Knicks hope D'Antoni helps present and future

Basketball Betting Lines

05/14/2008 -

NEW YORK (AP) -Before giving Mike D'Antoni a job, Donnie Walsh gave him a warning.

The Knicks president told D'Antoni and all the candidates he interviewed for his team's coaching position that his goal was a difficult one: Find a way to turn a loser into a winner now, without messing up plans for the future.

``This is just a tough situation we're coming into. It's going to be a coaching and teaching job, it is not a manager job where you're coming in and just take over a team that's good and do a couple of things and it'll be good,'' Walsh said of those conversations.

``This is going to be a tough thing to deal with. And what we've got to try to do is try to get better right away, get more competitive right away, but at the same time protect our ability to stay under the cap where maybe we can make a significant signing in the future.''

Walsh thinks D'Antoni is the man to help the Knicks do both.

The Knicks introduced D'Antoni as their new coach Tuesday, hoping one of the NBA's top offensive minds can turn around a team with seven straight losing seasons - and make New York an exciting future destination for free agents who want to play his entertaining style.

The former Phoenix Suns coach believes he can win right away, even though the mismatched group of players he inherits makes that difficult to imagine.

``I look at the roster and that's the roster I'm going to win with,'' D'Antoni said. ``My focus is to win this coming year.''

The Knicks probably can't make too many changes to it, since Walsh's desire is to be under the salary cap in the summer of 2010, when LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh all can be free agents. Perhaps the allure of D'Antoni's style would get the Knicks on their list of teams to consider.

``Who wouldn't love to play that way?'' said Knicks forward Quentin Richardson, who tied for the NBA lead with 226 3-pointers while playing for D'Antoni in 2004-05.

The question is whether the Knicks have the personnel to do it. D'Antoni had two-time MVP Steve Nash and a number of quick players who could shoot from the outside in Phoenix, where he won at least 54 games each of the last four seasons and earned coach of the year honors in 2005.

The Knicks are a slower group, with Eddy Curry and Zach Randolph in the frontcourt, and their point guard is uncertain with Stephon Marbury coming off ankle surgery that ended the worst season of his career.

No matter. D'Antoni figures he'll come up with something that works.

``I will adapt what I do. Now I like to play fast, move the ball and all that stuff, and we'll try to do that as best as we can,'' D'Antoni said. ``Obviously you're going to be a little slower than (the Suns), but at the same time there's no reason why you can't run, be exciting and have good ball movement.''

The Knicks are counting on it, giving D'Antoni a $24 million, four-year contract to become their 24th coach. Walsh is certain he has the right man - though he referred to his new coach as Mike ``D'Antonio,'' before quickly correcting himself.

``I thought that Mike was the best guy to choose because I think he's been in situations like we have right now and he did a good job with those situations,'' Walsh said.

D'Antoni replaces Isiah Thomas, who was fired last month after going 56-108 in two seasons. New York was 23-59 last season, matching the franchise record for losses.

The 57-year-old D'Antoni went 253-136 in Phoenix, but the Suns let him talk to other clubs about their jobs after losing to San Antonio in the first round. He chose the Knicks over the Chicago Bulls, citing his comfort with Walsh and his desire to live in New York.

After firing Thomas, Walsh took his time with his search, interviewing TV analyst Mark Jackson, coaches Rick Carlisle and Avery Johnson, and Knicks assistant Herb Williams before settling on D'Antoni.

Despite his impressive record, D'Antoni's hiring has drawn criticism because his teams in Phoenix were never strong defensively - a critique that both amuses and annoys him.

``I know one thing for sure,'' D'Antoni said. ``We averaged 58 wins in four years, so 58 times a year we were the best defensive team on the floor, I do know that.''

There's no questioning D'Antoni's offense. He turned the Suns into the NBA's most potent team, relying on a system that focused on taking a shot in the first 7 seconds of the shot clock, many of them 3-pointers.

D'Antoni said he still wants to play fast and believes many of his new players are capable of it.

``We were 7 seconds or less and the rules say you have to be 24 seconds or less,'' D'Antoni said. ``So we can adjust it to anything we want.''Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

Lasveags Basketball Betting News

<< Report: Henin to retire
Brussels, Belgium (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Belgian Justine Henin, the world's top- ranked women's tennis player, will reportedly announce her retirement on Wednesday. The newspaper Het Nieuwsblad reported that the 25-year-old Henin, who has a 16-

<< Hornets' Chandler hurts toe
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New Orleans Hornets center Tyson Chandler hurt a toe on his left foot in the fourth quarter of Tuesday's 101-79 playoff win over San Antonio. The Hornets, who grabbed a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven W

<< Weaver flirts with no-no as Halos edge ChiSox
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jered Weaver threw seven innings of one-hit ball, and Mike Napoli's sacrifice fly drove in the winning run, as the Los Angeles Angels earned a 2-0 win over the Chicago White Sox. Weaver actually had a no-hitte

<< Cain does it all as Giants nip Astros
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Cain allowed just two runs over eight innings and hit his second home run of the year as the San Francisco Giants edged the Houston Astros, 4-2, in the second of a four-game set at AT&T Par

<< Drew, D'Backs down Rockies
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Stephen Drew clubbed a three-run home run to lead the Arizona Diamondbacks past the Colorado Rockies, 8-4 in the opener of a three-game set. Orlando Hudson went 2-for-4, knocked in two runs and s

Tuesday NHL Playoff Summary >>
Pittsburgh 2 0 2-4Philadelphia 1 0 0-1First Period-1, Pittsburgh, Whitney 1 (Crosby, Gonchar), 5:03 (pp). 2, Pittsburgh, Hossa 7 (Crosby), 7:41. 3, Philadelphia, Umberger 10 (Prospal, Briere), 10:59. Penalties-Hatcher, Phi (hooking), 3:33; Kennedy

Tuesday's NHL Playoff Sum >>
Pittsburgh 2 0 2-4Philadelphia 1 0 0-1First Period-1, Pittsburgh, Whitney 1 (Crosby, Gonchar), 5:03 (pp). 2, Pittsburgh, Hossa 7 (Crosby), 7:41. 3, Philadelphia, Umberger 10 (Prospal, Briere), 10:59.Second Period-None.Third Period-4, Pittsburgh, M

Tuesday's NBA Playoff Boxes >>
ORLANDO (86)Turkoglu 8-15 2-2 18, Lewis 4-13 4-6 14, Howard 4-8 6-15 14, Nelson 6-7 0-0 14, Evans 4-7 1-2 11, Bogans 4-9 1-1 10, Dooling 1-5 2-2 5, Gortat 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-64 16-28 86.DETROIT (91)Prince 4-13 1-2 10, McDyess 6-9 5-6 17, Wallace 7

2008 NBA All-Rookie Team List >>
Al Horford, Atlanta 29 - 58Kevin Durant, Seattle 28 1 57Luis Scola, Houston 26 1 53Al Thornton, LA Clippers 20 8 48Jeff Green, Seattle 15 13 43Second TeamJamario Moon, Toronto 12 14

Fort Wayne-Detroit Pistons Playoff History >>
2008 - Beat Philadelphia 4-2; Beat Orlando 4-1.2007 - Beat Orlando 4-0; Beat Chicago 4-2; Lost to Cleveland 4-2.2006 - Beat Milwaukee 4-1; Beat Cleveland 4-3; Lost to Miami 4-2.2005 - Beat Philadelphia 4-1; Beat Indiana 4-2; Beat Miami 4-3; Lost to


Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting

So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.

Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?

If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)

Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).

In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.

Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.

The Bubble Breakdown
CONFERENCE LOCKS SHOULD BE INS AT-LARGES TAKEN
(assuming no auto bid outlier)
ACC Betting Odds 6 0 5
Big East Betting Odds 5 0 4
Big Ten Betting Odds 2 2 3
Big 12 Betting Odds 3 0 2
Pac-10 Betting Odds 5 1 5
SEC Betting Odds 4 0 3
MVC Betting Odds 1 1 1
MWC Betting Odds 2 1 2
TOTAL 28 5 25

As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.

(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)

If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech

The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.

 

Work left to do:

Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.

Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).

Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional basketball lines can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.









Huskers' Lucky hospitalized for undisclosed reason

LINCOLN, Neb. -- Nebraska running back Marlon Lucky was hospitalized Monday for undisclosed reasons after Lincoln police responded to a call at his residence.

The Nebraska athletic department said in a release Monday that Lucky was admitted Sunday night.

MySportsbook.com has the Cornhuskers listed at +2500 to win the BCS National Championship odds.

A nursing supervisor at the hospital said all questions about Lucky were being referred to the athletic department. The athletic department said there would be no further comment from the department or Lucky's family.

A Lincoln Police spokesman said officers responded to a call at Lucky's residence 11:30 p.m. Sunday. The spokesman said he didn't know Lucky's condition at the time he was taken to the hospital.

Lucky, from North Hollywood, Calif., started six games last season as a sophomore and was the team's second-leading rusher, with 728 yards and six touchdowns. He also caught 32 passes for 383 yards. He averaged 19.1 yards on eight kickoff returns.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.