NBA Odds: Pelicans (-3)
The Orlando Magic (17-39) square off against the visiting New Orleans Pelicans (27-26) at the Amway Center. The game gets underway at 7:00 pm ET on Friday, Feb. 20 and will air on FSN-NO and FSN-FL.
The Magic beat the Knicks 89-83 in their last game. Nikola Vucevic played a key role, recording 28 points and 18 rebounds to notch his 32nd double-double this season. The Pelicans, meanwhile, are coming off a 106-93 loss to the Pacers in their last outing. Luke Babbitt had a good shooting night, leading the team with 15 points.
This will be the second matchup of the season between these two teams. The Pelicans won the first game 101-84. Anthony Davis played a huge role in the victory by recording a double-double with 26 points and 17 rebounds.
Orlando is a three-point underdog in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is currently unavailable. The Magic enter the game with records of 17-39 Straight Up (SU) and 29-26-1 Against The Spread (ATS). They have gone 6-15 SU and 12-9 ATS against teams from the Western Conference.
Across the court, New Orleans has a SU record of 27-26 and an ATS record of 30-23. New Orleans has a record of 8-12 SU and 10-10 ATS against the East. New Orleans’s three-point defense is one of the top in the league, with opponents making only 6.9 shots from the three-point line per game. They average 6.0 blocks per game, good for fourth in the league.
New Orleans beat Orlando in their most recent meeting this season, moving its SU record against the Magic to 7-3 in their last 10 head-to-head meetings. The Pelicans also hold the advantage ATS with a record of 8-2. New Orleans held the edge in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers twice in the last 10, while Orlando wasn’t able to do so in that span.
Predictions: SU Winner – NO, ATS Winner – NO
Notes
Orlando is 2-12 SU in its last 14 games.
Orlando is 4-1-1 ATS in its last 6 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Orlando’s last 7 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Orlando’s last 5 games at home.
Orlando is 3-10 SU in its last 13 games at home.
Orlando is 2-5-1 ATS in its last 8 games at home.
The total has gone UNDER in 14 of Orlando’s last 21 games when playing New Orleans.
Orlando is 2-9 ATS in its last 11 games when playing New Orleans.
Orlando puts up an average of 95.7 points per game (ranked 25th), while New Orleans gives up 99.7 points per game (ranked 16th).
On average, Orlando puts up 96.6 points per home game (ranked 23rd), while New Orleans allows 100.3 points per away game (ranked 13th).
When giving up fewer than 100 points, the Orlando Magic have a 12-14 record. When they don’t reach the century mark, the New Orleans Pelicans have an abysmal record of 6-19.
The Orlando Magic have a subpar 5-25 record in games where they have allowed at least 100 points. The New Orleans Pelicans are 21-7 when they hit triple digits.
The Magic have an offensive rating of 99.1 (ranked 28th). The Pelicans rank 25th for their defensive rating of 105.4.
Orlando averages 96.6 possessions per game, scoring .991 points on each possession. While New Orleans averages fewer possessions per game with 94.6, the team scores more points per possession with 1.056.
The Orlando Magic average an effective field goal percentage of 49.8% this season. The New Orleans Pelicans have a poor record of 9-17 when opponents have an EFF% of 49.8% or greater.
Orlando makes an average of 20.4 assists per game (ranked 24th). New Orleans ranks higher in assists with 21.4 (ranked 17th).
New Orleans, the fourth-ranked team in terms of blocking, makes an average of 6.0 blocks per game. Orlando ranks lower at 30th with 3.7.
The Orlando Magic rank 28th in offensive rebounding, while the New Orleans Pelicans rank 19th in defensive rebounding.
The New Orleans Pelicans average 7.0 steals per game. When giving up 6 or more steals, the Orlando Magic have an abysmal record (9-33) this season.
