The Magic couldn’t have looked much better in their first game, beating the Heat by 19 points. They limited Miami to 97 points and should continue to be one of the best defensive teams in the league. The Nets only lost by four points to the Hawks in their first game, but the Hawks don’t play any defense. Look for the Magic to put the clamps on the Nets and earn a blowout victory.

I love what the Magic are building. Paolo is going to take another major step forward and this team has a chance to be the second or third best in the East, for me. Love the way they started the season in Miami and we rode them hard at home in second half last season and will pick up here. Magic were 30-11 as a favorite last season and 22-6 as a home favorite. The Nets did split with them a year ago, but they can't defend, and just gave up 120 at ATL. Nets were -7 on road last year (24th) and averaged just 108.5/G on road (25th). Opening with two straight on road is not ideal; Nets were 18-30-1 ATS after a loss.