The Brooklyn Nets (37-44) and Orlando Magic (25-56) will clash at the Barclays Center as the regular season comes to a close. Action begins at 8:00 pm ET on Wednesday, Apr. 15 and can be seen on FSN-FL and YES.
The Nets are are expecting a better outcome after their 113-86 loss to the Bulls on Monday. Bojan Bogdanovic was the team’s leading scorer with 17 points. The Magic, meanwhile, are feeling some disappointment after the 100-93 loss against the Heat on Monday. Orlando still lost despite the best efforts of Tobias Harris, who recorded his 11th double-double of the season with 26 points and 12 rebounds.
Brook Lopez has taken his game to another level over the last five games for the Nets. During that stretch, he has averaged 21.8 points, 9.2 rebounds, 0.6 assists, 1.0 steal, and 1.4 blocks.
The Nets have emerged victorious in both games against the Magic this year, escaping with a narrow 100-98 victory the last time these teams met. Elfrid Payton had a double-double in the loss with 16 points and 10 assists.
The odds for Brooklyn and Orlando are even, while the Over/Under (O/U) is unavailable as of now. The Nets come into this game 37-44 Straight Up (SU) and 38-41-2 Against The Spread (ATS). They are 23-28 SU and 22-28-1 ATS against the Eastern Conference.
As for their opponent, the Magic have a record of 41-39-1 ATS and 25-56 SU. Against the Eastern Conference, Orlando is 15-36 SU and 24-26-1 ATS.
In their previous meeting this season, Brooklyn beat Orlando, bumping its SU record to 8-2 over the Magic in their last 10 meetings. The Magic lead the matchup ATS with a record of 6-4. In these last 10 matchups, Brooklyn held the edge in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers three times, with Orlando controlling all three of these areas one time.
Predictions: SU Winner – BN, ATS Winner – BN
Notes
On average, Orlando scores 95.8 points per game (ranked 25th), while Brooklyn gives up 101.1 points per game (ranked 19th).
Orlando and Brooklyn are well matched, ranking 24th in points per away game and points allowed at home respectively. Orlando scores an average of 94.5 points on the road, while Brooklyn allows 101.7 points at home on average.
When allowing fewer than 100 points, the Nets are 26-16 on the season. When the Magic score fewer than 100, they are a subpar 8-47.
The Brooklyn Nets have a losing 11-28 record in games where they have allowed at least 100 points. The Orlando Magic are 17-9 when they hit triple digits.
The Magic have a defensive rating of 105.1 (ranked 26th). The Nets rank 19th for their offensive rating of 101.7.
The Orlando Magic average 96.5 possessions per game and .993 points per possession. The Brooklyn Nets earn fewer possessions with 96.3, but they score more points with 1.017.
Brooklyn has an average effective field goal percentage of 49.0%. Orlando is an underachieving 9-39 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
On average, the Brooklyn Nets make 20.9 assists per game and the Orlando Magic make 20.7. Brooklyn is ranked 21st, while Orlando is ranked 23rd.
Brooklyn makes an average of 4.1 blocks per game (ranked 26th), while Orlando makes 3.8 blocks per game (ranked 29th).
The Brooklyn Nets rank 23rd in offensive rebounding, while the Orlando Magic also rank 23rd in defensive rebounds.
The Brooklyn Nets average 7.0 steals per game. When giving up 7 or more steals, the Orlando Magic have an abysmal record (13-43) this season.
