Tip-off: Friday, 7:05 p.m. ET
Line: Portland -7.5, Total: 199.5

Orlando will be playing to avoid a seventh straight loss when it hosts Portland Friday.

The Blazers went into Miami on Wednesday and lost 108-104 as 2.5-point road favorites. Portland has now lost back-to-back games both SU and ATS and is allowing 106.5 PPG in those contests. This team must start playing better defense or it will have trouble earning victories moving forward. The Magic have been even worse defensively though, allowing 112.3 PPG over the past three games. A 107-102 loss in Dallas as a 12.5-point favorite was the sixth straight loss for Orlando. This team is not good enough offensively to allow that many points. The Blazers last faced the Magic on Jan. 10, when Portland won 103-92 as a 14.5-point favorite at Moda Center. The Blazers are 3-2 SU in this series over the past three seasons, but they are just 1-4 ATS in those games. The Magic have won-and-covered in two straight games played between these teams in Orlando. They are also 6-2 SU and 5-2-1 ATS in their past eight games against the Blazers at home. Portland is 16-7 ATS after a combined score of 205 points or more this season. Orlando, meanwhile, is 19-8 ATS against Northwest division opponents over the past three seasons. SG Wesley Matthews (Achilles) is out for the season for Portland. SF Tobias Harris (Ankle) is doubtful for the Magic, who are already without C Dewayne Dedmon (Ankle) and SGs Willie Green (Back), Evan Fournier (Hip) and Devyn Marble (Eye).

Can the Magic end their losing streak with a home victory over a struggling Blazers team Friday? For the answer, connect to The Platinum Sheet for all the Expert picks throughout the entire 2014-15 season. StatFox Forecaster has a strong 55% ATS record (178-148-2) in featured games this season. In terms of Best Bets, the experts have a huge 61% ATS (109-70-4) record since Feb. 1, led by StatFox Gary who has a stellar 61% ATS (33-21-1) mark in NBA Best Bets since Jan. 1, and is 58% ATS (59-43-1) this season. StatFox Scott is also sizzling with a 61% ATS record (38-24-1) in Best Bets since Dec. 21, improving his record to 56% ATS (57-45-1) for the season, and StatFox Brian has a lofty 60% ATS (18-12-1) mark in Best Bets since Feb. 4, and is now 56% ATS (57-44-1) in season Best Bets. StatFox Dave is a scorching 68% ATS (25-12) in NBA Best Bets since Jan. 28, while StatFox Zach is a robust 65% ATS (36-19-1) in NBA Best Bets since Jan. 2.

The Blazers are coming off of a tough loss against the Heat and they have a prime opportunity to turn things around with a win over a very cold Magic team. PF LaMarcus Aldridge (23.5 PPG, 10.5 RPG, 1.0 BPG) had 34 points and 12 boards in the loss to Miami. He’s averaging 26.0 PPG and 11.0 RPG over the past five contests and should be feeling extremely confident heading into this game. Orlando is weakest at the power forward position, so he should be able to have his way with the team on Friday. PG Damian Lillard (21.2 PPG, 6.2 APG, 4.8 RPG, 1.3 SPG) struggled the last time he faced the Magic. He had just 16 points in that game and will need to find a way to get his shots off against Elfrid Payton, who is a very physical defender. If Lillard struggles in this game then it will be very difficult for the team to come away with this road victory. SF Nicolas Batum (9.6 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 4.9 APG, 1.1 SPG) has played better offensively for this team lately, averaging 10.4 PPG, 8.0 RPG and 6.2 APG over the past five contests. With Matthews out for the season, this team needs Batum to be more aggressive as a scorer. He’ll need to play well against Orlando Friday. C Robin Lopez (9.8 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 1.6 BPG) is going to be the x-factor in this one though. Lopez must do a good job of guarding Nikola Vucevic or the Blazers will have no chance of winning. Vucevic is one of the best offensive bigs in the NBA and he can dominate if Lopez isn’t ready to compete at a very high level.

The Magic are coming off of a 107-102 loss against Dallas, but they did play very well in that game. PG Elfrid Payton (8.5 PPG, 6.1 APG, 4.0 RPG, 1.5 SPG) has taken his game to a whole other level recently, recording his first career triple-double against the Mavericks (15 points, 12 assists, 10 rebounds). Over the past five contests, Payton is averaging 14.4 PPG, 8.6 APG, 6.0 RPG and 1.8 SPG. He must play solid defense against Damian Lillard in this game, which he did the last time they met. SG Victor Oladipo (17.6 PPG, 4.1 APG, 4.1 RPG, 1.7 SPG) has also been playing very well for Orlando, averaging 24.3 PPG over the past three games. Oladipo had 18 points the last time he faced Portland and will need to be much better this time around. One thing he’ll be happy about is that Wesley Matthews won’t be around to guard him. Matthews completely took him out of his game the last time they met. C Nikola Vucevic (19.3 PPG, 11.2 RPG, 1.9 APG) has been off of his game recently and must get back to being the reliable scorer he once was. Vucevic is averaging just 11.5 PPG over the past two games and 16.0 PPG over the past five. He is usually a guy that the Magic can pencil in for 20+ points and he must knock down shots from the midrange and around the rim against Robin Lopez on Friday.