led 96-81 with a little over 9 minutes remaining; and, it looked like the game was on the virge of getting out of hand.

But almost as if "On Cue" Bryant and the LA Lakers wasted several possessions and played little to no defense on the other end giving Utah a chance to tie the game with under 2 minutes left. Are you kidding me?

Utah's fourth quarter run was fueled by (PG) Deron Williams who recorded a career playoff high with 35 points.

"It's Deron Williams being a bad boy" said Kobe Bryant after the game.

Well, it's easy to be a bad boy in the paint when LA Lakers enforcer (C) Andrew Bynum spends most of the fourth quarter on the bench. Yet another strange move by coach Phil Jackson who wanted the Lakers to win more decisively in Game 2 after coasting to a 113-100 victory in Game 1.

Jackson wants the Lakers to play "playoff basketball" for four quarters en route to their second consecutive NBA Finals appearance. But it's awfully hard to play a high level of basketball with your best defensive player on the bench. It would seem like Phil would want to put Bynum back in the game; but I guess he wants to keep an eye on that bum knee...you know...that same knee that was used to hoist Playmate Nicole Narain on Bynum's shoulders at the Playboy Mansion party a few weeks back. Yeah...bum knee...I get it.

But to add insult to injury...the Lakers had even more drama in store for those brave souls who laid the 11.5 in anticipation of a rare Laker double-digit cover.

Down 109-106, the Jazz missed a golden opportunity to tie the game with a little over 3 minutes left. The Lakers took possesion and responded with a game-changing layup that put the Lakers up 111-106.

And miraculously...after two missed free throws by Gasol, several missed shots by Kobe Bryant, three turnovers by Derek Fisher, and offensive basket interference....the Lakers found themselves up by nine with Kobe Bryant stepping to the free throw line with two shots and 30 seconds left in the game (that's a lot of time in the NBA).

But a wide camera shot on free throw 1 of 1 could not hide the obvious. Bryant hurled a projectile at the rim that hit the back iron so hard that it could be heard in every corner of the Golden Nugget Casino in Las Vegas, NV.

But all hope is not lost! Bryant hits the second which puts the Lakers up by ten. A Utah miss and two more Laker free throws seal the cover.

The Lakers defense all but escorts Jazz PG Deron Williams to the three point line; but Deron barely draws iron and the rebound caroms over to Laker F Lamar Odom.

After the Jazz refuse to foul, Odom passes upcourt to Fisher who dribbles uncontested to the hoop for an easy layup that would have guaranteed a Laker cover. But not only did Fisher dribble out the clock, he literally dribbled the air out of the building when he gave his former team the cover last night.

Lakers win...but don't cover.... The OVER 212 came in comfortably though....

Chien-Ming Wang's sinker has truned into an 85 mph fastball. His current ERA is 34.50

POINTSHAVERS.COM 4/19/09 - The Better Business Bureau should look into the new Yankee stadium. The $1.5 billion dollar ballpark has been a disaster thus far; and $1,000 dollar ticket prices should be printed with a new slogan... "Let the Buyer Beware".

In three games played at the new Yankee stadium, the NY Yankees have been outscored by a total of 37-12. And yesterday's completely outrageous result even had the baseball pundits at a loss for words.

The 14 runs given up by the NY Yankees breaks the Major League Baseball record for most runs scored in the 2nd inning. That record stood for over 100 years before Yankees RH pitcher Chein-Ming Wang took the mound yesterday afternoon.

Wang got pounded yesterday. He was charged with eight runs and eight hits in a little over an innings worth of work giving him a 34.50 ERA in three starts this year.

In an Interleague game with the Houston Astros last year, Wang injured his foot while stepping across home plate. The Yankees would have to place Wang on the DL for the rest of the year; and, the Yankees pitching staff was never able to recover as the Yankees missed the playoffs for the first time in a number of years.

Nevertheless, the Yankee organization was very optimistic about Wang's future with the club; and, with his foot 100% healed...Wang was expected to return to form and have another solid year in 2009. His first start was kind of shaky against Baltimore, but giving up 7 Earned Runs in Camden Yards is not completely out of the ordinary. The Orioles usually play the Yankees tough; and, final scores go waaay over the posted total more often than not.

But, when Wang gave up 8 Earned Runs to the Rays in the first couple of innings, the Yankees pitching staff should have seen the red flag. Wang was obviously not capable of pitching in a Major League Baseball game and his sinker ball had no movement. Nevertheless, Yankees manager Joe Girardi put Wang out on the frontline yet again with only a round of ammo against an Indians team that took no mercy on the struggling right hander.

When I walked into the Las Vegas Plaza, the score was 15-2 in the second inning. And, although I thought that Wang might have a bounce back game at home against the Indians; I really wasn't suprised by the score. It was sad to see all of the public bettors dressed in pinstripes and Yankee blue...some of them left the casino in disgust...but others still half heartedly cheered the Yankees on.

It was only natural to feel cheated if you decided to take the Yankees at a (-135) on Saturday. Afterall, the scouting report indicated that Wang's sinker had been improving; and, it was reasonable to think that Giradi would have a short leash on Wang if he started to falter in the early innings.

But how could Girardi and the pitching staff send Wang out to the mound on Saturday. They've been around the game long enough to know when a pitcher doesn't have it. Even more peculiar, why did the Yankees  leave him out to dry in the 2nd inning? Wang gave up 8 runs in that inning. Wouldn't you think that they would have pulled him a little earlier. Why concede the game? It makes no sense. Unless of course, the Las Vegas Sportsbook is acting as a silent partner in the Yankee front office, j/k.

Too much money on the Yankees...what else is new?

POINTSHAVERS.COM 3/24/09 -  Yesterday's "Bet The Farm" pick featured a public favorite that took a beating in the final minutes. Today's play is a bit more conservative; and, it should come in comfortably for the road favorite...the Detroit Redwings.

The Oilers have been playing well lately, but their three game winning streak came to an abrupt halt in Minnesota where the Oilers were shutout by the Wild 3-0.

The Redwings have also been playing well after getting (RW) Marian Hossa back in the lineup. But last night, Redwings (G) Chris Osgood got lit up by the Calgary Flames in a 5-3 loss. Osgood was pulled after allowing 3 goals on 14 shots to put the Redwings in early three to nothing hole that they could not get out of.

Tonight, Redwings (G) Ty Conklin will start inplace of Osgood. Conklin matches up nicely with the Oilers going 2-0-0 against Edmonton this year with a 1.50 GAA in those two matchups. Edmonton Goalie Dewayne Roloson has had his lionshare of problems against Detroit going 0-2-0 in head-to-head matchups with Conklin and giving up an average of 8.01 Goals in those two contests.

We're going to try and recover last nights losses with a heftly bet on the road favorite. The public is not jumping on the Redwings after last night's beatdown in Calgary, so the money may be just about even on both sides...which is always a good thing. Last night, late money on the heavily favored Celtics seemed to corrupt the final outcome.

Take Detroit Redwings (-155) vs Edmonton Oilers WIN

POINTSHAVERS.COM 3/23/09 - For tonight's pick, I started a new Blog Entry called "Bet the Farm". These bets typically don't come around very often. Basically, the stars are aligned so well that it's worth the risk...and tonight we love the matchup between the Boston Celtics and the LA Clippers.

The Clippers have played much better this year since improving their backcourt with the acquisition of (PG) Baron Davis and Rookie (G) Eric Gordon.

And even though the Clippers are 17-53, they have some quality wins against a few of the NBA's top teams. They have beaten the Miami Heat, the Atlanta Hawks, and they gave the Cleveland Cavaliers a scare.

But the Clippers most shocking victory came last month in a suprising upset over the Boston Celtics who were playing without Kevin Garnett at the time.

The Clippers beat the Celtics in LA by a final score of 93-91; and PG Baron Davis called it one of the most satisfying wins of his career.

However this time around, Davis the Clippers are starting to feel the effects of a mean road trip where they have averaged 84.0 ppg which is TEN points down from their season average. The Clippers will be playing the surging Celtics who have been winning games in convincing fashion since K.G.'s return to the staring lineup.

Boston will have no sympathy for a Clippers team that surprised them earlier this year. The Clippers limp into this game on the second half of a back to back; and, I expect that K.G. and the Celtics will punish the Cippers on every possesion of the game on both sides of the court for two halfs of play.

Yes...we are expecting a beatdown of twenty points or more...

Take Boston Celtics -15.5 (-110) vs LA Clippers LOSS

POINTSHAVERS.COM 3/19/09 - Since losing to Calgary on March 3rd, the Ottawa Senators are 5-0 at home. The Senators have improved their record to 29-30-10 behind the stellar play of their catalyst...team captain Daniel Alfredsson.

With a win tonight, the Senators could put themselves at the .500 mark. More importantly, they could also bring themselves out of the cellar of the Northeast Division....currenltly, the Senators are  a 1/2 game behind Toronto.

The Senators will face the Canadiens who have are losers of three straight on HOME ICE which is actually somewhat shocking. They'll have to somehow bounce back on the road where they are 15-18-3 this year.

With the Canadiens coming to town, the arena should be buzzing. Montreal and Ottawa are division rivals, so the crowd should have no problem getting up for this one.

We were hoping to get a better price for the Senators tonight; but because of their outstanding play at home, they are favored against the 36-25-9 Canadiens. The puck line is tempting, but we'll be happy with another comfortable win tonight.

Take Ottawa Senators (-110) vs Montreal Canadiens WIN

POINTSHAVERS.COM 3/16/09 -  The last time the Denver Nuggets played the NJ Nets, they got completely embarrased. The Nets destroyed the Nuggets by a final score of 114-70.

At that time Denver was coming off of a back-to-back; and, New Jersey was riding a three-game winning streak.

This time around, it's New Jersey coming off the back-to back and Denver riding a two-game winning streak. But the back-breaker for the New Jersey Nets is that they will more than likely be without their catalyst, PG Devin Harris.

Harris was injured last night on a hard foul by Clippers (C) Marcus Camby.

Harris is listed as day-to-day; but, I would be very surprised to see him recover from such a hard foul in less than 24 hours. I guess you need look no further than the overnight line change to find out Harris's status.

The books adjusted the line for the game FOUR points which clearly suggests that Harris will not be suited up.

Vince Carter could possibly step-up and fill Harris' void; but Carter already expended himself last night with almost 40 points in a painful buzzer beater loss to the Clippers. 

I expect the Nets to lay down for this one in anticipation of a HUGE game with the 8th place NY Knicks later this week. Look for the Nuggets to show the Nets who's boss tonight.

Take Denver Nuggets -13 (-110) vs NJ Nets WIN