Lakers center Bynum says he'll play in Game 5

Basketball Betting Lines

06/12/2010 -

BOSTON (AP) -Andrew Bynum is altogether clear on this: He'll play in Game 5 of the NBA finals.

Beyond that, the key to the Los Angeles Lakers' interior defense - and perhaps the team's championship chances - can't make any promises.

``I'm 100 percent sure that I'm playing come Sunday,'' the Lakers' 7-foot center said Saturday.

Bynum had fluid drained from his right knee after Boston evened the series 2-2 with a 96-89 win Thursday night. He was encouraged that the swelling had not returned since then. He had fluid drained from the same knee just before the series and the swelling reappeared.

He knows that will happen again.

``It's going to come back after Game 5, for sure,'' Bynum said. ``It's guaranteed. But as long as I'm able to be out there and be effective, that's what counts. And I know this game is the biggest game because it can change the whole series.''

Bynum played 28 minutes in the opener, 39 in the second game and 29 in the third. He had 40 points and 22 rebounds as the Lakers opened a 2-1 series lead. But he played just 12 minutes in Game 4 and sat out the last 14 minutes. His totals: 2 points, 3 rebounds, no blocks,

Without him, the Lakers let a 62-60 lead after three quarters slip away as Boston power forward Glen Davis took advantage of Bynum's absence to score 9 points in the fourth quarter. Two of Davis' baskets helped turn a 64-all tie into a 70-64 lead.

``It's rare that you see an NBA game won by one six-point run and that's kind of what happened,'' Bynum said. ``The whole game was real slow, real nasty. We had the lead and we kind of, so to speak, choked.''

Had he played, it would have been much tougher for Davis to grab rebounds and make layups.

Bynum's health could be the difference between the Lakers successfully defending their title or the Celtics reclaiming it after beating Los Angeles in 2008.

``I embrace'' the responsibility, he said, ``because I know what I'm able to do out there on the court and just want to go out there and just be effective. If I do that, if I give us some good minutes out there, then we'll have a great shot at winning the game.''

Bynum doesn't know how long he'll play Sunday. That depends on how he feels. He does know he wouldn't be able to play if the fluid had not been drained.

``I'm going to be able to play with the pain. That's not the problem,'' he said. ``It's when the swelling's in there ... it shuts the muscle down and then that's when you're really vulnerable to more injury.''

Bynum has a torn meniscus and bone bruise in his knee. Surgery is scheduled for July with an expected rehabilitation period of two to five weeks, he said.

Meanwhile, he plays on.

``He's made the ultimate sacrifice and tried to pay the ultimate price,'' Lakers guard Derek Fisher said. ``As a professional basketball player, your commodity is your body. So for him to take the steps that he's taking to try and help us win, I think that says a lot about who he is and what his purpose is with our team.''

Bynum, 22, was 17 when the Lakers made him the youngest player ever drafted in the first round. His scoring average has increased in each of his five seasons, to 15.0 this season along with 8.3 rebounds.

Without him, the Lakers only consistently effective inside player is 7-foot Pau Gasol.

``He's been a factor when he's been out there,'' Gasol said. ``It also helps me to have him there just because of his presence and his length, his size, just rebounding, defending. Those two things are keys at this point because they've been the difference in the series.''

Bynum planned to have more treatment on Saturday and be ready for the Celtics to test him on Sunday.

``That's what they're supposed to do,'' Bynum said. ``They're supposed to attack, but I think we'll be ready.''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.

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College Football Betting Tips From a Pro

While the NFL is the sport wagered on the heaviest, college football betting lines has become more and more popular as people realize it’s a game that can be beat. The NCAA football season gets longer each year with the addition of numerous bowl games and with that comes more opportunities for more money in your pocket, if handled correctly.

Betting on college football is not the same as with the NFL, so make sure you separate the two. Because of the vast number of teams, the parity between college football programs is slight and thus, you are going to see some high numbers in the NCAA. Teams favored by more than 40 points are not uncommon especially early in the season when teams playing their non-conference schedules.

The best advice when trying to tackle these enormous spreads and is to just stay away. A team that is favored by 40 points is favored by that many for a reason while teams getting 40 points are bad enough that they shouldn’t be touched. Set yourself a spread limit. Getting rid of these games will cut down on the number of contests that you need to handicap while staying away from backdoor or front-door covers.

What is a backdoor and front-door cover you ask? A backdoor cover is a team that is getting beat by more than the spread, but scores late to get within that number thus covering the spread. A front-door cover is just the opposite where the favorite scores late and covers the number they are favored by.

These front-door and backdoor covers are common when second and third string players enter games in college football and it can be the worst nightmare for some bettors. These players can also be your best friend, but ask any bettor and he will give you more instances on losing in this situation than winning. It just seems to work out that way even though everything evens out in the end.

College football betting has some of the softest lines of any sport and it’s being able to find these lines that will make you a successful college football handicapper. The NFL and NBA have the tightest lines around and while those sports can be beat by looking at situations and systems, college football doesn’t quite work that way. It’s much more manual, but when done correctly, it’s much more gratifying as well.

Getting into the nuts and bolts of college football means looking at the many stats in order to beat the number. As opposed to pro football, college football is less dependent on situations and angles and more on certain statistics. Rushing offense and defense, pass efficiency offense and defense and turnover margins are huge. These are vital in the NFL, but even more so when it comes to college football.

Being able to run the ball in college football has always been a key factor in the overall success of a team. The same adage also goes for teams who have the ability to stop the run. Putting these two factors together can produce some positive results in a team’s record both straight up and against the spread. These numbers show huge differences in teams and the spread may not take those into effect, which is where the value comes into play.

Passing yardage numbers both for and against can be a misinterpreted statistic. However, pass efficiency has always been one of the best ways to look at a teams’ passing game ability both offensively and defensively. But is it really a true indication of how they perform? I wouldn’t say so since they are raw passing numbers with nothing else taken into consideration.

I use pass efficiency ratings when doing my handicapping but I adjust my numbers based on a number of factors including power ratings, strength of schedules, personnel and injuries. This gives a much better picture of a team’s ability to pass effectively and also being able to defend the pass. Tweaking pass efficiency stats instead of raw passing yards is the key.

Turnovers are the single most frustrating, and at times the most gratifying, aspect of a college football lines, mostly because they are so unpredictable. They are part of the game and most of the time nothing can be done to control them. However, turnovers are contagious and they can carry over from game to game and season to season.

It’s important to know how to forecast these unforeseen events and how to use them to your advantage. You can find ways to give yourself an edge by looking at past histories of teams and coaches and how they have fared in turnover wars in the past. Instead of turnovers hurting you at the wrong times, find ways to use them to your advantage.

As you can see, college football handicapping is very labor intensive and isn’t just based on where teams are ranked in the AP and coaches polls. Experience, coaching and match-ups are all important since unlike the NFL, college teams turn over much more often with new personnel at most positions every single year. Keeping current on this information is vital.

Betting NCAA football can be lucrative if done correctly, but more importantly, it’s just plain enjoyable because it can be beat. College football is one of the best sports to watch with some of the best rivalries taking place in all of sports. The only downfall is that a championship isn’t decided on the field but on a computer-based system that is the Bowl Championship Series. That will change someday and we will all be better off for it.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your NCAA college football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.