NBA Free Picks – New Orleans Hornets vs. Orlando Magic
by Tim Furious
Even with a decisive and rousing victory against the Boston Celtics, the Orlando Magic have a lot of work ahead of them if they expect to be considered a solid basketball betting favorite in the NBA. The Magic are 9-2 SU in their last 11 games and are getting a layup matchup when they host the New Orleans Hornets tonight. Can the basketball equivalent to the Super Bowl champion Saints earn an NBA betting spread victory tonight?
Orlando erased an 11-point deficit against the Celtics to move in to second overall in the Eastern Conference behind the Cleveland Cavaliers. Of all the heroes in the NBA, Vince Carter was the one to erupt with 20 points to pace the Magic to what many are considering a stunning victory. Carter, who is averaging 15.7 points per game this season has enjoyed the benefit of not having a man on New Orleans that can defend him. In his career, Vince has put up 27.0 points per game against New Orleans which explains the massive spread for the Magic.
Chris Paul’s season murdering surgery is the other half of the spread. As stagnant and questionable as the Magic are, the struggling Hornets are even worse. Paul was their leading scorer with a staggering 20.4 points and 11.2 assists before going under the knife. The increased minutes for Darren Collison at the point have forced the former UCLA player to prove his worth to New Orleans. With 16.6 points per game in his last 5 games, Collison has been a strong replacement for the irreplaceable Paul, but the matchup nightmares against Orlando are insanely daunting.
New Orleans Hornets (27-24) vs. Orlando Magic (34-17)
Monday, February 8th --- Amway Arena, Orlando --- 8:00pm EST
NBA Betting Line – Orlando -9.5 (193.5)
Coming out of university, Emeka Okafor was touted as the best prospect in the 2004 NBA Draft. When he was traded to New Orleans from Charlotte in exchange for Tyson Chandler, Okafor was supposed to be the reliable frontcourt player that Paul has needed to enjoy success in the NBA. Okafor is averaging around a 10-10 this season but he hasn’t broken out the way that Hornets betting fans were hoping. Despite going 5-0 ATS on the road in their last five games away from home, the Hornets aren’t raising any eyebrows around the league.
Dwight Howard was taken ahead of Okafor in the draft and it was a massively criticized move. Not so much anymore. The Magic are 6-1 SU in their last 7 games at home and coming off a huge road win against Boston the night before will carry a ton of momentum when they return home to Amway Arena tonight.
Overall, the Hornets are massively unreliable on the betting line going just 2-4 SU/ATS in their last 6 games. The smart money sits with Orlando tonight despite a massive spread.
NBA Free Pick – Orlando -9.5 (UNDER)
