Tip off: 7:35 PM EST
Spread: ORL -4
Betting Odds from Bovada.lv
The Magic have heard a lot about what can only be now referred to as the Dwight Howard Saga. Everyone is talking about where Howard may or may not go, but in the midst of all this, the Orlando Magic sit at 22-12 and are a legit contender in the Eastern Conference, currently sitting in the 4th spot.
Ryan Anderson, who will appear in the three point shooting contest this weekend, is second on the team in scoring and leads the NBA in both threes attempted and threes made. He’ll have his hands full defensively tonight with Josh Smith, but will get plenty of help from Dwight Howard. Still, Smith is quite an athlete, and the result could be Dwight Howard getting into foul trouble. Howard has done well of staying out of foul trouble and has been on the court most of the time for the Magic, which is good of course, since, you know, they have no backup to Howard whatsoever.
The Magic have been without Jason Richardson, but Duke product J.J. Redick has been playing very well in his absence.
The Hawks are a much tougher team on the interior than people give them credit for, but are missing Al Horford right now. Horford has missed most of the season and will continue to miss games with his torn pectoral muscle. Joe Johnson is also nursing a sore knee and will not play. The Hawks have faded, and are now 19-14. No one is really taking the Hawks that seriously as contenders, and really with their best two players injured, they aren’t.
Hawks Betting Trends:
Atlanta is 1-4-1 ATS in their last 6 games and the total has gone UNDER In 4 of Atlanta’s last 5 games. The Hawks are 1-5 SU in their last 6 games and 1-4 SU in their last 5 games at home.
Magic Betting Trends:
Orlando is 6-1 SU in their last 7 games, and the total has gone under in 5 of their last 7 on the road. The Magic are 4-1 SU in their last 5 on the road and 1-10 ATS in their last 11 against the Atlanta Hawks.
Key Matchup:
Dwight Howard vs. ZaZa Pachulia
Pachulia, if nothing else, is a big body. He plays hard, bangs, and gives Howard a lot of resistance. I must use that term lightly though, because Howard has historically abused the Hawks, with or without Horford. In the 2010 playoffs, the Hawks had no answer for Howard and the Magic swept the Hawks by winning all four games by more than 20 points. Last season, the Hawks got revenge for that defeat and dispatched the Magic 4 games to 2. Such may have been Howard’s motivation for punishing them so hard when they met in Orlando.
