Free Picks for NBA Basketball Betting: Utah Jazz vs. Orlando Magic

Added on Dec 21, 2009 by Jack Thurman in

The Utah Jazz have historically been a team that plays well at home and struggled on the road, but they’ve played reasonably well away from Salt Lake City’s Energy Solutions Arena so far this year. Granted, 5-7 SU and ATS might not seem like something to celebrate but compared to their 39-64 SU road record during the last three years that’s epic. They’ve got a tough matchup on Monday night as they head to Orlando:

Utah Jazz at Orlando Magic
Monday, December 21st 4:05 Pacific

Utah’s record against winning teams looks a lot better than it really is. Three of those wins have come against the San Antonio Spurs, meaning they’re 3-5 ATS against the other .500 plus teams on their slate with all losses coming by more than nine points. This is something of a revenge spot for the Magic, with Utah beating Orlando 120-111 in Salt Lake City nine days earlier. Last season, the Magic dominated the Jazz with a 2-0 SU/ATS sports betting record and both wins coming by double digits.

Orlando’s home game against Portland on Saturday is somewhat instructive here–the Blazers gave the Magic a good run, but didn’t have the inside game with Greg Oden out of the lineup to close the deal. The Jazz may have a stronger interior presence with Carlos Boozer and Paul Milsap, but that didn’t do them much good last year. The Jazz have a superior pointguard to anyone on the Blazers’ roster, but they don’t have anyone who can create as well as Brandon Roy. The net result is that, like Portland two days earlier, they only have half of the solution to the puzzle posed by the Orlando Magic.

The Magic have covered 7 of the last 10 against the Jazz in Orlando, and Utah could be feeling some fatigue as they hit their fourth road game in six days with another on deck at Miami on Wednesday. Utah may be able to hang around in the first half, but the Magic should pull away in the second for a relatively easy win and cover.

Bet Orlando Magic -7′ over Utah Jazz