The Orlando Magic welcome the New Orleans Pelicans to the Amway Center. Action begins at 7:00 pm ET on Monday, Dec. 28 and can be seen on FSN and FxF.
The Magic are hoping for a better outcome after their 108-101 loss to the Heat on Saturday. Despite the loss, Nikola Vucevic earned his 13th double-double this season with 22 points and 10 rebounds. The Pelicans, meanwhile, are coming off a 110-108 win against the Rockets on Saturday. Eric Gordon was the game’s top scorer, accounting for 26 points on 10-for-12 shooting.
Tobias Harris and Vucevic have been better than usual over the last five games for the Magic. During that stretch, Harris has averaged 16.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.8 steals, and 1.4 three-pointers, while Vucevic has recorded 22.8 points, 9.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.0 steal, and 1.0 block a game.
This is the second game of the year between these two teams, with the Magic winning the first matchup 103-94. In the victory, Evan Fournier led all scorers on the team with 30 points.
The Magic are a three-point favorite against New Orleans and the Over/Under (O/U) for this game is sitting at 205 points. The Magic have gone 17-13 Straight Up (SU) and 21-9 Against The Spread (ATS). Over their last 10 games, they have had success covering the spread (7-3).
In the other locker room, the Pelicans have a record of 12-18 ATS and 10-20 SU. Against the Eastern Conference, New Orleans is 2-8 SU and 3-7 ATS. The Pelicans convert their free throws at a high percentage, ranking fourth in the league at .798.
In their previous meeting this season, Orlando beat New Orleans, but the win was not enough to overtake New Orleans in the recent head-to-head series. Its record is now 4-6 SU over the most recent 10 meetings. With a 6-4 record, the Pelicans also have the advantage ATS.
Predictions: SU Winner – Orl, ATS Winner – Orl, O/U – Under
Notes
Orlando is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Orlando’s last 6 games.
Orlando is 10-4 SU in its last 14 games at home.
Orlando is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing New Orleans.
Orlando is 4-9 ATS in its last 13 games when playing New Orleans.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Orlando’s last 5 games when playing New Orleans.
Orlando is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against New Orleans.
Orlando is 6-13 ATS in its last 19 games when playing at home against New Orleans.
Both New Orleans and Orlando rank eighth in points per game and points allowed per game respectively. New Orleans puts up 102.5 points per game, while Orlando allows 98.9.
New Orleans ranks 22nd in points per away game with 97.6 points, while Orlando ranks 17th in points allowed at home with 99.4.
Orlando has a 15-4 record when opponents score fewer than 100 points. New Orleans has yet to win a game in which it scores fewer than 100 (0-14).
When allowing 100 or more points in a game, the Magic are just 2-9 this season. New Orleans is a winning 10-6 when it hits the century mark.
The Pelicans have a defensive rating of 108.4 (ranked 29th). The Magic rank 16th for their offensive rating of 102.8.
New Orleans beats Orlando in both possessions per game and points per possession. The Pelicans average 99.3 possessions and 1.032 points per possession, while the Magic average 98.2 possessions with 1.028 points per possession.
Orlando has an average effective field goal percentage of 49.8%. New Orleans is a poor 5-13 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
Orlando makes an average of 22.6 assists per game (ranked ninth), while New Orleans makes 21.4 assists per game (ranked 17th).
Orlando makes an average of 5.2 blocks per game (ranked 14th). New Orleans ranks higher in blocks with 5.2 (ranked 13th).
Orlando is ranked 11th in offensive rebounding. New Orleans ranks 19th in defensive rebounds.
The Orlando Magic average 8.6 steals per game (ranked ninth). The New Orleans Pelicans have a losing record of 4-11 when they allow at least 8 steals.
