Kobe leads Lakers into Philadelphia

Basketball Betting Lines

02/06/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The superstars keep rolling into South Philly and Los Angeles Lakers stud Kobe Bryant is next on the A-list when he leads his team against the 76ers tonight from Wells Fargo Center.

Dwight Howard, Derrick Rose, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade have all brought inspiring crowds out to the Sixers' home games recently and now it's Bryant's turn to try and stun the friendly faithful. Bryant, a product of Lower Merion in nearby Philadelphia, is averaging 22.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.6 assists in 28 career games against the Sixers.

Bryant registered 21.0 ppg in two wins against Philadelphia last season and Los Angeles has won four straight and nine of the past 11 contests in this series. The Lakers are unbeaten in their last four trips to the City of Brotherly Love after losing the previous seven meetings there. Monday's showdown is the lone matchup of the season between the two clubs.

The Lakers will continue a six-game road trip this evening and had won three straight and four of five games until dropping a 96-87 decision in Utah on Saturday. Bryant had 26 points and Pau Gasol contributed 24 points and 16 rebounds for the Lakers, who got 21 points and 12 boards from Andrew Bynum. Lakers first-year head coach Mike Brown wasn't around to see the end of the contest after he was ejected with 8:35 left in the fourth quarter.

"I was trying to give our guys some juice," Brown said. "I got techs, I shouldn't have gotten two techs. I put our guys in a deeper hole than we were already in, and that probably cost the game."

LA is scheduled to visit the Celtics, Knicks and Raptors on the trek and is just 3-8 as the guest this season. It is 11-2 at home and 1 1/2 games behind the upstart Clippers for bragging rights in the Pacific Division. Bryant (28,573 points) is now 23 points shy of tying Shaquille O'Neal (28,596 points) for fifth on the NBA's all-time scoring list.

Philadelphia is back home after a quick visit to Atlanta on Saturday, when it recorded a 98-87 victory thanks to rookie Nikola Vucevic's team-high 15 points. Vucevic led six players in double-figure scoring, as Lou Williams, Thaddeus Young and Spencer Hawes posted 14 points apiece. Evan Turner and Jodie Meeks finished with 11 and 10 points, respectively in the win.

The Sixers rebounded from Friday night's loss to the Miami Heat and were able to post their sixth win in eight tries.

"Four games in six nights, the emotional game [Friday] night against Miami ... I can't tell you how proud I am of the guys=," Sixers coach Doug Collins said.

Hawes made a surprise return to the lineup after missing the previous 10 games due to injury. Collins' team, which went 5-2 on a recent homestand before heading south to Atlanta, will also welcome the Spurs and Clippers to town on this upcoming residency. The 76ers are 12-3 at home this season and own a 3 1/2-game advantage over Boston for the lead in the Atlantic Division.

In team news, Meeks has been playing well lately, posting 10 or more points in four of the past six games. The Sixers are 9-1 when he scores 10-plus points.

The 76ers have yet to lose consecutive games this season. They are 17-7 overall, the best start since going 18-6 in 2000-01, when the team last advanced to the NBA Finals against tonight's opponent. Of the Sixers' 17 wins, 15 have been by double-digits.

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Albert Pujols to be This Year's Home Run Champ Says Online Sportsbook

Barry Bonds is a 50-1 long shot to be this year's home run champ odds.  The favorite to be this year's home run champ is none other than Albert Pujols, however.

Now that Barry Bonds is signed and in Giants camp, it is on to his pursuit of all of sports most prestigious records: the all-time home run mark. Bonds sits just 21 homers shy of tying Hank Aaron for the career mark at 755. Word out of Giants’ camp is that Bonds is the healthiest he has been in a few years. Bonds is just two seasons removed from his injury riddled 2005 campaign where he played in only 14 games and hit only 5 home runs. He did come back last year and had a solid season hitting .270 with 26 bombs. All eyes will be on Bonds this spring and summer not only because of his home run chase but his highly publicized steroid abuse allegations. If and when Bonds breaks the record, he surely will not get the positive attention one should for breaking a record that was once thought of as “unbreakable”. Despite Bonds decent season last year, he is just 50-1 at MySportsbook.com to lead the MLB in long balls this season.

Not surprisingly, the favorites to go deep the most times this season are Albert Pujols 5-1, Ryan Howard 6-1, David Ortiz 8-1 and Alex Rodriguez 12-1. With 49 homers, Pujols finished second in the National League behind Howard (58). Pujols is considered the favorite due to the consistent power numbers that he has posted since breaking into the league in 2001. Also one must consider the fact that he played in 16 fewer games then Howard did due to an injury. Howard smashed 58 homers in his first complete season of big league play en route to the National League MVP odds award. He silenced his critics by successfully hitting left-handed pitching. Howard also displayed the ability to use his power to the opposite field. Two attributes which should keep Howard amongst the league leaders in long balls for years to come. From the American League representatives, David Ortiz leads the field. Ortiz was second in the majors last year with 54 home runs. Except for 1999 when he only played in 10 games, Ortiz has improved on his home run numbers each year he has been in the majors (1997).

Be sure to log onto online sports betting site MySportsbook.com to check out the odds for who will lead the MLB in home runs this season. Below is just a sample of the players listed. With the highest credit card rates in the industry, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on baseball this summer.

World Series odds

Adam Dunn 15-1

Albert Pujols 5-1

Alex Rodriguez 12-1

Alfonso Soriano 15-1

Andruw Jones 25-1

Barry Bonds 50-1

Carlos Delgado 40-1

David Ortiz 8-1

Jermaine Dye 40-1

Ken Griffey Jr. 100-1

Lance Berkman 40-1

Manny Ramirez 20-1

Richie Sexson 40-1

Ryan Howard 6-1

Travis Hafner 20-1

Vladimir Guerrero 40-1

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.