Thunder return home to face Hornets

Basketball Betting Lines

03/10/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - While the Oklahoma City Thunder seem to be well on their way towards ending a playoff drought, the New Orleans Hornets enter tonight's showdown between these teams in danger of missing out of the postseason fray.

The injury-plagued Hornets head to the Ford Center, their one-time temporary home when displaced by Hurricane Katrina a few years back, in 11th place in the competitive Western Conference and five games behind Portland for the eighth and final playoff seed. A recent four-game losing streak has hurt the club's postseason chances, although New Orleans was able to end that slide with Monday's 135-131 triumph over visiting Golden State.

David West and Marcus Thornton each scored 28 points to pace the Hornets, while Darren Collison dished out a career-best 20 assists to go along with 16 points. The rookie's assist total tied Phoenix's Steve Nash for the most by an individual in the NBA this season.

West added 13 rebounds on the night, while Emeka Okafor also notched a double- double with 22 points and 11 boards. The Hornets outrebounded the Warriors by a 44-23 margin for the game in addition to shooting just under 59 percent from the field.

Peja Stojakovic scored 16 points for New Orleans before exiting in the third quarter with a strained groin. The veteran forward's status for tonight's matchup is uncertain.

In a tight game down the stretch, Golden State held a 123-121 lead with three minutes left before the Hornets ran off nine consecutive points. Thornton ended the rally with three layups as New Orleans took a seven-point advantage with 1:23 to play.

Golden State closed within one on back-to-back three-pointers from Stephen Curry, the second coming with 30.7 seconds remaining, but Collison sank a floater on the ensuing possession as the Hornets held on.

"We just wanted to execute down the stretch," Collison said. "We haven't been doing that down the stretch the last parts of the games we've been losing. It was important we get a good look at it."

While the Hornets have been struggling as of late, the Thunder have posted a sensational 14-3 record since January 29 to move into sixth place in the West standings, just a half-game back of fifth-seeded Phoenix. Oklahoma City has been especially tough at home during that span, having won seven of eight tilts at the Ford Center.

One of the Thunder's victories during its current strong stretch came against the Hornets in New Orleans back on February 3. That snapped a 10-game losing streak for Oklahoma City in this series, though, and the Hornets have prevailed in their last four matchups as the visitor versus the Thunder/Sonics franchise.

Oklahoma City returns home after completing a three-game road trip with Sunday's 108-102 verdict over Sacramento, with Kevin Durant amassing 27 points and eight rebounds to lead the way.

Russell Westbrook added 21 points and eight boards in the victory, the Thunder's fifth in its last six games, with rookie James Harden contributing 14 points off the bench.

Oklahoma City, which is 19-11 at the Ford Center this season, began its recent swing with a loss at Denver on March 3 before bouncing back with Friday's 104-87 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.

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Football Betting: Defensive Rookie of the Year Awards

Oddsmakers have released the odds for the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award and Seattle Seahawks linebacker Aaron Curry has been made the opening favorite.

Bet on NFL Football

Seattle took Curry with the fourth overall pick in April's NFL draft and plan on inserting him into its starting lineup right away. The Hawks traded linebacker Julian Peterson in the offseason, so Curry is expected to have a significant role in Seattle's defense next year and that's one of the primary reasons he is the favorite to win the NFL ROY Award.

Oddsmakers from online sportsbook MySportsbook.com have made Curry a 5/1 favorite to win this year's NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award. Given that he was the best defensive prospect in this year's draft and how he'll have plenty of opportunities to make plays in '09, Curry offers a ton of value at 5/1.

Another thing working for Curry is the position he plays. A linebacker has won the defensive ROY award six straight times and eight of the last nine years. Jerod Mayo, Patrick Willis, DeMeco Ryans, Shawne Merriman, Jonathan Vilma, Terrell Suggs, Kendrell Bell and Brian Urlacher were the most recent linebackers to take home the award.

Following Curry at 5/1 are Tyson Jackson (Chiefs) at 7/1, James Laurinaitas (Rams) at 8/1, Brian Orakpo (Redskins) at 10/1, Rey Maualuga (Bengals) at 10/1 and Jerry Peria (Falcons) at 10/1.

All the players mentioned above are expected to start for their respective teams, but Jackson and Peria are going to have a tough time being recognized on a national level given they're both defensive linemen. D-linemen rarely put up the numbers that it takes to win an individual award like the ROY.

A couple of players with some value are Clay Matthews (Packers) at 12/1 and Larry English (Chargers) at 15/1. Matthews is expected to start at outside linebacker in Green Bay's new 3-4 defense and could rack up a ton of tackles. English, who was an impressive player at Northern Illinois, is expected to be a situational pass rusher for the Chargers and could rack up a ton of sacks.

For complete odds on the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award, see below. And for complete odds for the 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award, click the link provided.

2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award

Robert Ayers (DEN) 12/1

Ron Brace (NE) 25/1

Everette Brown (CAR) 16/1

Darius Butler (NE) 40/1

Patrick Chung (NE) 30/1

Aaron Curry (SEA) 5/1

Brian Cushing (HOU) 12/1

Vontae Davis (MIA) 30/1

Louis Delmas (DET) 30/1

Larry English (SD) 15/1

Evander Hood (PIT) 25/1

Tyson Jackson (KC) 7/1

Malcolm Jenkins (NO) 25/1

Paul Kruger (BAL) 50/1

James Laurinaitas (STL) 8/1

Sen'Derrick Marks (TEN) 20/1

Clay Matthews (GB) 12/1

Aaron Maybin (BUF) 15/1

Rey Maualuga (CIN) 10/1

Roy Miller (TB) 20/1

Michael Mitchell (OAK) 45/1

Fili Moala (IND) 30/1

Brian Orakpo (WAS) 10/1

Jerry Peria (ATL) 10/1

B J Raji (GB) 7/1

Clint Sintim (NYG) 35/1

Alphonso Smith (DEN) 40/1

David Verkune (CLE) 20/1

Jason Williams (DAL) 30/1

Field (Any Other Player) 6/1

NFL football gambling

To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.

Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.