Brooklyn at Orlando
Time: 6 PM CT, NBA LP
Spread: ORL -1
Total: 216
Odds c/o 5dimes
The Brooklyn Nets are currently seeded No. 6 in the Eastern Conference with its 23-23 mark thus far this season. It will travel to face the Orlando Magic at Amway Arena at 6 PM (CT) on NBA League Pass. The Nets are 11-12 on the road this season while the Magic are 12-11 on their home court. NBA oddsmakers set the line a mere 1-point in favor of the hosting Magic, with an over/under set at 216 points according to 5dimes.
ORL
The Orlando Magic had its two-game win streak snapped the last outing as it fell 115-120 to the Detroit Pistons. The Magic are now six games under .500, and it is one of many teams expected to be very active at the trade deadline. Orlando has been utilizing D.J. Augustin as its starting point guard all season, and while Augustin has certainly played well, he is best as a second unit guy, lacking the size and strength to cover the bigger 1s in the Association.
To address this, the Magic are expected to make a run at Dallas Mavericks guard Dennis Smith Jr. Smith is the son of former Magic player Otis Smith, so perhaps that gives the Magic an edge on the multitude of other teams bidding for his services. In just his second season, Smith has a lot of room for improvement but just as much of that elusive “potential;” Dallas simply feels it best to develop the immense talents of rookie Luka Doncic, which is what has made Smith expendable (seemingly).
The Magic have mostly run its offense through center Nikola Vucevic this season. He is averaging a career-high 3.8 assists per game to go with his 20.2 points, 11.9 rebounds and 2.07 blocks/steals per game. In theory, those are All-Star numbers, but with Orlando lingering under .500 and on the outside of the playoff picture, it might not be enough to earn “Vooch” a bid, after all. There is also speculation that the Magic could possibly part with him, though he is its best player.
Orlando drafted center Mo Bamba with the No. 6 pick in the 2018 draft, and while Bamba is somewhat raw, he has exhibited enough potential that the Magic easily could turn to him as a starter to accelerate his development. He seems to fit nicely alongside of forwards Aaron Gordon and Jonathan Isaac, though Gordon and Isaac are essentially both power forwards. It has worked reasonably well, but the Magic could use a “three and ‘D’” defender more than playing a 4-man out of position.
The problem is that just about half the teams in the league are in search of that coveted prototype. No matter what the case, the Magic have some potential residing on its roster, but without addressing the hole at point guard and the need for some perimeter lockdown defenders, it likely will miss the postseason for the seventh consecutive season. There is promise in this John Hammond-led rebuild, but it will be intriguing to see just what he does in February at the trade deadline.
The Magic are unlikely to sit idle being on the cusp of being a playoff team: The right move could improve it enough to sneak into the postseason, which at this point is actually a priority because the fanbase and organization needs it after suffering so much since the departure of three-time Defensive Player of the Year Dwight Howard in 2012.
BRK
The Brooklyn Nets are 23-23 and enter tonight’s affair as winners of its last two games. Both of those were impressive victories over playoff contenders, Boston and Houston. The Nets won 109-102 over the Celtics and 145-142 over the Rockets. Few expected Brooklyn to be this decent, particularly after it lost star swingman Caris LeVert early at the beginning of what was looking to be a breakout season for LeVert.
Key in replacing what LeVert brought to the lineup has been the emergence of Spencer Dinwiddie, who should be in line for a nice payday this summer as a free agent. Serving a Sixth Man role as a backup combo guard, Dinwiddie scored 33 points in 32 minutes in the win over Houston while shooting 13 of 22 from the field and dishing out 10 assists. He definitely makes D’Angelo Russell expendable, should he desire to remain in Brooklyn this summer when negotiations begin.
Dinwiddie is averaging 17 points, five assists and 2.5 rebounds per game this season while shooting 46 percent from the floor and 37 percent from three-point range. Consistency, perhaps, has been his only issue, as over the last five games he has turned in two single-digit scoring efforts.
Part of that is simply because he is so unselfish, the other part is because while playing with Russell in a two-point guard lineup, Russell tends to get selfish and not share the rock much with Dinwiddie. For a player whose talents were underappreciated and discarded early in his career, Dinwiddie certainly has a real future, while Russell is still viewed skeptically for his off-court antics his rookie season in Los Angeles (Lakers). For those who do not recall, Russell “snitched” on a teammate over personal matters, which basically made him something of a suspect for the remainder of his NBA career. He violated a sacred code, while Dinwiddie can just flat out play the game of basketball sans distractions. The direction should be clear for Brooklyn.
