NBA Odds: Magic (even)
The Orlando Magic (19-42) play the visiting Phoenix Suns (31-30) at the Amway Center. The game gets underway at 7:00 pm ET on Wednesday, Mar. 4 and will air on FSN-AZ and FSN-FL.
The Magic were beaten by the Hornets 98-83 on Sunday. Victor Oladipo was the team’s high scorer, finishing with 21. The Suns, meanwhile, are coming off a 115-98 loss at the hands of the Heat on Monday. Eric Bledsoe played well for Phoenix, accumulating 20 points, four rebounds, and three assists.
When considering effective field goal percentage, the Suns figure to have a substantial advantage on the offensive end. They rank fifth in the NBA in that category at 51.2%, whereas Orlando’s poor effective field goal percentage defense ranks 27th with opponents connecting at a clip of 51.3%.
This will be the second matchup of the season between these two teams. The Magic won the first game 93-90. Markieff Morris played a big role with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
The odds are even for this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is currently unavailable. The Magic are looking to improve on their records of 19-42 Straight Up (SU) and 32-28-1 Against The Spread (ATS). They have gone 7-15 SU and 13-9 ATS against teams from the Western Conference. Phoenix has a habit of getting in foul trouble (22.3 fouls per game), so expect the Magic to get a number of opportunities from the free throw line.
On the other side, Phoenix has a SU record of 31-30 and an ATS record of 30-28-3. Phoenix has a record of 15-9 SU and ATS against the East. The Suns rank third in the league in scoring, averaging 105.7 points per game. A large part of Phoenix’s game is creating turnovers and turning them into points. They are scoring 18.4 points per game off turnovers, which ranks fifth in the league.
Orlando won the last meeting this season between these two teams, moving its SU record against the Suns to 7-3 in their last 10 head-to-head meetings. Additionally, with a 7-2-1 record, the Magic have the advantage ATS. Orlando has held the edge in three key areas (field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers) five times over the last 10, while Phoenix accomplished this once.
Predictions: SU Winner – PHX, ATS Winner – PHX
Notes
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Orlando’s last 9 games.
Orlando is 4-15 SU in its last 19 games.
Orlando is 7-18 SU in its last 25 games at home.
Orlando is 4-7-1 ATS in its last 12 games at home.
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Orlando’s last 8 games at home.
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Orlando’s last 9 games when playing Phoenix.
Orlando is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games when playing Phoenix.
Orlando is 10-2-1 ATS in its last 13 games when playing Phoenix.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Orlando’s last 5 games when playing at home against Phoenix.
Orlando is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Phoenix.
Orlando scores an average of 95.3 points per game (ranked 26th). Phoenix ranks 28th in points allowed per game with 105.2.
On average, Orlando puts up 96.0 points per home game (ranked 25th). Phoenix ranks 27th in points allowed per road game with 106.4.
In contests where it has given up fewer than 100 points, Orlando has a 14-17 record. When Phoenix puts up fewer than 100, it is an abysmal 4-15.
The Orlando Magic have a subpar 5-25 record in games where they have allowed at least 100 points. The Phoenix Suns are 27-15 when they hit triple digits.
The Magic have an offensive rating of 98.9 (ranked 27th). The Suns rank 22nd for their defensive rating of 104.3.
With 96.4 possessions and .989 points per possession, the Orlando Magic perform worse on both metrics than the Phoenix Suns. Phoenix averages 100.9 possessions and 1.047 points per possession.
Phoenix has an average effective field goal percentage of 51.2% (ranked fifth in the league}. Orlando is a subpar 4-27 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
On average, the Phoenix Suns make 20.6 assists per game and the Orlando Magic make 20.3. Phoenix is ranked 22nd, while Orlando is ranked 27th.
Orlando makes an average of 3.6 blocks per game (ranked 30th). Phoenix ranks higher in blocks with 5.0 (ranked 10th).
The Orlando Magic rank 28th in offensive rebounding, while the Phoenix Suns rank 18th in defensive rebounding.
The Phoenix Suns average 8.7 steals per game (ranked sixth). The Orlando Magic have an abysmal 8-26 record when they allow at least 8 steals.
