Last night was a pretty solid run 👍 , except for that one missed shot 😢
Today I’m looking at trying this one out:
To me, this feels like the best value on the board today because I honestly don't see anyone else besides the road team taking this one, especially with the odds looking this good. See, the Atlanta Hawks are going to be missing Joe Johnson, their main scoring threat who usually puts up about 17.6 points a game, and they're also dealing with Al Horford and DeMarre Carroll being sidelined (both big guys in the paint). Historically, Atlanta has had a tough time against the Orlando Magic; last season they dropped three out of four regular season matchups and even got knocked out by them in the playoffs. The Orlando squad has been playing with a lot of confidence lately, and I think this is the perfect moment for them to capitalize on a weakened Hawks roster.
Atlanta is currently stuck in a three-game winless slump, while Orlando is riding high with two straight wins and has only lost once in their last seven games—that loss was to the Miami Heat, 78-90, which honestly wasn't much of a surprise. In past matchups, the biggest headaches for Orlando's defense were guys like Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford, though he's moved over to the Portland Trailblazers now. The only ones left on the Hawks who can really shake things up are Josh Smith, Jeff Teague, and Willie Green; everyone else just doesn't carry that kind of weight. Over on the Orlando side, there's some uncertainty around Jason Richardson since he missed the last couple of games, but JJ Redick has been stepping up and covering that role quite nicely.
Orlando has plenty of reliable pieces to lean on, with Dwight Howard still dominating the paint like he always does, supported by Ryan Anderson and Glen Davis. On the perimeter, they've got solid shooting from Hedo Türkoğlu, JJ Redick, and David Lee. They also have decent depth coming off the bench, aside from Glen Davis, with Jordan Duhon and Rafer Alston ready to chip in. All things considered, the Orlando roster looks pretty sturdy compared to where Atlanta is right now, so I'm leaning heavily toward the Magic. We saw last night against the New York Knicks how the Hawks just ran out of options on offense, and I expect that same struggle to happen again tonight. Meanwhile, the Orlando players had a relatively easy night against the Brooklyn Nets, with four of their five starters playing under 30 minutes, so they should be feeling fresh heading into this matchup against the home team. Zaza Pachulia is going to have his hands full trying to contain Dwight Howard, and if Dwight plays smart and gets Zaza into early foul trouble, they could cruise to a win because the Hawks are spread so thin at the center position—they've basically just got Eric Dampier left. Either way, I think Orlando walks away with the W tonight. 🎉
Atlanta Hawks - Orlando Magic
Orlando @ 1.8
