NBA Odds – Orlando’s a Huge Underdog Basketball Bet on Monday Night

The Orlando Magic’s season is on the brink. They’ve lost 3 games in a row and are 1 game away from being eliminated from the NBA Playoffs. It doesn’t appear that there will be a rematch of last year’s NBA Finals when the Magic took on the Los Angeles Lakers. It’s nobody’s fault, really. Orlando has run into a team that they just can’t handle.

The Boston Celtics have been alarmingly good in their last 6 games. They’ve won all 6 of those games and have covered the basketball betting spread in all 6 of those games as well. Boston will be looking to take down the Magic one final time, and then boarding the train to the NBA Finals, on Monday night.

Orlando Magic vs. Boston Celtics

Where: TD Banknorth Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
When: May 24th, 2010 at 8:30 pm EST
TV: ESPN

NBA Sportsbook Point Spread Odds

Orlando Magic +7 -110

Boston Celtics -7 -110

Most of the basketball betting trends favor the Celtics in this game.

• The Boston Celtics are 6 and 1 ATS in their last 7 games at home.
• The Boston Celtics are 4 and 0 ATS in their last 4 games as a favorite at home of 5 to 10 ½ points.
• The Orlando Magic is 1 and 5 ATS in the last 6 meetings between these two teams.
• The Orlando Magic is 0 and 4 ATS in their last 4 games as the underdog.

The key trend is the one detailing how Orlando is 1 and 5 against the spread the last 6 times they’ve faced the Boston Celtics. This is a key trend because it speaks volumes about the matchup issues Orlando is having in this series.

With their backs against the wall in Game 3, the Magic played like a defeated team shooting 36.9% from the field and 26.7% from behind the arc. Orlando was unresponsive to the pressure they faced in Game 3 unless panic can be described as a response. I suppose it is although it’s not a very positive response.

Boston is dominating Orlando in this series and should do so again on Monday night. The Magic has no answer for Rajon Rondo who racked up another double-double with 11 points and 12 assists in Game 3. They’re also finding it difficult to keep the Celtics off of the boards as Boston, once again, was better than Orlando in the rebounding department 43 to 36. Boston was even more aggressive than Orlando in Game 3 getting to the free throw line 10 more times, 28 to 18, than the Magic.

There just isn’t any hope for the Magic and they know it. The NBA betting line seems high at 7 points, but I believe it’s too low. Orlando is a defeated team. The Boston Celtics will not only beat them on Monday night but they will also cover the spread in the basketball sportsbook.

NBA Betting Pick: Boston Celtics -7