Nfl Football Game Christmas Day
Boston Celtics vs. Orlando Magic 8:00 ET
If you're looking for NBA betting action on Thursday night, lock your television onto TNT for the primetime fight between the Boston Celtics (29-13, 17-25 ATS) and the Orlando Magic (29-16, 22-22-1 ATS).
These two Eastern Conference rivals have already slugged it out twice this season, with both NBA betting affairs going to the visitors. Boston captured an 86-78 'W' over the Magic at Amway Arena on Christmas Day, while Orlando helped kick off its season with an 83-78 triumph at Boston Garden on November 20th.
Tonight, the oddsmakers are choosing the Magic by 3.5-points at BetUS Sportsbook. The NBA betting over/under has been lined at a very low 190.
The Celtics haven't played their best basketball of late, but they are coming off of a victory against the Clippers at home on Monday night. F Paul Pierce scored 22 points thanks to a perfect night from the charity stripe (11/11), while F Kevin Garnett chipped in 17. G Rajon Rondo shot 6/8 from the floor and came up just three boards shy of a triple-double (16 points, 12 rebounds, 7 assists). Still, getting outrebounded by the Clip Joint 48-43 can't make HC Doc Rivers happy, and that rebounding advantage is really all that kept the Clippers inside the 11.5-point spread. The task for Garnett, C Kendrick Perkins, and F Rasheed Wallace gets significantly harder tonight against the Magic.
Orlando 3 ½ vs Boston >> Join to Bet Now
Thanks to a very uninspired fourth quarter effort, the Magic were dropped 99-94 in Memphis on Monday night. The lousy 22-15 final stanza did them in and dropped them a half-game behind the Hawks in the NBA's Southeast Division. Don't blame C Dwight Howard for the defeat. He shot 9/14 from the floor and a surprising 9/11 from the line to tally 27 total points. Howard also pulled in 15 rebounds and blocked six shots.
Nineteen turnovers, six of which were committed by G Jameer Nelson in just 26 minutes of court time, really hurt the cause. Orlando shot a whopping 35 three pointers on the day, nailing 13 of them. Though 37% from beyond the arc isn't bad, one would like to think that the Magic are going to need to take advantage of all of their possessions tonight to knock off the C's.
These two teams just continue to throw defensive blow after defensive blow at each other. If we learned nothing else from the Eastern Conference Semifinals last season, it's that these two teams really hate each other, and quite often, the pace of the game is reflective of a trot between two teams staring each other down. The end result has been six straight 'under' games, and there's no reason to believe that that won't continue on Thursday night.
Not only have those six all stayed beneath the number, but they've crushed it. The average final score has been just 172.3 points per game. The average posted 'total' has been a shade over 190. The C’s and Magic follow the script once again tonight!
Rose's Recommendation: 4* Boston Celtics/Orlando Magic Under
Rating Scale 1* - 5*
Allen seems like a no-brainer, but not too many lineman are first-balloters, so it might not come right away. Might depend on the depth of his particular class.
As for the 70's era players, I agree w/Charles - ATL ... Harvey Martin should get more due than he does. Howley and Harris are candidates, but if they didn't get in, I could understand that.
Drew Pearson should already be in ... I don't really understand why he isn't. Again, I know that his stats aren't mind-boggling, but the number of big plays he made in big games is not matched by many. If Swann is in, Pearson has to be .. in my opinion.
Novacek and Johnston are not deserving of the Hall of Fame, but are of the Ring of Honor. I don't even think Novacek is the best TE in Cowboy history and Johnston will not get in just because he happened to be the lead blocker for the NFL's all-time leading rusher. Way too one-dimensional.
Woodson is intriguing. I believe his play and his impact are deserving of the Hall of Fame, but he wasn't a stat-monger. He kind of helped revolutionize the position a bit, though he wasn't the guy who created that new prototype. I like and respect him a great deal and for that reason would like to see him get in, but again, I could see why he won't.
I think Haley will be in within 3 years.
Jerry is another no-brainer ... just don't know when he becomes "eligible".