Clippers edge Rockets; Yao suffers knee injury

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12/24/2006 - Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tim Thomas scored 21 points and grabbed six rebounds to lead the LA Clippers past Houston, 98-93, but the Rockets suffered a potentially season-killing blow early on when Yao Ming left with a knee injury in the first quarter.

Yao collapsed with just over six minutes left in the first quarter after leaping for a blocked shot. Yao's knee was caught under Chuck Hayes and Thomas, and the Rockets center grabbed his right knee in pain. He was helped off of the floor and taken to a local hospital for an MRI test, where it was revealed that Yao had suffered a non-displaced fracture in a bone under his right knee, and will miss at least six weeks, although Houston officials indicated that the injury should not require surgery.

Houston is already without Tracy McGrady, who is battling back spasms.

Thomas was joined by five other Clippers with double figures. Cuttino Mobley scored 18 points for LA, which snapped a six-game losing skid with the win. Elton Brand scored 16 points and grabbed seven boards. Chris Kaman scored 15 points and pulled down 11 boards, and Corey Maggette and Shaun Livingston contributed 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Shane Battier led the Rockets with 28 points, and Luther Head scored 22 points in the loss, their second in three games. Rafer Alston scored 21 points.

A Bonzi Wells layup brought the Rockets to within 76-74 with 8:21 left in the game, but the Clippers answered with a 17-5 run that sealed the win. Thomas drilled a three to kick off the run, which put the Clippers up 93-79 with just under three minutes left in the game.

The Clippers trailed 50-39 after Battier opened the second half with a hook shot, but LA went on a 14-3 run to tie the game. Thomas and Mobley hit back- to-back threes, and a jumper by Mobley tied the game at 53-53 with 6:43 left. The Clippers took a 69-67 lead into the fourth quarter.

LA trailed 23-22 after the first quarter, and 48-39 at halftime.

Game Notes

The Clippers hit 54 percent (7-of-13) from behind the arc...The Rockets will play their first game without Yao on Tuesday, Dec. 26 at Indiana.

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MySportsbook.com: New College Football Clock Rules Examined

Coaches and bettors alike are desperate to make sense of the new time-keeping rules on the NCAA gridiron. One of the big stories to come out of the Ohio State-Texas clash last weekend was Texas coach Mack Brown's criticism of the NCAA's new clock rules that are intended to shorten the duration of college football games, therefore affecting college football betting.

"They scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything," Brown told ESPN.com. "I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over."

Sure, it might be sour grapes; the Buckeyes thoroughly trounced the defending national champion Longhorns 24-7. However, Brown isn't alone in giving the changes their due thought. Bettors are also wondering about them, albeit for a completely different reason. Most experts agree that the changes will result in games being shortened by anywhere from 10 to 20 plays. The obvious consequence is lower scores, with more time rolling off the clock during changes of possession. (The Ohio State-Texas game flew well under the total of 52.)

According to research at the online sportsbook MySportsbook.com, more than 18 plays a game disappeared last weekend into thin air. That's a 10-percent reduction. In 2005, a typical game had 168.58 plays. For 2007 already, it's down to 150.26.

As a result, teams combined to gain an average of about 100 fewer yards a game last weekend versus the 2005 openers. Scoring was also down by about 4.5 points (attention Las Vegas sports lines).

Of course, oddsmakers were able to adjust to the changes before the season started. Proof of that came as the over went a balanced 8-9 at My Sportsbook on Saturday.

Other angles to consider:A shorter game should theoretically result in shorter lines. Whereas Team A might have been a 14-point favorite in a 168-play game (last year), if there are 10 percent less snaps in 2007, the line should also be reduced by 10 percent (to 13 or 12.5). Of course, this is an over-simplification of the matter, but something to keep in mind.
Less possessions means a better chance the game will be decided by three or seven points. For example, what might have been a 20-10 final score in 2005 may end at

17-10 in 2007. Granted, a 24-17 game last year might end at 21-17 these days, but the former - a three- or seven-point advantage being preserved as opposed to created - is the most likely scenario.

*UPDATE* - Sept. 25, 2007

New Clock Rules Boon for online bookmakers

By adjusting the time-keeping rules to shorten the duration of college football games, the NCAA hoped to make its product more enjoyable for the fans. While the NCAA's success in this regard is still up for debate, bookmakers couldn't be happier with the results.

"We are seeing a massive jump in college football betting," noted the MySportsbook.com management team. "With all the early Saturday games (12 a.m. ET) ending before the second wave begins (3:30 p.m. ET) - something that didn't always happen before the changes - bettors are now able to re-invest their winnings from the morning session in the afternoon games."

While not all bettors will choose to roll over their winnings, it doesn't take much for an impact to be seen on the bottom line. "Not all of the millions of dollars in morning payouts get re-bet. In fact, it's probably only 10 to 20 percent," noted the sportsbook management team. "Still, the increased football betting lines window will create a ton of growth for us over the course of the season."

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