The NBA season churns ahead on Monday, and we have an intriguing cross-conference matchup on the docket as the Portland Trail Blazers square off against the Orlando Magic. Portland comes into this contest at 19-55 (14th in the West), while Orlando is currently 43-31 (5th in the East). Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 ET from the Kia Center in Orlando, FL.

Trail Blazers Slump Continues, Drop 9th Straight
Well, it appears that the tank is officially on in Portland. This year has been an absolute disaster for Chauncey Billups and his Trail Blazers. Only the Spurs (18-56) have a worse record in the Western Conference. As for their recent form, the Blazers have dropped their last nine games, with the three recent losses coming at the hands of the Rockets (110-92), Hawks (120-106), and Heat (142-82), most recently. Yeah, that is not a typo, Portland lost by 60 points last time out! From a sports betting perspective, the Trail Blazers come into this cross-conference tilt at 35-39 ATS and they’ve seen 38 of their 74 games go over the total.

The recent road shellacking at the hands of the Heat saw the Blazers fail to cover as a 13.5-point underdog. Statistically, Miami had the edge in every major category, including field goal percentage (58.7% to 40.2%), three-point shooting (53.8% to 16.7%), turnovers (9 to 24), and rebounding (44 to 43).

Individually, Portland’s top three scorers are all on the injury report. Anfernee Simons (22.6 PPG) and Jerami Grant (21.0 PPG) are both listed as questionable for Monday’s game, while Shaedon Sharpe (15.9 PPG) is out indefinitely. Deandre Ayton will have the opportunity to step up, and he’s scoring 15.8 points per game while posting team high marks in both rebounding (11.0 RPG) and blocks (0.8 BPG).

Magic Snap Three-Game Slide
The Eastern Conference isn’t nearly as crowded with contenders as the Western Conference is, so it’s not a massive surprise that the Magic are playing well enough to make a playoff run. Jamahl Mosley’s club is currently fifth in the East, sitting 2.5 games below and 1.5 games above the Knicks and Pacers, respectively. Orlando recently went through a winning drought, dropping three straight games to the Kings (109-107), Warriors (101-93), and Clippers (100-97). They bounced back last time out, blowing out the Grizzlies in a 118-88 affair. If you’re looking to take a long term stake in Orlando, you can snag them at +30000 to win the NBA title. As for their game-level betting numbers, the Magic are currently 48-26 ATS and they’ve seen the under cash at a rate of 41-31-2.
The recent home beatdown of the Grizzlies saw the Magic stretch out their lead to cover as 13.5-point favorites. Memphis won the rebounding battle (45 to 43), while Orlando had the edge in every other major statistical category, including field goal percentage (48.7% to 36.0%), three-point shooting (50.0% to 33.3%), and turnovers (17 to 19).

As for individual efforts, the Magic are completely healthy, and it has been Paolo Banchero leading the way statistically. He’s paving the way in both scoring (22.4 PPG) and assists (5.3 APG). Wendell Carter Jr. handles things down low, adding 11.1 points per game while securing a team-leading 7.0 rebounds per night.