NBA Playoff Odds: Hawks, Magic Game 1
The last Round 2 series to be decided gets underway tonight in Orlando when the Magic host Joe Johnson and the Hawks. Orlando has been resting since its sweep of the Bobcats and will carry nine-point chalk into the series opener. Atlanta will have no rust after playing Sunday, but they will be facing a Magic squad that whipped them in three of four regular season encounters. Tip is set for 8 p.m. Eastern on TNT.
Carpe diem, Atlanta.
If the Atlanta Hawks are going to advance to the next round, they’re eventually going to have to beat the Orlando Magic at the O-Rena. No better time than the present.
The Magic have been idle since eliminating the Charlotte Bobcats in four games on April 26, and they could be a little slow to find their rhythm in Tuesday’s series opener against Atlanta.
Could be. Rust hasn’t been a problem for the Magic this year; they’re 6-0 SU and 5-1 ATS on three days rest or more. However, that one ATS loss was against the Bobcats in Game 1 of their first-round series, a 98-89 win for Orlando as a 10-point home chalk. This was after Dwight Howard and Vince Carter and the other Magic starters logged their usual minutes to end the regular season.
Now they’re playing after a seven-day sabbatical, and they’re laying nine points to the Hawks, a considerably stronger team than Charlotte.
Howard in particular is going to encounter more resistance than he did in the first round. Al Horford (19.43 PER) was an All-Star center for the Eastern Conference this year, and lest we forget, Horford was also named Finals MVP after leading the Florida Gators to the NCAA championship in 2006 and 2007. He’s still a notch below Howard (24.07 PER), but Horford did a good job of limiting Orlando’s superstar in two of their four regular-season battles.
Despite Horford’s accomplishments, he’s virtually anonymous on a Hawks team with Josh Smith (21.04 PER) and Joe Johnson (19.33 PER) supplying the starpower. That anonymity translates to more betting value for Atlanta. Otherwise, it’s very difficult to make a case for the Hawks in this series.
Orlando blew them out in their first three regular-season matchups before dropping the finale 86-84 at Philips Arena – the Hawks were favored by a single point. The win snapped a 6-0 SU and ATS streak for the Magic against Atlanta.
The public agrees. Orlando was hauling in bettors at a 2:1 ratio according to the consensus reports at press time, pumping up the spread from 7.5 points at the open. Some books still had betting odds of Orlando -8½, but their numbers were dwindling; as always, keep a vigilant eye out for the best price (including vigorish) on whichever team you prefer in this contest.
You’re obviously not alone if your preference is the Magic. It’s easy to forget they won the Eastern Conference last year, upsetting both the Boston Celtics (then the defending champions) and the Cleveland Cavaliers before finally coming up short against the Los Angeles Lakers in the final. This is a better Magic team now with the arrival of Carter (17.11 PER) and Ryan Anderson (18.15 PER) from the New Jersey Nets during the offseason. The Orlando bench is now so deep that Brandon Bass (16.54 PER), a prized free agent catch from the Dallas Mavericks roster, can’t even get in the game.
Atlanta deserves plaudits for improving its team during the summer, particularly for grabbing Jamal Crawford (18.50 PER) and putting him in a position to deliver his best season ever, winning the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award last week. But the Hawks can’t claim to have the same depth as Orlando. The best player outside of their top six is backup center Zaza Pachulia (13.13 PER), who has a minus-4.4 Roland Rating and is primarily useful as a big body (6-foot-11, 275 pounds) to collect some fouls against Howard. Mo Evans (12.21 PER) and Joe Smith (11.29 PER) are cannon fodder at this point in their careers.
If nine points is a little chalky for your taste, there’s always the total. The 'under' was the correct call in each of the last five games between the Hawks and Magic. Tuesday’s total of 192 points had bettors split down the middle at press time, which shows respect for the defensive prowess of both clubs.
In theory, the underdog/'under' parlay has value here, but it’ll be up to Atlanta’s top six players to overcome Orlando’s top nine or 10. It should happen Tuesday if it’s going to happen at all on the road.
TNT's broadcast begins at 8 p.m. ET, and is followed by Game 2 of the Jazz, Lakers series from Los Angeles.
The last Round 2 series to be decided gets underway tonight in Orlando when the Magic host Joe Johnson and the Hawks. Orlando has been resting since its sweep of the Bobcats and will carry nine-point chalk into the series opener. Atlanta will have no rust after playing Sunday, but they will be facing a Magic squad that whipped them in three of four regular season encounters. Tip is set for 8 p.m. Eastern on TNT.
Carpe diem, Atlanta.
If the Atlanta Hawks are going to advance to the next round, they’re eventually going to have to beat the Orlando Magic at the O-Rena. No better time than the present.
The Magic have been idle since eliminating the Charlotte Bobcats in four games on April 26, and they could be a little slow to find their rhythm in Tuesday’s series opener against Atlanta.
Could be. Rust hasn’t been a problem for the Magic this year; they’re 6-0 SU and 5-1 ATS on three days rest or more. However, that one ATS loss was against the Bobcats in Game 1 of their first-round series, a 98-89 win for Orlando as a 10-point home chalk. This was after Dwight Howard and Vince Carter and the other Magic starters logged their usual minutes to end the regular season.
Now they’re playing after a seven-day sabbatical, and they’re laying nine points to the Hawks, a considerably stronger team than Charlotte.
Howard in particular is going to encounter more resistance than he did in the first round. Al Horford (19.43 PER) was an All-Star center for the Eastern Conference this year, and lest we forget, Horford was also named Finals MVP after leading the Florida Gators to the NCAA championship in 2006 and 2007. He’s still a notch below Howard (24.07 PER), but Horford did a good job of limiting Orlando’s superstar in two of their four regular-season battles.
Despite Horford’s accomplishments, he’s virtually anonymous on a Hawks team with Josh Smith (21.04 PER) and Joe Johnson (19.33 PER) supplying the starpower. That anonymity translates to more betting value for Atlanta. Otherwise, it’s very difficult to make a case for the Hawks in this series.
Orlando blew them out in their first three regular-season matchups before dropping the finale 86-84 at Philips Arena – the Hawks were favored by a single point. The win snapped a 6-0 SU and ATS streak for the Magic against Atlanta.
The public agrees. Orlando was hauling in bettors at a 2:1 ratio according to the consensus reports at press time, pumping up the spread from 7.5 points at the open. Some books still had betting odds of Orlando -8½, but their numbers were dwindling; as always, keep a vigilant eye out for the best price (including vigorish) on whichever team you prefer in this contest.
You’re obviously not alone if your preference is the Magic. It’s easy to forget they won the Eastern Conference last year, upsetting both the Boston Celtics (then the defending champions) and the Cleveland Cavaliers before finally coming up short against the Los Angeles Lakers in the final. This is a better Magic team now with the arrival of Carter (17.11 PER) and Ryan Anderson (18.15 PER) from the New Jersey Nets during the offseason. The Orlando bench is now so deep that Brandon Bass (16.54 PER), a prized free agent catch from the Dallas Mavericks roster, can’t even get in the game.
Atlanta deserves plaudits for improving its team during the summer, particularly for grabbing Jamal Crawford (18.50 PER) and putting him in a position to deliver his best season ever, winning the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award last week. But the Hawks can’t claim to have the same depth as Orlando. The best player outside of their top six is backup center Zaza Pachulia (13.13 PER), who has a minus-4.4 Roland Rating and is primarily useful as a big body (6-foot-11, 275 pounds) to collect some fouls against Howard. Mo Evans (12.21 PER) and Joe Smith (11.29 PER) are cannon fodder at this point in their careers.
If nine points is a little chalky for your taste, there’s always the total. The 'under' was the correct call in each of the last five games between the Hawks and Magic. Tuesday’s total of 192 points had bettors split down the middle at press time, which shows respect for the defensive prowess of both clubs.
In theory, the underdog/'under' parlay has value here, but it’ll be up to Atlanta’s top six players to overcome Orlando’s top nine or 10. It should happen Tuesday if it’s going to happen at all on the road.
TNT's broadcast begins at 8 p.m. ET, and is followed by Game 2 of the Jazz, Lakers series from Los Angeles.