Orlando Magic at Boston Celtic Betting Odds

Opening Line: Magic +3 / Celtics -3 O/U 188

Time: 2:30 PM EST Sunday February 7, 2010 on ABC

OK, so maybe the Cavaliers will have something to say in the matter, but this game between the Celtics and Magic may be an Eastern Conference finals preview or at least a preview of a playoff series in the East. The Celtics have won 3 in a row after struggling for the last couple of weeks and the Magic are coming off a loss, but are 7-3 in their past 10 games, and now only lead the Atlanta Hawks by ½ game in the Southeast Division.

This season Boston is 15-8 at home and 19-28-1 ATS and Orlando is 14-12 24-23-3 ATS.

Both teams played on Friday night and while the Celtics beat the lowly New Jersey Nets 96-87 the Magic were upset losing to the Washington Wizards 92-91.

To get back to the finals the Magic need Vince Carter (15.7 ppg) to score and since he has come back from a shoulder injury he has struggled only averaging 10.8 ppg on 33.1% shooting.

The Celtics are only 9-11 since they beat the Magic on Christmas day and one of those losses was to Orlando at the end of last month.

Two of the Big 3 for the Celtics have been dealing with injuries this season, as Paul Pierce (18.9 ppg) should play tonight after missing a couple games and Kevin Garnett is only averaging 13 ppg and 6 rpg since returning from a knee injury.

Kendrick Perkins (11.6 ppg 8.2 rpg) is one of only 2 Boston players that has played in every game this season and he will need to have a good game on both sides of the floor tonight, especially on defense. Perkins will be guarding Dwight Howard (17.8 ppg 13.4 rpg), who leads the league in both rebounding and blocked shots.

These are 2 of the best defensive teams in the league, as Boston ranks 2nd this season in points allowed (93.7 ppg) and Orlando ranks 5th (95.4 ppg).

Orlando needs Carter, Rashard Lewis (14.9 ppg), and banged up PG Jameer Nelson (11.7 ppg) to shoot well tonight so it will open up the lane for Howard.

Orlando won 4 of their last 6 games in Boston. In those 4 losses the Celtics only averaged 82.3 ppg on 37.8% shooting and they will need to improve upon those numbers today or their 3-game winning streak will be history.

Orlando is 4-9-1 ATS in their last 14 road games, 2-7-1 ATS in their last 10 road games against teams with a winning home record, and has an Under record of 20-8 in their last 28 road games.

Boston is 2-8-1 ATS in their last 11 games overall, 4-16-1 ATS in their last 21 home games, and has an Under record of 5-2 in their last 7 games.

Our Selection : The Celtics after a rough stretch have put together 3 wins in a row and while they haven't been great for their backers (2-7-1 ATS L10) the small line of -3 shouldn't come into play. Forward P. Pierce is expected back for this game and should make a big difference in their scoring output.Take the Celtics -3