The Atlanta Hawks head to the Amway Center to take on the Orlando Magic in a battle of struggling teams on Wednesday night.
Atlanta has won just once in their last five games and has dropped to 13-14 on the season. The Hawks are 4th in the Southeast division team standings and are 2.5 games behind the Miami Heat in the divisional standings. Atlanta is currently 10th in the Eastern Conference and would make the cutoff for the Play-in Tournament if the season ended today.
Orlando is 5-23 on the season and they head home after going winless in their recent five-game road trip. The Magic have the second-worst record in the NBA right now with only the 4-22 Detroit Pistons worse. Orlando is dead last in the Southeast Division standings and is 11 games behind the leaders Miami Heat and 8.5 games off Atlanta.
The Hawks blew a 13-point lead at the start of the 4th quarter and lost to the lowly Houston Rockets 132-126 on Monday night. Atlanta conceded 44 fourth-quarter points while scoring just 25 as Eric Gordon and D.J. Augustin waxed hot for Houston. Meanwhile, Trae Young had a monster game with 41 points while John Collins added 14 points and 8 rebounds for Atlanta which lost for the 4th time in five games.
Atlanta is the 4th highest-scoring team in the NBA right now at 111.4 points per game. Atlanta is 7th in rebounding at 46.1 boards grabbed per contest and is 12th in passing at 23.9 assists per game. The Hawks are just 23rd in scoring defense at 109.5 points per game allowed.
The Magic meanwhile ran into a Lakers team that was well-rested and suffered the fury of LeBron James who finished with a 30-point triple-double. The Lakers turned a three-point halftime deficit to a 23 point lead at the start of the 4th quarter and coasted from there. Cole Anthony led the Magic with 21 points while Franz Wagner added 20 in a losing effort. Wendell Carter Jr. also had a big night with 16 points and 8 rebounds.
Orlando ranks 28th in the league in scoring at 101.4 points per game this season. They are 20th in rebounding at 44.6 boards grabbed per contest, and are 26th in passing at 21.8 assists per game. The Magic are 27th overall in scoring defense at 111.8 points per game allowed.
The Hawks are 1-4 SU in their last five games played. Atlanta is 5-8 SU in 13 road games played this season, and 1-4 SU in their last five games against the Eastern Conference. The Magic are 0-5 SU in their last five games played. Orlando is 3-17 SU in their last 20 games played at home.
Head to head, the Hawks have won six out of their last 10 games played against the Magic. However, Orlando is 6-2 SU in their last 10 home games against Atlanta.
Atlanta has dropped to one game below the .500 mark after losing four out of their last five games played including a 132-126 loss to the Rockets on Monday night, their fifth straight loss at home. However, this Orlando team could be what the doctor ordered for the Hawks to get better.
The Magic have won just once in their last 13 games played and head home after five straight road losses including a 106-94 loss to the Lakers in their most recent game played last Sunday. Atlanta is also the no. 4 best scoring team in the NBA while the Magic have the 27th ranked scoring defense. The Hawks are also the NBA’s no. 1 three-point shooting team and the Magic rank 26th in defending the three-ball.
This looks like the perfect opportunity to bounce back. The Hawks should be able to do that.
Prediction: Atlanta Hawks
Atlanta is 1-4 ATS in their last five games played and 0-5 ATS in their last five games as betting favorites. The Hawks are 4-1 ATS in their last five games played on the road, 6-2 ATS in their last eight Wednesday games, 9-4 ATS in their last 13 games after allowing more than 125 points in their previous game, 11-5 ATS in their last 16 games after scoring more than 125 points in their previous game.
Orlando is 5-15-1 ATS in their last 21 home games. The Magic are 16-36-3 ATS in their last 55 games as home underdogs, 2-5 ATS in their last seven home games after a road trip of more than 7 days, 2-6 ATS in their last eight games against an opponent with a losing home record, 1-5 ATS in their last six games when playing on 2-days rest, 1-8 ATS in their last nine games against the Southeast Division, and 3-6 ATS in their last nine Wednesday games.
Head to head, the Hawks are 3-0-1 ATS in their last four meetings against the Magic. However, the Magic are 4-1-1 ATS in their last six meetings in Orlando.
Atlanta hasn’t been in good shape in their last five games played. However, the Magic have been worse. Not only does Orlando keep on losing games, but they have also been a very terrible home ATS team this season at just 3-7 ATS.
Orlando has lost its last five games by an average losing margin of 11.8 points per game. That losing margin even increased to 13.5 points per game at home this season and the Magic are shooting just 41.3% from the field at their own arena.
I’m not a fan of the Hawks right now. But the Magic are playing worse that I can’t take them even at +8 points. This should be a double-digit win for the Hawks, no question about it.
Prediction: Atlanta Hawks -8
The total has gone over in seven out of the last 10 games played by the Hawks, The over is 4-1 in their last five games played against the Southeast Division, 5-0 in their last five games after an ATS loss, 4-0 in their last four games after a straight-up loss, 4-1 in their last five games when playing on one day rest, 11-4 in their last 15 games as road favorites, 4-0 in their last four home games, 4-0 in their last four games against an opponent with a winning percentage below .400, and 7-3 in their last 10 games after allowing more than 125 points in their previous game.
The total has gone over in four out of the last six games played by the Magic. The over is 8-3 in their last 11 December games, 4-0 in their last four games against an opponent with a losing straight up record, 26-9 in their last 35 Wednesday games, and 5-2 in their last seven home games against a team with a winning road percentage of below .400.
Head to head, the total has gone over in four out of the last six meetings between these two teams.
These teams have combined to score an average of 224.5 points per game in their last 10 head-to-head meetings, including 240 in their first meeting of the season last November 15th. The Hawks are the no. 4 scoring team in the league and have scored at least 120 points in three out of their last four games.
On the other hand, the Magic ranks in the bottom 3 in scoring defense and bottom 4 in defending the three-point shots Their lackluster defense is going to open up plenty of scoring opportunities for this high-scoring Hawks team. No question this game is hitting the over.
Prediction: Over 224.5
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