Orlando Magic at San Antonio Spurs
Monday, 11/22/10, 8:30 PM EDT
Opening Point Spread: San Antonio -3.5
Current Betting Line: San Antonio -3.5
Opening Total: 196
Current Total: 196
Orlando escaped with a 90-86 road win over the Indiana Pacers in its last game despite being out-rebounded and having more turnovers. “We have a lot of grind-it-out wins,” said head coach Stan Van Gundy. “We’re not scoring a lot offensively. On the positive side, towards the end of the season, come playoff time, we’ve got to learn to win those games.” Center Dwight Howard led the team with 25 points and 12 rebounds, while he’s averaging 21.4 points and 11.1 rebounds a contest. The Magic have posted a 3-1 road record this season and will be facing their first Western Conference opponent away from Orlando tonight. The squad is 24-15 ATS as an underdog the past three years and the NBA lines page shows them getting a couple baskets.
The Magic have won three in a row on the road and seem to relish the challenge under Van Gundy. “We’ve been a pretty good road team over the years since I’ve been here, especially since Stan’s been here,” said point guard Jameer Nelson. “It’s hard to go on the road because you don’t have the energy coming from your fans.” Under Van Gundy, Orlando is 82-45 on the road, including a 25-16 mark last year. In order to pull off the win tonight, the defense will have to play big, as they lead the NBA in allowing just 90.3 points per game.
San Antonio ran its winning streak to 10 games with a 116-92 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers at home on Saturday, pushing its record to an NBA-best 11-1 on the season. “Great run for us,” said forward Tim Duncan. “It’s a good start for us. There’s going to be some ups and downs this season, but this team is built on what we did last year.” The team received a huge bench performance in the victory, with the reserves chipping in with 54 points, including 18 points from Tiago Splitter. The Spurs have a great chance of improving upon that mark tonight, posting an 18-4 record at home against the Magic. Last year, the Spurs split the season series with each team winning on its home floor. San Antonio is 11-13 ATS as a home favorite of 3.5 to 6 points.
The Spurs are currently second in the NBA in scoring 107.8 points per game, after managing to put up just 101.4 a contest during the 2009-10 campaign. Having a healthy Tony Parker at point guard has certainly helped on the offensive end, as he’s averaging 19.1 points and 7.7 assists this season. “I think all of us feel really good right now,” said Duncan. “This is the best I’ve felt in a couple of years. Manu is playing great. Tony Parker is playing awesome.” Head coach Gregg Popovich is doing the best job he can in keeping players fresh, with no player playing more than 29 minutes in the second game of a back-to-back on Saturday.
Bettors will find that the Magic are 4-1 ATS versus the Western Conference, while the Spurs are 5-0-1 ATS against Eastern foes.
Don’t let the season pass you by and let the NBA handicappers at Maddux Sports take you to the winner’s circle!
