Miami Heat at Orlando Magic
Wednesday, 11/24/2010, 7:30 PM EST, TV: ESPN
Miami never dreamed that its record would be 8-6 after 14 games of the season heading into face one of its fiercest Eastern Conference rivals. “I don’t think we anticipated anything like this. We’re just going to have to deal with it,” said Chris Bosh. “When we cam into this situation we all knew it wasn’t going to be an easy road, so we have to just embrace the fact that it’s not easy.” The Heat are coming off a 93-77 home loss to the Indiana Pacers and have been outrebounded 95-71 in consecutive losses. The team is 2-3 on the road this season after posting a 23-18 mark during the 2009-10 campaign. Miami did hand the Magic a demoralizing 96-70 defeat on October 29, while the two teams split last year’s series at two games apiece. The squad is 5-9 ATS on the season and the NBA lines page is available for getting the best number.
The Heat shot just 38.7 percent from the field in the Pacers’ loss, including a 20.0 percent from the 3-point line and 65.8 percent shooting from the charity stripe. Miami also lost power forward Udonis Haslem indefinitely with a torn ligament in his left foot, an injury that leaves the team thin in the interior. “We took a blow with U.D. going down,” said LeBron James. “Someone has to step up.” One player that must bounce back is star guard Dwyane Wade, who tallied a 1-for-13 shooting night after missing the previous game with a strained left wrist.
Orlando dropped a 106-97 road decision to the red-hot San Antonio Spurs on Monday and now will seek revenge from a previous blowout loss against tonight’s opponent. “The Heat are the best defensive team we’ve faced,” said head coach Stan Van Gundy. “It will be another good test for us. We need to play well to play with them.” Center Dwight Howard is still an improving star in this league and has led the team in scoring 10 times and rebounding 12 times in the Magic’s first 13 games of the year. It seems that his offseason work with former Houston Rockets center Hakeem Olajuwon is paying off. Orlando is 4-9 ATS on the year, including a 4-4 ATS mark at home.
The Magic are 6-2 overall against conference opponents that includes a 3-1 mark at the new Amway Center. Orlando has to look no further than watching film of the third quarter in its last meeting against Miami, getting outscored 28-10. The team also shot just 30.4 percent from the floor and was 4-of-24 from beyond the arc, while recording a franchise-low five assists. The team has an average margin of victory of 20.5 points at home this season and will be playing for its 66th consecutive sellout crowd tonight.
Bettors will be interested in knowing that the Heat are 0-5 ATS versus the Eastern Conference, while the Magic are 0-7 ATS in the same situation.
The NBA handicappers at Maddux Sports have a full lineup of games to shoot at on the hardcourt tonight. Join them today!
