NBA Sports Betting Preview: Miami Heat vs. Orlando Magic
Sunshine State rivals lock horns in a crucial NBA betting affair on Wednesday night when the Miami Heat (8-5, 6-7 ATS) invade Amway Arena to do battle with the Orlando Magic (11-3, 9-5 ATS). Both of these teams have been off from basketball gambling affairs since Sunday, so both squads should be well-rested. This will be the first meeting between these teams this season.
Miami comes into this game off of a 102-101 victory over New Orleans at home. The SU victory snapped a three-game slide for the Heat, but their NBA gambling fans have had a heck of a time trying to beat the basketball wagering odds. Miami has failed to cover six straight games after opening the season at 6-1 ATS. The defense is to blame, as the unit has allowed at least 100 points in four straight games. To no surprise, all four went over the total. HC Eric Spoelstra's club is led by G Dwyane Wade who has almost double the points scored per game this year (28.1) as anyone else on his team (F Jermaine O'Neal is averaging 14.3 points per game). Wade is dishing out 5.2 assists per game, and he is leading the team in minutes with nearly 39 per game.
The Magic have had some problems with HC Stan Van Gundy lately, but the players' complaints certainly aren't spilling over onto the court. Orlando scored its fifth straight SU victory with a 104-95 victory at the Air Canada Centre on Sunday afternoon. The nine-point victory was more than enough to beat the NBA betting line. It was the third straight ATS victory for Orlando, which is off to yet another fantastic start to the season at 9-5 ATS. Since the start of the '07-'08 season, the Magic have gone a whopping 108-66-4 against the sports gambling number (62.1%). Orlando hasn't even scratched the surface of its abilities yet this season, as F Rashard Lewis is just getting back into the mix after his ten-game suspension. G Vince Carter is averaging 18.7 points per game, but he has been battling nagging injuries. C Dwight Howard will probably finish the season with more than the 17.4 points and 11.1 rebounds per game that he is averaging right now, especially considering that he averaged 20.6 and 13.8 last year.
The NBA wagering line features the Magic as nine point favorites. The sports betting total has been posted at 193 points.
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