Washington Wizards at Orlando Magic NBA Betting Preview

Washington Wizards at Orlando Magic
Thursday, 10/28/10, 8:00 PM EST, TV: TNT
Opening Point Spread: -13
Current Betting Line: -13.5
Opening Total: 193.5
Current Total: 191

Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard is a 13.5-point home favorite in tonight's contest versus Washington

Washington enters its season opener with expectations of becoming a playoff team again sooner than later after winning the draft lottery and selecting Kentucky point guard John Wall with the No. 1 pick. “He’s going to be great,” guard Gilbert Arenas stated. “He has a knack for finding people and getting to the basket…He’s Batman, I’m Robin.” The duo of Arenas and Wall should form one of the best backcourts in the Eastern Conference, as long as both stay healthy. The book is out on Arenas this season after three knee surgeries and a suspension has limited him to just 47 games of action in the past three years. He also was fined by the league for faking an injury before the team’s fourth preseason game to allow teammate Nick Young more playing time. The team is 67-93 ATS the last two years and the NBA basketball oddsmakers are giving them little respect tonight.

The Wizards will actually be without Arenas for at least the first two games because of a strained ankle tendon that limited him during the preseason, but will fill his spot with newly-acquired Kirk Hinrich from the Bulls. “Unfortunately, we won’t have Gilbert,” Hinrich stated. “But we can’t control it.” Washington was pleased with the emergence of power forward Andray Blatche during the course of the 2009-10 season, averaging 22.1 points in 32 post All-Star break starts. He’s also adds much versatility to the lineup with the ability of playing all three positions along the frontline.

Orlando is ready to tipoff the 2010-11 season after having its last preseason game at Miami cancelled due to the floor being deemed “unplayable”. The Magic finished the exhibition season with a perfect 7-0 record and has posted the same 59-23 regular-season mark the past two seasons. “I think the biggest misconception in the NBA is that so many teams think you need to make a bunch of changes every year,” said guard Vince Carter. “The biggest improvement I think any team can make is keeping guys together and improving team chemistry.” The team is 13-8 all-time on Opening Night and has won eight of its last 10 openers. Orlando is also 14-7 in home openers and have won nine of the last 12 season premiers. The squad is 115-82 ATS over the past two seasons.

The Magic will debut the new Amway Center tonight and the squad posted a 135-81 blowout victory in its first preseason game in the new arena over the New Orleans Hornets on October 10. Head coach Stan Van Gundy returns to the sidelines and has helped this team compile an impressive 170-76 record since the 2007-08 campaign, which is the fourth-best record in the league during that span. He also helped lead them to an impressive 39-13 mark against Eastern Conference opponents last year.

Bettors will be find that the Wizards are 3-9 ATS in their last 12 games versus Eastern Conference foes, while the Magic are 9-4 ATS in the last 13 meetings.