Orlando Magic vs Portland Trailblazers | Preview & Predictions | Sportsbookbuzz.com

NBA BASKETBALL – FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2010

Orlando Magic (26-13) at Portland Trailblazers (24-16) 10:30 p.m. EST, TV: ESPN

This will be a battle of two teams that have been enigmas so far in the NBA season, Orlando for its seeming inability to always get its group of All-Stars to play together and Portland for its consistent string of injuries. That being said, both are going to be playoff teams and Orlando is still considered a contender in the Eastern Conference and its a loooooooooonggggg way from Orlando to the Rose Garden in Portland.

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The Magic won the only meeting between these two teams this season, 92-83 on Dec. 19 at Orlando.

This might not be a surprise to some, but Vince Carter isn’t the greatest “team player” that ever put on an NBA uniform. Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy has four All-Stars on his roster in Carter, Dwight Howard, Rashard Lewis and Jameer Nelson, and has indicated in the last week that one of those players is about to see a drastic drop in minutes, and all signs point to Carter being that guy. A shoulder injury has kept Carter on the sideline recently and he’s expected to return at some point in the current road trip, but nobody really knows when. Even with his talent, the Magic seem to play better without him.

Portland has been absolutely ravaged by injuries this season, losing centers Joel Pryzbilla and Greg Oden to season-ending injuries. That being said, it is a testament to what kind of players Lamarcus Aldridge and Brandon Roy are turning into that the Trailblazers could still grab the Northwest Division lead from Denver at any point, and trail by just 1½ games right now. Here’s the problem — Roy has a strained hamstring that could see his minutes decrease and Portland can absolutely not win without him.

The odds makers have the Orlando Magic at -4.5 point favorites.

With a player like Howard in the post and a 6-foot-10 player in Lewis who can play shooting guard, small forward and power forward, the Magic present matchup problems all over the place and now have what looks like another reliable player in long-time-coming J.J. Redick, who is playing the best basketball of his NBA career right now. Portland’s injury woes seem to only re-invent themselves when they have to lean on Aldridge, and to a much greater extent, Roy. How bad are things for Portland right now? Juwan Howard is starting at center. Yes, that Juwan Howard.

Look for Orlando to pick up a road victory in this one, beating the Trailblazers by five points.

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