11/18/2008 - Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Danny Granger had a game-high 34 points, leading the Indiana Pacers over the Atlanta Hawks, 113-96.
Granger shot 13-of-18 from the field -- including 4-of-5 from long distance to pace Indiana, which snapped a two-game slide. Rasho Nesterovic had 21 points, while Troy Murphy posted 10 points and a season-high 19 rebounds in the victory.
Joe Johnson had a team-high 25 points to go with seven rebounds for the Hawks, who have lost four straight since winning six in a row to start the season. Johnson shot 5-of-7 from three-point range, while the rest of the team could only manage a 2-for-12 mark. Marvin Williams scored 14, and Mike Bibby and Maurice Evans each added 13 points in the loss.
Leading 10-8 early in the first, Indiana scored eight straight points to take an early 10-point advantage. Jeff Foster hit a leaning three at the buzzer, and Nesterovic led the team with 10 points, as the Pacers led 32-25 after the opening period.
The Pacers finished off the half with a 10-3 run to take a 61-48 lead into the break. Granger led all scorers in the game with 17, while Murphy had 11 boards in the first half.
The teams traded baskets in the third quarter, as neither team could put together any offensive spurts. Indiana outscored Atlanta 27-25 in the frame, and the Pacers held an 88-73 advantage heading into the final quarter.
Acie Law's driving layup with about eight minutes left pulled the Hawks to within seven at 95-88. But Atlanta couldn't figure out the Indiana defense for the rest of the quarter and didn't get any closer, allowing the Pacers to cruise to the victory.
Game Notes
The Pacers shot 55 percent (44-of-80) from the field, while the Hawks shot 42.4 percent (36-of-85)...Indiana made 8-of-13 three-point shots...Foster scored 12 on 5-of-6 shooting...Ronald Murray scored 10 for Atlanta...The 113 points is a season-high for the Pacers...Indiana has beaten Atlanta three straight times.
<< Nowitzki, Dallas cruise past Bobcats
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dirk Nowitzki poured in 32 points and
grabbed nine rebounds, and the Dallas Mavericks remained perfect all-time
against the Bobcats with a 100-83 win over Charlotte.
Josh Howard scored 21 point
<< Wade leads Heat past Wizards
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dwyane Wade scored 19 points and doled out
10 assists to lead the Miami Heat in a 94-87 victory over the Washington
Wizards.
Mario Chalmers added 15 points and six helpers for the Heat, who
<< Williams stars as Volunteers rout UT-Martin
Knoxville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brian Williams hit 8-of-10 from the floor
while recording 21 points and 12 rebounds as the 14th-ranked Tennessee
Volunteers cruised to a 91-64 victory over Tennessee-Martin.
The blowout was Tenne
<< Purdue crushes Loyola-Chicago
West Lafayette, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - E'Twaun Moore netted 14 points and
grabbed seven rebounds as the No. 11 Purdue Boilermakers routed Loyola-
Chicago, 78-46, in the north regional finals of the NIT Season Tip-Off at
Mackey
Oilers roll past Blue Jackets >>
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dwayne Roloson made 37 saves and the Edmonton
Oilers exploded with four goals in the third period in their 7-2 thumping of
the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Shawn Horcoff had a goal and two assists, while And
Rockets get promising news on McGrady, Yao, Artest >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Rockets got some good news on
injuries to standouts Tracy McGrady, Yao Ming and Ron Artest.
McGrady practiced with the Rockets Tuesday, one day after leaving with a knee
injury in the third
LeBron leads Cavs past Nets >>
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - LeBron James scored 31 points and
grabbed eight rebounds, as the Cleveland Cavaliers put on a three-point show
to down the New Jersey Nets, 106-82.
James shot only 1-of-4 from beyond the arc,
Wild snap Pittsburgh's six-game win streak in shootout >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marek Zidlicky netted the game-winning
shootout tally and Niklas Backstrom made 24 saves while halting each of
Pittsburgh's three shootout attempts as the Minnesota Wild topped the
Penguin
The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.
New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).
The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo.
Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.
Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.
Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.
The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.
Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.
The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.
Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.
However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).
The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.
Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.
In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.
Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.
Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.
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