LA aims to clip visiting Sonics

Basketball Betting Lines

02/28/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Clippers try to make it three wins in a row, as they welcome the Seattle SuperSonics tonight to the Staples Center.

This is the first of a home-and-home set between the clubs. The SuperSonics will host the Clippers on Thursday at KeyArena.

LA plays the finale of a five-game homestand. It is 2-2 on the stand. Corey Maggette ended with 25 points, as the Clippers topped the Charlotte Bobcats, 100-93, at the Staples Center in a game marred by an ugly knee injury to Los Angeles guard Shaun Livingston.

Livingston completely dislocated his left knee while driving for a layup with 8:10 left in the opening quarter. He landed awkwardly on his left knee, which bent backwards with the kneecap protruding to the side. Livingston, who is averaging 9.3 points and 5.1 assists per game, remained on the floor for a few minutes before being put on a stretcher and wheeled off the court. He is expected to miss the remainder of the season.

Veteran Sam Cassell finished with 14 points in the win over Charlotte for the Clippers, while Tim Thomas netted 12 in the victory.

The Clippers are 19-10 as the host this season.

Seattle attempts to win back-to-back games. Rashard Lewis scored 29 points and grabbed seven rebounds as the SuperSonics routed the Portland Trail Blazers, 97-73, at KeyArena.

All-Star Ray Allen added 16 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in the win over the Trail Blazers for Seattle, which snapped a two-game losing streak. Chris Wilcox and Damien Wilkins scored 10 apiece for the SuperSonics, who won their third straight home game.

The SuperSonics are just 6-21 on the road this season. They have dropped two in a row as the visitor.

This is the third meeting of the campaign between the squads. The teams split the first two contests.

Seattle has won two straight after losing its last three at the Clippers.

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Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

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