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The Portland Trail Blazers hit the road and travel to the Magic Kingdom to face the Orlando Magic on March 2, 2020.
The Blazers need a win badly as they have slid to nine games below the .500 mark and are now 3.5 games off the playoff pace in the Western Conference. The Blazers are without Damian Lillard and his teammates need to step up if they are to end this three-game losing skid. The Magic are coming off a one-point loss to the Spurs. Orlando is still in 7th place in the East and would want to stay there or move up. The Magic are two games ahead of the 8th seeded Brooklyn Nets.
Third Straight Loss
The Portland Trail Blazers dropped their third straight game on Saturday when they lost to the lowly Atlanta Hawks 117-129 in Atlanta. The Blazers played without Damian Lillard who is out with a groin strain and Portland suffered its sixth defeat in its last nine games to fall to nine games below the .500 mark.
C.J. McCollum led the Blazers with 35 points while Hassan Whiteside delivered his 46th double-double of the season with 21 points and 13 rebounds. Carmelo Anthony shot just 5-13 from the floor and finished with 12 points. Lillard will not play in this game and fact, he will not travel with the Blazers to Orlando.
Portland ranks 10th in the league in scoring at 113.0 points per game on the year. They are also 12th in rebounding at 45.6 boards grabbed per contest and are dead-last when it comes to passing at only 19.9 assists per game. The Blazers have the 5th worst scoring defense in the league at 115.4 points per game allowed.
Three Game Win Streak Snapped
The Orlando Magic had their three-game win streak snapped by the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday night 113-114. Despite the loss, Orlando remained in 7th place in the Eastern Conference and they still have a slim two-game lead over the 8th seeded Brooklyn Nets. The Magic had a chance to win the game but Evan Fournier missed an off-balanced lay-up with 2.2 seconds left in the ball game.
Fournier finished with 23 points to lead the Magic while Terence Ross added 21 points for Orlando. Aaron Gordon finished with seven points, six rebounds, and six assists after posting a triple-double in his previous game. Nikola Vucevic finished with 16 points and 9 rebounds while Markelle Fultz contributed 11 points for Orlando.
The Magic rank third from the bottom in scoring at 105.3 points per game. They are 18th off the boards with an average of 44.8 rebounds per game and are 21st in passing at 23.7 assists per contest. Orlando has the third-best scoring defense in the NBA at only 106.5 points per game allowed.
Who Wins?
Portland is 1-6 SU in their last seven games played. The Blazers are 0-6 SU in their last six games played on the road, and 11-3 SU in their last 14 games against the Southeast Division. Orlando is 5-2 SU in their last seven games played. The Magic are 3-2 SU in their last five games played at home, 1-6 SU in their last seven games played against the Western Conference, and 1-7 SU in their last eight games played against the Northwest Division. Head to head, the Blazers are 7-3 SU in their last 10 games played against the Magic.
Portland’s playoff hopes took a hit when Damian Lillard suffered a groin strain although he hopes to make a return this coming Friday. With Lillard out, the Blazers have dropped three in a row and they have fallen 3.5 games off a playoff spot in the West. McCollum and Whiteside will have to carry the flag again on Monday but they need Melo to have a big scoring game to win.
The Magic are trying to avoid playing the Milwaukee Bucks in Round 1 of the playoffs. Orlando is still two games up on Brooklyn and they are 3-1 SU in their last four games played. The Magic have a healthy line-up and they just need to bounce back from that one-point loss to the Spurs.
The Blazers are 10-22 SU on the road this season while Orlando is 16-14 SU at home this year. The Magic should have the edge in this contest because the Blazers will be going to war minus their top scorer and leader. McCollum, Anthony, and Whiteside are a handful but the Magic are a Top 3 defensive team and they should be able to limit the Portland offense.
Prediction: Orlando Magic
Other Bets to Make
The Blazers are 1-6 ATS in their last seven games played. Portland is 2-3 ATS in their last five games played on the road, and 0-5 ATS in their last five Monday games. The Magic are 4-1 ATS in their last five games played. Orlando is 2-3 ATS in their last five games played at home, and 6-2 ATS in their last eight games played in March. Head to head, the Blazers are 4-1-1 ATS in their last six games played against the Magic.
Trail Blazers
+7 (-108)
Magic
-7 (-112)
Odds from SportsBetting as of 03/01/20
Portland beat Orlando by 15 points in their first meeting of the season but obviously, the stakes are different when the Blazers play without Damian Lillard who scored 36 in that game. Lillard hasn’t played since February 13th and it has been a tough stretch for the Blazers. With Orlando playing at full strength, the Magic should be able to win the game and cover the spread.
Prediction: Magic -7
The total has gone over in 14 out of the last 19 games played by Portland. The over is 3-2 in the Blazers’ last five games played on the road. The total has gone over in each of the last seven games played by Orlando. The Magic have seen the total go over in four out of their last five games played at home. Head to head, the total has gone over in each of the last five games played between these two teams.
Over
222 (-107)
Under
222 (-113)
Odds from SportsBetting as of 03/01/20
These teams have combined to score an average of 230 points per game in their last three meetings. The Magic allow just over 106 points per game this season but they have conceded at least 114 points in six straight games including at least 120 in three out of the last five. Portland is a Top 10 scoring team and they have allowed at least 118 points in three out of their last five assignments. I like these teams to hit the over.
Prediction: Over 222
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