NBA Playoff Betting – Magic Live One More Game

The last two Eastern Conference champions will meet to decide this year’s East title, as the Boston Celtics confront the Orlando Magic in a delicious duel.

Boston Celtics @ Orlando Magic
NBA Eastern Conference Finals – Game 5
Wednesday, May 26th – 8:30 PM ET
Amway Arena – Orlando, FL
TV: ESPN

The Week That Was: Celtics

Nothing can or should be taken for granted after the Celtics blew a chance to finish off Orlando and rest up for the NBA Finals against – in all likelihood – the Los Angeles Lakers. Orlando flatly quit in Game 3 of this series, which meant that the Magic were ripe for the plucking on Monday night at TD Garden in Boston. However, instead of putting the nails in the Magic’s coffin, the C’s opened the door for an improbable comeback. A 96-92 overtime loss sent this series back to Florida, and as a result, the prospect of a Game 6 is a very real possibility.

Throughout the fourth quarter and overtime of this ugly and choppy game, Boston big man Kevin Garnett shied away from the pressure of the moment. Passing up open jumpers and then making several horrible passes that led to turnovers, Garnett did much to sabotage his team’s halfcourt offense. The Celtics got just 18 points in the fourth quarter and only six points in overtime on two Ray Allen 3-pointers. A total of 24 points in the game’s final 17 minutes prevented coach Doc Rivers’ team from notching a sweep.

The Week That Was: Magic

How did Orlando win Game 4? It’s not as though the Magic played a complete game on Monday; anything but. Vince Carter (1 for 9 from the field) was a no-show, and Rashard Lewis produced an underwhelming 13 points. Mickael Pietrus once again played horribly, going 0 for 4 from the field. Fellow bench players Jayson Williams and Marcin Gortat also scored no points and brought very little to the dance floor.

Yet, Boston proved to be worse. Garnett’s nervous and turnover-filled performance really hurt the C’s, but what was even more alarming was that Rajon Rondo – the best player in this series, hands down – was treated for muscle spasms at halftime. Clearly not himself, Rondo hesitated a lot and did not create fluid ball movement in the Celtics’ halfcourt offense. Too many late-game possessions bogged down and resulted in hurried shots late on the shot clock. Orlando was hardly picturesque, but two late threes by Jameer Nelson – two low-percentage threes, it should be added – were enough to take an 86-all tie (at the end of regulation) and turn this game in favor of the folks from Florida.

Outlook & Pick

Rondo’s fitness level is at least somewhat questionable after the muscle spasms he experienced in Game 4. Orlando did lose each of the first two games of this series at home, but those games were decided by a grand total of just seven points. In Orlando, the Magic only need to make a handful of additional plays against a Boston team that’s still a little shaky and is not quite a juggernaut some people think it is. The Celtics are still in command of the series, but they’re probably going to need six games in order to get the job done. The Magic – with Jameer Nelson leading the way against a less-than-100-percent Rondo – have a really good chance of taking Game 5.

NBA Playoff Betting: Magic