Eastern Conference First Round – Philadelphia 76ers vs. Orlando Magic

BetOnline NBA Playoff Betting Odds

To Win Series

Orlando Magic -900

Philadelphia 76ers +600

Schedule

Game 1 — April 19, Philadelphia at Orlando, 5:30 p.m.

Game 2 — April 22, Philadelphia at Orlando, 7 p.m.

Game 3 — April 24, Orlando at Philadelphia, 8 p.m.

Game 4 — April 26, Orlando at Philadelphia, 6:30 p.m.

Game 5* — April 28, Philadelphia at Orlando, TBD

Game 6* — April 30, Orlando at Philadelphia, TBD

Game 7* — May 2, Philadelphia at Orlando, TBD

If you are a Magic backer, maybe you’re a little worried, because this team lost four of its last six games and failed to reach 100 points in any of its last seven contests. They were not completely healthy in those games, as Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu were sitting out some time. I get the impression, however, that they were just taking some rest so that they could be relatively healthy for the playoffs. If they are, they provide exactly what Orlando needs, which is a strong outside shooting game to complement the workhorse underneath, Dwight Howard, who scored 20.6 points with 13.8 rebounds a game.

Lewis is around 40% from beyond the arc, and so is Courtney Lee, the rookie out of Western Kentucky who has been starting in the backcourt. The team’s best three-point marksman, however, was Jameer Nelson (45.3%), who is out. Rafer Alston has replaced him at the point, and the Magic have really not missed a beat when it comes to moving the ball around the half-court, but Alston is not as good a shooter as Nelson. In fact, he’s not very much of a shooter at all (41%).

Philadelphia got a better season than expected out of its own point guard, Andre Miller, who hit 47% for the season, though he is not much of a threat beyond the arc. Miller is a formidable defensive presence, as is Andre Iguodala at the small forward spot. These are the guys who are going to be the key for them, and it would be a good idea if they can funnel the Orlando offense into Samuel Dalembert, who is going to block a lot of shots.

The Sixers are one of those teams who decided early on that since they didn’t win early, it was the coach’s fault. So they fired Maurice Cheeks, who helped steer them to the playoffs last year, and replaced him with company man Tony DiLeo, who from the beginning wanted them to pump things up in terms of tempo. Philadelphia will run whenever they can, and with Miller and Iguodala, along with Thaddeus Young (back from an ankle injury) they are well-equipped to do it. Still, you have to wonder how the complexion of this matchup would change if Elton Brand was healthy enough to be in the lineup for the Sixers, because he could legitimately bang inside with Howard.

Orlando appears to be the kind of team that is well-equipped as well, for playoff basketball, that is. The Magic was 27-14 on the road this season, and it could just be that Philly will have to "steal" a couple at the Amway Arena to come away with a win in this series.

JAY’S PREDICTION: MAGIC (-900) IN SIX GAMES