Atlanta Hawks vs Orlando Magic Pro Basketball Predictions

Atlanta Hawks at Orlando Magic
Monday, 11/8/10, 7:00 PM EST
Opening Point Spread: Orlando -9
Current Betting Line: Orlando -9
Opening Total: 192
Current Total: 192

Orlando Magic have outscored opponents by a 28.7-point margin at the new Amway Center this season

Atlanta dropped its first game of the season in a 118-114 home loss to the visiting Phoenix Suns on Sunday night and now will head to a city it hasn’t won in since October 29, 2008. “We gotta refocus,” said head coach Larry Drew. “We gotta go down there and be men on a mission. We gotta go down there and see what we’re made of.” Guard Joe Johnson and Al Horford are coming off solid games in last night’s loss, but averaged 14.5 points and 10.5, respectively, in eight meetings against the Magic last year. Horford did gain the respect of Suns head coach Alvin Gentry last night by saying, “I don’t think anybody in the league works harder then he does on either end of the floor.” The team is 0-2 ATS when playing on back-to-back days and the NBA lines page has certainly factored that into the point spread tonight.

The Hawks will take on Southeast Division foe Orlando for the first of four games this season, dropping the regular season series, 3-1, each of the last two years. “We just need to try to shake this loss off, going into a tough environment in Orlando, with the new arena,” said forward Josh Smith. “They’ve had our number the last three or four games.” That’s a severe understatement considering Atlanta lost all four games in last year’s playoff series by an average of 25.3 points. Offensively, the team leads the league in field goal percentage and is fifth in scoring and point differential.

Orlando almost let an 18-point second-half lead slip away in Charlotte in its last game, coming away with a 91-88 victory. Center Dwight Howard poured in 22 points and guard Quentin Richardson scored a season-high 14 points. “Dwight is very, very quick and he’s very, very strong,” said head coach Stan Van Gundy about his star player. He improved his field-goal percentage to .620 Friday when he hit nine of 13 shots after leading the league with 61 percent shooting in 2009-10. The four-time All-Star center leads the Magic with 22.4 points per game, 11.4 rebounds and 3.0 blocks. The team is 2-1 ATS at home this season and 25-15 ATS against the division.

The Magic are currently 3-0 at home this season in their first season in the new Amway Center, bringing a 28.7-point margin of victory in those games into this contest. Orlando went 34-7 in 2009-10 at home, which tied for the second-most home wins in the NBA. Offensively, the team is averaging 101.2 points per game and has scored 100-plus points three times this season, winning each of those games. Led by Howard in the middle, Orlando’s defense is off to a strong start, giving up just 88.6 points per game and holding the opposition to 40.3 percent shooting. Tonight will be the fifth contest versus an Eastern conference team, with the club being 3-1 thus far in 2010-11, after compiling a dominating 39-13 versus the East last season.

Bettors will find that the Hawks are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games as a road underdog of 5.0 to 10.5 points, while the Magic are 10-3-1 ATS on one day’s rest.