Atlanta at Orlando

The Atlanta Hawks will be thrown from the frying pan and into the fryer as they open their series at Orlando in the NBA Eastern Conference semi-finals. The Hawks needed seven games to get past the pesky Bucks, and have had a great deal of problems vs. Orlando. The two games played here this season saw the Hawks bow by 18 and 32 points, and were never in either game. The Magic have really had it rolling at home where they are 15-1 in their last 16 here. It isn't just the winning it is the scary margins they have been winning by, with five of the 15 by 26 points or more, and 12 of the 15 by 9+. The Hawks’ problems vs. the Magic have been trying to get good looks. The Hawks, in four games vs. the Magic this season scored a high of 86 and averaged just 82.3 points per game. The noose gets tighter tonight as I expect the Magic to come out with a swarming defense to impose their will, and break the Hawks’ spirit early. The Magic held the Bobcats to just 41 first-half points on average in round one. The Magic are 26-17 UNDER in the first-half this season when facing a winning team. That includes an 8-1 UNDER mark in their last nine vs. teams at .600 to .700. In playoff games, Stan Van Gundy led teams are 45-21 UNDER in the first half. That includes an 18-4 mark in second-round games. I like Orlando to win big and for this game to go UNDER in the first half.