Magic vs. Mavericks Preview
DALLAS, TX (AP) – When the Orlando Magic hosted the Dallas Mavericks last month, Dallas was in the midst of a 17-1 stretch while Orlando, days after overhauling its roster, was on its way to an eighth loss in nine games.
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Nothing has gone wrong for the Magic since. Little has gone right for the Mavericks.
Orlando looks to match the longest winning streak in franchise history Saturday night when it opens a five-game road trip against struggling Dallas, which hopes to avoid a fifth loss in seven games since Dirk Nowitzki went down with a knee injury.
According to NBA odds and oddsmakers from online sports book Sportsbook.com have made the Magic -4.5 point spread favorites for Saturday’s game against the Mavericks. Current NBA Public Betting Information shows that 88% of more than 172 bets for this game have been placed on the Magic -4.5.
The Magic (24-12) had lost five of six when they got an extreme makeover Dec. 18, swapping four of the rotation’s top eight players for Gilbert Arenas, Jason Richardson, Hedo Turkoglu and Earl Clark.
After playing shorthanded in a loss the day of the overhaul, Orlando dropped the first two games with its reconstructed look – including a 105-99 defeat against Dallas (26-9) on Dec. 21.
“It can’t get any worse,” Magic center Dwight Howard said.
Sure enough, it didn’t get worse in Orlando. These days it couldn’t get much better. The Magic, who averaged 89.3 points during their 1-8 skid, have scored 106.5 per game since. They stretched their winning streak to eight Friday, using a 39-21 run in the third quarter to cruise past Houston, 110-95.
A victory in Dallas – where Orlando has won its last two – would tie the franchise-record winning streak of nine, first set in the 1994-95 season and matched in 2000-01.
“I think the trades have made us better, there’s no doubt in my mind,” coach Stan Van Gundy said. “I thought that we’ve come together offensively quicker than I thought we would have, but we still need to work on our defense.”
While Arenas is still struggling – he’s shot 35.9 percent since the trade – Richardson and Turkoglu have thrived. Richardson has averaged 14.3 points and Turkoglu 13.5 during the streak, with both shooting above 50 percent from the floor overall and 40 percent from 3-point range.
“We still have some things to work on but for the most part, everybody is a lot more comfortable than they were weeks ago,” guard Jameer Nelson said. “Guys are coming in from a different situation and a different system and stuff like that. We just try to make them as comfortable as possible.”
As Orlando’s offense has begun to click, Dallas’ has sputtered. Not only has Nowitzki missed the past six games with a sprained right knee, but third-leading scorer Caron Butler was lost for the season last Saturday after tearing a tendon in his right knee.
The Mavericks are shooting 43.3 percent since Nowitzki went down and averaging 89.8 points – nearly 10 fewer than what they were scoring during a 24-5 start.
Thursday’s 99-95 loss to Oklahoma City was Dallas’ third in four games at home – its worst stretch at the American Airlines Center since opening 2008-09 with four consecutive defeats.
Saturday’s game will mark the first time in Nowitzki’s 13-year career he’s missed seven games in a season. The earliest he’ll return is Wednesday, when the Mavs open a four-game trip at Indiana.
“We definitely miss him,” center Tyson Chandler said. “Not only down the stretch, but he changes the entire game. When he’s in the game, he stretches the floor. Guys aren’t as willing to help off of him, he’s a big body. He plays great team defense.”
Chandler’s biggest problem Saturday will be containing Howard. Orlando’s big man has averaged 26.8 points, 17.5 rebounds and 3.3 blocks in the teams’ last four meetings.
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