Cavs, Magic clash while Suns host Spurs

• Cavaliers vs Magic odds: division leaders battle in Orlando
• Spurs vs Suns odds: West rivals clash in Phoenix

Thursday’s weekly sports betting matchups are usually often the best of the week, and this week is no different as online betting players get two huge conference battles to choose from. In the East, Southeast leader Orlando hosts Cleveland, which owns the Central Division. Western Conference fans will also have a solid battle on their hands as Southwest leaders San Antonio head to Phoenix.

Cavaliers vs Magic odds: Thursday, Jan. 28 at 8:00 p.m. ET

The Magic should be favored at home in this contest, as they have won six of their last 10 meetings with the Cavaliers. Both teams are playing well recently, with eight wins in their last 10 games apiece, and both are coming off offensive explosions.

The Magic dropped 135 points on Indiana on Tuesday, while the Cavaliers racked up 117 points on Sacramento the same night. Orlando got a boost from the return of Mickael Pietrus, who put up 27 points in 30 minutes against Pacers.

Meanwhile, the Cavaliers proved to the Kings that LeBron James doesn’t have to do all the work, although he still put up his third triple-double of the season. Mo Williams scored a career-high 43 points, and he could be the best free-agent pickup of the offseason.

If there is a knock on Cleveland, it’s that the Cavs aren’t as sharp on the road, where they are 14-8, as opposed to their 21-0 mark at home. Bet on Orlando in this battle of East giants.

Spurs vs Suns odds: Thursday, Jan. 28 at 10:30 p.m. ET

This will be the third meeting of the season for these rivals, and the road team has won in both contests. The Suns have won two in a row on the back of a rejuvenated Shaquille O’Neal, who averaged 24 points and 9.5 boards over those two victories and, more impressively, Shaq made 14 of his 18 free throws, which could render the “Hack-A-Shaq” technique useless.

The Spurs are the biggest enforcers of this technique, and they come into this game with seven wins in their last 10 outings. In the two meetings between these two, the Spurs have depended heavily on Tony Parker (29.5 points, 6.5 assists) and Tim Duncan (28.5 points, 11.5 boards), while the Suns have had six players average double-figures in scoring, led by Amare Stoudamire’s 23.5 points.

Turnovers will be the key, as the Spurs have committed 6.5 per game while the Suns have turned it over 12.5 times. Many of those turnovers come from point guard Steve Nash, but he’ll know he has to tighten things up to compete with San Antonio.

Look for Nash to focus on protecting the ball and give Phoenix the edge; bet on the Suns in this NBA betting matchup.

Check out the Betting Edge every week for more sportsbook odds.

Craig Parsons is an avid sports fan, but his true love has always been basketball. Too short to realize his dream of playing in the NBA, he did the next best thing: sports betting and covering basketball for a living. Thoughts or questions?