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Atlanta Hawks (47-39) at Orlando Magic (53-33)
Tuesday, April 26, 2011 at 7:30 pm EST on NBA TV
Spread: Orlando Magic -7.5
Money Line: Magic -380 / Hawks +310
Over/Under: 178
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The Eastern Conference’s fifth-seeded Atlanta Hawks travel to play the fourth-seeded Orlando Magic with the Hawks leading 3-1 in their best-of-seven, first round playoff series.
Atlanta is doing a better job of shipping Dwight Howard off to the Western Conference than any of the teams on that side of the bracket could possibly do. The Hawks have been able to use a trio of above-average players (Josh Smith, Jamal Crawford and Joe Johnson) and an average post player (Al Horford) to put themselves on the verge of scoring the NBA playoffs first upset. Each player contributes in a unique way and it makes them a hard out.
The Magic simply cannot shoot the ball well from more than about five feet away from the basket. Everybody’s cold, and in a league where the team with the hottest hand wins, this cold-shooting bunch appears headed for an early playoff exit. Really, they’ve been terrible. How bad? Their 2 for 23 performance in a Game 4 loss was the worst shooting percentage, at just over eight percent, in NBA playoff history. Howard simply cannot win these games for him no matter how many points he scores, rebounds he grabs or shots he blocks.
Hawks just need to keep playing team ball and get it to the hot hand at the end of close games, which usually means Johnson. Orlando can only hope and pray that their cold shooting, just by playing the odds, can’t last another game.
The odds makers have the Orlando Magic as a -7.5 point favorite with an over/under of 178.
Check out the latest NBA Basketball Playoff Odds here.
Playing at home is a boost to any team in the playoffs, no matter what you’re down. When you’re decent, like Orlando, it makes all the difference … but the Magic only win by four.
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Atlanta Hawks Betting Trends:
- Atlanta is 3-7 SU in its last 10 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Atlanta’s last 7 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 12 of Atlanta’s last 17 games on the road
- Atlanta is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games on the road
Orlando Magic Betting Trends:
- Orlando is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Orlando’s last 6 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Orlando’s last 10 games at home
- Orlando is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games at home
Orlando Magic vs Atlanta Hawks 2011 Playoff Schedule
*Game 6: Thu. April 28: Orlando @ Atlanta – NBA TV
*Game 7: Sat. April 30: Atlanta @ Orlando – TNT
* If necessary
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