Southeast Division’s First and Worst – Magic at Wizards

NBA Basketball Sports Betting

Orlando Magic (47-17 SU, 40-23-1 ATS) at Washington Wizards (15-50 SU, 23-40-2 ATS)
Friday, March 13

BetOnline NBA Basketball Sports Betting Odds:  ORLANDO -8, Total 197.5

Here are some of the NBA pro basketball sports betting trends as they relate to this matchup:

• ORL has covered four of its last six games
• ORL has won five of its last six games SU
• ORL has covered 17 of its last 24 road games
• ORL has won four of its last six road games SU
• ORL has played four of its last five road games OVER the total
• WASH is 1-5-1 ATS in its last seven games
• WASH has lost six of its last seven games SU
• WASH has played 14 of its last 20 games OVER the total
• WASH has lost four of its last five home games SU
• WASH has covered one of its last five home games
• WASH has played eight of its last 11 home games OVER the total

Also…

• ORL has covered six of the last eight meetings
• ORL has won seven of the last eight meetings SU
• The last five meetings have gone UNDER the total
• ORL has covered the last five meetings as the road team
• ORL has won four of the last five meetings SU as the road team
• Six of the last eight meetings in Washington have gone UNDER the total
• ORL has had the shooting edge in seven of the last nine meetings
• ORL has had the rebounding edge in five of the last six meetings
• ORL has made more three-pointers in each of the last seven meetings

Washington’s problems go well beyond the injury to Gilbert Arenas that has prevented him from playing all season. The Wizards are, statistically speaking, the worst defensive team in the NBA, allowing opponents to shoot 48% from the field. They do have two very capable offensive players in Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler, but there is not enough balance on the roster, nor enough three-point firepower to make up for it. Washington makes just 4.9 threes per game, and gives up 8.2, which is not an admirable deficit.

That is particularly deadly against an Orlando squad that leads the league with 10.2 "makes" from downtown. Against teams that are defensively compromised, the Magic can be especially stressful, as they hit from the outside with the likes of Hedo Turkoglu (may not play here, but Michael Pietrus will pick up slack) and Rashard Lewis, then pound it in the paint with Dwight Howard. The team has not missed a beat with Rafer Alston at the point, and now in the season’s final month or so, they are dedicated to making their best run at the top record in the Eastern Conference.

When you have a team that has been defeated by 7.6 points per game on average, it is very difficult to make a case for that team. Throw in the fact that Washington is 2-7 ATS as a home dog and has records of 10-23 SU and 12-21 ATS at the Verizon Center, plus the fact that Orlando has shown recent dominance in this series (7-1 SU, 6-2 ATS in last eight meetings) and we have a play, though we’re always a little squeamish about laying big points on the road.

The Wizards have earned the opportunity to be an exception. It’s the Magic, the eight-point favorite in the BetOnline Sportsbook.

JAY’S PLAY:  ORLANDO -8
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)