76ers vs. Magic Line at Philadelphia -2.5
Carrie Stroup here. The 76ers vs. Magic line was coming in at Philadelphia -2.5. All NBA betting odds can be found at Sportsbook.com, which was offering up to $250 in FREE CASH when you open an online betting account here today.
Sportsbook.com Line & Total: Philadelphia -5.5 & 181.5
Opening Line & Total: 76ers -2.5 & 182
If the Magic are going to continue their run of dominance over the 76ers, they are going to have to do it shorthanded when they host Philadelphia on Monday night.
Orlando actually won in Cleveland on Sunday night despite playing without superstar C Dwight Howard and losing his replacement, Glen Davis, to a knee injury in the first quarter. The Magic got by with seldom-used Daniel Orton as their only low-post presence for most of the game. That might have worked against the undersized Cavs, who have little up front themselves, but it’s unlikely they’ll be able to pull it off against a 76ers team that’s formidable in the pain. Orlando has won 12 of 14 SU (11-3 ATS) against Philly, but it doesn’t have the personnel to get it done Monday night, especially considering the Magic are 1-4 ATS when playing the second game of a back-to-back at home this year.
The Sixers seem to have righted their ship with road wins at New Jersey and Toronto last week, though they still have some work to do to clinch a playoff spot. They followed up those two road wins at New Jersey and Toronto with a home loss to the Nets on Friday, their fifth SU defeat in seven games. Head coach Doug Collins continues to tweak his starting five, bringing SG Evan Turner (9.1 PPG, 5.8 RPG) and C Spencer Hawes (9.6 PPG, 7.6 RPG) off the bench the past three games in favor of SG Jodie Meeks (8.3 PPG) and rookie C Nikola Vucevic (5.9 PPG, 4.8 RPG). The switch has been more of a lateral move, with Turner going for 8.7 PPG on 50.0% FG over 23.0 MPG, Hawes getting 12.0 PPG and 7.3 RPG over 22.3 MPG, Meeks averaging 5.0 PPG on 25.0% FG over 25.0 MPG and Vucevic with 6.0 PPG and 6.0 RPG over 15.7 MPG.
Philadelphia is getting some excellent play from reserve PF Thaddeus Young (12.6 PPG, 5.2 RPG) of late though, as he’s averaged 16.3 PPG on 56.4% FG and 6.7 RPG over the past three games. Leading scorer Lou Williams (15.0 PPG) has shot a little bit better of late, averaging just 12.0 PPG, but shooting 48.6% FG over the past three games.
With Howard (20.6 PPG, 57.3% FG, 49.1% FT, 14.5 RPG) out for a fourth straight game on Sunday, PG Jameer Nelson (11.6 PPG, 5.4 APG) stepped up with 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting and nine assists in a 100-84 win at Cleveland. But the Magic suffered another big loss when PF Glen Davis (8.9 PPG, 5.4 RPG), who had slid into Howard’s starting spot, went down with a knee injury in the first quarter. Davis had been averaging 18.7 PPG and 11.4 RPG over seven games since moving into the starting lineup on April 1.
In his absence, the Magic got a surprise performance from second-year C Orton. A developmental pick in the 2010 Draft who had made little progress bouncing between the D-League and Magic, Orton didn’t appear in an NBA game as a rookie and entered Sunday with six points on 1-for-8 FG and 10 rebounds in 44 minutes this season. Facing the Cavs’ undersized front line, he had 11 points (3-for-4 FG, 5-for-8 FT), four rebounds, five steals and three blocks in 29 minutes.
- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com
