Orlando Magic at Portland Trail Blazers
Time: 9:30 PM CT (NBA LP)
Spread: POR -8
Total: 215.5
Odds c/o Pincle
The Orlando Magic have been playing without lead offensive contributor Nikola Vucevic, but rather than that crippling Scott Skiles’ squad, it has simply forced Orlando to reinvent itself. Whether it can bounce back a night after knocking off the Sacramento Kings at Sleep Train Arena to defeat the overachieving Portland Trail Blazers may prove another thing.
The Magic may be without Vucevic and starting point guard Elfrid Payton again in tonight’s game.
The Blazers are 34-32 this season and have been one of the NBA’s surprise clubs. Credit the emergence of C.J. McCollum and a lot of young talent stepping up as the reason why Damian Lillard has not gone quietly into that NBA lottery night. The Blazers are 20-12 at home this season and are eight point favorites in tonight’s contest against the 28-36 Orlando Magic.
Click HERE to see live NBA odds from major bookmakers!
Portland, to be clear, is a team that thrives on the basis of its explosive and high scoring backcourt. But the Blazers are coming off a gutsy performance against the Golden State Warriors last night that may leave its key cogs a bit on the fatigued side, as well. This game may end up being a test as to which team has more energy banked to play this one out.
Portland has also struggled of late, as losers of four of its past five games. The 128-112 loss to the Warriors last night was rather excusable, but recent falls to the Detroit Pistons and New York Knicks, less so. The Blazers also fought hard against a tough Toronto Raptors team but fell 117-115 just after bowing out to the Boston Celtics in blowout fashion. Indeed, Portland’s success may be starting to catch up to it, but this was a team most expected to be in the 2016 lottery, and the Blazers are currently seated No. 6 in the Western Conference standings.
Orlando has had far less an easier go after starting the season in such impressive fashion. On Dec. 31 the Magic had just improved to 19-13 and held pole position of its own in the Eastern Conference standings. Since that point the Magic have gone 9-23 and appear now to be not much better than the club it was during the disastrous tenures of Jacque Vaughn and James Borrego.
Effort seems to be a big part of why, with head coach Scott Skiles even going as far as to say after a Magic loss that he doubted he would be able to sleep, but wondered if his players even felt the same way.
The Magic have been confusing of late, to say the least. The Chicago Bulls came in without Jimmy Butler and more or less handed the Magic a 102-89 win at the Amway Center, but the Magic have won just one of four games thus far on this West coast trip, with the lone victory having been over the Kings last night who were lacking their star player as well, DeMarcus Cousins.
Beating the Bulls without Butler and the Kings without Cousins is hardly something for the Magic to hang their hats on, even as poorly as the team has played.
The remaining narrative for the Magic is this: The team is 4.5 games out of the No. 8 seed in the East with 18 games remaining on the schedule. The playoffs are still a wispy hope that the team barely clings to, but at the same time it is trying to get a gauge on what this roster needs to take steps towards being more competitive.
The Magic will have up to $50 million in cap room this summer following having rid itself of Tobias Harris and Channing Frye’s contracts at the trade deadline. But is that any guarantee? Can the Magic even secure a talent that would radically change the team’s fate?
Discussed have been former Florida Gators Chandler Parsons and Al Horford. Both to be sure would help propel the Magic into the playoff chase, but why has this season been surrendered? Has it been? The Magic know that to make the playoffs it is going to take a couple big win streaks, but Portland is a team that is positioned to make the playoffs and is in its own venue, where it thrives.
Expect the Blazers to put the pressure on early to back Orlando into the corner, tired. Both teams will be facing fatigue issues, but Orlando’s resolve has been so weak in the past two months that it is hard to envision the Magic being able to slow either Lillard or McCollum.
