Phoenix Suns at Orlando Magic NBA Betting Preview

Phoenix really didn’t have a chance in a 123-96 blowout loss in Miami last night, entering the contest on fumes after beating the Lakers and Nuggets on back-to-back nights.  “We just never came close to guarding Chris Bosh,” said head coach Alvin Gentry.  The Suns interior defense allowed Bosh to break out of an early-season funk with 35 points.  Offensively, the team managed to hit just 5-of-19 3-point shots, something that must improve to have a chance in tonight’s contest.  Phoenix has won nine of the last 12 meetings, but are concerned that point guard Steve Nash will miss the second game of a back-to-back due to a sore groin.  “I kind of took a little risk,” said Nash.  “It didn’t feel great, but I don’t think I did serious damage to it.”

The Suns are 6-5 overall and 1-1 versus the Eastern Conference this year.  Phoenix had dropped two-straight games in Orlando, a place where they have not collected a victory since November 10, 2007.  The squad does have a 28-13 all-time record against the Magic, mainly due to a dominating 16-5 mark in the Valley of the Sun.  Bench play will be key due to the grueling early-season schedule this team has faced, as the reserves have nearly doubled their opponents this season with 38.9 points per game compared to 23.7.

Orlando has struggled from long-distance this season and will likely look to take advantage of its rebounding edge in this Thursday night contest.  The Magic are the third-best rebounding team in the league, while the Suns are allowing opponents to average an NBA-tying 46.4 rebounds per game.  “History tells you that they can shoot the ball and we can’t panic over 10 games,” said head coach Stan Van Gundy.  “We haven’t shot it well, but these guys have a history of shooting it well.”  Orlando is coming off a 89-72 home victory over the Grizzlies on Monday night, a contest that saw center Dwight Howard score 18 points and grab 14 rebounds.  The team has a brilliant 17-6 ATS mark versus Pacific division clubs.

The Magic will be facing off against their first Pacific division opponent tonight and has tallied a 2-1 mark against the Western Conference, with all three games taking place at tonight’s venue.  Orlando is currently 5-2 at home this season after posting an impressive 34-7 mark in 2009-10 at the old Amway Center.  The offense gets a lot of attention, but the other unit has held this team together, giving up just 90.8 points per game and holding opponents to 90-or-less seven times.

Bettors may back the Suns due to their 12-5 ATS mark following a loss, while the Magic are 5-0 ATS when playing on two days rest.