Bulls top Kings

Basketball Betting Lines

12/30/2011 - Sacramento, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Derrick Rose dropped 19 points and dished out eight assists, leading the Chicago Bulls to a 108-98 win over the Sacramento Kings at Power Balance Pavilion.

Carlos Boozer finished with a double-double on 16 points and 15 rebounds, while Richard Hamilton also had 16 points for the Bulls, who improved to 2-1 on the young season.

Luol Deng added 12 points and six rebounds, while Ronnie Brewer donated 12 points off the bench for Chicago.

Marcus Thornton netted a game-high 20 points and pulled down five boards for the Kings, and Tyreke Evans had 19 points.

DeMarcus Cousins finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds, while Jimmer Fredette scored 14 off the bench for Sacramento, which has lost two straight since opening the season with a win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday.

Chicago came flying out of the gate, hitting seven of its first 10 shots to take a comfortable 19-5 lead with 5:19 to go in the opening quarter. A free throw by Evans finally snapped the run, but the Bulls built the lead up to 15, 26-11 with 3:10 left in the opening 12 minutes of play.

"The first five minutes of the game, we got out and got some easy baskets," Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau said. "It was triggered off of our defense and that's the first priority, to get the defense established, and that gets us in the open floor and makes the game a lot easier."

Late in the quarter, though, Sacramento began to wake up, using a 9-0 run over the final 1:39 of the first quarter to pull within six, 30-24 heading into the second quarter of play.

A trey by Fredette trimmed the deficit to five, 34-29, with 9:51 to go before halftime, but Chicago quickly built its lead back to 15, using a 10-0 run to lead 44-29 with 7:40 left before halftime.

Sacramento continued to play tough and a three-pointer by Thornton with 27.9 seconds to go pulled the Kings within seven, 59-52. The Bulls led 60-53 at the break.

Chicago shot 56 percent from the floor and 4-of-7 from beyond the arc in the first half, while Sacramento shot 45 percent from the floor and 5-of-11 from three-point land. Rose led the Bulls after the opening 24 minutes with 11 points, while Thornton paced the Kings with 11 as well.

In the third quarter, the Kings kept it close, getting it to within one, 74-73 with 4:21 to play in the quarter, but they could never take the lead, as the Bulls closed out the third period on an 11-2 run to lead by 10, 85-75, heading into quarter number four.

In the fourth, a jumper by Brewer with two minutes gone gave the Bulls an 11- point lead, 90-79. They shot 43 percent in the final quarter and kept the Kings at bay for most of the quarter until Sacramento made it interesting late.

Trailing by nine, a dunk by J.J. Hickson with 2:07 to go cut the Kings deficit to seven. On the Bulls' next possession, Rose lost it out of bounds and the Kings had a chance to cut it to four with a three-pointer, but John Salmons' trey from the right corner with 1:21 to go clanged off the rim and was rebounded by Deng, sealing the win for the Bulls.

"The guys in our locker room have to decide to grow together during this incredibly difficult season that lies ahead," Kings head coach Paul Westphal said. "And then we'll see how good we can be."

Game Notes

Chicago has taken six of its last seven games against the Kings and four consecutive games in Sacramento...Hickson finished with seven points and eight rebounds...Bulls center Joakim Noah ended with nine points and four rebounds in 24 minutes of action...Chicago shot 54 percent from the floor and 6-of-12 from three-point range, while Sacramento shot 42 percent from the floor and 47 percent from beyond the arc...Chicago will face the new-look Los Angeles Clippers on Friday, while the Kings will play the Knicks on New Year's Eve.

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Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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FOOTBALL BETTING : Crabtree's base deal: six years, $32 million

Football Betting

In the wake of the news that the 49ers have signed receiver Michael Crabtree after an extended holdout, there has been not a hint of the dollars to be paid to Crabtree.

And since this means that his agent hasn't leaked the numbers, it means that his agent feels no specific motivation to do so.

Possibly because his agent isn't all that thrilled to have his name on the deal.

So the numbers will come from sources other than Crabtree's agent. And we've gotten our mitts into them.

Per a league source, Crabtree has signed a six-year, $32 million contract. (The total includes guaranteed money, base salaries, and the one-time incentive based on achieving minimum playing time.)

The deal also includes $17 million in guaranteed money.

As reported elsewhere, the deal can void to five years based on performance triggers, wiping out a final year base salary of $4 million. But they won't be easily reached.

The source tells us that, in his first four seasons (including 2009), Crabtree must either qualify for two Pro Bowls, or he must qualify for one Pro Bowl in one year and he must participate in 80 percent of the offensive snaps in a separate year in which the team makes the playoffs.

In other words, if in 2010 he qualifies for the Pro Bowl and the team makes the playoffs and he participates in 80 percent of the snaps, he'll still need to make it to the Pro Bowl or achieve the 80-percent/playoffs in another season.

Since the chances of Crabtree making the Pro Bowl or participating in 80 percent of the offensive snaps this year is roughly zero percent, he'll have three years to get it done.

And it won't be easy. Frankly, he'll be hard pressed to make it to one Pro Bowl in three years with the likes of Larry Fitzgerald, Calvin Johnson, Anquan Boldin, Steve Smith, the other Steve Smith, Hakeem Nicks, DeSean Jackson, Johnny Knox, Percy Harvin, Greg Jennings, Roddy White, T.J. Houshmandzadeh in the same conference for sportsbook betting.

So, by all appearances, it's a six-year deal. And at $17 million in guaranteed money, the per-year guarantee is a tepid $2.83 million per year.

There's another problem with the deal -- it has no mid-tier incentive package. Instead, the additional $8 million that Crabtree can earn (pushing the max value to six years, $40 million) requires the kind of unrealistic, mega-star performances that no rookie is likely to ever achieve.

So while the contract paid to Packers defensive tackle B.J. Raji covers five years and pays $22.5 million, he has the ability (if he's a solid player) to make up the difference between his base deal and Crabtree's five-year, $28 million haul via the mid-tier incentive package in Raji's deal.

And unless Crabtree meets the performance thresholds necessary to void the sixth year, he'll be stuck under contract for another year at a base salary of only $4 million.

There's one other area of concern with the deal. Crabtree, per the source, received no option bonus. Instead, he has significant money tied to a fairly new device known as a "discretionary salary advance," which unlike an opition bonus is subject to forfeiture if Crabtree decides in a year or two that he wants to hold out for a better deal. (We're also told that the 49ers have included language that would make certain escalators subject to forfeiture, too.)

Meanwhile, the deal falls well short of the mark for which Crabtree and agent Eugene Parker were aiming -- the five-year, $38.25 million contract paid by the Raiders to receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, the seventh overall pick in the draft.

Even if Crabtree successfully voids the final year, he'll make more than $2 million per year less on average than Heyward-Bey.

Thus, as we explained earlier in the day, this is a deal that Crabtree could have done in July, which would have given him a much better chance of making a contribution to the 49ers during his rookie year.

So while the final outcome can be described as win-win, the broader view suggests that it's really a lose-lose situation.

NFL Betting Lines

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