Magic need a miracle against Celtics
By Hank Harris • May 22nd, 2010 • Category: NBAAs the Magic and Celtics take the floor Saturday for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals the term “must-win” comes to mind (8:30 pm ET, ESPN.)
The Magic entered the series as the favorites and owners of home-court advantage in the series. Despite the hype behind the Orlando Magic at the beginning of the series they have not produced the results that most people expected.
After taking the first two games of the series on the road, the Celtics are in the driver’s seat with the next two games of the series in Boston.
Boston is a 4-point favorite and the over/under total is 190 in NBA Odds.
The key to the Celtics in this series has been their defense. Many people thought that the weapons for the Magic would just be too much for the Celtics to handle. The Magic possess an ability to play a great inside-outside game starting with Howard on the inside. The Celtics shut down both aspects of the inside-outside attack in game one, keeping Dwight Howard down to 13 points and limiting the Magic to 23% shooting from the three point line.
If the Magic are to stay in this series they need a great first quarter in game 3. Dwight Howard will need to set the tone of the game inside with a few buckets early. The other key for the Magic will be Jameer Nelson. Nelson played a solid game 1 but disappeared in game 2. The Magic will need Howard and Nelson to be playing at their best to survive their trip to Boston.
The odds don’t look good for the Magic. Going down 2-0 is tough, but the degree of difficulty is magnified as they are going to one of the toughest courts to play on in the NBA for games 3 and 4.
Hank Harris is a professional writer with more than 25 years experience. He has written on sports betting and gambling for more than a decade of that time. He covers all sports, from the NFL to the NBA to NCAA College.
He is originally from the Boston area and is now based out of Las Vegas.
Email this author | All posts by Hank Harris
