NBA Betting Preview: Orlando Magic at New York Knicks

Added on Mar 23, 2011 by Jack Thurman in

NBA

Our last play on a busy day of NBA betting action will be in the Eastern Conference as the Orlando Magic head to ‘The Big Apple’ to take on the New York Knicks. Orlando is likely going to enter the playoffs with the #4 seed in the East–they’re not likely to run down Miami, Chicago or Boston and are 5 games up on the slumping Atlanta Hawks in 5th place. The Knicks are currently in 7th place 1 game behind 6th place Philadelphia.

Orlando Magic at New York Knicks
March 23, 2011 5:05 PM Pacific

The New York Knicks became a ‘hot item’ among the betting public when they acquired Carmelo Anthony from Denver and though the team has shown moments of brilliance their overall form hasn’t been exceptional. They’ll try to get a big win against a NBA Eastern Conference power tonight when they host Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic at Madison Square Garden. Orlando has improved their performance on the road as the season has progressed, though they’re still not a particularly good pointspread investment away from home. They have improved to 19-15 SU which is more in line with their solid 25-11 SU record at home but are just 13-21 against the number away from home. This is an especially bad pointspread role for the Magic–they’re 2-6 SU/ATS as a road favorite of less than 3.

The Knicks have been a huge question mark for most of the season. They’re capable of looking like a legitimate contender on some nights—like their road victory at Miami in late February—and very ordinary on other nights capable of losing to teams like Cleveland and Detroit. Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire are working fairly well together and averaging more than 50 PPG combined, but the Knicks’ glaring weakness has been defense. When he was acquired from Denver, Anthony suggested that he wanted to help improve the team’s defensive intensity. That really hasn’t happened—the Knicks are currently the #28 scoring defense in the NBA allowing more points than Cleveland, Phoenix and Toronto.

Since the Anthony deal the Knicks have been a team that steps up in ‘marquee matchups’ against elite level opposition. In this spot, however, they may be in ‘letdown’ mode despite the fact that the Magic are a very tough opponent. New York hosts the Boston Celtics on Monday in what is obviously a much bigger rivalry game—the Boston vs. New York rivalry transcends sports while the New York v. Orlando rivalry doesn’t. This game doesn’t set up quite as well as it would had New York beaten Boston. With all due respect to the Knicks exceptional 23-9 ATS record as an underdog this year this is a bad tactical matchup for them. We’ll lay the small price with Orlando.

Bet Orlando Magic -1′ over New York Knicks