NBA Friday Night – Orlando Magic vs. Portland Trail Blazers

Orlando Magic at Portland Trail Blazers

Friday, January 15th – 10:35 PM ET

Basketball Betting Spread: Magic -4.5

The Week That Was: Magic

On Jan. 8, the Magic endured a 104-97 loss at Washington. Vince Carter suffered a shoulder injury against the Wizards, who eclipsed Orlando at the foul line by 12 points (30-18). Washington used a 33-20 charge in the fourth quarter to create fresh doubts in the minds of Stan Van Gundy’s players.

Just when a large-scale unraveling seemed to be taking place, the Magic reversed course on Jan. 9, as they demolished the Atlanta Hawks, 113-81. J.J. Redick scored 17 points in place of Carter, while Orlando outscored Atlanta 37-16 in the second quarter. The Magic briefly sustained a measure of competence by running past Sacramento, 109-88, on Jan. 12. Orlando outscored the Kings 33-10 in the fourth quarter to bust open a tight game.

On Jan. 13, the second end of a back-to-back set didn’t figure to favor Orlando. Clearly exhausted after switching time zones and getting very little sleep, Van Gundy’s group lacked the juice it needed in Denver. With Carmelo Anthony back on the court, the homestanding Nuggets shot 56 percent from the field and limited Orlando superstar Dwight Howard to 1-of-7 field goal shooting, as the Magic fell by a 115-97 score.

The Week That Was: Trail Blazers

On Friday, Jan. 8, the Blazers were able to turn back the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers, 107-98. Portland hit 32 free throws to just five for the Lakers. Impressively, the Blazers’ bench was able to outscore the Lakers’ reserves, 28-10. Those two manifestations of profound superiority explained why this banged-up Portland team –without a true big man and still in need of reinforcements at multiple positions – was able to chop down the champs in the Rose Garden.

On Jan. 10, Portland didn’t have similar luck when the Cleveland Cavaliers – the team with the Eastern Conference’s best regular-season record in 2008-09 – came to Oregon for a Sunday night showdown. LeBron James outdueled the best Blazer on the court, Brandon Roy, by a 41-34 score, while Portland couldn’t match the physicality of the visiting Cavaliers.

Portland then beat Milwaukee Wednesday night, in an unusually easy romp for the men of McMillan. The Blazers led by 26 points after three quarters and cruised to a 120-108 win over the Bucks. The biggest development of the night was the return of shooting specialist Rudy Fernandez to the Blazer lineup after a back surgery that created prolonged pain in the Spaniard’s right leg.

Outlook & Pick

The Magic have to be weary after zig-zagging back and forth across the country. They played in Washington, D.C., last Friday and then flew to Orlando for a game the very next night. Team Van Gundy then zipped back to Sacramento for a Tuesday game, flew to Denver for a Wednesday contest, and has now been forced by a very cruel NBA schedule maker to go back to the West Coast for a Pacific time zone game in Oregon. This team doesn’t figure to have much left in the tank, and with Portland slowly getting healthier while enjoying a homestand, the calculus suggests that the Magic’s miserable January isn’t likely to get better on Friday night.

Pick: Trail Blazers

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