The Orlando Magic will travel to the BMO Harris Bradley Center to take on the Milwaukee Bucks. The game starts at 8:00 pm ET on Wednesday, Mar. 11 and will air on FSN-FL and FSN-WI.
The Bucks were beaten by the Pelicans 114-103 on Monday. Giannis Antetokounmpo was the team’s high scorer, contributing 29. The Magic, meanwhile, are coming off a 103-98 win over the Celtics on Sunday. Victor Oladipo shot 7-for-16 and led in scoring with 22 points.
Over the last five games, Oladipo has been on fire for the Magic. During that stretch, he has averaged 26.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 2.2 steals, and 2.2 three-pointers.
The inefficient offense of the Magic (27th in the NBA with an offensive efficiency of 99.4) will look to break through against the stingy defense of the Bucks (second in the league with a defensive efficiency of 99.4). The matchup on that end of the court seems to benefit Milwaukee.
The two teams have split their matchups this season. The Bucks had the upper hand in the most recent game, a 115-100 win. Jerryd Bayless was a top performer in the victory with 19 points, two rebounds, one assist, three steals, and two three-pointers.
The odds are even for this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is presently unavailable. The Bucks enter the game with records of 33-30 Straight Up (SU) and 37-26 Against The Spread (ATS). They are 3-7 ATS over their last 10 games. Milwaukee has been struggling as of late. In the last 10 games, Milwaukee has only averaged 90.0 points per game compared to the 97.7 they’ve averaged on the season. Milwaukee has consistently been near the top of the league in terms of FG%, currently ranking fifth in the league with a field goal percentage of .461. Turning to the defensive side, teams routinely struggle to score points against the Bucks, who allow only 96.7 points per game. The Bucks are second in the league in steals with 9.6 per game. Something to watch out for is if Milwaukee can force its opponents into turnovers and convert them into baskets. They’ve done an excellent job of that all year with an average of 19.1 points off turnovers per game.
On the other side, the Magic head into the game with records of 34-29-1 ATS and 21-43 SU. When traveling to play against teams in the Eastern Conference, Orlando has a record of 12-8 ATS, but only 7-13 SU.
Following the Bucks’ latest win over Orlando, the head-to-head record between these two is now an even 5-5 SU over the past 10 meetings. The Magic hold the advantage ATS with a record of 6-4. When it comes to field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers, Orlando held the edge in all three of these categories three times in the last 10 meetings. Milwaukee never did so in those games.
Predictions: SU Winner – MIL, ATS Winner – MIL
Notes
Orlando ranks 25th in points per game with 95.9, while Milwaukee ranks fifth in points allowed with an average of 96.7 given up.
While Orlando scores an average of just 94.7 points per game on the road (ranked 26th), Milwaukee ranks fourth in points allowed at home, giving up 95.3 points per game.
Orlando has a 15-17 record when allowing fewer than 100 points. Milwaukee has a 17-19 record when it puts up fewer than 100 points.
Orlando is a subpar 6-26 when it gives up 100 or more points. Milwaukee has a 16-11 record when it hits triple digits.
The Bucks have a defensive rating of 99.4 (ranked second), while the Magic have an offensive rating of 99.4 (ranked 27th).
The Milwaukee Bucks have one of the best field goal percentages this season, ranking fifth in the league with a FG% of 46.1%. When their opponents record a similar or higher FG%, the Orlando Magic have a subpar 5-28 record.
The Milwaukee Bucks and the Orlando Magic both rank higher in average field goal percentage when compared to their effective field goal percentages. Milwaukee is 10th and fifth in the league for EFF% and FG% respectively, while Orlando ranks 14th and eighth in these categories.
Milwaukee makes an average of 23.3 assists per game (ranked seventh), while Orlando makes 20.4 assists per game (ranked 26th).
The Milwaukee Bucks average 4.8 blocks per game for a rank of 12th. The Orlando Magic rank lower (29th), earning 3.8 blocks each game.
Milwaukee is ranked 24th when it comes to offensive rebounding. Orlando ranks 19th in defensive rebounds.
Milwaukee averages 9.6 steals per game, ranking second in the league. Orlando is a losing 7-19 when it gives up at least 9 steals.
