The Orlando Magic (54-18) don’t have far to travel on Monday night as they get set to take on their in-state rival Miami Heat (39-34) in a game that could go either way if recent history is any indication.

These teams have met up 3 times this season with Orlando winning both of their home games while Miami also won the time it hosted the Magic earlier this year. Orlando has actually won 9 of the last 10 meetings outright while the Magic have covered the point spread in 7 of those 10 games. Despite Orlando’s dominance in the series, this season the games have been fairly close and another back-and-forth game should be expected on Monday.

BetJamaica.com has the point spread sports odds favoring the road-team Orlando Magic by 3 points with an over/under total at 194 points. The over has seen some early betting after sportsbooks opened it at 193.

Just 2 of the last 7 games between these teams have gone under the total while the Miami Heat have gone 8-2-1 on overs in their last 11 home games. On the season Miami has gone over the total in 21 of their 36 home games while the Magic have gone over in 19 of their 36 road games.

Orlando has been a better offensive team this season with 102.2 points per game on 46% shooting compared to Miami coming in at 98.2 points on 45.5% shooting. The Magic have a nice 3-point edge at 38.7% to Miami’s 35.1% although the Heat shoot 4.1% better from the free throw line on the season.

The Magic also lead on defense as Miami is giving up 98.2 points per game on 45.5% shooting and Orlando allows just 94.8 points on 43.3% shooting. The road-team Magic are much better at defending the 3-point shot while Miami allows a very poor 39.1% from behind the arc. Orlando rebounds better while Miami has a turnover edge as well as a deeper bench at this point in the season.

What will ultimately determine this game is which superstar will play better. Miami has guard Dwyane Wade and his 29.8 points, 7.5 assists, and 5 rebounds per game while Orlando will look to counter Wade’s star-power with a big man down in the paint. Magic center Dwight Howard is averaging 21 points, 13.9 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game and has recorded double-doubles in 7 of his last 10 games including 2 outings where he recorded both 20 or more rebounds AND points.  Whichever star performs better will likely determine which of these sports picks is right.

No matter which playoff-caliber team comes out on top this is going to be a win-win for fans of exciting basketball so sit back, relax, and enjoy a Monday evening treat courtesy of the NBA.

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