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The Miami Heat and Orlando Magic open their respective seasons with a showdown at the Amway Center on 10/17/18.
Miami is coming off a season where they finished with a 44-38 record and sixth in the Eastern Conference. On the other hand, Orlando ended its 2017-18 campaign with a 25-57 record, its worst in three years. The Magic missed the playoffs for the sixth straight season and went to the lottery in the recent NBA Draft, picking Texas big man Mo Bamba.
One Last Ride
While most NBA team were busy adding and subtracting players to improve their respective rosters, the Miami Heat spent their offseason waiting on their first superstar Dwyane Wade to make a decision. Wade had contemplated about retirement but ultimately decided that he is going to give his NBA career one last ride with the franchise that made him a star.
Miami has plenty of talent on its roster but it lacks the go to guy that the other elite NBA teams have. That role belonged to Wade for most of his career but with father time catching up with the Heat’s original superstar, they will now have to rely on their continuity and teamwork to get the job done. And then of course there is still Wade who can still cook up a specialty every now and then.
The closest thing to Wade as a scorer was Dion Waiters who quickly became one of Miami’s top gunners since he arrived in South Beach. But Waiters is still out with injury and Heat shooting specialist Wayne Ellington is considered day to day with an undisclosed illness.
Miami Heat vs Orlando Magic 10/17/18
Moneyline Odds: Heat -145, Magic +125
Odds from Betonline.ag as of 10/16/18
The Rebuild Continues
As for the Orlando Magic, this season could be the continuation of their rebuild. Orlando has not made the playoffs since 2012, when Dwight Howard was still in town. That seems like eons ago as the Magic have bounced around the bottom of the league since. Orlando has not won more than 35 games in the last six years and this year could be no different.
Orlando drafted big man Mohamed Bamba from the University of Texas. Newly hired head coach Steve Clifford hopes that Bamba will become the next Howard who will lead the Magic back to the promised land.
Aaron Gordon will be Orlando’s main man this season. The 4th year forward averaged a career best 17.6 points per game last season and is expected to team up with big man Nikola Vucevic who himself is coming off a 16.5 points and 9.2 rebound season. Also at the front end of the Orlando attack is former Spurs reserve Jonathan Simmon plus guards Evan Fournier and Terrence Ross.
How Gordon and Vucevic improve from last season will determine how far the Magic will go this season. Young guys like Bamba and Jonathan Isaac are potentials but not really expected to make heavy impact this season. With new coach Steve Clifford calling the shots, Orlando is expected to get even better in defense.
Who Wins?
The Heat are 1-4 SU in their last 5 games and 3-14 SU in their last 17 games on the road. On the other hand, the Magic are 5-14 in their last 19 games. Against Miami, Orlando is just 7-18 SU in their last 25 games and the Magic are also just 3-9 in their last 12 against the Heat at the Amway Center.
While the Heat didn’t have any significant additions last summer, neither did they suffer any significant losses. That said, the Heat have the continuity and chemistry working for them this season. We can always take a look at the Golden State Warriors when we talk of continuity and although the Heat aren’t as good as the Dubs, they made the playoffs last year and are expected to do so again this year.
The same can’t be said of Orlando, who has been on a rebuild mode for more than five years. The Magic have a new coach and that alone will account for adjustments. Miami also has the more established veterans so we’re going with Miami here.
We’re picking the Miami Heat to beat the Orlando Magic on 10/17/18.
Other Bets To Make
The Heat are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games and 3-6-2 ATS in their last 11 games on the road. On the other hand, the Magic are 3-7-1 ATS in their last 11 games but are 5-2 ATS in their last seven games against the Miami Heat.
Miami Heat vs Orlando Magic 10/17/18
Spread Odds: Heat -2.5 (-110) , Magic +2.5 (-110)
Odds from Betonline.ag as of 10/16/18
The last nine games between these teams have been decided by at least 6 points with four of Miami’s last five wins coming by double digits. Three points may be too few to decide a game on opening night and I think the Heat have more offensive weapons than the Magic. I like Miami to cover this small spread.
Prediction: Heat -2.5
The total has gone over in 10 out of the last 15 road games played by Miami. The total has also gone over in 8 out of the last 10 games between Miami and Orlando and also over in five out of the last 6 games between Miami and Orlando at the Amway Center.
Miami Heat vs Orlando Magic 10/17/18
Over/Under Odds: Over 210 -110, Under 210 -210
Odds from Betonline.ag as of 10/16/18
Make no mistake, these are two very good defensive teams. Miami has always been under Spoelstra and the Magic are expected to be better with Steve Clifford. Surprisingly though, the head to head matchup between these teams have been high scoring.Five of the last eight meetings between these teams had a total of at least 220 points, including three out of the last four meetings last season. The averaged combined score between these teams during their four regular season meetings last season was 217.25. I like the trend to continue on opening night.
Prediction: Over 210
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