Are the Heat all they are cracked up to be?

Basketball Betting Lines

02/03/2012 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - To most NBA fans, Miami is the big time.

That's what happens when LeBron James and Chris Bosh decide to join Dwyane Wade on a "superteam" that plays on the shores of Biscayne Bay and the shadow of South Beach.

But Miami, at least in the real world, isn't as "big time" as you might imagine. According to the Nielsen Company, the Miami-Fort Lauderdale television market is only the 16th largest in the country, one spot ahead of Denver and well behind places like Houston and Detroit, never mind New York, LA and Chicago.

Meanwhile Forbes just labeled Miami as the "most miserable city" in all of America, citing the housing crisis that has devastated the city with 47 percent of homeowners sitting on underwater mortgages. I'm not sure that measuring stick is worthy of Scientific America but foreclosures, according to Forbes, have been rampant with 364,000 properties in the area entering the process since 2008.

To outsiders that only think about the glitz and glamour of Miami Beach or still can picture Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas screaming across the bay in a speedboat, that's probably a surprise.

Which got me thinking, maybe the city's basketball team has some smoke and mirrors to it also.

When Miami raced out to a 5-0 start this season one national observer made the ridiculous comment that "this team might win 60" in the lockout-shortened 66- game season. Math is about to prove that pundit a liar unless LeBron and Company rattle off 43 straight to end the season.

If you take a step back and look at things objectively, even after an impressive 99-79 win against upstart Philadelphia, you'll see the Heat for what they really are, a very good team with three great individual players that struggle to play together at times.

Listening to Erik Spoelstra before the game, I couldn't help but be reminded of Lou Holtz, the ex-Notre Dame coach that would talk up every team he was playing whether it was No. 1 Miami or the Little Sisters of the Poor.

"They have as many athletes as we do," the Heat coach said when talking about the Sixers, "maybe more."

In truth, Miami is a horrible matchup problem for the Sixers and has now beaten them nine straight times. While Philadelphia does have a lot of athletes, they simply don't have the skill and perhaps more importantly the length of Miami's big three, making this an untenable matchup for the 76ers.

In fact, if styles make fights -- the Sixers are Marvis Frazier to the Heat's Mike Tyson. Philly lost by 20 points tonight after losing by 21 at Miami on Jan. 21. The team's other five losses are by a combined 24 points.

In the end, Miami probably does deserve its spot as the favorite to win an NBA title. But to call that a foregone conclusion or expect some kind of dynasty in South Florida is more than a stretch.

The Heat certainly have the game's best individual player in James, who took over things tonight late in the third quarter and finished with 19 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists, but as great as "The King" is, we're nine years into his career and it's time to admit he's never going to have the killer instinct of a big-time closer like a Michael Jordan or Larry Bird.

"I've watched him play without Dwyane Wade and he's a totally different player," Charles Barkley, a guy who knows a thing or two about being a superstar, said when talking about James. "I'm going to challenge him to play like that all the time. He's the best player in the world but for some reason, when Dwyane is on the court, he takes a back seat."

Wade, remains the best "Robin" in today's NBA but his reckless style has already taken a toll and the nagging injuries seem to pop up with greater regularity each and every season. Meanwhile, Chris Bosh has upped his game during his sophomore season in Miami but he's still not the type of intimidating force you need at the defensive end for a team with no true center.

After "Miami Thrice" the talent on Spoelstra's club drops off the table.

"The Heat are not that deep of a team," former NBA GM Steve Kerr recently said, "but the ability of LeBron and Wade to take over games on their own allows Miami to offset various loses throughout the lineup."

It's hard to argue with Kerr. Joel Anthony and Mario Chalmers have developed into nice NBA role players that bring young legs and energy to the dance but ask yourself how many other NBA could afford to start them?

Shane Battier and Udonis Haslem add veteran leadership and toughness but both players have seen their better days, while Mike Miller is an excellent pure shooter and a key cog as a weak-side threat off the double team but he's also as one-dimensional as they come and Pat Riley gave serious thoughts to amnestying him.

The rest of Riley's roster is filled with players that could just as easily be featured in a D-League media guide with the possible exception of rookie guard Norris Cole, who has flashed an upside with impressive quickness.

"When you have guys that can dominate the game like those three (James, Wade and Bosh) can it doesn't allow other players to get into the flow of the game," former player and current analyst Greg Anthony said. "It's important that they figure out balance."

It's not like this is the first time three great players have toiled together. Magic had Kareem and James Worthy for a good part of his run in Hollywood but there was still room for borderline stars like Norm Nixon, Byron Scott and Michael Cooper.

Bird had Kevin McHale and Dennis Johnson among others and still worked in Robert Parish and Cornbread Maxwell when he was winning titles in Beantown.

The last championship team here in Philly was loaded with Moses Malone, Julius Erving and Andrew Toney along with borderline Hall of Famers Maurice Cheeks and Bobby Jones.

Keep it closer to this generation and understand San Antonio has three future Hall of Famers in Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili that all fit like a glove around solid role players.

"When you watch Miami, they play with arrogance," Anthony continued. "They feel like they can turn it on and off like a light switch and win a game whenever they want. That lack of intensity is one of the reasons why, at times, they struggle."

On Friday, they were able to turn it on. With the game deadlocked at 61 late in the third quarter, Thaddeus Young blew a bunny at the basket and James decided that it was time to take over. First he drilled a 20-foot step back jumper and followed that with a man's offensive rebound and a finger roll to end the third quarter scoring

Less than nine minutes later Philadelphia was down by 23 and looking for the locomotive that just ran them down.

You saw that arrogance bite the Heat, however, 48 hours earlier in Milwaukee when Miami raced out to a 40-23 lead after the opening 12 minutes. James made 8-of-9 shots from the floor in the first quarter of that one, including going 3-for-3 from beyond the arc as the Heat shot 82.4 percent in the opening frame and made all five of their three-pointers.

Satiated, the Heat took their foot off the gas and Brandon Jennings came back to bite them. In fact, it got so bad that Miami didn't get any closer than eight points over the final 4 1/2 minutes of regulation.

The Heat are a good, at times great team, but they're also a flawed bunch that leaves the door ajar for a host of other NBA contenders.

Friday they were at the best with LeBron running the show next to Wade with Bosh alongside Miller and Haslem up front.

"It's been a long time coming." James said when talking about that lineup. "We've played that lineup a few times in the postseason last year but it wasn't healthy. It's great to have that lineup out there now that we're healthy, and me and D-Wade are able to handle the ball.

"That's what it's about, just camaraderie and teamwork."

If only it were about that every night.

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Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl Odds

Will he or won't he?  Now that the Dallas Cowboys have a new head coach in Wade Phillips, the big question will be: Does Terrell Owens stay with the team.

Jerry Jones continues to suggest that Terrell Owens will remain with the team.

"I've said that he's back, he's here, he's under contract," Jones said. "In the interviews I've just been through (to hire a new coach), it was very clear to me how highly he's thought of and how much of an impact he had on our offensive success."

Just to be sure though, Terrell Owens cleared out his locker and removed his name plate.

Terrell Owens was among the Cowboys most productive players this past season, catching 85 passes for 1,180 yards and a league-best 13 touchdowns.

But T.O. is due a $3 million roster bonus in June, then a $5 million salary this season. Cutting him before then would save a lot of money and headaches.

Aside from the questions surrounding Terrell Owens, the oddsmakers at MySportsbook.com have concerns over starting quarterback Tony Romo's state of mind and whether he will remain a starting quarterback.  It is also not known how players will adjust to new head coach, Wade Phillips.

Here are the football odds as seen at MySportsbook.com and subject to change after February 10, 2007 if not locked in prior to that date.
Arizona Cardinals 60-1


Atlanta Falcons 50-1


Baltimore Ravens 15-1


Buffalo Bills 50-1


Carolina Panthers 18-1


Chicago Bears 10-1


Cincinnati Bengals 15-1


Cleveland Browns 100-1


Dallas Cowboys 15-1


Denver Broncos 15-1


Detroit Lions 100-1


Green Bay Packers 50-1


Houston Texans 100-1


Indianapolis Colts 6-1


Jacksonville Jaguars 30-1


Kansas City Chiefs 30-1


Miami Dolphins 40-1


Minnesota Vikings 75-1


New England Patriots 10-1


New Orleans Saints 18-1


New York Giants 20-1


New York Jets 30-1


Oakland Raiders 100-1


Philadelphia Eagles 18-1


Pittsburgh Steelers 10-1


Saint Louis Rams 60-1


San Diego Chargers 6-1


San Francisco 49ers 75-1


Seattle Seahawks 20-1


Tampa Bay Buccanneers 75-1


Tennessee Titans 40-1


Washington Redskins 50-1

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook credit cards needs.

Football Betting

NFL Football Betting Online

The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.

Thursday, August 21

NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37

NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road

In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.

Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):

* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games

Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.

Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.

Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.

That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.

Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.

CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)

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