jeff benton saturday
0-2 yesterday for MINUS 25 dimes..losers on the Reds and the Spurs..overall, 31-40-3 MINUS 90 dimes..
Saturday's Action 30 Dime: ORLANDO MAGIC
Magic
Let’s see what we’re dealing with here, OK?
You’ve got the Atlanta Hawks, who got annihilated in Game 1 of this series in Orlando, losing 114-71 and thus becoming – for 48 hours – a national sports punch line. Then, with a chance to redeem themselves and show some heart, the Hawks did just that … for about 24 minutes, as they took an eight-point lead into halftime. Then in the blink of an eye, Orlando went on an 11-2 run to regain the lead. That was followed in the fourth quarter by a decisive 19-2 surge that put the Magic up by 19 and they ended up cruising to a 14-point victory.
That gives Orlando a 12-game winning streak going back to the regular season. That 12-game winning streak includes nine double-digit routs, with wins by margins of 14, 43, 15, 10, 14, 20, 15, 27 and 15 points. In these playoffs, the Magic are 6-0 SU and 5-1 ATS (cashing in the last five in a row) with an average margin of victory of 15.7 ppg. And only one of the Orlando’s postseason victories was by fewer than nine points.
Furthermore, since January 20, the Magic are 39-8, and of those 39 wins, 27 have been by 10 points or more!
Guys, you can question the caliber of competition – the Bobcats and Hawks – but I’m not going to. The Magic have simply been THE most impressive team in the playoffs so far. At the same time, the Hawks have been maddeningly inconsistent. They’ve fallen asleep in the second half in almost every playoff game so far, squandering lead after lead after lead.
And honestly, the Hawks have to be a complete mess psychologically. Think about it: After getting completely boat-raced in Game 1, they came back in Game 2 and punched the Magic in the mouth – literally, too, as Orlando big man Dwight Howard got popped in the face early in the third quarter and had to leave temporarily – and STILL lost again by double digits. For those keeping track, that means the Magic have now won eight of the last nine meetings against the Hawks (including three of four in Atlanta). This year alone, Orlando’s five wins have been by 14, 17 (on the road), 32, 18 and 43 points.
The Hawks’ only win during this nine-game stretch against Orlando came on March 24 at home, and it was NOT easy (86-84, with the Magic actually holding a 13-point lead at one point and the Hawks stinking it up again down the stretch with an 18-point fourth quarter). The main reason the Hawks won that contest? Orlando sharpshooter Rashard Lewis had an off night (2-for-9 overall, 0-4 from three-point land, 6 total points). Well, on Thursday, so far in this series, Lewis is 11-for-22 (50 percent), and he’s scored in double figures in five of the Magic’s six playoff games, the only exception being a nine-point effort in the 43-point Game 1 blowout when he only played 28 minutes.
Guys, I know this is usually THE perfect spot to back the home team (down 0-2, back at home, being a small underdog in a must-win situation). But there are exceptions to every rule, and the fact remains that the Magic are a NIGHTMARE matchup for Atlanta. And as long as Orlando can weather what will surely be an early storm and as long as they don’t get complacent – hard to believe that will happen given a 12-game winning streak – then they'll roll to another easy win.
