Boston Celtics at Orlando Magic Betting Preview
Opening Line: Celtics +3.5 / Magic -3.5 O/U 187.5
Time: 8 PM EST Thursday January 28, 2010 on TNT
Tonight in the Sunshine State between a couple of teams that are 5-5 in their last 10 games the Orlando Magic host the Boston Celtics. Neither team has been playing great basketball as of late, but the Celtics are turning things around with Kevin Garnett back in the lineup, as they have won 2 in a row while the Magic are coming off a loss. The Celtics are in 1st place in the Atlantic Division with a comfortable 7 game lead over the Toronto Raptors while the Magic have slipped into 2nd place in the Southeast Division trailing the Atlanta Hawks by half a game.
This season the Magic are 16-4 at home and 22-21-1 ATS and the Celtics are 16-6 on the road and 17-25 ATS.
In their last game the Celtics beat the L.A. Clippers 95-89 on Monday night and the Magic lost to the Memphis Grizzlies 99-94 also on Monday.
The Celtics are a different team with KG on the court, especially on defense. When KG was out the Celtics were only 4-6 and allowed opponents to average nearly 100 ppg on 46.4% shooting.
For the season the Celtics rank 2nd in the NBA in points allowed (93.7 ppg).
The Celtics and their legit defense with KG back is not good for the Magic, who have struggled on offense in the last couple of weeks. In 9 out of their last 13 games, where the Magic went 5-8, Orlando shot a FG% of less than 44%. Vince Carter (16.4 ppg) has really struggled lately only shooting 31.1% in the Magic's last 13 games.
On Christmas Day the Celtics beat the Magic, as Orlando only shot 33.1% from the field, scored 77 points, and Dwight Howard had 5 points on 1/7 shooting.
The Magic have to hold onto the rock tonight, as in their last game they had 19 turnovers and they surpassed that amount in 4 of their last 7 games.
Vince Carter, Rashard Lewis (14.7 ppg), and Jameer Nelson (11.8 ppg) have to shoot the rock well tonight so the Celtics don't pack the lane to contain Howard (17.4 ppg).
If the Magic's offensive woes continue they will have to win with their defense. To do that they will have to keep the Big 3 of Ray Allen (15.9 ppg), Paul Pierce (18.9 ppg), and KG (15 ppg) from having big scoring games.
It will make it a lot easier for the Celtics if C Kendrick Perkins (12 ppg 8.5 rpg) can keep Howard (13.3 rpg), who is the leading rebounder in the league, off the boards and not let him get easy buckets deep in the lane.
Boston is 0-5 ATS in their last 5 games, 5-1-1 ATS in their last 7 games as an underdog of 0.5-4.5, and the total has gone Under in 4 of their last 5 games. Orlando is 2-5 ATS in their last 7 home games against teams with a road winning percentage of greater than .600, 11-2 ATS in their last 13 games against teams in the Atlantic Division, and the total has gone Under in 5 of their last 6 games.
Our Selection : The Magic have played extremely well at home this season winning 16 of their 20 games. Tonight they host the Celtics who are on a bankroll draining 5 game losing streak against the spread. That being said, we're going to side with the visitor here. Boston has the top straight up record on the road this season and it doesn't hurt that the road team in this series is on a 3-0 run. Take the Celtics +3.5
Future Betting Odds
NBA Handicapping
Orlando Magic at Boston Celtics 5-28
The Magic have won 2 games in a row in this series and look to tie the series tonight, as the Boston Celtics hosts Orlando in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals. The Magic have got back in this series and look to become the first team ever in the NBA to come back from a 3-0 deficit. The Celtics are small 3.5 point favorite at Bodog tonight when they try to close out this series at home.