Tip off: 7:05 PM EST
Spread: ORL -10
Total: 184.5
M/L: ORL -610, WAS +485
Betting Odds taken from Bookmaker
Things have been going dreadfully for the Wizards in a season in which they expected to be much better. Sophomore John Wall has been disappointing, and Andray Blatche has been downright horrid and is now out 3 to 5 weeks with a strained calf muscle.
The Wizards sit at 4-17 and are far out of the playoff picture, to say the very least, most obviously. They dropped their last game by 10 to the Bulls, but prior to that game Monday night, they had won 2 of their previous 3…though both were over the lowly Charlotte Bobcats. The game sandwiched between the two Bobcats game was a 27 point drubbing by the Houston Rockets.
The only thing that seems to matter to the Orlando Magic right now is where Dwight Howard is going and when the trade will take place.
The Magic have dropped their last 4 games, and have gone all the way down to third in the division, behind both the Altanta Hawks and the surging Miami Heat. The Magic mustered only 69 points Monday night in a 5 point loss to the 76ers, and the only positive that can be drawn from the game at all is that Ryan Anderson pulled down a career high 20 rebounds. It’s going to take a lot more than just a decent game from Anderson for the Magic to pull out of this slump, though, and even the lowly Wizards might not do the trick.
Wizards Betting Trends:
Washington is 7-15 ATS in their last 22 games and the total has gone UNDER in 4 of their last 5. The Wizards are 4-18 SU in their last 22 games and 1-5 ATS in their last 6 on the road.
Magic Betting Trends:
Orlando is 2-4 ATS in their last 6 games and the total has gone UNDER in 6 of their last 9. The Magic are 1-5 SU in their last 6 games and 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games at home.
Key Matchup:
John Wall vs. Chris Duhon
Duhon is a below replacement level player, even as a backup. He could barely get the ball up the court against the Pacers’ Darren Collison in Sunday’s game, and I don’t imagine Wall is going to give Duhon a pass on it either. Wall is known to be an aggressive and very good defender, which will push Duhon to the limits and drive him mad. If the Wizards are going to win this game, it will be because Wall absolutely owns and crushes Duhon…and I am not counting that possibility out at all. Duhon may be the worst player on the Magic, but he’ll be matching up against the best player on the Wizards, and at least at the point guard position, the Magic are severely outmatched.
