Orlando at Los Angeles

The Lakers have all the glitz of Hollywood, the premier player in the NBA in Kobe Bryant and a 20-2 mark at the Staples Center, so it is easy to get romanced into backing them game in and game out. The odds makers are a wise group and despite the glamour, the Lake Show has been a no-show against the line. They have dropped 14 of their last 21, or covering a meager 33%. Enter the Orlando Magic. They are not considered in the same breath with the past few seasons of NBA powers with teams like Boston last year, the Lakers and Pistons the past few years, but they are every bit as powerful. Unlike the Lakers which is a team that everyone knows about, the Magic have quietly been keeping pace with a 31-8 mark of their own. The difference is that they are not watched over like the Lakers, so they are not getting added points to cover like the other high-profile teams. The result is a 19-5 ATS mark in their last 24 games. When they play teams that are, at least as the line goes, better than they are, meaning when they are posted as an underdog, they have been 8-1 ATS. Not only are they 8-1 ATS in those games they are 7-2 straight up! It is needless to say they haven't only put up a big record at 31-8, they have beaten just about every team on their schedule that the oddsmakers want you to think is better than they are. They are now 40-15-1 ATS as a dog of 4.5 or less in their last 56. The underdog is 5-0 ATS in the last 5 meetings between these two teams and after tonight it will be 6-0. The Magic gets the call.