NBA pick of the day: Magic vs Nets — are the Nets a better team without Kyrie Irving?

0-1 Sunday, 96-93-2 overall.

Magic (+3) @ Nets (212.5)

Pick: Nets -3

It would be pretty funny if the Nets proved they were better without Kyrie Irving much like the Celtics have done at different points over the last three seasons. News broke last week that Irving would undergo season-ending knee surgery and when Brooklyn’s point guard next takes the floor, it will be as Kevin Durant’s sidekick. In two road games since Irving was shut down, Brooklyn took Philadelphia to overtime, and blew out Charlotte. If you think about Irving’s ball-stopping, isolation style as the primary scorer offensively, it makes sense that teams with good role players would improve with him sidelined. The Nets were forced to play a team-oriented style without a true star last season and Kenny Atkinson certainly got a lot out of them as Brooklyn ended a streak of four-straight losing seasons. I would expect the Nets to take on a similar identity now.

On Monday, Brooklyn returns home against a Magic team that is headed in the wrong direction. Orlando is 3-12 ATS in its last 15 games and is only two up in the loss column on Washington for the East’s final playoff spot. Additionally, two of those three recent covers are against the Hornets. Without a superstar and trapped in the middle of the NBA, the Magic are pretty much exactly what you don’t want your team being. Brooklyn looks poised to pick up some momentum with a pair of non-playoff teams on the schedule later this week and the Magic might be a sinking ship. Three points feels cheap here with the Nets at home so we’ll lay them.