Cavs hope to clinch top seed in East vs. Sixers

Basketball Betting Lines

04/10/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cleveland takes its quest for the NBA's best record to the City of Brotherly Love tonight as the Cavaliers visit the reeling Philadelphia 76ers.

The Cavs also hope to secure homecourt advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs with a triumph tonight or a Boston loss against the Miami Heat.

Most recently Cleveland improved to 63-15 this season and remained four games ahead of Boston for the top spot in the East with four games to play after a 98-86 win over the woeful Washington Wizards on Wednesday. Additionally, the Cavaliers hold a one-half game advantage over the Los Angeles Lakers (63-16) for the NBA's best record, although Phil Jackson's club holds the tiebreaker.

LeBron James finished with 21 points, seven assists and six rebounds against the Wizards.

Mo Williams added 14 points for Cleveland, which improved to 38-1 at Quicken Loans Arena this season, setting a franchise record for home wins. The Cavaliers lost their only game as the host on February 8 against the Lakers, and have since won 15 in a row at home.

Delonte West had 13 points and Zydrunas Ilgauskas ended with 13 rebounds and seven points in the win, the Cavaliers' second in a row. Cleveland also saw the return of center Ben Wallace, who hadn't played since February 26 because of a fractured right fibula and finished with seven points.

The Sixers, meanwhile, find themselves mired in an inopportune slump and lost their third straight game in Chicago on Thursday when Tyrus Thomas and Ben Gordon each scored 24 points as the Bulls inched closer to a playoff berth with a 113-99 victory over Philadelphia.

Andre Miller led the Sixers with 20 points, Andre Iguodala added 19 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds and Lou Williams gave instant offense off the bench with 16 points. The Sixers have already made the playoffs but have lost three straight and five of eight overall.

Philadelphia trails fifth-place Miami by one game in the East, and lead seventh-place Chicago by 1 1/2 and eighth-place Detroit by two.

Cleveland has taken four straight games over the Sixers, including a pair this season.

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Marlins could start season without No. 2 starter Johnson

JUPITER, Fla. -- The Foorida Marlins are preparing for the likelihood that right-hander
Josh Johnson won't be ready when the season starts April 2.

Grapefruit League action starts Wednesday, but Johnson, penciled in as the No. 2 starter, hasn't even thrown off a mound at full speed since September. He's experienced some soreness in his right forearm.

MySportsbook.com have the Marlins listed with baseball betting lines at +800 to win the NL East this season .

''You guys know the math. If he's not on the hill then he becomes an opening day roster issue,'' manager Fredi Gonzalez said Saturday. ''We're borderline now.''

Johnson, who finished 12-7 with a 3.10 ERA in 2007, was supposed to throw on flat ground Saturday. That was canceled when he woke up with pain.

He played catch on Wednesday with no pain but felt discomfort in a throwing session on Thursday. He's expected to try again Sunday.

''Like we always said from the very beginning, we're going to take it easy on him,'' Gonzalez said. ''He didn't feel right, so we shut him down. We're going to take it back to step one and see where we're at.''

Among the candidates to take Johnson's spot in the rotation are left-hander Chris George and right-handers Yusmeiro Petit and Jose Garcia.

Right-hander Sergio Mitre, who missed most of last season with arm and shoulder problems, also is behind.

With Johnson's status doubtful, Gonzalez said right-hander Ricky Nolasco will stay in the rotation and no longer will be considered a candidate for closer.

Additional basbeall odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

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