[adriano]

Yestarday was an unbeliavable dog day, they covered the spread in 8 of 10 games , and quite a few wins too.

I like Lebanon +23 and China +28 for today, it feels really good to be betting and cashing hoops again. Also Nigeria -6.

[goldengoat]

why is it so difficult to find scores and box scores for these f.ucking games????

same way in the olympics

is there some kind of rule about coverage

i found some on nba.com but it is not displayed front and center

nothing on espn or yahoo

[goldengoat]

i am not sure about that china +28

if i were to play i would go usa -28

usa killed china in exhibiton without yao

granted same with puerto rico and yesterday was a way different story but the speed and athleticism difference is extreme between these teams more so than puerto rico

if the refs call a tight game than that definitely helps china out a ton

[Dark Horse]

Nice call. I was up late, so took your play. USA up by 25 at the half. Need 4 more pts to cover. lol.

[Dark Horse]

Spoke too early. Zero energy to start 2H. China opens half 10-0. Guess US is trying to make it a little interesting.

Final 121-90. That was actually very close. lol... Don't think I ever laid this much chalk.

[maxpower]

why is it so difficult to find scores and box scores for these f.ucking games????

http://www.fiba2006.fiba.com/pages/e..._wcm/index.asp

http://www.goalzz.com/main.aspx?c=1830

http://www.xscores.com/LiveScore.do

[Dark Horse]

Er.. I already posted that first link somewhere else. And that quote is not by me. But thanks anyway. I think. lol

[Dark Horse]

By the way, be careful betting on this. They have a very hard time keeping the exact score. The 121-90 final score is more of an estimate. US probably won by more.

[adriano]

omfg, i was very unlucky today.
Lost all three games above, but also and under 149.5 wager on Lithuania-Greece. The game was on 125 points after the 3rd Q. And the regular time finished 69-69. Shit. I thought Pinny didn't count overtime in totals except for the US games.

[Dark Horse]

I feel like putting some money on New Zealand or Angola.
But my knowledge of NZ is limited to the All Blacks, and that is a rugby team. And Angola is in Africa. You see my problem?

[Dark Horse]

Solved it. Sort of.

NZ -2 -102
ANG +3 -110

[Dark Horse]

I don't know the teams but this is hard to pass up:

Lebanon +20.5 -110
Serbia Montenegro -17.5 -110


Tomorrow the USA is back on the court.

[darkghost]

I don't know the teams but this is hard to pass up:

Lebanon +20.5 -110
Serbia Montenegro -17.5 -110


Tomorrow the USA is back on the court.

That's one helluva middle although I noticed a high degree of variance between the scores and lines of these games.

[Dark Horse]

Lines are all over the place for this championship. I didn't even search or wait for that middle. The lines were available at the same time! lol

Didn't hit this time, but just a matter of time.

[Dark Horse]

USA blew out China last time around. They looked solid and well balanced, but that's easy in a no-contest. Anybody know how USA and Slovenia match up? Tip-off in a few hours. Spread -16.5.

[goldengoat]

i don't have a good read on slovenia unfortunately

i see they can hit the 3 pretty good but their ft's have been not so hot

the 3 can keep them in it (USA needs work STILL defending 3's) but sometimes they have given up big runs from what i read

argentina and spain (good teams) beat them by 20+ but other medoicre teams slovenia has played well against and got some good wins so they are not too shabby

this is not a solid pick but if i had a gun to my head i would take USA -16.5

*pinny now has it at -17.5 so others might have thought the same

[Dark Horse]

I already had US -16, because they looked great against China, but laying this much chalk is not a good feeling. lol. I'm mentally halving all these spreads, just to get a basic grip on the tournament. So US-8 for tonight. No idea how to weigh spreads of 20 and 30 points in basketball.

Good to know that Argentina and Spain beat Slovenia by 20 pts. At least some sort of reference.

Given how little most bettors seem to know about these teams, this tournament could be a huge opportunity for those who do know their stuff. Not me. lol

[goldengoat]

ya most of my info is from rcaps and box scores and the few exhibitions i saw usa play

us -16 is a good play

[goldengoat]

money coming in big on usa now -18 and -18.5

[Dark Horse]

Good to know for their next games. Get 'm early. They play again tomorrow!

[goldengoat]

slovenia absolutely has to play zone cause they don't really have a shot blocker and usa would drive all game to the basket

[Dark Horse]

OK, that's not good for the US. They have problems with the zone. China was playing them man to man most of the game.

[goldengoat]

guard penetration continues to kill the usa

usa should wear down slovenia hopefully

i guess it should not be too suprising with the penetration since usa is playing tight defense on the perimeter and thats the trade off

[Dark Horse]

Up 17 pts at the half. lol

Slovenia wants to run and gun with the US. Huge mistake.

[Dark Horse]

That was close. Again. 114-95.

US up 29 pts in 3rd quarter, but Slovenia is allowed back to 12 pts with just two minutes to play. And that with coach K stressing he wants to win every quarter. lol.

[Dark Horse]

The US played great last night, except for a brief stretch at the end. Explainable, because they're playing again tonight, but probably not acceptable to coach K, who wants the team to dominate each quarter.

Tonight US is 19.5 pt favorite against Italy. Another huge spread, but probably very attainable.

Questions: how do these teams match up? What is Italy's style of play?

[goldengoat]

i have not seen italy play

it seems they take care of the ball a little better than some of the other teams the usa has played which is a big deal considering how usa gets so many easy baskets off steals

of course i doubt anyone pressures like the usa

before i seen the italy/senegal game i would have taken italy +19.5 but they put on a wretched shooting performance and almost lost to one of the worst teams in group D

they have a mix of young and older players and even beat france in an exhibition so they are capable of covering although they are not the most consistent as far as level of performance

i've read they try to coach for defense and teamwork which is a good recipe to play the usa with it's gambling pressure defense

italy did show some toughness grinding out a win vs senegal despite the shots not falling and any team that plays the usa must be mentally tough cause the usa WILL make an insane run at some point in the game

USA seems to continue to play with confidence which is HUGE and is a bigger factor than some of their other shortcomings which are more easily corrected. 2004 team for USA played scared without a doubt and played hot potato when the pressure was on whilst this team is stepping up to the plate so far against some not so great teams. The outside shooting falling without hesistation is encouraging.

I would lean more towards italy +19.5 but that's coming from someone who has not actually seen italy play which is something i would need to make an informed pick

other comments on italy's style of play greatly appreciated

[goldengoat]

anyone have thoughts on puerto rico +6.5?

any injuries or such to know about?

i think puerto rico +6.5 looks good. any opinions?

[Dark Horse]

I only know the US players, and a few NBA stars here and there.

US ended last night on a sour note. Since they have to improve with each game, coach K will probably demand they stay sharp through the entire game tonight. The bench is as strong as the starters so that alone will kill most opponents. Still, it feels very strange taking any side without knowing the other. lol

[mad]

I might have a little nibble at that Brazilian ML tonight. Looks to juicy to pass up. FWIW, i think i'd have to take the points with Italy tonight.

[adriano]

I have played 7 of today's games. Those crazy lines aren't scaring me.

Brazil, Itlay and the points, Japan ml, and those monster favs Turkey, Germany, Serbia and France.

Have some parleys on some of those games.

[Dark Horse]

NBA.com has Mike D'Antoni in a brief video scouting Italy. Mostly man-to-man, so that is good for the US.

[goldengoat]

Melo has been outstanding the whole exhibition/opening round

best player on the team

wade has been great too

it is very important for thses guys to step up and give the rest of the team confidence when times get tough something that did not happen in 2004 (iverson was the closest but his outside shooting was a little inconsistent)

lebron has been OK i guess, good in strectches but nowhere near the consistency and impact wade and melo have given

wade and melo have improved their international play since 2004 while lebron has not improved a whole lot since 2004

a little suprising i guess but thank god for wade and melo but someone else needs to step up when the game is close or the USA is behind

[Illusion]

That sure was a close game today. Good thing melo was hot or the US would have lost.