Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau got hit with a $35,000 for suggesting that Lebron James flopped the other night after being shoved by Nazr Mohammed. Anyone who reads this blog knows I’m not a fan of traitor Lebron, but that claim is pretty ridiculous. Mohammed shoved Lebron out of the blue, and I’m not at all surprised that he naturally fell backwards. Thibodeau should have been fined.

That said, Thibodeau’s strategy versus Lebron is brilliant, even with some execution issues like Mohammed’s stupid shove. The idea is to get into Lebron’s head, and frankly Lebron had a bad game but was bailed out by his teammates. It may not lead to a Bulls win since they’re so overmatched, but with Lebron you have to challenge him physically and mentally as we’ve seen him wilt many times before both when he played for the Cavs and in 2011 with the Heat.

Of course, Lebron can also rise to the occasion and make you pay for it, but leaving him alone spells certain defeat for most teams. It’s playoff basketball and you have to challenge Lebron and hope he suffers a meltdown or at least starts altering his game.

In Hollywood, the most popular image of a gambler is of a desperate soul who bets everything on one event. The ensuing event —anything from a horse race or boxing match to a kids’ baseball game — is inevitably a nail-biter, with the outcome determined in the final few seconds. Depending on the script, the poor soul who wagered his entire fortune either comes out a winner with his problems solved or sinks even further into despair.

Needless to say, Hollywood is not real life. Most experienced gamblers will tell you wagering your entire bankroll (the money you have available for betting) is a bad idea. Instead, the most successful bettors develop a bankroll-management strategy that allows for consistent winnings that offset losses while maximizing sportsbook bonuses and other perks.

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

When you hear of sports bettors who lose everything or find trouble, it’s generally because they failed to use smart bankroll management. Instead of determining how much money they can afford to spend on sports betting sites and sticking with it, they start funneling money away from other things, like rent and bills, and toward the elusive “big payoff.” They bet on long-shot odds in hopes of a big payday or make huge wagers based on overconfidence in their knowledge of a team or league.

The result? A major financial mess.

Most experienced gamblers and experts recommend disciplined bankroll management. This starts with determining the maximum bankroll you can afford, anywhere from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands. Most importantly, only bet as much as you can afford to lose without impacting your overall financial health. As you start to collect winnings, you can add to your bankroll, but start conservatively.

Use your bankroll to set a conservative unit size. A unit generally should be no more than one percent of your total bankroll. If your bankroll is $1,000, then an individual unit should be no more than $70. Go higher and you risk major losses.

Finally, develop a sports-betting plan. Aim to double your bankroll up to four times over the course of the entire season. To do that, you’ll need to increase the value of a unit as your bankroll grows, so determine at the season’s beginning the points when you’ll increase your bets. Having a solid plan and strategy is key to staying disciplined — and will keep you on track when you’re tempted to chase after a hot streak.

Go Big or Go Home? Not This Time

Another important part of managing your bankroll is managing your bet size. It’s easy to be tempted by the big paydays — who doesn’t want to collect several thousand dollars on a long-shot bet? However, you have a better chance of reaching your goals and increasing your bankroll through smaller bets.

Consider this scenario: You have $1,000 in bankroll going into the weekend. A novice bettor might risk $200 on five different games under the theory if he loses on two or three games, the winnings from other games will offset those loses. But what if he loses all five games? He’s lost his entire bankroll and must start over again.

Instead, avoid betting more than 10 percent of your total bankroll at any time and more than two percent of the bankroll on one event. It’s similar to diversifying investments in the stock market; if one investment (or wager) takes a hit, it doesn’t devastate the entire portfolio. If you win, you’ll gradually increase your bankroll until you meet your goals. If you feel especially confident about a particular game or match, increase your bet to three or four percent; if you aren’t as confident about the results, reduce the bet to one percent of the total bankroll.

The idea of taking a huge risk and betting everything on a single contest is a romantic one, but smart bettors know the path to huge gains is guided by discipline and moderation. Instead of worrying about paying your debts, you can focus on having fun and enjoy watching your winnings — and bankroll — gradually grow.

About the Author: Larry Lynch learned about bankroll management the hard way, when he lost several thousand dollars in the space of two hours one Sunday afternoon. Never one to make the same mistake twice, he decided to read more and learn about bankroll management.

Pretty much all of us have had something to say about the Derrick Rose saga, and most of the comments have been critical. Now we have an interesting perspective from Grant Hill, who is convinced he returned too soon from a serious ankle injury after he too was cleared to play by his doctors.

Part of the Rose controversy was fueled by Rose’s own brother, who implied Rose didn’t want to return so fast to a team that had no chance of winning a title. That statement coupled with the amazing run by this depleted Bulls team has certainly heightened the scrutiny on Rose. He’s also said very little, so that also fuels the wild speculation. So the feeding frenzy is partly his own fault.

That said, it all comes back to the hard fact that Rose suffered a very serious knee injury, and the fact he’s been cleared by doctors to play doesn’t settle the issue of whether he should be out there. Only he knows how his knee feels.

I don’t think Rose owes his team to go out there if he’s still concerned about his knee. But from a PR perspective he should probably speak up about his condition.

This Manti Te’o story is nuts. Was he the victim, or did he have something to do with it? When you see his interviews, he does come across and a wide-eyed sucker who could fall in love with a girl he never met. Now we know why online scams work so well. We’ll see how this story develops.

Meanwhile, Twitter has been hilarious. Here’s my favorite funny tweet so far:

Nick Saban didn’t become the best coach in college football by being afraid to start a 3-year online relationship with a possible opponent

— Chase Stuart (@fbgchase) January 17, 2013

LOL!

The Philadelphia Eagles announced today that they will hire Chip Kelly as their new head coach. This comes as a surprise to many, as it appeared that Kelly was staying at Oregon. Perhaps the looming sanctions made him nervous again.

We’re all interested to see how Chip Kelly’s offense will translate to the NFL, and all of the talking head are paid to give an opinion on it, but frankly none us know what he will do. We can probably expect him to continue with his up-tempo innovations, but who knows how much he’ll incorporate the read-option and/or a running quarterback into his pro offense.

It will be fun to watch all of this play out, but as a tortured Browns fan I didn’t want to see this experiment happen in Cleveland, as I’m skeptical about running quarterbacks in the NFL. At least in Philly they have Micheal Vick, and with him I’d try anything. If he gets hurt just move on to the next guy.