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Trail Blazers vs. Magic, 7:00 ET

If you believe Portland is a good team, then this won’t be a surprising bet for you. I like the Trail Blazers in this game against the Magic. Portland comes into the game with a 5-4 record and they are just 2-2 on the road. Jrue Holiday has made their defense a bit more reliable, and interim head coach Tiago Splitter has done a nice job taking over for Chauncey Billups who is still under investigation. Over the past five games, Portland has gone 3-2. Their two losses have been to the Lakers and Heat, both strong teams. They lost by eight to the Lakers and by five to the Heat. In other words, they’ve been in both games. The Magic are a little more questionable in terms of their production this season. Orlando is 4-6 for the season, but it is possible they have turned it around a bit lately. They are 3-2 over their past five games as well, with losses coming against the Hawks and Celtics. They are at a significant rest disadvantage in this one. They are playing their third game in four nights, and back-to-back nights. The only advantage is that Orlando will be at home for all of those games. They faced the Celtics yesterday and lost a close game. The Magic were clearly playing to win that game, but they fell just short. I think the Trail Blazers are live dogs, and you kind of have to given the close spread, but I think we will get Portland to cover the +2.5. My expectation is that the Magic win the first half and the Trail Blazers win the game. I do think Orlando will be more focused on the Knicks on Wednesday.