The Charlotte Hornets (47-34) and Orlando Magic (35-46) will square off at the Time Warner Cable Arena to bring the regular season to a close. Action gets underway at 8:00 pm ET on Wednesday, Apr. 13 and can be seen on ESP and FxF.
The Hornets defeated the Celtics 114-100 on Monday. Jeremy Lin was the game’s high scorer with 25 points on 7-for-14 shooting. The Magic, meanwhile, are coming off a 107-98 win over the Bucks on Monday. Mario Hezonja had a solid game for Orlando, registering 19 points, seven assists, and five steals.
Nikola Vucevic has been on a tear over the last five games for the Magic, averaging 22.0 points, 8.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.2 blocks.
Points could be at a premium in this matchup between two of the league’s elite defenses. The Hornets rank third in the NBA in defensive efficiency (102.2), while the Magic are fourth (105.1). Moreover, foul-shooting opportunities could prove to be quite rare for the Magic. They are 30th in the league in free throw attempt rate (23.2), while the Hornets are among the league’s least foul-prone teams (allowing a rate of just 25.0, ranking first in the NBA).
The Hornets lead the season series against the Magic two games to one, including a 107-99 victory in their last matchup. In the victory, Nicolas Batum led all scorers on the team with 26 points.
The Hornets enter the game with records of 47-34 Straight Up (SU) and 41-39-1 Against The Spread (ATS). They have gone 4-11 SU and 6-9 ATS against teams from their own division. The Hornets have seen an uptick in scoring as of late, averaging 110.9 points during the last 10 games compared to their season average of 103.2 points per game. The Hornets are an impressive shooting team from the line with a .792 free throw percentage, one of the highest marks in the NBA. The Hornets, sporting the fourth-best assist-to-turnover ratio in the NBA (1.81), have proven themselves to be an extremely efficient offensive team.
On the other side, the Magic have a record of 46-35 ATS and 35-46 SU. Against fellow division members, Orlando has a 7-8 SU and a 6-8-1 ATS record.
The Hornets’ win over Orlando in their last game bumped their SU record to 6-4 over the Magic in the last 10 meetings. The teams have an even record ATS, 5-5.
Predictions: SU Winner – Cha
Notes
Charlotte puts up an average of 103.2 points per game (ranked 11th). Orlando ranks 18th in points allowed per game with 103.5.
Orlando ranks 19th in points allowed per road game (104.9 PPG), while Charlotte ranks 12th in points per home game with 105.2.
In games where they allow fewer than 100 points, the Charlotte Hornets are a fantastic 32-9. In games where they fail to hit triple digits, the Orlando Magic have an underachieving record of 5-25.
At 15-25, the Charlotte Hornets have a poor record when their opponents score at least 100 points. The Orlando Magic are 30-21 when they put up triple digits.
The Magic have a defensive rating of 105.1, fourth-best in the NBA. The Hornets also rank in the top half of the league for their offensive rating of 105.6 (ranked ninth).
Charlotte averages fewer possessions per game than Orlando, with 97.7 compared to 98.9. However, the Hornets score an average of 1.056 points per possession, more than the 1.031 that the Magic score.
Charlotte has an average effective field goal percentage of 50.0%. Orlando is a poor 15-32 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
Charlotte averages 29.0 three point attempts per game, and Orlando attempts 22.0 per game. In games where the teams have 25 or more three point attempts, the Hornets have a winning 44-28 record while the Magic have a 13-16 record.
The Charlotte Hornets are among the best in the league with an assist to turnover ratio of 1.81 (ranked fourth). Ranking 10th, the Orlando Magic have an A/TO of 1.73.
The Hornets rank 15th in rebounds per game with 43.9, while the Magic rank 16th with 43.4 per game.
The Orlando Magic rank 17th in offensive rebounding, while the Charlotte Hornets rank fourth in defensive rebounding.
Charlotte is one of the top teams in forced turnovers, with opponents averaging a TOV% of 13.4% (ranked sixth). Orlando has a subpar record of 15-30 SU this season when its TOV% reaches 13.4% or greater.
