The Orlando Magic return home to face the Utah Jazz team that has been struggling without some key parts missing. The Magic have been humbled on the road trip as this is a perfect opportunity to get back on track. The Jazz will be tired after playing tonight, shorthanded, and are coming over without a clear idea what they can do to sustain the bad period. It’s Magic’s game to lose, but that’s an art they mastered over the years.
Jazz at Magic
Spread: Orlando Magic -5.5 (-110) at BetDSI Sportsbook
Total: o/u 207.5 points (-110)
The Jazz remain winless on the road, lose 101-106 in NY
With 1-6 in the last seven games, injured key players, the Utah Jazz players must feel like they could catch a break. The long road to the East couldn’t have come in worse time, but at least the Jazz will play teams they can beat. On Wednesday, they came close against the Knicks, riding an excellent outside shooting first half to take a double-digit lead, only to see it gone in the very last minutes of the game and falling behind 101-106.
This loss ranks as a particularly frustrating defeat for Utah in a season where defeats are mounting. Past defeats for the Jazz could be explained away for significant reasons — inefficient offense, lack of energy, and leaky defense have been to blame. Against the Knicks, the Jazz played their most energetic game in weeks. They fought. They dived for loose balls. They made shots — even some irrational ones. However, they missed shots when it mattered and scored just 19 points in the fourth quarter, setting the stage for the Knicks team that has grown known as a team able to mount a comeback. To be fair, the good offense was gone for the entire half, and the Jazz maintained the distance thanks to Hood making contested jumpers. But with all the good and the bad things done, there was also a lot of bad luck involved. Hardaway hit some very deep, contested threes for the Knicks and fortuitous ball bounce found him under the rim for some unexpected free throws. However, the Knicks posted a 119 offensive rating, and this tells you all about how impactful Rudy Gobert absence is already. Without their star center, the Jazz opted to use Favors and Jerebko in the frontcourt, with only Ekpe Udoh spilling them. It was the weak point the Knicks relentlessly attacked, and with Hardaway catching fire late, the Jazz backcourt couldn’t be the force to swing the game in Jazz favor. Hood finished with 30 points off the bench, taking 20 field goals (and 12 threes), and Mitchell followed with 19 points on 17 attempts. The Jazz could get offense from them as they created their own shots, as Rubio was playing poorly again.
He has an Achilles’ injury and is doubtful to play against the Brooklyn Nets, the team the Jazz face on the front end of this back-to-back, and also the only team they’ve managed to beat since November 1st. This probably means that he won’t be playing in Orlando either, so it’s going to be a lot of wings ball handling for the Jazz. Gobert and Joe Johnson are weeks away from returning, so they’ll have to figure it out with what they have.
Place: Amway Center, Orlando, Florida
Date/Time: Saturday, November 18th, 2017. 7:00 PM ET
TV Coverage: FS Florida, ATTSN-RM
The Grizzlies lose third in a row, can’t fix defense
The Orlando Magic have hoped to confirm their progress on this West Coast road trip, but have not been able to win. After coming on top in Phoenix (not an accomplishment per se), the Magic lost in Denver, Oakland and most recently in Portland. They fell 94-99 to the Blazers in what has turned out to be a profitable game for us with the under, but it’s a game they’d like to learn from and quickly put to rest.
The Magic opened up strong, shooting the ball with confidence and opening up a 14-point first half lead. While the hot shooting lasted for games earlier in the season, it didn’t even last for a half in this game. After scoring 33 points in the first frame, the Magic could only score 14 in the second and the freeze continued deep into third, allowing Portland to build up the lead to 66-55. The Magic did manage to get back into the game and even took a brief lead in the fourth, but the Blazers had better execution down the stretch and handed them another loss. The Magic shot fairly well for the game, finishing on 46.8 percent shooting and 11-of-29 from downtown. Fournier and Simmons once again led the way with 22 and 16 points respectively, and Vucevic chimed in with 11-point, 10-rebound double-double. Rebounding has been a problem for the Magic this season but Vucevic did a solid job to keep the Blazers off the glass. Things changed when he would sit, but the Magic still manage a tie on the boards. However, they were undone by strong outside shooting of the Blazers, who had hit 52 percent of their long bombs. Gordon was terrible again, taking a back seat in the first half and tried to force the issue as the game went on. His shot is slowly deserting him as well, and he looks frustrated by it. Payton did a poor job as well, unable to keep Lillard in front of him, and looked slow on the offense – he needs more games to get his legs under him.
The good news is that he could be relieved of some responsibilities as he gains the stamina and agility back, as D.J. Augustin will be returning soon. He has been upgraded to questionable for this game, so it’ll likely come down to how he feels on the match day. Rookie Isaac continues to sit.
Utah Jazz at Orlando Magic Game Trends & Prediction
The Jazz would even cover for the rare who backed their side in New York, as they were just a 3.5-point underdog. Their recent struggles are mirrored in the ATS record, as they’ve covered just once in the last seven games. The great defense has abandoned them even before Gobert’s injury, but since he went down, the Jazz allowed over 100 points to all of their three foes, resulting in two overs. For the season, they are 7-8 against the spread and 6-8-1 against the total points lines.
The Magic haven’t had greatest of road trips in terms of winning, but have mustered a 2-1-1 ATS record in the last four. After the initial giving, it’s been mostly .500 ball when it came down to payouts. They are standing at 8-6-1 overall, and are 3-3 at home. As the shooting came down to Earth, the Magic have been money on the under, going 2-7 on totals in the last nine. Overall, they are 6-9 against the over/under, and 2-4 at Amway Center.
Admi-Rank: Remember, the number is unaware of the injuries, so the Jazz rating doesn’t account for Gobert’s short absence. Still, it’s clear that the Jazz arrow is pointing straight down, as they rank worst in three seasons. The Magic have been battling to reach at least the NBA average level. Judging by the eye-test, they seem pretty much maxed out at 72.
While the Jazz effort in the last loss was commendable, it was mostly fueled by hot shooting that wouldn’t last. It’s not Jazz way and they are not going to win many games playing at dealer’s hands. The Magic should be motivated to start strong and exploit the back-to-back plus the travel, and are simply more talented with the current roster.
The books were not risking anything with Rubio and Augustin, and were not releasing any early odds. Comparing to how the books treated Gobert’s injury in two games in New York, there’s a decent possibility that they are undervaluing his absence and it may leave some doors open for both home and over bets.
My Pick: Magic -5.5 (-110)
Total: Over 207.5 points (-110)
