Bulls ready to contend in improved East

Basketball Betting Lines

08/04/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Conventional wisdom says the Chicago Bulls failed this offseason.

After all, the Bulls were supposed to be in hot pursuit of the game's biggest prize, LeBron James, and came up empty. In fact, when one ill-informed ESPN talking head proclaimed Chicago the favorite to land the narcissistic one, dozens of lemmings fell in line to drink the Bristol Kool-Aid, convinced the Windy City would land LeBron.

Instead, King James took his throne to South Beach and the Bulls were forced to scramble and cultivate a Plan B that included signing power forward Carlos Boozer away from Utah, and inking a number of complimentary parts like Ronnie Brewer, Kyle Korver and Kurt Thomas.

The moves certainly weren't sexy. but if you look at what new coach Tom Thibodeau has at his disposal, Chicago now looks like a player in the revamped Eastern Conference.

Thibodeau, a defensive mastermind, inherited a pair of elite frontcourt defenders in Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson, the game's best young point guard, Derrick Rose, and a solid small forward in Luol Deng. The addition of Boozer, Brewer, Korver and Thomas to that mix looks tailor-made.

Rose will be able to play pick-and-roll all day with Boozer, and the former Jazz stalwart is also a top-tier scorer with his back to the basket, meaning the Bulls will be a much tougher team to defend in the half-court come playoff time.

Meanwhile, Thomas brings toughness on the glass, Korver, one of the game's best pure shooters, will help space the floor, and Brewer is the type of slasher that could excel running the floor with Rose.

"We've got basketball players," Rose told Bulls.com. "I don't know about everybody else's team, but my team is ready to fight. We've got guys that just want to win. They aren't about their stats or anything. We've got legit winners."

Steve Kerr, the sharp-shooting guard that was a part of five NBA championship teams, including three with the Bulls, is impressed with what's going on in Chicago.

Kerr, who has returned to the broadcast booth with TNT after serving as the general manager of the Phoenix Suns, recently gushed over the Bulls talent.

"They've got two unbelievable frontcourt defenders with Noah and Taj Gibson, they've got the great point guard play of Derrick Rose and now you've got the low-post scoring that Chicago has been lacking for years with Boozer," Kerr said. "They've done a nice job of quietly putting some pieces in there on the wings. They've got a really deep mix of players and I think they are going to be really good."

Good enough to compete with a Heat team that has quietly added veterans like Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Juwan Howard and Eddie House to its Superfriends trio of James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh?

"Obviously, Miami has the most talent but when you look at Chicago's mix, I just really like it," Kerr said. "I actually think that (the Bulls) are the most well-rounded team in the East."

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MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.

Well, not quite $1 million, but MySportsbook.com is offering a 75% rebate for Kentucky Derby lines. Check out the exclusive horse racing bonus for all the details.

According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).

Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.

''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
    
Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.

Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.

''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.''

Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year.
   
Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.

”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?''
   
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.

For complete odds on the Kentucky Derby, visit MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.