Los Angeles Lakers at Orlando Magic Odds

Betting Odds

Point Spread: Orlando (-4)
Game Total Line: (180.5)
(wagering lines available at Betonline.com)

The Los Angeles Lakers have been lousy on the road so far this season, so they'll be trying to buck a trend Friday night when they stop in Orlando to take on Dwight Howard and the Magic (8 pm Eastern, ESPN).

The Magic opened as a 4.5 point favorite, but quickly moved to -4. The total line opened at 182 and bettors jumped on the under and drove it down to 180.5.

The Lakers started 4-4 this season, then won five games in a row. But now they've lost two of three. LA is coming off a poor performance Thursday night in which it trailed by as many as 23 points at a shorthanded Miami on its way to a 98-87 defeat.

Los Angeles is now just 1-5 both straight-up and against-the-spread on the road this season.

So the Lakers, who haven't hit the 100-point mark in their last nine games, have dropped into a first-place tie with the Clippers in the Pacific Division.

On the other side of this matchup Orlando started 5-3 this year, then won five in a row. But Wednesday at home vs. San Antonio, playing their third game in three days, the Magic shot just 33 percent from the floor and lost 85-83 in overtime.

So Orlando sits in second place in the Southeast Division, but just a half-game back of first-place Atlanta.

A quick perusal of the stats sheets for the season shows us that the Lakers are shooting just 25 percent from 3-point range. But Orlando is shooting a paltry 66 percent from the free-throw line.

These teams split their two games last season, each winning at home. The Magic won in Orlando 89-75 in February, while a month later the Lakers won in LA 97-84. Both those games played 'under' their posted totals.

LA is 5-11 on the over/unders this season, as Lakers games have averaged just 183 points.

Orlando is 5-9 on the totals, as Magic games have averaged 190 points.

For the NBA futures bettors out there the Lakers are being offered at right around +400 to win the Western Conference this season and +800 to win the NBA championship, while Orlando is getting upwards of 20/1 to win the Eastern Conference and 40/1 to win the league title.

Betting Pick

We were anti Lakers last night when we gave out the Heat as 5.5 favorites, but we're going to buck the Lakers losing road trend tonight. The Magic did get the day off yesterday, but they're still in a unenviable 4th game in 5 nights scenario and we believe that at the very least the lakers will be able to stay close in this game throughout.
Take the Lakers +4 at 5Dimes