Free NBA Picks and Odds: Orlando Magic at New York Knicks on ESPN Expert Predictions – NBA Betting Preview 3/23/11: Big Man Dwight Howard will lead the Orlando Magic on the road to Madison Square Garden to take on fellow big man Amare Stoudemire and the New York Knickerbockers on Wednesday night at 8:00 PM ET on ESPN. The Magic enter the game on a three game winning streak at 45-26 – 2nd in the Southeast and 4th overall in the Eastern Conference – while the Knicks have lost 3 in a row and sit at 35-35 – 3rd in the Atlantic and 7th overall in the East.
The Magic won despite what their coach Stan Van Gundy felt was a lackluster effort and 20 turnovers. “You only play 82 games a year,” Van Gundy said. “It shouldn’t be hard to go out and play hard and well all the time. We’ve seen ebbs and flows, but I don’t have an excuse for it.” The Knicks had a 14 point lead at halftime but gave up 23 of the final 27 points of the game to lose again. “We just got to a point there, I thought we just panicked,” coach Mike D’Antoni said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do.” The odds makers at Bodog have the Orlando Magic a -1 1/2 point favorite on the road against the New York Knicks.
The Magic are coming off a 97-86 win on the road at the Cleveland Cavaliers to move to 29-40-2 ATS for the season. Howard had another big night with 28 points, pulling down 18 rebounds and dishing 4 assists while forward Brandon Bass chipped in 22 points and 6 boards. Orlando is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against New York. Vegas odds makers have Orlando Magic +1200 to win the 2010-2011 NBA Championship.
The Knicks most recent loss was a 96-86 meltdown to the Boston Celtics to move them to a still impressive 40-28-2 ATS for the season. Carmelo Anthony led the way with 22 points and 5 rebounds while Chauncey Billups added 21 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assist. Stoudemire was held to just 16 points but still grabbed 11 boards. The total has gone OVER in 4 of last 6 games when playing at home against Orlando and is 3-7 ATS in its last 10 games when playing at home against Orlando. Vegas odds makers have the over/under for the total score at 203 points combined of the Orlando Magic and New York Knicks.
I predict a Magic victory and cover on the road!
GAME: Orlando (45-26) at New York (35-35)
TIME: 8:05 PM EST
TV: ESPN
NBA Odds and Lines: Favorite: Orlando -1 Total: Over/Under 204
FREE PICK: Orlando Magic -1