The Orlando Magic (22-49) take on the visiting Denver Nuggets (26-44) at the Amway Center. The game starts at 6:00 pm ET on Sunday, Mar. 22 and will air on Altitude and FSN-FL.
The Magic beat the Trail Blazers 111-104 on Friday. Orlando rallied around Elfrid Payton, who recorded his second triple-double on the season. He dominated, registering 22 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. The Nuggets, meanwhile, are coming off a 108-91 loss at the hands of the Heat on Friday. Kenneth Faried had a team-high 20 points.
Payton has really been playing well as of late for the Magic, averaging 16.0 points, 7.6 rebounds, 9.6 assists, 2.2 steals, and 0.8 three-pointers over the last five games. On the other side, the Nuggets have been led by Faried. He has been on a tear, averaging 20.8 points, 11.2 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.0 steal, and 1.5 blocks in the same time frame.
This will be the second matchup of the season between these two teams. The Nuggets won the first game 93-90. Victor Oladipo was a top player in the game with 17 points, one rebound, six assists, and three steals.
The odds are even for this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is presently unavailable. The Magic look to improve upon their records of 22-49 Straight Up (SU) and 37-33-1 Against The Spread (ATS). They have a record of 9-18 SU and 16-11 ATS versus the Western Conference. Denver has a habit of getting in foul trouble (22.8 fouls per game), so expect the Magic to get a number of opportunities from the free throw line.
On the other side, Denver has a SU record of 26-44 and an ATS record of 29-38-3. Denver has done particularly well ATS over its past ten matchups, going 7-3.
Denver won the last meeting this season between these two teams, moving its SU record against the Magic to 7-3 in their last 10 head-to-head meetings. The Nuggets also hold the advantage ATS with a record of 6-3-1. Denver held the edge in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers three times in the last 10, while Orlando wasn’t able to do so in that span.
Predictions: SU Winner – DEN, ATS Winner – DEN
Notes
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Orlando’s last 10 games.
Orlando is 1-6 SU in its last 7 games.
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Orlando’s last 5 games at home.
Orlando is 3-8-1 ATS in its last 12 games when playing Denver.
Orlando is 1-6 SU in its last 7 games when playing Denver.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Orlando’s last 7 games when playing at home against Denver.
Orlando is 17-3 SU in its last 20 games when playing at home against Denver.
Orlando is 1-4-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing at home against Denver.
On average, Denver puts up 100.2 points per game (ranked 15th). Orlando ranks 25th in points allowed per game with 101.8.
Orlando ranks 26th in points allowed per home game (102.4 PPG), while Denver ranks 19th in points per away game with 97.4.
When allowing fewer than 100 points, the Nuggets are 15-8 on the season. When the Magic score fewer than 100, they are an underachieving 6-41.
The Denver Nuggets have an underachieving 11-36 record in games where they have allowed at least 100 points. The Orlando Magic are 16-8 when they hit the century mark.
The Magic have a defensive rating of 105.5 (ranked 26th), while the Nuggets rank 22nd for their offensive rating of 100.5.
Orlando has an average field goal percentage of 45.4%. Denver is an abysmal 4-28 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
On average, the Orlando Magic attempt 19.5 three point field goals per game and the Denver Nuggets attempt 24.4 per game. In games where they attempt at least 25 threes, Orlando is 4-6, while Denver has a subpar record of 8-26.
Orlando has an assist to turnover ratio of 1.44 this season (ranked 25th). Denver ranks higher with an A/TO of 1.57 (ranked 19th).
The Orlando Magic are one of the worst rebounding teams in the league with just 41.4 per game. The Denver Nuggets average 44.6 rebounds (ranked seventh).
The Denver Nuggets rank fourth in offensive rebounding, while the Orlando Magic rank 23rd in defensive rebounding.
Orlando has forced an average turnover percentage of 14.5% this season. Denver has a poor 10-18 record when its TOV% is 14.5% or higher.
