Orlando needs some Magic vs. Celtics in Game 6
Orlando needs some Magic vs. Celtics in Game 6
Boston's rally from 10 points down in the final 5:39 of Game 5 left Orlando in shock and coach Stan Van Gundy on the hot seat heading into Game 6 tonight. Now the Celtics can punch their ticket to a second straight Eastern Conference Final with a win on the Magic's home floor. Van Gundy's crew is favored by as many as seven in this one, but the public isn't buying into the spread and backing Boston instead.
Three Mile Island. Chernobyl. The Magic Kingdom.
You can tell the Orlando Magic are in trouble by the liberal use of the word meltdown to describe Game 5 of their series against the defending champion Boston Celtics, as well as the post-game reaction of superstar Dwight Howard. Orlando was outscored 17-3 in the last 4:31 by a highly determined Celtics team; after the carnage, Howard openly questioned coach Stan Van Gundy and his team in general for not feeding him the ball on offense.
There’s simply no way to put a positive spin on this if you’re an Orlando supporter. The betting public is going underdog for Thursday’s Game 6 (7:00 p.m. ET, ESPN) at the O-Rena; early market surveys had the Celtics (+6½) pulling in 60 percent action against the spread and a commanding 88 percent on the moneyline at +300. Some books had the spread at Celtics +7 as we went to press, which would be the most points they’ve gotten all season.
Howard isn’t the first person to criticize Van Gundy’s offensive strategies in this series – he’s been taking his lumps in the press ever since Orlando coughed up that big lead in Game 1. Van Gundy’s response was that Howard needed to demand the ball more often. These betting odds suggest a larger dose of Superman will be enough for Orlando to force a Game 7 at the Garden.
Covering that sizeable spread is another matter. While Howard has many gifts as a player, a one-on-one post game is not one of them, no matter how confident he is. He’s been defended well by Kendrick Perkins in this series and is a combined minus-17 in the five games thus far. Howard’s poor free-throw shooting (59.4 percent this season) makes him a less attractive option when a game is going down to the wire. There are only so many situations where giving him the ball is the right move.
There are other factors behind Orlando’s difficulties at the pay window, such as their lack of a defensive post presence to deal with Glen “Big Baby” Davis (21 and 22 points in the past two games) and the occasional brain cramp from Rafer Alston. Both Alston and Hedo Turkoglu have been forcing up some low-percentage shots, and J.J. Redick has gone ice-cold in his last three games after starting off 11-of-17 from long range in relief of Courtney Lee. This is the real source of Howard’s frustration: The Magic were 5-of-27 from downtown in Game 4 and 6-of-24 in Game 5.
Armed with the knowledge that Howard and Van Gundy aren’t quite on the same page, bettors are naturally flocking to the team that made ubuntu its calling card. The defending champions are so dedicated to teamwork that serial malcontent Stephon Marbury has redeemed himself as a useful bench player.
“I’m just happy that I had the opportunity to come out and help the Celtics win another championship,” Marbury told the Associated Press after scoring 12 important points in Tuesday’s 92-88 victory.
Boston’s ability to bond on the floor and overcome the absence of Kevin Garnett (18.3 points, 9.9 rebounds per 36 minutes) translates into cold, hard cash. The Celtics are 3-2 ATS in this series, 15-9-1 ATS since Mar. 20 and a very healthy 8-2-1 ATS in their last 11 road games. The Magic meltdown is hitting Orlando supporters right in the wallet at 5-12 ATS over the past 17 games and 3-8 ATS in their last 11 after an ATS loss. These are very meaty trends in Boston’s favor.
There’s also a strong bias for the under in this matchup on the total of 190 points. The under is 6-2 in the last eight games between these two clubs, but as usual, the betting public is in stone blind love with offense and taking the over at a 3:1 ratio. We’ll see what Howard can do about that.
Boston's rally from 10 points down in the final 5:39 of Game 5 left Orlando in shock and coach Stan Van Gundy on the hot seat heading into Game 6 tonight. Now the Celtics can punch their ticket to a second straight Eastern Conference Final with a win on the Magic's home floor. Van Gundy's crew is favored by as many as seven in this one, but the public isn't buying into the spread and backing Boston instead.
Three Mile Island. Chernobyl. The Magic Kingdom.
You can tell the Orlando Magic are in trouble by the liberal use of the word meltdown to describe Game 5 of their series against the defending champion Boston Celtics, as well as the post-game reaction of superstar Dwight Howard. Orlando was outscored 17-3 in the last 4:31 by a highly determined Celtics team; after the carnage, Howard openly questioned coach Stan Van Gundy and his team in general for not feeding him the ball on offense.
There’s simply no way to put a positive spin on this if you’re an Orlando supporter. The betting public is going underdog for Thursday’s Game 6 (7:00 p.m. ET, ESPN) at the O-Rena; early market surveys had the Celtics (+6½) pulling in 60 percent action against the spread and a commanding 88 percent on the moneyline at +300. Some books had the spread at Celtics +7 as we went to press, which would be the most points they’ve gotten all season.
Howard isn’t the first person to criticize Van Gundy’s offensive strategies in this series – he’s been taking his lumps in the press ever since Orlando coughed up that big lead in Game 1. Van Gundy’s response was that Howard needed to demand the ball more often. These betting odds suggest a larger dose of Superman will be enough for Orlando to force a Game 7 at the Garden.
Covering that sizeable spread is another matter. While Howard has many gifts as a player, a one-on-one post game is not one of them, no matter how confident he is. He’s been defended well by Kendrick Perkins in this series and is a combined minus-17 in the five games thus far. Howard’s poor free-throw shooting (59.4 percent this season) makes him a less attractive option when a game is going down to the wire. There are only so many situations where giving him the ball is the right move.
There are other factors behind Orlando’s difficulties at the pay window, such as their lack of a defensive post presence to deal with Glen “Big Baby” Davis (21 and 22 points in the past two games) and the occasional brain cramp from Rafer Alston. Both Alston and Hedo Turkoglu have been forcing up some low-percentage shots, and J.J. Redick has gone ice-cold in his last three games after starting off 11-of-17 from long range in relief of Courtney Lee. This is the real source of Howard’s frustration: The Magic were 5-of-27 from downtown in Game 4 and 6-of-24 in Game 5.
Armed with the knowledge that Howard and Van Gundy aren’t quite on the same page, bettors are naturally flocking to the team that made ubuntu its calling card. The defending champions are so dedicated to teamwork that serial malcontent Stephon Marbury has redeemed himself as a useful bench player.
“I’m just happy that I had the opportunity to come out and help the Celtics win another championship,” Marbury told the Associated Press after scoring 12 important points in Tuesday’s 92-88 victory.
Boston’s ability to bond on the floor and overcome the absence of Kevin Garnett (18.3 points, 9.9 rebounds per 36 minutes) translates into cold, hard cash. The Celtics are 3-2 ATS in this series, 15-9-1 ATS since Mar. 20 and a very healthy 8-2-1 ATS in their last 11 road games. The Magic meltdown is hitting Orlando supporters right in the wallet at 5-12 ATS over the past 17 games and 3-8 ATS in their last 11 after an ATS loss. These are very meaty trends in Boston’s favor.
There’s also a strong bias for the under in this matchup on the total of 190 points. The under is 6-2 in the last eight games between these two clubs, but as usual, the betting public is in stone blind love with offense and taking the over at a 3:1 ratio. We’ll see what Howard can do about that.
