Last Updated on May 4, 2010 4:00 pm by drew
Magic-Hawks Pick
The Orlando Magic continue their pursuit of a second straight Eastern Conference Championship on Tuesday when they begin their series with the Atlanta Hawks.
Bet the 2010 NBA Playoffs
The Magic are the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference while the Hawks are the No. 3 seed.
Oddsmakers from online sports book SBGGLOBAL have made Orlando the overwhelming favorites to win the series with a money line of -800 while the Hawks have a line of +500.
Orlando had a regular season record of 59-23 and a home record of 34-7 and a road record of 25-16. The Magic opened the playoffs with a first round sweep of Charlotte. The Magic averaged 94.8 points per-game in the series while holding the Bobcats to 85.5 points per-game. Dwight Howard didn’t have a great presence in the series averaging under 10 points and 10 rebounds per-game, but Jameer Nelson averaged 23.7 points per-game. In four games with Atlanta this year, Orlando won three meetings, all of which came by at least 17 points. The one loss was an 86-84 win for the Hawks late in the season when the Magic were resting starters.
Atlanta went 53-29 on the season and also had a home record of 34-7 but were just 19-22 on the road. The Hawks are coming off a 4-3 series win over Milwaukee in the first round. The Hawks scored 93.7 points per-game in the series while giving up 90 points per-game to the Bucks. Al Horford averaged 15.5 points per-game with just under 10 rebounds per-game to leads the Hawks. Joe Johnson averaged 20.8 points per-game in the series and also dished out 5.7 assists.
In this series, Atlanta just looks to be out-matched. The Hawks may be able to steal a game early as the Magic have had over a week off, but ultimately, Orlando should be able to dominate this series. Atlanta will struggle to win on the road while the Magic have shown they can win away from home. Look for Orlando to win in five or six games.
Our NBA Playoff Series Free Pick for this matchup is: ORLANDO -800
NBA Playoffs Betting Trends
ATLANTA is 42-73 ATS (-38.3 Units) in a road game where where the total is between 190 and 194.5 points since 1996.
ATLANTA is 5-18 ATS (-14.8 Units) in road games in all playoff games since 1996.
ORLANDO is 47-34 ATS (+9.6 Units) in all games this season.
ORLANDO is 43-30 ATS (+10.0 Units) as a favorite this season.
ORLANDO is 80-58 ATS (+16.2 Units) in home games over the last 3 seasons.
ORLANDO is 33-18 ATS (+13.2 Units) vs. division opponents over the last 3 seasons.
ORLANDO is 60-38 ATS (+18.2 Units) revenging a loss vs opponent over the last 3 seasons.
ORLANDO is 54-35 ATS (+15.5 Units) versus good offensive teams – scoring 99+ points/game over the last 2 seasons.
ATLANTA is 51-37 ATS (+10.3 Units) in all games this season.
ATLANTA is 22-11 ATS (+9.9 Units) after a win by 10 points or more this season.
Head-to-Head Series History
ORLANDO is 8-4 against the spread versus ATLANTA over the last 3 seasons
ORLANDO is 8-4 straight up against ATLANTA over the last 3 seasons
8 of 12 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
NBA Playoffs Injury Report
ATLANTA
[C] 04/09/2010 – Jason Collins out for season ( Foot )
[F] 04/28/2010 – Josh Smith probable Friday vs. Milwaukee ( Head )
ORLANDO
No significant injuries.
NBA Playoffs Series Odds
Orlando Magic -800
Magic vs. Hawks Series Schedule:
Tuesday, May 4 at Orlando, 8PM on TNT
Thursday, May 6 at Orlando, 8PM on ESPN
Saturday, May 8 at Atlanta, 5PM on ESPN
Monday, May 10 at Atlanta, 8PM on TNT
*Wednesday, May 12 at Orlando, TBA on TNT
*Friday, May 14 at Atlanta, TBA on ESPN
*Sunday May 16 at Orland, TBA
*If Necessary
Posted: 5/4/10 4:00PM ET