NBA odds Favor Magic to Take 2-0 Lead
Game 1 was ugly, real ugly. The Magic rolled to a 114-71 win Tuesday over the Hawks. Orlando had an easier time with Atlanta than during three 17-plus point victories that came in the four regular season meetings. Jameer Nelson and his pals now scoot into Game 2 riding a five-game playoff win streak, and 11-straight victories dating back into the regular season. ESPN starts the telecast at 8 p.m. (ET).
It was even worse than we thought.
The Atlanta Hawks are a very good basketball team with a bright future. They’ve made incredible progress since Time Warner sold the team in 2004. But it looks like they’ve hit a brick wall in the second round of the NBA playoffs, and that wall’s name is Dwight Howard.
The league’s reigning and two-time Defensive Player of the Year blocked five shots for the Orlando Magic in Tuesday’s resounding 114-71 victory over the Hawks (+9). Howard also scored 21 points with 12 rebounds as the Magic went into the fourth quarter up by 41 points.
Yeesh. There aren’t a lot of positives you can take away from that game if you’re an Atlanta supporter. The Magic were far from rusty after taking a week off following their first-round sweep of the Charlotte Bobcats; instead, it was the Hawks who seemed off their game after going the distance against the Milwaukee Bucks. At least the starters got to take an early powder on the Hawks bench, hiding their faces under their towels as the fourth quarter drew to a close.
This was the fourth time in five meetings this season that Orlando beat Atlanta by at least 17 points. All five games went 'under;' the Hawks have scored just 80 points per game against the Magic this year, and never more than 86 points.
Go back a little further into last year and the Magic are on a 7-1 SU and ATS run against Atlanta with the 'under' at 6-2. Thursday’s total has dipped from 191½ points in Game 1 to 189½ points.
This is simply not a favorable matchup for the Hawks. I gave Al Horford some rub in the preview for Game 1, and he deserves it after making the All-Star Game this year. But Horford was no match for Howard on Tuesday. The bottom line: four points on 1-of-7 shooting and a minus-24. And the foul-prone Howard only drew two fouls while dominating Horford and the Hawks.
Zaza Pachulia (6-foot-11, 275 pounds) is 30 pounds heavier than Horford and more than happy to throw his weight around a little, but he maxed out in Game 1 with 21 minutes on five fouls. One possible ploy: send 12th man Jason Collins (7-foot, 255 pounds) after Howard and, for lack of a more sportsmanlike term, punish him. Things could get ugly if Atlanta is desperate enough.
The books have responded for Thursday’s Game 2 by keeping the betting odds stable at Atlanta +9. Other series have seen their lines adjusted to account for sharp bettors using the zigzag theory in the second of back-to-back games at the same arena. For example, the Phoenix Suns opened at -2½ for their Game 2 against the San Antonio Spurs after taking Game 1 as 4½-point favorites. But there’s no reason for the books to make Orlando a safer bet, not when consensus reports show 96 percent support for the Magic at -9, and 92 percent on the money line at a very chalky -600.
If you’re looking for a way to bet on the Hawks, +450 on the moneyline has some merit. Atlanta did manage an 86-84 victory over the Magic (+1) on March 24 at Philips Arena with both teams at full strength. Six different players scored in double digits for the Hawks to overcome Howard’s 19 points, 24 rebounds and four blocks. Beating Orlando at the noisy Amway Arena will be more difficult, but not impossible; at +450, the Hawks can lose four games out of five and still make a profit.
Otherwise, unless Howard is abducted by aliens or suddenly decides he wants to try playing baseball instead, it’s all Orlando at this point. We’ll see if the Hawks can cook something different up at home like they have in their recent playoff appearances at 9-4 SU and 9-3-1 ATS.
Game 1 was ugly, real ugly. The Magic rolled to a 114-71 win Tuesday over the Hawks. Orlando had an easier time with Atlanta than during three 17-plus point victories that came in the four regular season meetings. Jameer Nelson and his pals now scoot into Game 2 riding a five-game playoff win streak, and 11-straight victories dating back into the regular season. ESPN starts the telecast at 8 p.m. (ET).
It was even worse than we thought.
The Atlanta Hawks are a very good basketball team with a bright future. They’ve made incredible progress since Time Warner sold the team in 2004. But it looks like they’ve hit a brick wall in the second round of the NBA playoffs, and that wall’s name is Dwight Howard.
The league’s reigning and two-time Defensive Player of the Year blocked five shots for the Orlando Magic in Tuesday’s resounding 114-71 victory over the Hawks (+9). Howard also scored 21 points with 12 rebounds as the Magic went into the fourth quarter up by 41 points.
Yeesh. There aren’t a lot of positives you can take away from that game if you’re an Atlanta supporter. The Magic were far from rusty after taking a week off following their first-round sweep of the Charlotte Bobcats; instead, it was the Hawks who seemed off their game after going the distance against the Milwaukee Bucks. At least the starters got to take an early powder on the Hawks bench, hiding their faces under their towels as the fourth quarter drew to a close.
This was the fourth time in five meetings this season that Orlando beat Atlanta by at least 17 points. All five games went 'under;' the Hawks have scored just 80 points per game against the Magic this year, and never more than 86 points.
Go back a little further into last year and the Magic are on a 7-1 SU and ATS run against Atlanta with the 'under' at 6-2. Thursday’s total has dipped from 191½ points in Game 1 to 189½ points.
This is simply not a favorable matchup for the Hawks. I gave Al Horford some rub in the preview for Game 1, and he deserves it after making the All-Star Game this year. But Horford was no match for Howard on Tuesday. The bottom line: four points on 1-of-7 shooting and a minus-24. And the foul-prone Howard only drew two fouls while dominating Horford and the Hawks.
Zaza Pachulia (6-foot-11, 275 pounds) is 30 pounds heavier than Horford and more than happy to throw his weight around a little, but he maxed out in Game 1 with 21 minutes on five fouls. One possible ploy: send 12th man Jason Collins (7-foot, 255 pounds) after Howard and, for lack of a more sportsmanlike term, punish him. Things could get ugly if Atlanta is desperate enough.
The books have responded for Thursday’s Game 2 by keeping the betting odds stable at Atlanta +9. Other series have seen their lines adjusted to account for sharp bettors using the zigzag theory in the second of back-to-back games at the same arena. For example, the Phoenix Suns opened at -2½ for their Game 2 against the San Antonio Spurs after taking Game 1 as 4½-point favorites. But there’s no reason for the books to make Orlando a safer bet, not when consensus reports show 96 percent support for the Magic at -9, and 92 percent on the money line at a very chalky -600.
If you’re looking for a way to bet on the Hawks, +450 on the moneyline has some merit. Atlanta did manage an 86-84 victory over the Magic (+1) on March 24 at Philips Arena with both teams at full strength. Six different players scored in double digits for the Hawks to overcome Howard’s 19 points, 24 rebounds and four blocks. Beating Orlando at the noisy Amway Arena will be more difficult, but not impossible; at +450, the Hawks can lose four games out of five and still make a profit.
Otherwise, unless Howard is abducted by aliens or suddenly decides he wants to try playing baseball instead, it’s all Orlando at this point. We’ll see if the Hawks can cook something different up at home like they have in their recent playoff appearances at 9-4 SU and 9-3-1 ATS.
