Miami Heat at Orlando Magic
Thursday, 2/3/11, TV: TNT
Opening Line: Orlando -2
Current Line: Orlando PK
Opening Total: 197
Closing Total: 197
Miami has built a 3 1/2-game lead on the Orlando Magic in the Southeast Division and will look to gain a 2-1 advantage in the season series tonight at the new Amway Center. The Heat are coming off an impressive 117-90 home win over the lowly Cleveland Cavailers, a game that saw guard Dwyane Wade score 34 points and forward LeBron James adding 24. “Every coach would love to see that 48 minutes of perfect basketball,” said coach Erik Spoelstra. “We’re working toward that. We know that we’re capable of more.” The team has built a 22-7 record against the Eastern Conference this year, including an 8-4 mark on the road. Miami is 1-7 ATS when playing with two days rest and has moved from a slight underdog on the NBA lines page.
The Heat and Magic meet for the third of four match-ups this season, with the two teams splitting the series thus far. Last season, they split the season series, 2-2. Miami is 44-41 all-time versus Orlando and is 19-24 in games played in the city of Disney. Wade has led the squad offensively, recording three consecutive games with 30-plus points, leaving him a game shy of the franchise record. James also stepped up his game during the month of January by averaging 30.6 points, 8.4 rebounds and 7.4 assists. He has increased his scoring average each month of the season thus far during the 2010-11 campaign.
Orlando dropped a 100-97 road contest last time out to the Memphis Grizzlies and many are contributing the loss to being shorthanded in the fourth quarter. The Magic started the game without key reserve J.J. Redick and also lost starting power forward Brandon Bass. The injuries don’t end there, as Gilbert Arenas, Jameer Nelson and Hedo Turkoglu are all banged up. “Right now, we’re not ready to contend,” said coach Stan Van Gundy. “We don’t defend hard enough or long enough.” All-Star center Dwight Howard contributed in a big way in a losing effort, scoring 25 points and grabbing 14 rebounds, but picked up another technical foul. He is just three away from an automatic suspension. Orlando is 12-12 ATS at home this season.
The Magic are a solid 18-6 overall at home this season, including a 12-4 mark against Eastern Conference opponents. Orlando has won eight of the last nine meetings at home in the series. Offensively, the team is averaging 104.4 points over its last 23 games, after scoring just 96.6 a night during the first 26 games of the season. The main reason for the scoring uptick is three-point shooting, hitting at a .383 percentage compared to .352.
Bettors will be interested in backing the Magic due to their 6-2 ATS mark on two days rest, while the Heat are 1-10 ATS in the same situation.
