The Washington Wizards experienced a third-straight year of improvement in the regular season under head coach Randy Wittman. The oft-criticized coach made some good moves during last year’s playoff run, which could’ve gone further if not for John Wall’s untimely injury. The Wiz begin their new season on Wednesday in Orlando, where Scott Skiles will make his debut as coach for the young and promising Magic team.
Read on below as we preview this absolutely spellbinding NBA matchup. And for more great Wednesday sports action, check out our preview of the first day of the 2015 MLS Cup knockout round here.
[sc:NBAArticles ]Washington Wizards vs. Orlando Magic Betting Preview
Where: Amway Center, Orlando
When: Wednesday, October 28, 7:00 PM ET
Line: Washington Wizards at Orlando Magic – view all NBA lines
Betting on the Washington Wizards
With the exception of Paul Pierce, the Washington Wizards bring back just about everyone in the team that went 46-36 and reached the conference semifinals last season.
[sc:NBA240banner ]Of course, losing the veteran leadership of Pierce is a big deal, but Otto Porter showed enough promising signs to suggest he’s ready to step into the starting wing spot. Porter averaged 10 points and eight rebounds in 33 minutes during the postseason as head coach Randy Wittman went with a small-ball lineup that proved to be very savvy.
The Wizards’ newfound ability to switch to a faster style plays to the strengths of their stars, John Wall and Bradley Beal. Wall, who’s blossomed into one of the top point guards in the game, averaged a double-double (17.6 points and 10 assists per game) last season. Meanwhile, Beal, who missed 19 games due to injury, averaged just 15 points per game in the regular season but bumped that up to 23 points per game in the playoffs.
Wall averaged 18.8 points and 10.8 assists in four meetings with the Magic last season. His playmaking and penetration in the lane set the tone for the Wizards offense, which hummed along just nicely against the Magic. The Wiz shot close to or right at 50 percent from the field in three of those four games.
The Wizards swept the season series with Orlando last season. They are now 8-0 (4-3-1 ATS) in their last eight meetings with the Magic, and 10-1 (6-4-1 ATS) in the last 11.
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Betting on the Orlando Magic
The future looks bright for the very young and very talented Orlando Magic, but so does the present. The Magic brought in a well-respected head coach in Scott Skiles over the summer to instill some defensive cohesion to a team that finished just 25-57 in 2014-15. Unsurprisingly, the Magic were all the way down in 25th in defensive efficiency last season.
Skiles has some interesting pieces to work with defensively, particularly with his backcourt tandem of Victor Oladipo and Elfrid Payton. The two youngsters can be very tenacious defenders, and should have the legs to keep up with Washington’s own dynamic duo.
Orlando’s offense wasn’t too impressive either, as it finished 26th in offensive efficiency. They added sweet-shooting rookie Mario Hezonja to provide some much-needed spacing, but aside from that, the Magic will have to rely on Skiles’ new scheme and the continued improvement from their youngsters to get that added bump offensively.
Center Nikola Vucevic (19.3 points) and forward Tobias Harris (17.1 points) led the team in scoring last season, but while they shot well against Washington, they were held below their scoring averages. Vucevic averaged 17 points on 56 percent shooting while Harris averaged 16 on 56 percent shooting in three meetings against the Wiz.
Payton will also have a big role to play as he looks to improve on his disappointing offensive performances against Washington. As a rookie last year, the Magic point guard averaged just 7.0 points on 32 percent shooting with only 4.3 assists, his lowest average for any team he faced four times.
With a new coach and an added year of experience from their young core, the Magic will be primed to turn around their horrid home record to end last season. Orlando went 1-6 (2-5 ATS) in its last seven home games.
Writer’s Prediction
Wall and Beal are too much for the young Magic as the Wizards win, 95-88.
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