Bobcats hope to end slide against Suns

Basketball Betting Lines

02/04/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Charlotte Bobcats certainly hope to halt an ugly 10- game skid tonight but maybe Paul Silas' club should just focus on staying competitive when its visits the desert to take on the Phoenix Suns.

The Bobcats are an NBA worst 3-20 and have lost the first two games of a four- game road trip by an average of 38.5 ppg. After falling in Hollywood to the Lakers by 33, Charlotte responded with a 44-point setback in Rip City against Portland.

Gerald Henderson scored 16 points on Wednesday vs. the Blazers while Derrick Brown finished with 12 points for the Bobcats, who shot just 32.1 percent from the field.

"This one's over and we have to move on...it was a bad game for us," Silas understated.

Henderson, the team's leading scorer at 15.0 ppg, strained his hamstring in Portland and is expected to miss two to four weeks of action.

Charlotte, which will finish its trek in Boston on Tuesday, is a dismal 1-12 as the visitor on the season. It has lost 10 straight for the longest slide since a franchise-record 13-game skid from Jan. 11-Feb. 1, 2006.

The Suns are back in the desert following a brief two-game road trip (1-1) and hope to gain a measure of consistency, having lost five of seven and 10 of their last 14 contests.

In a 99-81 loss at Houston last night, Marcin Gortat recorded a double-double of 15 points and 12 rebounds. Jared Dudley also scored 15 points and Steve Nash provided just six points and handed out nine assists for Phoenix, which made 41 percent of its shots and was outrebounded by a 49-39 margin.

"We came out without any energy and we could never find our rhythm," Gortat said. "They came out strong and with a lot of energy. We were not ready to play either physically or mentally. We didn't have the best effort. I'm trying to do as much as possible and it is very frustrating."

Phoenix hopes to improve on its 4-6 home record tonight.

The Bobcats have actually won four straight over Phoenix and five of six overall. In the Valley of the Sun, Charlotte is 2-5 all-time in its short history.

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

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