NBA Friday game of the night – Magic at Lakers
BetUS NBA Basketball Sports Betting Odds: L.A.LAKERS -4.5, Total 214.5
Here are some of the NBA pro basketball sports betting trends as they relate to this matchup:
* ORL has won its last five games SU
* ORL has covered 16 of its last 19 games * ORL has played its last four games OVER the total
* ORL has won and covered four of its last five road games SU
* ORL has played its last five road games OVER the total
* LA has won 10 of its last 12 games SU
* LA has covered two of its last six games
* LA has played seven of its last nine games OVER the total
* LA has won 16 of its last 17 home games SU
* LA has covered four of its last 12 home games
* LA has played five of its last six home games OVER the total
Also…
* LA has won six of the last eight meetings SU
* ORL has covered three of the last four meetings
* Four of the last five meetings have gone OVER the total
* LA has won four of the last five meetings SU as the home team
* Three of the last four meetings in L.A. have gone UNDER the total
* ORL has had the shooting edge in seven of the last ten meetings
* LA has had the rebounding edge in four of the last six meetings
Did you know that this is the first time in NBA history where four teams have reached 30 wins with less than ten losses? Here are two of them, and the one legitimate surprise out of the quartet has to be the Magic, which is on a pointspread tear right now, covering 16 of their last 19 games. When is someone going to give Stan Van Gundy, who was the guy who laid the groundwork for Miami to win its only title, credit for being an outstanding coach?
Van Gundy really has it going on with this team, which not only hits more three-point shots than anyone in the league, but also features the circuit’s best rebounder in Dwight Howard, who should surely be an MVP candidate this season.
It’s quite likely no one in the NBA has ever exhibited such a three-point barrage as Orlando has in the last three games, with 16 of them against Atlanta last Friday, 14 against San Antonio on Sunday, and an NBA-record 23 against Sacramento on Tuesday, when the Magic hit 60.5% overall en route to a 139-107 win over the Kings. Peter Vecsey of the New York Post remarked that after a game like that, the Kings are looking to hire Paul Westhead as a defensive coach. That’s an inside joke, if you’re old enough to understand it.
All told, Orlando is 61% from beyond the three-point arc in the last three games, but what’s interesting about the Magic is that they are playing defense at a high level. Part of that involves Howard, who’s averaged 3.2 blocks and 9.4 defensive boards. Orlando is allowed less than 94 points a game, and even more impressively, this team is third in the NBA with a field goal percentage defense of 42.9%.
In the previous meeting, on December 20, the Magic pulled out a 106-103 win at the Amway Arena, even though the Lakers were able to make 24 of 25 shots from the free throw line. Orlando hit 12 three-pointers in the game. They’re in a groove right now, and have been a tremendous road team (15-5 SU, 14-5-1 ATS). The Lakers are thinned out right now, with injuries to Sasha Vujacic, Luke Walton, Lamar Odom and Jordan Farmar. We’re okay with taking a shot with the Magic plus 4.5 points in the BetUS NBA pro basketball sports betting odds.
