NBA Free Premium Play 03/14: Washington Wizards @ Orlando Magic

Washington  at Orlando

NBA - 801 Washington Wizards @ 802 Orlando Magic Play #1 I had the Over in the last ORL game vs. DEN and actually I saw live that game… Well, ORL was completely crushed on the boards, ended up having just 43.4% reb/rate% while DEN’s athletic frontcourt dominated the undersized Magic line – Faried, Arthur and Hickson combined to score 60 points while shooting 24-38 FG for 63.2%! Offensively, the Magic was decent as Oladipo looked fine to me (he played 28 minutes). For this contest, I expect ORL to be a tough matchup for the Wizards! WAS is playing without Nene Hilario for quite some games, and this would be one of those games where Nene would crush ORL’s frontcourt, as the Magic since Big Baby went to LAC, don’t have any “capable” power forward! The Wizards have only in Gortat their “truly” post player, so it isn’t a surprise for me that they have only scored 30 and 32 points in the paint in L2 games. Unlike DEN, the Wizards won’t be able to crush the Magic down. We will watch a game featuring two perimeter shooting teams and the Magic w/ Nelson, Afflalo and Oladipo are a dangerous team at home, especially now that Nikola Vucevic is starting to play really well (he’s averaging 17.0 ppg while shooting 54% FG). I expect this contest to be a tight game and obviously, we have some edge w/ ORL+5 in here. Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 802 Orlando Magic (+5) @ -110 / 1.91 on Betonline

NBA Free Premium Play 03/12: Denver Nuggets @ Orlando Magic

Denver  at Orlando

NBA - 607 Denver Nuggets @ 608 Orlando Magic Play #1 Now that Ty Lawson is back and playing quite well, the Nuggets have their usual potent offense predicated in transition plays & attacking the rim while defensively, this team is really a mess! DEN is coming from a loss against a decent defensive team like CHA is… they scored 17 fast break pts + 54 points in the paint but they couldn’t hit a three pointer to save their lives (5-24 3pts). For tonight, I expect them to be aggressive while they won’t have any problems to score in transition and at the rim vs. ORL. ORL is now in “tank mode” and their defensive problems are well noticed -> they are allowing 16.6 fast break pts + 46.9 pts paint in L7 games! However, I also expect ORL to have some nice edges offensively vs. DEN! First of all, N. Vucevic isn’t Al Jefferson, but I still expect him to have a decent game against the awful DEN interior defense. DEN defense is also a bad PNR defensive team and so, ORL’s backcourt unit of Nelson, Afflalo & Oladipo (he won’t receive limited minutes tonight) will have a nice matchup to be decent as well. ORL’s pace factor as of late has been extremely fast (we have a good sample of games vs. fast tempo teams like PHI, SAS and HOU) and therefore, we can expect tonight’s game to be a pure run and gun game with less defense. Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 607/608 Over 214 @ -110 / 1.91 on Betonline

NBA Free Premium Play 02/09: Indiana Pacers @ Orlando Magic

Indiana  at Orlando

NBA - 813 Indiana Pacers @ 814 Orlando Magic Play #5 ORL is finally healthy and they are decent team with all their key players on the court. Their win vs. OKC was impressive and it was a complete team effort was they had 5 different players w/ double digit points scored and a great 25/11 A/TO ratio. They are a good defensive rebounding team and defensively, they are focused in protecting the paint – key areas when facing a team like the Pacers! Not a week ago, ORL went to IND and got spanked 79-98 by the Pacers! However note that it was a b2b game for ORL vs. a rested IND team and ORL was without the services of Jameer Nelson! IND has shoot just 42.2% FG vs. 39.8% from ORL but the superior edge in rebounding, FT’s and TO’s made the difference. For this contest, I expect ORL to be more competitive! IND is coming from a monster effort vs. POR this past Friday and they might overlook a bit ORL today as IND plays tomorrow @home vs. a DEN team that crushed them 2 weeks ago, and obviously, IND wants to avenge that loss. Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 814 Orlando Magic (+8) @ -110 / 1.91 on Betonline

NBA 02/03 Free Premium Play: Orlando Magic @ Indiana Pacers

Orlando  at Indiana

NBA - 701 Orlando Magic @ 702 Indiana Pacers Play #1 I’ve won my only play of the day w/ BOS yesterday but, the reality is that ORL was quite competitive in that game even though they played without J. Nelson. Without Nelson, rookie Oladipo was the “Point Guard” and he clearly struggled in that position w/ 3-16 FG, 5 assists vs. 3 TO’s. However, ORL was competitive because their frontcourt unit was solid offensively: Vucevic 7-14 FG, Davis 6-12 FG and Harris 6-12 FG! The key factor in here is that ORL faced the poor BOS frontcourt defense unit led by Bass & Sullinger and so, It was “relatively” easy for them to produce in this area. This might change tonight vs. IND frontcourt…. Nelson is confirmed being OUT for today, so ORL will have the same ball handling problems for tonight. The problem is that I don’t expect their frontcourt to be so efficient vs. best interior defense of the league. We had one of the worst “bad beats” of the season w/ Under IND vs. BKN because the game was in pace for an “easy winner”. IND scored 97 points in that game but note that they went 37 times to the FT line because once again, they struggled to hit outside shots – just 3-15 3pts vs. BKN…1-15 vs. PHX & 5-21 vs. LAL! I expect the trend to carry on tonight while this contest won’t be fun to watch. Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 701/702 Under 190.5 @ -110 / 1.91 on Bookmaker

NBA Free Premium Play 01/31: Milwaukee Bucks @ Orlando Magic

Milwaukee  at Orlando

NBA - 801 Milwaukee Bucks @ 802 Orlando Magic Play #1 In this contest we’ll have IMO a classic game between two lowly teams without any kind of defensive aggression. ORL has been struggling offensively lately because without Vucevic, they are a pure guard-oriented team that doesn’t have the proper offensive talent to generate easy points. The good news is that Vucevic returned in the last and in just 21 minutes he was effective w/ 6-12 FG 4-4 FT, 16 pts and 10 reb. Still, ORL struggled to score vs. TOR because their guards were just terrible: Nelson 5-15 FG, Afflalo 4-11 FG and Oladipo 3-14 FG! Well, it was a bad spot for them (b2b game) and TOR defense is quite good defending P&R plays. For tonight, ORL had one day off to rest, Vucevic will play without restrictions and… ORL will face a terrible defensive team in the Bucks = offensive bounce back performance! The key question for this contest is related w/ MIL offense… Their head coach has confirmed that he will play some small ball tonight w/ 2 pure guards in Knight & Wolters and so I expect MIL to be more an up tempo team. B. Knight has been one of the few decent offensive players for the team and I expect him to have the edge vs. slow footed J. Nelson in his matchup. My fair line for this contest is 198 points and therefore, we have the proper edge to play w/ OVER as my Single Dime Play! Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 801/802 Over 193.5 @ -110 / 1.91 on Bookmaker

NBA Free Premium Play 12/21: Sacramento Kings @ Orlando Magic

Sacramento  at Orlando

NBA - 505 Sacramento Kings @ 506 Orlando Magic Plays #3 & 4 Sacramento's defense had no chance against Atlanta's and Miami's spread offenses, as they have good shooters all over the floor, ready to explore the Kings' poor team help defense. This is why the Hawks and the Heat had 38 and 32 assists in those games. The question is that Orlando's offense won't be able to do something similar in here. The Magic's offense is based on pick and rolls, spot ups and transitions plus while Atlanta is #1 on assist rates and Miami is #4, Orlando is just #24! The Magic are #14 on pick and roll ball handler offense, but they aren't good on spot ups and transitions. In fact, they are just shooting 32.3% 3pts over the last 10 games (#24)! Therefore, I believe that Sacramento's defense has a nice spot in here to bounce back decently in here, after getting crushed in back to back games. Orlando is a good team when it comes to protecting the basket and it isn't easy to game to have monster games against them by pounding them down low with a lot of points in the paint. The Magic are #4 on points in the paint allowed, #2 on post up defense and they are allowing just 60% FG at the rim! Therefore, Sacramento won't have in here a good spot to score a lot of easy points, even though DeMarcus Cousins should outplay Nikola Vucevic. However, the Kings' pick and roll offense led by Isaiah Thomas should have a mega edge on offense against Orlando's poor defense, who is just #22 on pick and roll ball handler defense. Therefore, I expect a relatively low scoring game in here with Sacramento having the slight upper hand and so, I'll be taking both the Kings and the Under tonight. Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 505/506 Under 204 @ -110 / 1.91 on Betonline Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 505 Sacramento Kings (+3,5) @ -110 / 1.91 on Betonline

NBA Free Premium Play 12/18: Utah Jazz @ Orlando Magic

Utah  at Orlando

NBA - 703 Utah Jazz @ 704 Orlando Magic Play #2 Utah had no chance at Miami, just like I predicted by taking both the Heat and the Over. Offensively, the Jazz managed to score near the basket with 58 points in the paint, with both Enes Kanter and Derrick Favors having good games, but they heavily struggled on the back court. Utah relies on pick and rolls via Gordon Hayward and Trey Burke, but they faced Miami's great ball pressuring defense that is #1 on pick and roll ball handler defense and also #1 in forcing turnovers. This made Utah's main two guards to combine 3-16 FG, 6 assists and 5 turnovers! Thanks to this, Utah shot just 5-18 3pts! It was a tough match up for them and so, they struggled as expected. Defensively, Utah's poor perimeter defense was explored by Miami with a huge match up edge on LeBron James who did whatever he wanted to do with 13-17 FG and 9 assists. The good news for today is that Utah will now face an Orlando defense that isn't aggressive against ball handlers by being just #26 on creating turnovers and #21 on pick and roll ball handler defense. The Magic's interior defense is also sub par, so this is definitely a good spot for Utah's offense. Orlando's spot for tonight isn't good, as they had back to back games at Oklahoma City and at Chicago, where they were competitive. Thanks to that, coach Vaughn used a short rotation. The Magic's 3pts shooting has been struggling lately with just 32.6% over the last 10 games. They have no talent to explore Utah's bad perimeter defense. The Jazz's defense has been horrible, but they are coming from facing Miami, San Antonio, Denver, Sacramento, Portland, Sacramento, Indiana, Houston and Phoenix twice in a row! Not easy at all! Now against a much easier opponent, I expect Utah to be highly competitive tonight and so, I'll be taking them in here. Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 703 Utah Jazz (+4,5) @ -110 / 1.91 on Bookmaker

NBA Free Premium Play 12/15: Orlando Magic @ Oklahoma City Thunder

Orlando  at Oklahoma City

NBA - 807 Orlando Magic @ 808 Oklahoma City Thunder Play #5 OKC is rolling right now. They are playing incredibly well in both ends of the floor, and their second unit has been spectacular, something that will be the key tonight in a potential blowout win for OKC. ORL offense is basically a jump shooting team that attempts a lot of mid range jumpers. However they have been struggling to hit those shots lately and their 17.0 assists per game mark is extremely subpar. OKC’s overall size is a huge problem for their opponents that relies their game from the outside, that’s why they are an elite defensive team in defending pick n rolls and ranked #3 in spot up plays! Orlando is using a short rotation right now. In their last game against the Cavaliers, 4 of their starters played about 40 minutes and with a game tomorrow against the struggling Bulls, I expect the Magic to “manage” this contest while OKC offense is just too much for this Magic undersized defense. OKC will win by +15 points! Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 808 Oklahoma City Thunder (-13) @ -110 / 1.91 on Bookmaker

NBA Game Preview 12/11: Orlando Magic @ Charlotte Bobcats

Game: 701 Orlando Magic @ 702 Charlotte Bobcats

For the first time this season, the Bobcats scored +100 points in b2b games! It helped the fact that they faced 2 up tempo teams in PHI & GSW so they could generate some extra possessions but still having Off.Rtg of 110.5 and 112.2 is a sign of some improvement on the offensive end. Bismack Biyombo and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist are OUT due to injuries and we are talking about two of their best defensive players. Without MKG, Charlotte will now give some minutes to Tolliver and Ben Gordon and on an offensive standpoint, it will help them to spread better the floor because MKG really can’t shoot from the outside. CHA went 6-12 behind the line against the Warriors and not coincidently, 3 of the made treys were converted from Tolliver and Gordon. The Magic is a good matchup for this Bobcats offense. Kemba Walker will face Jameer Nelson who really won’t have a chance to stop his dribble penetration and when Walker has a good game, the Bobcats are extremely competitive.

Orlando is struggling offensively as of late. In 5 of their last 6 games they couldn’t even reach the 100-pts per possession mark. They just can’t score inside without Nikola Vucevic while their outside shooting is super inconsistent. L5 games they are shooting 33-117 behind the line – an awful 28% mark!

POTENTIAL PLAYS: CHARLOTTE -6 (without Vucevic) or OVER (with Vucevic)

NBA Free Premium Play 12/03: Orlando Magic @ Philadelphia 76ers

Orlando  at Philadelphia

NBA - 501 Orlando Magic @ 502 Philadelphia 76ers Plays #1 & 2 Orlando had a complete no show yesterday at Washington, who once again struggled with their second unit. Glen Davis was completely inefficient, while Nikola Vucevic got injured mid-game. Orlando struggled with the ball handling with 18 turnovers and Jameer Nelson's absence was a considerable blow for them on this area, as Victor Oladipo played at their primary PG and they struggled. These two teams faced each other recently and I took Philadelphia in that game, as Orlando was in a bad spot and Philadelphia would have a clear backcourt edge with Michael Carter-Williams over Jameer Nelson. However, that game was marked with the huge mismatch that Orlando had on frontcourt against a Sixers defense that really missed Spencer Hawes. Orlando had 52 points in the paint, with Glen Davis, Nikola Vucevic and Andrew Nicholson shooting a combined of 24-35 (68%) FG and grabbing 26 rebounds. However, Vucevic is likely out for tonight, while Hawes will play, so Orlando won't have the same frontcourt edge tonight. Philadelphia is coming from two games where they got crushed by New Orleans and Detroit, where they allowed 121 and 115 points. These two teams are elite transition teams and they exposed the Sixers with 25 and 20 fast break points. While the Pelicans and the Pistons are ranked #4 and #3 respectively on volume in transition plays, Orlando is just #22 in the league on this area, so Philadelphia's defense will have a better matchup today to make a defensive bounce back. With the Sixers being focused to make a defensive bounce back tonight and with Orlando's frontcourt missing Vucevic deeply, I believe this won't be the typical wild game involving the Sixers and so, I'll be taking the Under in here. As I expect Philadelphia to have a good matchup and spot to get revenge over Orlando, I'll be also taking the Sixers in here. Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 501/502 Under 206.5 @ -110 / 1.91 on Betonline Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 502 Philadelphia 76ers (-3,5) @ -110 / 1.91 on Bookmaker

NBA Free Premium Play 12/02: Orlando Magic @ Washington Wizards

Orlando  at Washington

NBA - 701 Orlando Magic @ 702 Washington Wizards Play #2 Nene Hilario returned to the team and of course, with that Washington's offense improved big time once again. The Wizards had just scored 73 points at Indiana the night before without him, but with Nene back in the lineup, the Wizards had a great offensive game against Atlanta. Their pick and rolls, spot ups and transitions worked well, but then their starters were on the floor for a very heavy number of minutes! On the other side, Orlando didn't stand a chance against San Antonio, even though they were playing without Tony Parker. The Spurs' depth and confidence were the key for this game, besides the fact that Tim Duncan had finally a big game with 8-13 FG, 3-3 FT, 19 points and 9 rebounds in 23 minutes, while also stopping Nikola Vucevic, who had just 4-12 FG and 8 turnovers! In fact, Orlando ended the game with 0-7 FG on post ups, which shows the Magic's inability to score near the basket against the Spurs' elite rim defense. On the other hand, the Magic's perimeter shooting was at a nice level, but that wasn't enough to beat the Spurs. For tonight's game, I believe Orlando will be more competitive because Washington's interior defense has nothing to do with the Spurs. If San Antonio is allowing 57% FG at the rim and 38.5% FG from 4-9 feet, Washington is allowing 64% FG and 43% FG in those areas! Another important factor has to do with the bench. If the Magic hang around with the Spurs' starters and only San Antonio's bench outplayed them, things will be different with Washington's poor bench, who won't outplay anybody. Therefore, I expect a close game in here and so, I'll be taking the Magic tonight. Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 701 Orlando Magic (+7) @ -110 / 1.91 on Bookmaker

NBA Premium Play 11/26: Orlando Magic @ Atlanta Hawks

NBA - 505 Orlando Magic @ 506 Atlanta Hawks

Play #1

Atlanta is coming from a surprising home loss against Boston. The Hawks had a double digits lead going into the fourth quarter, with Al Horford dominating, while Jeff Teague was struggling given Avery Bradley's good defense. On the other hand, Boston's offense was having a brick fest. Then, the fourth quarter arrived and Atlanta started well the quarter but then putting the second unit on the floor with Louis Williams leading the offense was a terrible idea. Boston got closer on the scoreboard and with Atlanta's starting lineup back on the floor, they decided to keep shooting jumpers and more jumpers, in such a way that Boston used a zone defense to force Atlanta to shoot from even further, something that made Atlanta miss even more shots! On the other hand, Boston got aggressive on the offensive end by attacking the rim and even though they kept shooting a lot of bricks, the free throws they got via aggressiveness were the key!

"I think the free-throw line and the aggressiveness of Boston in the fourth quarter was the difference in the game" Atlanta's coach Mike Budenholzer said. "For the game it’s 31-12 from the free-throw line. That’s going to make it a difficult game to win. I think we need to learn from that and be more aggressive and get to the paint, get the basket, get to the free-throw line. It’s a tough lesson to learn. It’s a tough way to learn it."

On their recent stretch of the games, Atlanta has been showing some problems on offense that are justified by their bad spot. In fact, their last game against the Celtics was their fourth game in five days and the Hawks don't have a lot of depth to defend themselves from these spots. They also faced Detroit twice and it wasn't easy for Atlanta to have good offensive games against such a big frontcourt, while Jeff Teague was limited by tiredness on back to back games. The good news is that Atlanta will now be rested to face Orlando tonight and Jeff Teague will come from facing a top defender like Avery Bradley into a poor defender like Jameer Nelson.

Orlando is now playing with a small lineup, so Atlanta with their own undersized lineup won't have problems in matching them. After a good start of the season, the Magic's defense was sent back to Earth while facing potent offensive teams. This is why they allowed more than 100 points in six of their last seven games! On the other side, Atlanta's defense is also far from being an elite unit, as they are allowing too many points near the basket, something understandable given their undersized frontcourt formed by Al Horford and Paul Millsap. 

These two teams have already faced each other this season and the game ended with 198 points, even though both teams had subpar offensive performances. This was due the fast pace that the game had that compensated the poor efficiency. I believe tonight's game will have a similar pace, while both offenses will look better tonight. The Magic were on a back to back spot in that game and they committed 19 turnovers and shot 10-18 FT! On the other side, Atlanta didn't have any problem in creating easy shots, as they ended that game with 36 assists! Dennis Schroder was at the time Atlanta's main backup guard and he had an awful 0-8 FG game. He has recently left the rotation and was replaced by Louis Williams, who will give an offensive boost to the team coming off the bench. On the other side, Orlando was starting Jason Maxiell at the time and he has been since replaced by Victor Oladipo, who gives more speed to the lineup, while Glen Davis is also now playing. This makes me believe that this game will have more points than the first game played between these two teams and so, I'll be taking the Over in here.

Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 505/506 Over 199,5 @ -110 / 1.91 on Bookmaker

NBA Free Premium Play 11/23: Orlando Magic @ Miami Heat

Orlando  at Miami

NBA - 709 Orlando Magic @ 710 Miami Heat Play #3 Orlando's Head Coach had the "brilliant" idea of using a small ball lineup to match Miami's small ball lineup as well. The idea in theory would be interesting, but Miami got comfortable and didn't have the struggles that they normally have on rebounding against bigger lineups. Miami generally gets outrebounded by their opponents, but this time they ended the game with 60% rebound rate! Defensively, Orlando double teamed LeBron James and of course, this generated a bunch of wide open shots for his team mates that ended with Miami shooting 15-24 3pts! With Dwyane Wade out, James Jones started on his place and took advantage of his shooting skills to make a bunch of treys. Orlando's offense will also have problems against Miami's defense, who is the best team on pick and roll defense, something highly problematic for Orlando's offense. The Magic committed 24 turnovers, given Miami's high pressure on the opposing ball handler and ended the game with just 0.69 PPP on pick and roll ball handler plays. This should happen once again tonight. The difference for tonight's game should be on Orlando's defense, who will have a different attitude on defense and use bigger lineups this time. Dwyade Wade is also back, so the Heat will have one less shooter on the floor this time around. Therefore, I don't expect this game to be a very high scoring game and so, I'll be taking the Under in here. Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 709/710 Under 203 @ -110 / 1.91 on Betonline

NBA Free Premium Play 11/16: Dallas Mavericks @ Orlando Magic

Dallas  at Orlando

NBA - 503 Dallas Mavericks @ 504 Orlando Magic Play #2 I really doubt Dallas's offensive skills when they are on bad spots like tonight due to the fact that they are a jump shooting team. In fact, on their last two road games where they were also on a back to back spot, the Mavericks scored just 93 points at Oklahoma City and then 91 points at Milwaukee. Yesterday on their game at Miami, Dirk Nowitzki played 36 minutes, Jose Calderon 35 minutes and Monta Ellis 42 minutes! Orlando's defense lacks some size on the frontcourt, but they are a quite decent perimeter defensive team, as shown with the fact that they are #5 in the league on 3pts defense with just 31.6% 3pts allowed, something that will cause problems for Dallas's offense that is prone to struggle on this kind of spots, as they are a jump shooting unit. On the other hand, Orlando has been quite competitive for their expectations before the start of the season especially due to their defense, as their offense has been indeed quite poor lately, with an average offensive rating of just 101.3 over their last four games! Nikola Vucevic is the only Magic player who can guarantee some easy points scored near the basket, with the rest of the lineup being formed by jump shooters, something that Dallas will like as they were completely crushed by Miami's dribble drive penetrations last night, something that won't happen tonight against Orlando. Therefore, I expect a relatively low scoring game tonight and so, I'll be taking the Under in here. Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 503/504 Under 204,5 @ -110 / 1.91 on Betonline

NBA Free Premium Play 11/09: Orlando Magic @ Atlanta Hawks

Orlando  at Atlanta

NBA - 703 Orlando Magic @ 704 Atlanta Hawks Play #2 Orlando's offense struggled a lot against Boston's defense last night. The key factor for that was the good defensive pressure that Boston put on the opposing ball handler and that forced Orlando to commit 20 turnovers, a season high for them! Orlando's coach Jacque Vaughn credited Avery Bradley for disrupting Orlando's offense so well last night: "They have a pretty good defender in Avery Bradley who can extend the defense some and pressure the basketball." Jacque Vaughn said. "A couple of times he was able to get into us and disrupt us a little bit." The Magic have been so far on this season a pure jump shooting team, but they shot 4-20 3pts and committed 20 turnovers last night, so they struggled and scored just 89 points. After a nice start of the season, it seems like the Magic's offense is now regressing with 5-16 and 4-20 3pts on their last two games. Avery Bradley once again proved that he is a nightmare matchup for Jameer Nelson, who had just 4-15 FG and 7 turnovers yesterday! I believe that Orlando's offense will have a better matchup tonight, as Atlanta's backcourt won't put as much pressure on Orlando's backcourt. However, I don't expect that to be enough for the Magic to make this game competitive. Atlanta is returning home after a tough road trip where they played at LA against the Lakers, at Sacramento and at Denver. Their offense was super sharp during the whole trip, with an excellent ball movement and with solid all around numbers. The key for that is of course Al Horford and Paul Millsap! I believe that these two players will have a mega edge against Orlando's poor interior defense tonight. The Magic's defense has been able to limit their opponents at the paint (#5 with 37 points in the paint allowed per game), but both Horford and Millsap don't play near the basket. They are super versatile on shooting from mid-range and this will crush Orlando's defensive formation. I expect a comfortable win for the Hawks tonight and so, I'll be taking them in here. Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 704 Atlanta Hawks (-6,5) @ -105 / 1.95 on Betonline

NBA Free Premium Play 11/01: New Orleans Pelicans @ Orlando Magic

New Orleans  at Orlando

NBA - 701 New Orleans Pelicans @ 702 Orlando Magic Play #1 Orlando started the season with two tough games back to back, as they faced the Pacers at Indiana and then they played an overtime game at Minnesota. Their "Big Three" formed by Nikola Vucevic, Arron Afflalo and Jameer Nelson made a huge effort especially on the game against the Wolves by playing 46, 41 and 41 minutes respectively. The Magic will now face a team that will be a quite tough matchup for them tonight. New Orleans with a backcourt led by Jrue Holiday and Eric Gordon will cause havoc on Orlando's poor backcourt defense, especially on such a poor spot for the Magic. Jrue Holiday will absolutely dominate Jameer Nelson and even though Orlando has in theory a good edge with Nikola Vucevic, the truth is that he is coming from a big effort in Minnesota and so, I wouldn't be surprised to see him physically struggling at some point tonight. Besides this, the matchup between Anthony Davis and Jason Maxiell is also quite favorable to the Pelicans. I have no doubt that New Orleans is the better team right now from these two, besides the fact that they are a tough matchup for the Magic and that they will be facing Orlando on a really tough spot for the home team. Therefore, I believe the Pelicans will pick up a comfortable win tonight and so, I'll be taking them in here. Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 701 New Orleans Pelicans (-4) @ -110 / 1.91 on Bookmaker

NBA Free Premium Play 10/29: Orlando Magic @ Indiana Pacers

Orlando  at Indiana

NBA - 501 Orlando Magic @ 502 Indiana Pacers Play #1 We will have a lot of games this season with double digits lines, but a top team like Indiana won't be just a -11.5 points favorite many times against a lowly team like Orlando. I have no doubt that the Pacers will be once again a top team this season. I watched some of their preseason games and their defense will be once again a top 3 unit, while they are more inconsistent on offense but with Luis Scola and C.J. Watson coming off the bench, Indiana will also be a better offensive team than they were last season, especially considering how much Roy Hibbert struggled on offense during the first half of the past season. Matchup wise, Orlando couldn't have a worse matchup than Indiana on their season debut. The Magic will have a lot of problems on offense not only due to lack of talent, but also because their best player Nikola Vucevic will face the best defensive frontcourt in the league. This is why Vucevic could only have the following numbers against Indiana last season: @ IND 3/19: 31min, 4-12 FG 9pts and 11reb vs IND 03/08: 34min, 6-11 FG 12pts and 6 reb vs IND 01/16: 35min, 7-13 FG 16 pts and 15 reb I know we can't take the preseason very seriously, but Orlando committed 20.6 turnovers per game in those games and they will now face the best defensive team in the league. So, I don't expect things to work well for the Magic at all. On the other side, Indiana will have a clear mismatch at the PF position that they will explore without much problems. Orlando has both Glen Davis and Tobias Harris out for this game, so Moe Harkless and Andrew Nicholson will be the two available players that can play at the PF position. So, these two players will have to defend David West and then Luis Scola, good luck with that! Indiana showed in the preseason that they are already focused and that they are ready to play faster and more aggressive in order to force turnovers to their opponents. On their last three preseason games, they forced, 22, 20 and 25 turnovers that led to almost 20 fast break points per game in those games. This is something that should also happen in here, as Orlando doesn't have good ball handlers, something that makes them turnover prone. I have Indiana winning this game by at least 15 points and so, I'll be taking them in here. Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 502 Indiana Pacers (-11.5) @ -110 / 1.91 on 5 Dimes

Orlando Magic NBA Team Season Preview 2013-14

ORLANDO MAGIC

Season Review 2012/13:

Advanced Stats
	Numbers	Rank
Pace	92.2	15
Offense	101.6	27
Defense	109.1	25
Rebound	50.1	16

4 Factors
Offense	Numbers	Rank	Defense	Numbers	Rank
eFG%	48.5	20	eFG%	50.8	22
TO%	13.7	12	TO%	11.8	30
Reb%	25.4	21	Reb%	25.4	7
FT%	14.9	29	FT%	19.5	8

Monthly Performance
	Record	OffRtg	DefRtg
November	5-10	99.3	105.6
December	7-9	106.5	106.2
January	2-12	109.5	118.9
February	2-11	98.3	112.0
March	3-13	103.3	115.0
April	1-7	98.7	110.8

Inevitably, the Magic would always have one of the worst records in the league last season, as that was exactly their plan. After firing their long-time Head Coach Stan Van Gundy, long-time GM Otis Smith and trading away their franchise player Dwight Howard plus their second best player Ryan Anderson, Orlando started a rebuilding process last season.

Unexpectedly, the Magic were competitive early in the season by having a 12-13 record in their first 25 games of the league. Head Coach Jacques Vaughn managed to surprise the league by forming an underrated starting lineup. This good start was contrasting with the organization’s expectations for this season and so, surprisingly or not, Orlando ended the regular season on an 8-49 record on the following 57 games, bad enough for them to be the worst team in the league in the regular season.

Glen Davis got injured and was done for the season, then Orlando traded J.J. Redick near the trade deadline and they didn’t want to use veteran players such as Hedo Turkoglu and Al Harrington to give more minutes to develop the young players.

Nikola Vucevic, Tobias Harris and Andrew Nicholson were the main young players of the team last season, especially Vucevic who showed great rebounding skills and a nice post up game, good news for a franchise that lost Dwight Howard.

Offseason Report:

Even though they were the team with the higest chance to get the #1 draft pick, Orlando got only the second pick. However, Cleveland surprisingly picked Anthony Bennett and Orlando picked Victor Oladipo, who was definitely going to be the #1 overall pick in the draft if the Magic had gotten the #1 pick in the lottery.

Orlando only started their rebuilding process last season and so, the priority of the team this season will be similar from the past year. This is why the team didn’t try to make any moves on free agency or on trades. They had some minor deals to give depth to the team such as getting PG Ronnie Price and PF Jason Maxiell, who signed a 2-year contract for about $5 million.

NBA Free Premium Play 04/13: Boston Celtics @ Orlando Magic

Boston  at Orlando

NBA - 501 Boston Celtics @ 502 Orlando Magic Projected Line: 199 points Boston will have Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett back for tonight's game, but still Doc Rivers will want to rotate his team and I doubt these two players will play more than 30 minutes. The Celtics are currently playing at a much faster pace than usual due to their second unit and tonight will be no exception. I expect Boston to have little problems in scoring tonight against the Magic's poor defense. The key of this game will be what Orlando's offense will be able to do tonight. The Magic haven't been able to be consistent on offense lately, as they lack talent and they are super shorthanded. However, Coach Vaughn is giving a lot of minutes to his young players and if we look at their recent schedule, Orlando played on the road against Atlanta, Houston, San Antonio, Chicago and Cleveland, so no wonder that they had poor offensive games with this tough schedule on the road. while using a very short rotation. For tonight's game, Orlando had 2 days off to rest and to prepare this game, after a win over the Bucks. The good news for Orlando has been their frontcourt with Nikola Vucevic and Tobias Harris attacking the basket very well, something that should be able to do once again tonight with success, as Boston's undersized frontcourt won't be able to stop them. I expect a nice edge from the Magic on offensive rebounding tonight, with that being the key for a nice number of second chance points for them in here. Orlando is also playing at a fast pace right now, so tonight's game should be indeed a fast paced contest, with both teams having success on offense. Therefore, I'll be taking the Over in here. Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 501/502 Over 195 @ -110 / 1.91 on 5Dimes

NBA Free Premium Play 03/30: Orlando Magic @ Atlanta Hawks

Orlando  at Atlanta

NBA - 503 Orlando Magic @ 504 Atlanta Hawks Projected Line: Atlanta by 15 points Orlando was competent yesterday on their home game against Washington by winning the game, even though Jameer Nelson only played 8 minutes. Washington couldn't take advantage of the edges they had on this matchup with a poor outside shooting game (4-20 3pts) and weak transition numbers as well with 3-12 FG and 0.83 PPP! Orlando took advantage of the Wizards's laziness to have a good first half, but then Washington showed some defensive effort in the third quarter and with that, Orlando scored just 4 points in the first six minutes of the second half while attempting some really bad shots. On the other hand, Washington played well on offense and defense during this span of time, but then they couldn't score a single point in the final 3:26 of the quarter. The Magic eventually won the game down the stretch, but with Moe Harkless playing 42 minutes and Tobias Harris 45 minutes! I believe that Orlando's tired legs will be a huge problem for them today. They have been playing super shorthanded lately and Coach Vaughn simply doesn't rotate the team. On their game at Charlotte, four of their players were on court for over 42 minutes, while on their game against Miami, once again four of their starters played at least 40 minutes! They will now play at Atlanta tonight, on a game against a Hawks team that is coming from a loss at Boston that left a bad taste on their mouths. Boston was on fire on their outside shots and they didn't give a single chance to Atlanta. Their win was so easy that Coach Larry Drew was able to save their key players for today's game, with Josh Smith being the only played that was on court for over 30 minutes. Matchup wise, Atlanta's transition game will be a problem for Orlando's poor transition defense and with the Hakws being a top team in scoring at the rim, Orlando's poor interior defense will struggle tonight as well. The Magic would need their perimeter shooting to keep this game competitive and on this poor physical spot for them, they won't be able to do that at all. Therefore, I expect an easy win for Atlanta tonight and so, I'll be taking them in here. Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 504 Atlanta Hawks (-12) @ -110 / 1.91 on Bookmaker