The Orlando Magic (29-38) will have their chance to beat the Eastern Conference’s best team when they face off against the Cleveland Cavaliers (48-19) at the Amway Center. The game begins at 7:00 pm ET on Friday, Mar. 18 and can be seen on FxO and FxF.
The Magic are expecting better results after their 107-99 loss to the Hornets on Wednesday. Victor Oladipo was the team’s high scorer with 25 points. The Cavaliers, meanwhile, are coming off a 99-98 win against the Mavericks on Wednesday. Kevin Love had a good performance and claimed his 28th double-double of the season, accumulating 23 points and 18 rebounds.
Over the last five games, Oladipo has been playing at a high level for the Magic, averaging 22.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 2.0 steals, 1.6 blocks, and 1.4 three-pointers.
The Cavaliers have emerged victorious in all three contests against the Magic this year, including a decisive 104-79 victory in their last matchup. LeBron James was the game’s top overall scorer with 29 points.
The Magic look to improve upon their records of 29-38 Straight Up (SU) and 38-29 Against The Spread (ATS). They have gone 29-38 SU and 38-29 ATS against teams from the Eastern Conference.
On the other side, the Cavaliers have a record of 30-35-2 ATS and 48-19 SU. Against the Eastern Conference, Cleveland is 48-19 SU and 30-35-2 ATS. The Cavaliers are an excellent long-range shooting team with 691 three-point shots made (10.0 per game), ranking fifth in the NBA.
With the Cavaliers’ last win against Orlando, their SU record rises to 10-0 over the Magic in the last 10 games. With a 10-0 record, the Cavaliers also have the advantage ATS.
Predictions: SU Winner – Cle
Notes
“Orlando is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games “.
“Orlando is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games “.
“The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Orlando’s last 5 games “.
“Orlando is 6-3 ATS in its last 9 games at home”.
“The total has gone OVER in 5 of Orlando’s last 7 games at home”.
“Orlando is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Cleveland”.
“Orlando is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing Cleveland”.
“The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Orlando’s last 6 games when playing Cleveland”.
“Orlando is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Cleveland”.
Orlando’s offense and Cleveland’s defense are well matched when it comes to scoring. Orlando puts up 0.0 points per game (ranked zeroth). Cleveland allows 0.0 points per game, which is also ranked zeroth.
Orlando and Cleveland are well matched, ranking zeroth in points per home game and points allowed per away game respectively. Orlando puts up an average of 0.0 points per home game, while Cleveland allows 0.0 points per away game on average.
The Cleveland Cavaliers won their last game by a one-point margin. In games decided by a margin of three points or less, the Orlando Magic are 5-9. Cleveland is 3-5 in close games this season.
When allowing fewer than 100 points, the Cavaliers are 27-9 on the season. When the Magic score fewer than 100, they are a subpar 5-22.
Cleveland has a solid 21-10 record when it allows 100 or more points this season. Orlando is 24-16 when it hits triple digits.
The Cavaliers have the fifth-best offensive rating in the NBA (108.4). The Magic are also in the top half of the league based on their defensive rating of 104.5 (ranked 15th).
The Cleveland Cavaliers have one of the best field goal percentages this season, ranking 10th in the league with a FG% of 45.8%. When their opponents record a similar or higher FG%, the Orlando Magic have an abysmal 7-24 record.
On average, Orlando attempts 22.0 three pointers and Cleveland attempts 28.0 per game. In games where the teams have 25 or more three point attempts, the Magic are 11-15 while the Cavaliers have a winning 33-16 record.
Orlando has an assist to turnover ratio of 1.67 this season (ranked 11th). Cleveland ranks higher with an A/TO of 1.75 (ranked seventh).
The Magic rank 15th in rebounds per game with 43.9, while the Cavaliers rank seventh with 44.8 per game.
The Cleveland Cavaliers rank 10th in offensive rebounding, while the Orlando Magic rank 15th in defensive rebounding.
The Magic’s opponents have had an average turnover percentage of 14.7% this season. The Cleveland Cavaliers have a solid 17-8 record when their TOV% is 14.7% or higher.
