NBA Basketball
2012-01-11 - Orlando Magic at Portland
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
United States: NBA Basketball
Wednesday 11 January 2012 - Tip Off 10pm ET
3am (British Standard Time)
Preview
The Portland Trail Blazers (7-2) will look to continue their fast start to the new season and also to maintain their unbeaten run at home where they have won all 6 games they have played this year. They face the rested Orlando Magic (6-3) who continue their mini-Western Conference swing after beating Sacramento last time out.
Portland beat the LA Clippers here last night and they will look to continue their big defensive effort that has allowed them to win these games. The Trail Blazers have held teams to an average of 92.5 points per game at the Rose Garden and they have a couple of star players that are capable of taking over a game and pushing Portland to another W.
Gerald Wallace and LaMarcus Aldridge both particularly enjoy playing here in front of the rabid fans that keep the team pumped up throughout a game. Wallace averages 21 points per game here, while has 14 total points in 3 road games, while Aldridge leads the team with 22 points per game.
Orlando will be hoping Dwight Howard gets a few more minutes under his belt in this game after he was held to under 20 minutes in the win against the Kings due to foul trouble. The big man had his season low in points and rebounds, but will look to bounce back tonight.
The Magic should have received a confidence boost considering they still won the game without the usual impact Howard provides. Glen Davis had his best game since coming over in a trade from the Boston Celtics, and he was ably backed up by Jason Richardson and Ryan Anderson. Orlando have spoken up about the positives of winning a game without their best player and should be ready to go tonight.
Head to Head
Portland have won the last 3 games in the series, both straight up and against the spread, including sweeping their two meetings last year.
The Trail Blazers have won 2 in a row at the Rose Garden, although Orlando had won 4 of the previous 5 games before that.
Portland are 6-2-1 against the spread this season, Orlando are 5-4.
Portland are 5-2 against the spread when they are set as the favourite, Orlando are 0-2 as the underdog.
Other Interesting Trends
Portland are 4-0-1 against the spread in their last 5 games against teams from the Eastern Conference.
They are 5-1-1 against the spread in their last 7 games against a team with a winning record.
Orlando are 2-9-1 against the spread in their last 12 games as the road underdog being given between 0.5 and 4.5 points.
They are 1-6 against the spread in their last 7 games when playing on 2 days rest.
Prediction
I am going to back the Portland Trail Blazers to win this game and cover the spread for the following reasons:
First, Portland are really fired up to play in front of their passionate home crowd and that gives the entire team a boost.
Second, Orlando have lost their last 3 games against the spread when they are playing the first of back to back nights.
Third, Portland have enjoyed this spot a little recently, going 3-1 against the spread when playing the second of back to back nights.
Fourth, the Trail Blazers have had the edge over Orlando in recent meetings and I think they are the better team.
The Pick :
Portland 103-95 Orlando Magic