The Orlando Magic goes for a sixth straight
win over the Golden State Warriors when the two teams collide tonight at Oracle
Arena in Oakland. Game time is 10:35 PM ET.
It’s been a real rollercoaster ride the past
10 days for NBA bettors that back the Orlando Magic. They beat Miami and New York but
lost to Portland and Chicago going 1-3 ATS. They struggled in their last game
to beat a bad Sacramento team 106-102 when then NBA odds boards had them as a -10 point favorite.
They’re hoping tonight to get healthy against a Warriors team that has been
overmatched in the last five meetings losing by an average of 19.6 points per
game.
The Warriors suffered a 110-90 loss to
the Magic on January 3. In the first game, Golden State led at the break but
was outscored 66-37 in the second-half. They’ll need a complete 48 minute
effort tonight to keep it close.
Orlando
Magic (41-24 SU & 29-35-1 ATS)
Orlando is fourth in the Eastern Conference
trailing the Celtics, Bulls and Heat as they begin a five-game road trip. They
beat Miami 99-96 on March 3 however they followed that effort by losing
back-to-back home games to the Bulls and Blazers where they averaged 83.0
points and 17.5 turnovers.
They’ve been a team, at least for me anyway, to stay
away from. They’re 5-5 ATS and 4-6 to the ‘under’ in their last 10 games and
you never know which Magic team is going to show up.
Dwight Howard has been the one consistent averaging
23.9 points and 13.9 rebounds per game. He leads the team in field goal
percentage, blocks and steals. If he ever learns to shoot free throws (58%)
he’ll be unstoppable. Over his past ten games Howard is averaging 20 points on
69.4 percent shooting, 13.8 rebounds and 3.7 blocks.
The Magic have
played 24 games since the blockbuster trades that sent Jason Richardson,
Hedo Turkoglu, and Gilbert Arenas to Orlando. The team is 15-9 and is averaging
103.7 points per game while allowing 96.7. However Coach Stan Van Gundy put it
bluntly saying his team is losing its ‘elite’ status in the East and isn’t a
legitimate contender.
Golden
State Warriors (28-36 SU & 32-31-1)
The Golden State Warriors, losers of seven of nine
overall, have been held to an average of 86.0 points on 38.2 percent shooting
in its last two home contests. Golden State has dropped to 12th in the West
following a 2-5 road trip that all but killed their playoff hopes.
They lost 94-90 at New Jersey on Wednesday
as Monta Ellis was held to 16 points, nearly nine below his season
average. His performance was indicative of an offense in decline. Golden State
is averaging 102.6 points per game more than six points lower than the figure
accumulated by Don Nelson's injury-riddled crew a year ago. They can still
shoot the 3-pointer, ranking second in the league with a percentage of 38.9 but
the problem is they’re not taking as many shots as they did when Nelson was in
charge.
Can the Warriors make a playoff run? Their
chances are slim and none,
They’ve got 18 games remaining including
tonight and they’ll play 12 teams that are currently ahead of them in the West.
Eight of those games are on the road, including one at Dallas. The Mavericks
will also visit the Warriors twice. After Minnesota comes in Sunday, Golden
State hits the road for five of its next six games.
Plunder
the Under, Part 2
Gone are the days when the Warriors were good
for 130 points a night. Golden State is 13-5 to the ‘under’ in its last 18
games. Seven of their last nine home games have stayed below the closing number.
The Magic have never been known as a high scoring team so their string of 12-3
to the ‘under’ is no huge surprise.
Harvey’s Take: Why mess with a
good thing. The Magic own the Warriors and should make us some money again
tonight.