Spurs Underdog Vs. Magic

[Ditty]

these guys get paid millions to play ball tired or not, and from what I saw being at the game last night the big 3 were pretty much half assing it.

[tmtcsc]

Eh..I'm not on board with saying we are playing the best basketball in our history.

We have the best start in our history but the last 5 games or so could have gone either way. I'm not sure anyone in this forum would be surprised if we lost.

It's going to happen and then all will beak lose with doom sayers. What we have is an exciting, resilient team that refuses to lose. But the sometimes sloppy play is going to catch up with us one of these games. It actually needs to happen so that the appropriate attention can be made to improving. I think its human nature.

[TVI]

You're right about how betting changes the line, but the opening line reflects the Vegas experts' opinion of how the game will go. Therefore, they think the Spurs are a slight underdog.

I'm pretty sure ChuckD's right on this, as are you, in a way.

The opening line is set by a Vegas expert, but they don't give a rat's ass about the actual NBA, they only care about motivating people to make bets (for obvious reasons). The Spurs are underdogs because that's the way the line had to be set to get the money flowing.

The line will change towards the Spurs if the gamblers start betting on the Spurs with the current point spread the way it is, but these guys are experts in anticipating people's betting habits. If the money comes in evenly, the line won't change. If it's heavily flowing in one direction, then the line will move to start getting a more even flow.

[Mavs<Spurs]

I agree. Spurs have to travel half-way around the world and play two tough teams on consecutive nights.

+ 1.

I would not at all be surprised if the Magic win by 20 or more.
OTOH, I would be shocked if the Spurs somehow gut this out. They were supposed to land in Orlando around 5 a.m. . Tony and Manu did play a lot of minutes. It is a back to back game. They may not be as hungry because of their record and their second double digit game win streak.

This game has loss written all over it. I would be amazed if the Spurs could gut this one out.

[DieHardSpursFan1537]

Bull schedule here folks. Lakers facing a bunch of cupcake teams but yet they still lose.

[Mavs<Spurs]

Bull schedule here folks. Lakers facing a bunch of cupcake teams but yet they still lose.

yep.

and later on in this same stretch of games we play Dallas in Dallas and we play Boston in Boston on a back to back.

[Gagnrath]

Well, I was actually flying from SA to Orlando a year ago, and I was using the estimated time it took me to arrive which included Ascent and decent times. I could not tell you the type of plane other than it was Southwest airlines. In comparison, it took me 3hrs and 30 minutes to fly from Buffalo to San Fransisco. I have no clue what the Spurs are flying in but in no way shape or form should be too taxing. Anyhow, Jet lag is the major concern here. The spurs are most likely bused to and from the hotel.

If you were on southwest you were with about 95% likelihood on a 737. Its about 500 miles further from Denver than San Antonio which is roughly one hour flight time. The 3.5 hours from Buffalo to San Fransisco isn't utterly impossible for most commercial jet liners, but to do that you are looking at an average flight speed of nearly 600 mph, you could fly that 100 times and will rarely be under 4 hours from the moment your wheels leave the ground till they touch again.

[dn0774]

2nd game of a back to back, i'm expecting tired legs tonight, the Spurs haven't looked sharp the last few games as it is...George Hills absence will likely be felt as well. Not to mention that Orlando is at home and desperately needs a win...

[Seventyniner]

I'm pretty sure ChuckD's right on this, as are you, in a way.

The opening line is set by a Vegas expert, but they don't give a rat's ass about the actual NBA, they only care about motivating people to make bets (for obvious reasons). The Spurs are underdogs because that's the way the line had to be set to get the money flowing.

The line will change towards the Spurs if the gamblers start betting on the Spurs with the current point spread the way it is, but these guys are experts in anticipating people's betting habits. If the money comes in evenly, the line won't change. If it's heavily flowing in one direction, then the line will move to start getting a more even flow.

If the Vegas experts don't care or do research, though, they might make every game a pick 'em and adjust the line accordingly; the problem is that some games would get a lot of betting on one side early, making it hard to balance things out.

For example, the Spurs should be a big favorite on Sunday at home against the Wizards, regardless of how tonight's game goes. If the opening line was Spurs -1, tons of people would bet on the Spurs, making it very difficult to get the money evened out before game time. Thus, the experts have every incentive to make the opening line such that the money starts roughly even, giving it a better chance of ending that way.

[Budkin]

Magic are going to be hungry tonight and are finally starting to play well.

[DieHardSpursFan1537]

Sorry you made a visit on the wrong day.......