by Brian Anderson – Wannamakeabet Staff Writer
If you know basketball, then you know that match-ups do not get more lopsided than when the 26-9 Houston Rockets travel south – luckily escaping the chilling weather sweeping across the country – to face-off with a struggling 12-26 Orland Magic team.
Surprisingly, as bad as Orlando has been this season, they are 6-4 ATS in their last 10 games. On the other hand, Houston themselves have managed to post a 4-6 record ATS over their last 10 games. We all know that Houston is the better team, but upon a closer look, the Magic share some notably parallel statistics on the offensive side of the basketball – the most eye-popping being that both teams are making their three-point baskets at a very similar percentage rate(36 percent and 35 percent).
The difference in their long-range shooting is that Houston just so happens to take a lot more attempts behind the line than the Magic. The Magic are averaging just under 30 three-point attempts per-game, while the Rockets are heaving up an astounding 43 three-pointers per-game. Given that similarity in their long-range game, the Magic could keep it close if they decide to mirror what the Rockets go out and do almost every night on the court.
What could be, probably won’t be, even with Houston missing MVP frontrunner – James Harden. Being kind-of-like the top seed in the Western Conference, is kind of like being close to defeating them. It just isn’t good enough. That’s especially when the Rockets hold an advantage over Orlando in almost every defensive category statistically. The most worrisome statistical hurdle that the Magic will have to overcome is their issues defending players beyond the arc.
With teams shooting almost 39 percent against the Magic, the Rockets will surely be looking to exploit that glaring flaw at every turn of the game Wednesday night. Honestly, I just believe that Houston sharp-shooters like Eric Gordon, Chris Paul, and Ryan Anderson, will ultimately be too hot to handle. Orlando will be wishing that this game were further north, just to cool the Rockets down offensively.
Another key point in tonights game is the aforementioned note that James Harden will be missing some time with a strained hamstring. Usually, teams may take time to gel after losing such an important player, but I believe this team’s core players will be looking to prove that they are more than capable of keeping the ship afloat with Harden helplessly wandering the sidelines for a couple of weeks. This game now sits at -7.5 with the Rockets as the road favorites. This will be an easy cover for this Houston team as they look to put everyone on notice, showing that they will continue to be an issue for anything that steps foot on the court with them, even with their star player out with an injury.