NBA Playoff Betting – Magic Will Head To 2-0

The Orlando Magic and Atlanta Hawks continue their Eastern Conference semifinal series in the Sunshine State before continuing their series in Georgia over the weekend.

Atlanta Hawks @ Orlando Magic
Thursday, May 6th – 8:10 PM ET
Amway Arena – Orlando, FL
Broadcast: ESPN
NBA Playoff Betting Spread: Magic -9

The Week That Was: Hawks

The beginning of the past week was really good for coach Mike Woodson’s club. The Hawks spent last Friday staving off elimination against the Milwaukee Bucks, surviving a Game 6 road test and forcing a Game 7 at home in Atlanta. The Hawks soared in that do-or-die situation, spanking the Bucks by a 95-74 margin to advance to the second round. The convincing nature of the Game 7 performance against Milwaukee raised hopes in some quarters that Atlanta was ready to take the next step as a team and exhibit a new level of maturity.

So much for those hopes.

The Hawks simply failed to show up for Game 1 of this Eastern Conference semifinal series on Tuesday night in Orlando. Atlanta thoroughly embarrassed itself in a 114-71 loss that, if humanly possible, was actually MORE lopsided than the final score indicated. The Magic led by 41 (85-44) after three periods and called off the dogs in the fourth period. Three of the Hawks’ main players – Mike Bibby, Al Horford, and Jamal Crawford – hit just one field goal apiece. Yes, it was that bad… if not worse.

The Week That Was: Magic

Coach Stan Van Gundy’s group was pushed to a slight extent in the first round by the hard-working (but not very smart) Charlotte Bobcats, but the Magic won two close games in North Carolina to close out a four-game sweep. How impenetrable and unshakable was Orlando against Charlotte? Simply stated, the Magic won all four games despite the fact that Dwight Howard was hampered by foul trouble and scored just 39 total points. The defending Eastern Conference champions entered the second round as a huge favorite, but the Atlanta Hawks definitely represented an upgrade in talent from the Bobcat squad Orlando had just defeated. Surely, round two would be at least a little more competitive than round one, right?

Wrong.

In Game 1, Atlanta scored just 10 points in the second quarter and only 11 more in the third. During those two quarters, Orlando lengthened its lead by 39 points. The outcome was sealed well before the end of the third period, which enabled Van Gundy to pull his five starters, who all played fewer than 30 minutes and will now be rested for Game 2.

Outlook & Pick

Orlando basically got a freebie in Game 1. Atlanta proved to be mentally weak and completely non-competitive. The Hawks showed their very worst side and indicated that they’re not ready to pay the price necessary to battle the Magic on even terms. Atlanta has athletes; Orlando Magic has basketball players. Atlanta needs its opponent to play poorly just to have a shot; Orlando is playing the best basketball of any team left in the NBA postseason.

There’s simply nothing about Game 2 – in Orlando – which even remotely suggests that the Hawks can win. Let’s look at it this way: The boys from Georgia can be 42 points better than they were in Game 1 and still lose.

This is not a hard game to pick. Orlando. Without a second thought.

NBA Playoff Betting Pick: Magic