The Rockets in 2013-14

Just because a team looks good on paper doesn’t mean they’ll perform as beautifully come season time. That is one of the greatest lessons from the Lakers last season when everyone betting on sports got excited with Steve Nash and Dwight Howard coming to LA to join Kobe.

Well, everybody knows how it all went. The team got to a slow start and some unfortunate injuries resulted to a very disappointing season. It wasn’t just simple bad. It was chaotic bad.

That is why the fact that Dwight Howard is heading to Houston haven’t made as much noise as many expected. Yes, it is acknowledged that the Rockets have the potential to be very good next summer. The only problem is that the Lakers too had the same “potential” prior to the start of last season. That is why if you want to evaluate the chances of the team winning it all next year you will also have to consider the possibility of things to go wrong.

In order for Dwight to be effective, he needs teammates who can shoot and stretch the floor for him.  There are plenty of factors that could change everything

There are the injuries to watch out for, and with a young roster, there is somewhat a chance that one of the better players on the team last season only had a fluke year.

Take for example forward Chandler Parsons.

He was great last year, contributing with his scoring and his defense. However, with only one year under his belt, it’s hard to predict if he can consistently do what he did last season. So if you bet on sports, try to hold on a bit before going all out with Houston.

NBA Summer League’s Bests: Rookies

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If your passion is to bet on sports, here’s something special from the website that takes betting on sports to a whole new level of fun and excitement: A look at the most impressive rookies from the recently concluded summer league.

Rookies, for the front office of rebuilding teams and teams trying to improve, have the opportunity to build on or turnaround the fate of an NBA franchise. A player doesn’t have to be a star-caliber talent to help a team. A key role player who fits well with what’s already been established can be just as important.

The 2013 NBA draft wasn’t nearly as deep as many fans had hoped for, in terms of star prospects. When an undersized and injured center was rumored to be the number 1 pick, it puts into perspective the lack of star-potential from the draft pool.

However, the recently completed summer league has shown that there are indeed plenty of quality players that are going to be key pieces for their teams. Here are two of the rookies that really caught my attention.

Cody Zeller

In today’s NBA, the role of centers has focused more on their ability to impact the defense of a team. Cody Zeller, Bobcat’s number 4 pick, has indeed shown his ability to do that. His quick feet allows him to contain guards during pick-and-roll switches.

Dennis Schroeder

Dennis Schroeder, Hawks number 17 pick, looks promising as a point guard. His court-awareness, passing and ability to read defenses is something you won’t normally see from a teenage guard. He can also guard opposing guards quite well. The only downside is his low shooting percentage.

The Chase for Dwight is Finally Over

(Andrew D. Bernstein/Getty Images)

Just a few days after interviewing with suitors, Dwight Howard has decided to sign with the Houston Rockets for a 4-year contract worth $87.6 million and ultimately ending the chase for the all-star center. Last week, bookmakers and websites for betting on sports had the Rockets as having the highest odds of landing Howard.

The decision to sign with the Rockets has plenty of implications to other teams and players. The losers of the Chase such as the Mavericks, Lakers, Hawks and Warriors will now have to move on. There are still plenty of quality free agents and potential trades waiting.

If you like to bet on sports, this decision is surely going to make it more interesting in the NBA next season. Looking at the Rockets roster, the team can still make significant changes if they see it fit. They have several quality players that other teams would love to trade for. A week ago, the team has dangled Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin in trades.

Regarding Lin, I think the point guard can still be very useful for the Rockets. He plays great in pick-and-roll situations by taking advantage of his speed and his sound decision-making. Trading Asik, on the other hand, is more logical. With Howard on board, the team has no use for an expensive backup center that’s going to play so few minutes. I also don’t think that Asik will be happy being reduced to a backup role when he has already experienced the taste of starter minutes.

Over the Weekend: NHL and Boxing Results

How was your weekend? If you’re starving for sporting updates, here’s something to satisfy your appetite and prep you for another exciting week of betting on sports. If you think the thrill of having to bet on sports has died with the Miami Heat carrying the NBA championship trophy, you’re mistaken. The world of sports continues to revolve with excitement waiting just behind the horizon.

Boxing: Insults and injury
After several weeks of trash talks being sent back and forth between the camps of Adrien Broner and Paulie Malignaggi, the fight finally came and concluded. The fight was competitive with Paulie making use of his hand-speed in the early going to score combinations and win him the rounds. However, as anyone who’s been following will say, he’s lack of power was his ultimate downfall. Although he was able to land punches, those were always lacking the power to hurt Broner. In several exchanges in the middle rounds, Broner had always had the upper hand as he tagged Paulie with powerful punches that knocked and dazed the defending champ. Although Paulie was able to stage some sort of comeback at the end, it wasn’t quite enough as Broner took the title with a split decision.

NHL: Almost there

The Chicago Blackhawks won game 5 of the Stanley Cup finals series with the score of 3-1. The Bruins displayed a poor defense and shoddy attacks that led to their downfall. Patrick Kane had 2 goals for the Blackhawks who will now head to Boston and try to take home the Cup.

Image courtesy of: http://sports.nationalpost.com

Heading into Game 2 of the NBA Finals

             Parker penetrating Miami's defense.                                                                                                                 

As we head into the second game of this year’s finals series, there are several topics being discussed in the world of betting on sports with regards to the best stage of basketball competition. I scoured some sites that allow fans to bet on sports to see what’s being talked about hours before the tip off.

So, much of the topics are mostly about what went wrong and what went right for both the Miami Heat and the San Antonio Spurs in game 1. Subsequently, this include that things both teams can improve on in order to give one of the team a good chance of winning game 2. If you’re a fan of either team, you must have gone through all the discussion and insights.

How important is game 2?

In every series, game 1 is always up for grabs with both teams still on the process of figuring out the other team that’s in front of them. It is in the second game where you’ll really have a good look on how a team is likely to perform for the remainder of the series.

A best-of-seven series is battle of wits as team try to attack and counterattack. It is in the second game where you will see how well a player or the team can make adjustments.

With game one having gone to the Spurs…

The Spurs now have the home court advantage for the series. In a 2-3-2 setting however, winning all games at home is a very difficult thing to do.

Photo credits to: http://edition.cnn.com

Heat Dominates Pacers in Game 3

Sunday night was supposed to be an exciting night for everyone who bet on sports. The Heat and the Pacers have had a tight battle for the first two games of the series wherein the Pacers took one win in the Heat’s turf. The third game was only expected to be big for anyone betting on sports.

It seems, however, that the Pacers lost their playbook on the plane going home to Indiana. They were not able to consistently play the defense that they are known for. However, as much as the defense was to blame, the offense was the bigger issue.

On the offense, they were lazy on running plays that would put the ball on the hands of either David West or Roy Hibbert in the low post.

Domination. It’s the perfect word that describes what the Miami Heat did to the Indiana Pacers in the third game of the eastern conference finals. The Heat controlled the pace of the game from the start to end. The Pacers found some fight in them during the third quarter where they were able to close the gap within 6 points. However, they weren’t really able to find consistent offense. After a timeout by Heat coach Erick Spoelstra, they pulled ahead and widened the gap to a more comfortable lead that reached over 20 points.

As per the norm, Lebron James played impressively in the game. However, the ones who made the difference in the game were Mario Chalmers who was aggressive in cutting and taking the ball to the basket and Udonis Haslem who shot pretty well from the floor.

NBA Playoff Updates: Spurs and Warriors Tied at 2-2

The NBA Playoffs is one the things that makes betting on sports so exciting. Every game, you can expect that players will be performing as best as they can. On some nights, someone from some team is going to step up and impact the game in an impressive way.

Now, if you bet on sports, there’s no doubt that you’ve been following the 2013 NBA Playoffs. The playoff season is already on its second round and some series are taking the turn for a more intense level of excitement.

To everyone betting on sports, the series between the San Antonio Spurs and the Golden State Warriors has become the most exciting matchup to follow. There’s not much you can ask for in a series. There’s an interesting plotline for the series as the young Warriors try to assert themselves by trying to take out the old hand Spurs. If you look at the series from the Spurs’ point of view, you can see an old team trying to hang on as today’s uprising teams tries to take its place of being one of the most dominant teams in this decade.

However, there’s something more interesting than the back story. The way the two teams battle each other is becoming an epic. There’s always an action happening on the court and on the sidelines as players play their best while coaches try put their teams in the best position to win games. Strategies are being made and countered. The result is a tied series at 2-2 as both teams are taking turns in winning.

Betting on Sports: Off-court and On-court of NBA

If you think the recent developments in the NBA playoffs is making some big news in the field of betting on sports, there is even bigger news that will affect the entire world of sport and even the society as a whole. It doesn't matter if you bet on sports or not, something significant just happened in the NBA that goes beyond a basketball competition.

Jason Collins Announced Homosexuality

The veteran center that has played for a couple of teams in the NBA has just made a bold statement after he announced his sexuality. If you haven’t heard of Jason Collins before, you’re going to hear plenty of things about him these next few days or weeks.

As an NBA player, the current free-agent who played for the Washington Wizards this regular season was never the one to stand out much. If you look at his career stats, there’s not much to behold. He doesn’t score much and his rebounding isn't that admirable. If you never watched him play, you could probably write him off as a player that is only in the league due to the lack of good centers these days.

However, the fact that he’s able to last for more than 11 seasons in the NBA speaks about his game. He doesn't score or rebound much but the guy is an effective defender that’s able to alter shots that results to misses for his teammates to rebound. As a player, he’s efficient.

The only question now is if his coming-out will affect his chances of getting signed by NBA teams next season.

Rigondeaux Upsets Donaire

It was a weekend for betting on sports as the much awaited fight of Nonito Donaire and Guillermo Rigondeaux finally took place in Radio City. I don’t know anyone who bet on sports who didn’t get excited for this boxing fight.

The fight started off with a lack of explosion due to Rigondeaux sticking to his plan to outbox and pick apart Donaire and he continued to dominate for the following rounds. Midway into the fight, Rigondeaux was making Donaire look like a boxer who was far from the one who won the boxer of the year award in 2012 and the best pound-for-pound fighter that he was tagged with. It was only in the tenth (10th) round that Donaire showed he is still a threat by knocking the former amateur star to the canvass. However, Rigondeaux was able to recover and got back into outplaying Donaire for the remainder of the round and of the fight.

Rigondeaux went on to win with a unanimous and ended Donaire’s years of successful run. The defeat poses some questions and some thoughts onto both fighters.

With regards to Rigondeaux, he showcased his talent onto this fight. However, as impressive as he is in outclassing elite fighter like Donaire, his style is far from entertaining and might be a hard sell for promoters.

On the other hand, there’s no doubt that Donaire can bounce back to boxing but as what has been displayed in this fight and some previous matches, he is ineffective against crafty fighters. If he truly wants to be elite, he needs to figure out how to fight against this style of boxers.

NBA Betting Updates

The NBA season has been a circus all years with some teams exceeding expectations and other teams are surprisingly disappointing. Depending on what team you are a fan of, you can either say it’s a good or a bad reason. However, for those who bet on sports, it’s all exciting just the same. That’s what you get when you’re into betting on sports. You get to notice more and appreciate all the ups and downs in an NBA season. It’s a drama series all on its own.

The past couple of months have been filled by drama and very interesting stories. For some, these are just plain old gossips and discussions. For those who bet on sports, these are vital information that could go a long way in betting on sports. So, cutting all the talk, let’s look back at all the interesting things that happened these past few days.

Heating Up
The Miami Heat is like a hot metal on ice, just going through the different oppositions. As of speaking, the team is already on their 23-game winning streak. The road to 23 has never been easy with some games being closely contested. However, this just further shows that the team has the ability to win in different ways. It’s definitely not a good news if you’re a fan of any of the other 29 teams.

Damaged Good in Philly
The 76ers understood and took a big risk when they brought in Andrew Bynum during the offseason. However, just like all risks, not everything works out fine. Bynum hasn’t played the entire season and with the recent surgery, he is out for the season for good.

NBA Games to Watch: January 21

It’s the fourth week of the month. Now, let’s check the exciting games that can’t be missed for NBA fans betting on sports.

January 21
New York Knicks vs. Brooklyn Nets
For the fourth and last time this regular season, the two rivaling teams in New York trying to lay claims over the city are going to duke it out in the basketball Mecca of the world. As far as the setting is concerned, this show is ready to go, but what’s going to make this game more exciting is the importance of this game. The Knicks are currently in the second place and only a win away from tying the Miami Heat for the best record in the east. The Nets on the other hand is currently in fourth place with only a half a game advantage over the Chicago Bulls. Winning for either team improve or solidify their position. This game is also a good test for the Nets who have been balling pretty well their last ten games.

Los Angeles Clippers vs. Golden State Warriors
The Clippers are currently tied with the Oklahoma City Thunders for the best record in the western conference. Winning this game will break the tie and put them on top of the conference. However, their opponent isn’t a slouch either. The Warriors have won two in three games against the Clippers this season. However, the problem is that with Stephen Curry out, the Warriors won’t have the key player who helped them beat one of the best teams in the league right. It’d be interesting if they can play solid ball even without their best player.

These are only two of the many games that anyone who bet on sports must watch. Anyway, I’ll post more games to watch out for.