LeBron and Miami Battles Superman Dwight and Orlando as Slight NBA Odds Dogs

LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh will hit the hardwood in Orlando to take on Dwight Howard and the Magic on Feb. 3rd as slight NBA betting dogs in the sports book.

The Heat has won 3 games in a row straight up after losing to the New York Knicks on the road 88 to 93 on Jan. 27th.  The Magic has had a loss/win pattern for their last 5 games.  The pattern says that they win on Thursday night, but will it happen?

Miami Heat (34-14) at Orlando Magic (31-18)

Where:  Amway Center, Orlando, Florida When:  Feb. 3rd, 2010 at 8:00 pm EST TV:  TNT

Miami Heat                  +1 ½ -110       O 194 ½ -110 Orlando Magic             -1 ½ -110        U 194 ½ -110

Check out some trends for this game.

This is definitely a tough game to handicap.  The trends go either way for both teams when it comes to the NBA odds spread.  In fact, this game probably will be decided by around 2 to 3 points meaning that online odds are exactly where they should be in the sports book.

What should a hoops handicapper do in this situation?  There are some strong trends suggesting that this game will go over the total of 194 ½ points.  For Miami, the over is 6 and 1 in their last 7 road games and 5-1-1 in their last 7 games following an ATS victory.  For Orlando, the over is 5 and 1 in their last 6 overall and 4 and 0 in their last 4 games as a favorite of ½ to 4 ½ points.

Both of these teams have very good defenses but they also have Top 10 ranked offenses. The Magic allowed Houston to score 104 points against them in a 108 to 104 victory.  They allowed Detroit to score 103 in a 96 to 103 loss and gave up 96 to Indiana, 99 to Chicago and 100 to Memphis in 3 out of their last 4 games.  It appears to me that the best wager in the online sportsbook is to go over the total in this contest.

Although the Heat prides itself on their terrific defense, they aren’t averse to running up and down the court and taking easy baskets.  Miami played in a 108 to 103 game versus the Oklahoma City Thunder, a Heat victory, 2 games ago.  They also scored 117 versus the Cleveland Cavaliers in their last game. 

In the last game between these two, before Orlando secured scorers Hedo Turkoglu and Jason Richardson, Dwight Howard had 24 points.  LeBron had 25 points, Bosh 21 and D-Wade 18.  The final score, 199, was 5 points above tonight’s NBA total betting line.  Now, the Magic is stronger on offense with Richardson and Turkoglu and 3-point master JJ Reddick should be back from a shoulder injury.

I have to go with over the total in this game.  There will be too many good scorers on the court on Thursday night with Richardson, Howard, Turkoglu. Reddick and Jameer Nelson for Orlando and Wade, James and Bosh for Miami.

The game between the Miami Heat and the Orlando Magic should definitely go over the total of 194 ½ on Thursday night.

NBA Basketball Betting Pick:  Over 194 ½  

LeBron takes on Dwight when the Heat battles the Magic!  Log on and bet on NBA games in the sportsbook!

Sources:  espn.com, covers.com   

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February 2, 2011 • Tags: Dogs, Slight Nba • Posted in: Sport Betting Analysis

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