Green wins dunk contest; Kapono 3-point champ

Basketball Betting Lines

02/18/2007 - Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston's Gerald Green soared over last year's slam dunk champion and then a table to win the 2007 slam dunk title as part of All-Star Saturday night.

Green received a perfect 50 score from a distinguished panel of judges for his final dunk to beat New York's Nate Robinson, the 2006 winner, on a night with interesting twists.

A pair of Miami Heat players were winners Saturday. Jason Kapono outlasted Washington's Gilbert Arenas to win the three-point shootout, while Dwyane Wade repeated as the Skills Challenge title victor.

Also, Detroit won the Shooting Stars challenge by default when the Chicago team took its shots out of turn in the final round.

However, the night belonged to Green, who compiled 91 points on a pair of dunks in the final round to beat Robinson.

Chicago's Tyrus Thomas and Orlando's Dwight Howard were eliminated before the finals, during the early rounds. However, Howard wooed the crowd by placing a sticker of himself on the backboard with his left hand while dunking with his right for his final dunk in the opening round. However, the dunk only added up to 42 points after the scores were posted by Kobe Bryant, Vince Carter, Julius "Dr. J" Erving, Michael Jordan and Dominique Wilkins.

During the dunk competition, Green changed his uniform and then his sneakers before walking away with the title. First, he put on the jersey No. 7 of former Boston dunk champion Dee Brown in 1991 for his final dunk of the opening round and leaped over a still Robinson for a jam, drawing a score of 47 to advance to the finals.

Robinson had trouble with both of his dunks in the final round, scoring a 39 on his first attempt and a 41 on the 10th attempt of his second dunk. Green netted a 41 on his first try and then came up with a perfect score by soaring over a table put in the lane, bringing the ball to his knees while in the air before hammering it through the basket.

Kapono tied Mark Price's final-round record with 24 points to win the three- point shootout. Arenas scored 17 in the final round, while Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki, last year's champion, had nine.

Memphis' Mike Miller, Cleveland's Damon Jones and Dallas' Jason Terry were eliminated in the opening round.

Wade posted a final-round time of 26.4 seconds to beat Bryant to win the skills event. Wade's first-round time of 31.3 seconds was second only to Bryant (29.8) and eliminated Cleveland's LeBron James (35.4) and New Orleans/Oklahoma City's Chris Paul (39.6).

Detroit's team of Chauncey Billups, Swin Cash and Bill Laimbeer won the shooting stars portion, made up of NBA, WNBA and former NBA stars. Scottie Pippen thought he led Chicago to a victory after hitting a half-court shot, but Ben Gordon and Candice Dupree didn't shoot in turn.

In the lightest moment Saturday night, Hall of Famer Charles Barkley backpedaled down the stretch to beat 67-year-old NBA referee Dick Bavetta in a relay race. Bavetta dove to the finish line, while Barkley jogged backward before falling to the floor in an event for charity.

The festivities were a prelude to the NBA All-Star game, scheduled to take place Sunday at the Thomas & Mack Center.

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Eastern Conference Playoff Betting Trends

We all know by now that the “public” loves to put their money on the FAVORITES and the OVERS.  Just by taking a quick glance at Sportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends” it appears as is this tendency will continue as far as the Eastern Conference games are concerned.  For the inaugural games of the first round, 69% of the early money is on Toronto -4.5; 59% of bettors prefer Chicago -4.5; 84% are backing Detroit -9; and 56% think Cleveland -11.5 is the way to go.  As far as TOTALS are concerned, the only UNDER the “public” is backing is the Cleveland/ Washington game in which 83% are pounding the UNDER (190).  Remember, there is no better way to predict a possible line change than by monitoring MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”.   By determining who the “public” is backing, you can get the most ideal line for your bet.  For example, if you are siding with the public you better place your bet before the line moves in the wrong direction.  On the other side of the coin, if you prefer the team that the “public” is betting against; you might be able to get and extra ½ or even more by placing your bet a bit later.  Under the “Betting Trends” section, Sportsbook.com also provides plenty of statistical data and trends in order for the bettor to make the most informed pick.  Below are some extremely important trends for the first round opponents of the Eastern Conference match-ups, more can be found at MySportsbook.com

New Jersey Nets vs. Toronto Raptors

Toronto was the most reliable covering team this season with a 48-33-1 ATS record but covered the OVER only 41.5% of the time.
The last 20 times these teams have played, the TOTAL has gone UNDER 16 times.
Versus Eastern Conference teams, Toronto is 33-19 ATS including 17-9 at home.
 New Jersey has covered four games in a row while Toronto has failed to cover their last four games.
When playing a team with a winning record during the second half of the season, New Jersey was just 5-13 ATS this season.
After scoring 105 points or more, Toronto has covered the OVER only 28% of the time this season. 
 
Miami Heat @ Chicago Bulls

Miami has failed to cover their last 7 games whereas Chicago has covered 6 out of their last 8 games.
Miami has covered the UNDER in four of their last five games whereas Chicago has covered the UNDER in five out of their last six.
When playing on Saturdays, Miami covered 80% of their games this season.
Away from home, Chicago is just 16-25 ATS this season.
At home, Miami covered the UNDER about 66% of the time whereas Chicago covered the UNDER about 61% of the time.
The last 13 times these teams have played each other, Chicago has covered 9 times.
In Miami’s last 11 road games, the UNDER covered 9 times. 
 
Orlando Magic @ Detroit Pistons

Detroit has covered 5 out of their last 6 games.
Away from home, Detroit is 28-13 ATS but just 14-26-1 ATS at home.
At home, Orlando covered the UNDER 64% of the time while Detroit covered the UNDER in 63% of their away games.
The last five times these teams have played in Detroit, the OVER covered each time.
Versus Eastern Conference teams, Detroit is 8-17-1 ATS at home but 17-9 ATS away.
Detroit covered the spread 5 out of the last 6 times they played Orlando.
After a Division game, Orlando covered the UNDER 87% of the time this season. 
 
Washington Wizards @ Cleveland Cavaliers

In a home game where the TOTAL is between 190 and 194.5 points, Cleveland is 9-1 ATS this season.
Washington has covered the UNDER in their last 6 games and in 8 of their last 9 games.
The last 6 times these teams have played each other, the UNDER covered each time.
When playing on 3 or more days of rest, Washington is just 18-37 ATS since 1996.
Since 1996, Washington is 28-16 ATS versus Cleveland including 11-5 over the last 3 seasons.
In their last 7 road games, Washington is 6-1 ATS.
Versus Eastern Conference teams at home, Washington is just 6-18-2 ATS. 
 
For even more betting trends for not just the NBA but for all of the major sports, log on to Sportsbook.com and click on “Trends”.  With only two months left in the NBA betting season it is important to be as well informed as possible in order to maximize your profit.  Also for all of you poker players, check out MySportsbook.com’s “WSOP Low Bid Auction”. You could be on your way to Vegas to play against the world’s best poker players for under a buck.

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