Orlando Magic AT Portland Trailblazers
December 09, 2010 10:35 EST
Opening Line: Orlando Magic -1
Current Line: Orlando Magic -3
Current Total: 185
Current Moneyline: Orlando Magic -140 / Portland Trailblazers 129
Tonight brings together the 10-11 Blazers against the 15-6 Magic. The Magic have lost two consecutive games, to Atlanta and Milwaukee, after having won six in a row before those games. Portland is riding a two game winning streak, having just defeated Phoenix and the Clippers at home. Portland is 6-3 at home this year, and the Magic are 6-3 on the road.
NBA betting lines have the spread set at Orlando -3, but worthy to note is that the NBA betting line at the opening was Orlando -1.
Orlando is 7-13-1 ATS this year, while Portland is 10-9-2 ATS this year. Orlando is 2-7 ATS in road games and Portland is 6-3 ATS in home games. The total has gone UNDER in four of Orlando’s last five games, and has gone UNDER in 10 of Orlando’s last 14 road games. Further, it has gone UNDER in 6 of the last 8 games on the road in Portland. Over the last 12 games in Portland, Orlando is 4-7-1 ATS. The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Portland’s last 12 games at home. In the last 11 matchups between these teams, Portland is 3-7-1 ATS.
Orlando holds opponents to a league best 90.8 points per game, while managing to score 97.4 themselves, for a +6.8 point differential. Portland, as you would expect from a team hovering at .500, has a slightly negative point differential of -0.4. They are scoring 95.2 points per game and giving up 95.6. In the teams’ last meeting, on January 15, 2010, Portland won by 15.
Jameer Nelson has been given a clear bill of health and will return to the lineup tonight after battling a stomach illness for the past week. The Magic were 1-2 without Nelson and clearly lacked his playmaking and scoring, as Duhon was a clear downgrade from Nelson. Ryan Anderson will be a game time decision, as he rolled an ankle the other day in practice. For the Blazers, Oden is out for the season (surprise, surprise, right?), but they have no other injuries to speak of. Brandon Roy, while expected to play, has recently been diagnosed to have no miniscus in either knee, which obviously puts his career in peril.
Some Key Matchups for tonight’s game:
Marcus Camby vs. Dwight Howard
Camby isn’t much of a scoring threat, but he is one hell of a defender and should be able to give Dwight problems with his length. It will be to Dwight’s clear advantage to use his muscular frame to push Camby around and get good position near the rim. Camby has a decent outside shot which he should find with regularity as Dwight will stay back to protect the rim. Camby might take advantage of this and do some bonus scoring tonight, as he is usually a forgotten man on the offensive end, scoring most of his baskets from putbacks and garbage shots. Przybilla will bring a contrasting style off the bench, as he has the muscle necessary to body up Howard, but he lacks the speed. Both Portland big’s have their issues, and Dwight should be able to have a pretty decent night.
Brandon Roy vs. Vince Carter
The aforementioned Roy has been battling knee issues all year. The Blazers’ recently toyed with the idea of bringing him off the bench in the second half to keep him fresh and reduce his minutes. Despite the knee issues, Roy has averaged 17.5 points per game over the last four games. He will be checked by Vince Carter tonight, who is not the greatest of defenders at this point in his career, but should be able to keep pace with Roy. Carter has picked up his offensive play of late. He is averaging 21.3 points per game over the last four contests, having scored 20 or more in three of the four games. In the last game against Portland, Vince played absolutely horrible, scoring but 5 points in 21 minutes and going 1 of 7 from the floor. For the Magic to win tonight they are going to have to get better play from Carter.
Tonight’s game will be decided by how well the Blazers can manage to defend Dwight Howard and whether Brandon Roy can play sufficient minutes and provide the Blazers with the playmaking that they have come to depend on him for.
