Bob Balfe (YTD -- NBA 67-44 / NCAA 51-42)
NBA Basketball
Magic -6.5 over Mavs
Two key pieces of analysis to this game is the point guard (Kidd vs Nelson) and center (Dampier vs Howard) performances tonight. Right now, Jameer Nelson is a better true point guard than Jason Kidd, who's play is diminishing by the game. Dallas is no longer a worthy contender now that they traded their most underrated player on their team. Dwight Howard is going to absolutely bully Dampier (as he did in their previous matchup) and Nelson will be giving Kidd problems all night. Look for Dallas to score well under their average of 100 points a game and the Magic to win every quarter convincingly. This should easily be a double-digit for a surging Orlando, who are now starting to really find their groove by implementing a pretty good player by the name of Vince Carter. Big win tonight for the Magic. Take Orlando -6.5.