Philadelphia 76ers at Orlando Magic
December 18th, 2010 at 7 PM EST
Opening LIne: Orlando -10
Current Line: Orlando -9.5
Opening Total: 188
Current Total: 189.5
Moneyline: Undefined At Time of Issue (3:35 AM EST)
Tonight’s game brings two teams facing different fates at the moment. The Magic are in a tailspin and have lost 5 of their past 6 games, while the Sixers have been hot, winning 7 of their last 10 and holding their last three opponents under 40% Field Goal shooting. While they have struggled on the road, they have been dominant at home and sport an 8-5 home record. This game, however, will be on the road, where the Sixers are just 2-10 and have lost 8 of their last 9. The Magic, as usual, are strong at home and have only lost 3 of 12 games so far in the Amway Center.
At fault for the Magic recently has been what is normally their strength, the defensive end of the court. On the recent road trip, they gave up 102.5 points, 11.7 more than they’d been letting up before making the trip. Since that trip, the win differential has fallen to a mere +4.2, not much better than the 10-15 Philadelphia point differential of +0.5. If Philadelphia has really taken strides as a team, this road game will be a good litmus test, and answer the plaguing question of whether the Sixers are good enough to win on the road.
Some betting trends for Philadelphia: The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Philadelphia’s last 6 games on the road. They have lost their last 5 in Orlando and have dropped 8 of their last 9. The total has gone OVER in Philly’s last five games in Orlando. Philadelphia is 2-6 ATS in the last 8 road games against the Magic.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Orlando’s last 6 games. Orlando is 15-8 in their last 23 games, and is 3-6-1 ATS in their last ten games at home.
Key Matchups for tonight’s game:
Spencer Hawes vs. Dwight Howard
Truly, Spencer Hawes has one option against Howard: to be a big body and foul Howard on all dunk attempts. He won’t attempt to stay on the court more than 18-20 minutes as he racks up fouls on defense. Even if he doesn’t plan it this way, it’s what is going to happen. He simply has absolutely no chance of defending Dwight and his new arsenal of moves. Howard has been playing good basketball lately, despite the Magic’s losing streak, and he preached patience during the losses, saying “We can’t go 82-0…we’re gonna lose games.” It was a welcome respite from the pessimism of head coach Stan Van Gundy, who can never seem to find the silver lining in losses.
Jrue Holiday vs. Jameer Nelson
This is a matchup between two very good point guards, both capable of shooting well and penetrating to the basket. Jrue Hoilday has been great this year, averaging better than 13 points per game and better than 6 assists. Jameer Nelson is also having a career year in assists with 7.3 per game. He’s seemed to have a court vision he lacked in previous seasons and has been threading the needle with a lot of accuracy. He’s not quite playing at the level he did in the first half of the 08-09 season when he made the all star team as a reserve, but he is close, and has appeared to be one of the team’s best players since his re-emergence in last year’s playoffs against Boston.
