Magic at Bobcats Game 3 2010 NBA Playoffs: The Orlando Magic will try to go up 3-0 on Charlotte this Saturday when they visit the Bobcats in Carolina (2:05 p.m. Eastern, TNT). Orlando took the first two games of its series with Charlotte, holding the 'Cats to 89 and 77 points. So the Magic are now 5-1 vs. Charlotte this season.
NBA Playoffs oddsmakers at SPORTSBETTING.com list the Magic as 2 1/2-chalk favorites versus the Bobcats with a 184 1/2 total. Bobcats' backers are getting +115 odds on the Sportsbetting moneyline while the Magic are giving -135 as a road favorite.
The Bobcats need all the support they can get down two games to powerful Orlando in their best-of-seven series. The Magic have smothered Charlotte with defense and just enough 3-pointers, showing all the confidence of a team that made it to the finals last season.
The Magic jumped out to a 2-0 first-round series lead by defeating the Bobcats 92-77 on Wednesday. The Magic covered the 9-point spread, while the teams played UNDER the posted total of 186 set by sportsbooks. Vince Carter led the Magic with 19 points and five rebounds, while Dwight Howard added 15 in that win. Stephen Jackson poured in a game-high 27 points in a losing effort for the Bobcats.
Orlando has allowed fourth-quarter comebacks in each of the first two games to get Charlotte within striking distance. And no team had a wider home-road record discrepancy than the Bobcats, who went 31-10 at Time Warner Cable Arena during the regular season.
NBA Playoffs Prediction: If you like a good gamble, it's this scribes hunch that Charlotte will win one of these seven games and it could very well come today. That's why I recommend taking the 2 1/2-chalk and the Bobcats in this one.
