jeff benton tuesday
1-0 last night..15 dime winner on the LAKERS....overall, 38-43-3 for a deficit of 50 dimes.
Jeff Benton Tuesday's Winner ... 20 DIME: ORLANDO MAGIC
Magic
I’m going with the old NBA Playoff zigzag theory. Not only do I believe the Magic will show up with a much better (and complete) effort than they did in Game 1, but I expect an emotional letdown from Boston, which has to be feeling pretty good about things right now after knocking off LeBron and the Cavaliers and stealing Game 1 in Orlando.
Besides, when you look inside the boxscore of Game 1, you see that Orlando played about as poorly as a team can play through three quarters (the Magic were down by 20 points at one point in the second half and trailed 74-58 going into the fourth) and yet still only lost by four points. The Magic ended up with just one less field goal than Boston overall (33-32), one less three-pointer (6-5) and one less free throw (20-19). And Orlando actually dominated the glass (45-38 rebounding edge overall; 15-7 rebounding edge on the offensive end), had more blocked shots (8-5) and more points in the paint (44-38).
So how did the Magic lose Game 1 – their first loss since April 2 and just their fourth loss in their last 29 games? Turnovers. They committed 18 of them (the vast majority in the first three quarters). I chalk that up to two things: 1) rustiness (they had six days off between sweeping the Hawks and Game 1 against the Celtics), and 2) overconfidence (they had rolled through their first two playoff opponents, going 8-0 SU and 7-1 ATS, and they had won 14 in a row overall, going 13-1 ATS). In Game 1, Orlando finally got punched in the mouth and didn’t immediately know how to react.
Well, the Magic clearly got over the rustiness in the fourth quarter Sunday, and the Celtics clearly have their attention. And the bottom line is if the Magic play with the intensity, focus and sense of purpose for 48 minutes tonight they way it did in the final 12 minutes in Game 1, this is going to be a double-digit rout.
A few things to keep in mind: Orlando is still 41-9 SU in its last 50 games, including 28-4 in its last 32 (23-8-1 ATS). The Magic are still 17-2 in their last 19 home games (13-5-1 ATS), including 11-1 in the last 12 (8-3-1 ATS). During their 41-9 run, they haven’t once had consecutive defeats, and only once in their 28-4 run have they had consecutive non-covers.
Additionally, while the Celtics have won four in a row SU and ATS, you have to go back to late November/early December for the last time Boston won five straight games (that was an 11-game winning streak). And the Celtics’ last five-game ATS winning run came early on in that 11-game winning streak (from Nov. 27-Dec. 4).
Finally, if you believe Orlando is going to win this game but you’re a little skittish about whether the Magic will do so by margin, consider this: The winner has covered the pointspread in 22 consecutive Boston games (including all 12 playoff games) and the winner is 16-1 ATS in the Magic’s last 17 games.
Lay the chalk, and look for the Magic to improve greatly on their 5-for-22 three-point shooting effort in Game 1 and roll to a 15-point win.
