Posted:
#1
Since Dwight Howard has put on a basketball uniform for the Orlando Magic (04-05) his team has been a pretty scary bet in the 1st two games that have followed the All-Star break as the Magic have gone 4-10su & 5-9ats over the past seven NBA seasons. In their 2nd game following the All-Star break it actually gets worse in relation to winning basketball games as the Magic are 1-6su & 3-4ats over that same period of time as you can see here below:
2/26/05 @Miami (98-101)L +6w
*2/22/06 @NJ (93-96)L +11.5w
*2/21/07 @Detroit (88-110)L +7.5L
*#2/20/08 @Toronto (110-127)L +3.5L
*#2/18/09 @New Orleans (85-117)L +1.5L
#2/19/10 vsDallas (85-95)L -7L
2/25/11 vsOKC (111-88)w -6w
So as you can see history has consistently proven the Orlando Magic to be a loser both on the court and in the wagering world as well in these first 2 games that have followed the All-Star break.
I'm sure most of you would love to ask the all important question of, "But wait they are playing the OKC Thunder tonight and by this analogy the Orlando Magic pulverized them last year in this very same and exact situation. So wouldn't you think they can do it again?"
I'm so glad you asked because there is most certainly a solid reason as to why the Magic were able to pound the Thunder into pulp last season. The Thunder simply had no defense for a man of Dwight Howard's size and athletic ability in the paint as he he poured in 40pts on a remarkable 16 for 20 night from the field (80%). He was also sent to the line 12 times (made 8) as the Thunder just could not prevent the man from having his way. Believe it or not the Thunder had already made a move to prevent this type of thing from happening to them the day before this game when they traded for Kendrick Perkins on Feb 24th, 2011(A trade that pissed off all Celtic fans). Kendrick missed his 1st 9 possible games as an OKC Thunder but when he finally got the chance to suit up and play the Thunder have reaped the rewards for sure as they went 13-4su & 9-7-1ats to finish last years regular season with Kendrick in uniform. So far this season with Kendrick in uniform the Thunder have gone 27-7su & 19-15ats as the Thunder currently hold the 5th best ats record this season(20-15) & 2nd best su record at 28-7. So that's a combined 40-11su & 28-22-1ats since he started playing in a Thunder uniform last season. Kendrick has already helped the Thunder pay back the Magic this season as they beat them 97-89 back on Christmas day (NBA opening night) as Perkins & Ibaka held Dwight to one of his worst games all season shooting 4 for 12 from the field and scoring just 11pt's.
Wait it gets better as when referring to the games above on the Magic playing their 2nd game post All-Star break as the Magic are 0-4su & 1-3ats when this game has been played as the 2nd leg of b2b. (As you can note the games marked with a * above.) And my absolute favorite stat about tonight's game slated to be played is when referencing these same games once again the Orlando Magic are a perfect 0-3su & 0-3ats in their 2nd game post All-Star break when they won their 1st game post All-Star break (Games noted above with # sign). Two of these games were the 2nd leg of a b2b and the other endured 1 day rest for the Magic. This is important because tonight marks the 2nd leg of a b2b & followed by a win the previous night.
By my watch and IMO this could be the result of many things. Maybe it's because Dwight Howard put's way more energy and effort into his side show antics then he should be and getting back into the reality of meaningful basketball seems to take a bit to set back in. Or maybe it's a supporting cast problem as Dwight's teammates have shot 376 for 877 (42.8%) in these games while Dwight has shot 124 for 198 (62.6%) the same games. Never the less the Magic just seem to find a way to lose and cost people money in the process in this situation over the Dwight Howard years and with Orlando being put to the test last night in Washington, only to escape with a win and that has set up the perfect scenario to fade the Orlando Magic tonight. Especially with the understanding that these teams have proven to have taken different directions of course. I can not resist a wager on the Thunder tonight...
OKC Thunder ML (-115)...
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