The Orlando Magic head to New York to take on the Brooklyn Nets on Monday night.
The Magic are falling off the ladder as they have won just thrice in their last 10 outings. Orlando is still in playoff position right now but they are barely hanging on to the final spot in the East. The Nets are one place ahead of the Magic in the team standings and Brooklyn wants to create more separation between them. The Nets will be without Kyrie Irving the rest of the way but they have players like Spencer Dinwiddie and Caris LeVert who can take over for them.
The Orlando Magic are hanging on to the 8th and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Magic are currently three games ahead of their closest pursuers, the Washington Wizards. Orlando has dropped nine out of its last dozen outings and they are coming off a 16-point loss to the Dallas Mavericks.
Evan Fournier had a big scoring game with 28 points for the Magic. Nikola Vucevic also had 27 points and 12 rebounds while Terrence Ross added 19 for Orlando. The Magic shot just 9-43 from behind the arc and were a paltry 39% from the floor on Friday night against Dallas.
Orlando is the second lowest-scoring team in the league at 104.0 points per game this season. The Magic, however, have the best scoring defense in the NBA at only 105.7 points per game allowed. They are ranked 19th in rebounding at 44.6 boards grabbed per contest and are 23rd in passing at 23.2 assists per game.
The Brooklyn Nets are one spot higher than the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference team standings. The Nets are 2.5 games ahead of the Magic right now and would want to create more space between them. Brooklyn is 7-3 SU in their last 10 games played and they are coming off a victory over the Charlotte Hornets last Saturday night.
Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot led the Nets with 21 points against the Hornets while Caris LeVert added 17 points. Garrett Temple had 15 points and 10 rebounds while Jarrett Allen also posted a double-double for himself with 12 points and 11 boards as the Nets bounced back from an overtime loss to the Sixers in their previous outing.
Brooklyn ranks 19th overall in scoring at 110.4 points per game this season. They are the second-best rebounding team in the NBA at 48.3 boards grabbed per contest and are 16th in passing at 24.0 assists per game. The Nets are 17th in the league in scoring defense at 111.0 points per game scored.
Orlando is 3-9 SU in their last 12 games played. The Magic are 1-3 SU In their last four games played on the road, and 4-10 SU in their last 14 games against the Atlantic Division. Brooklyn is 5-2 SU in their last seven games played. The Nets are 5-0 SU in their last five games played at home, and 5-2 SU in their last seven February games played. Head to head, the Nets are 6-4 SU in their last 10 games played against the Nets. Brooklyn is also 10-2 SU in their last 12 home games against Orlando.
The Magic are currently occupying the 8th and final playoff spot in the East. Orlando has lost seven out of its last 10 games played and they need to start putting together victories for them to stave off the Wizards. Nikola Vucevic and Evan Fournier are having terrific seasons for Orlando.
The Nets have lost Kyrie Irving to injury but remember that this team has played better without their superstar. Brooklyn has guys like Spencer Dinwiddie and Caris LeVert who can take charge of the scoring chores. They also have a balanced team that has plenty of capable scorers.
Brooklyn has won 10 out of its last 12 games played against Orlando. The Nets are 2.5 games ahead of the Magic right now and they don’t want to trade places in the team standings because the 8th seed will have to face the Bucks in Round 1. I’ll take the Nets here. They are playing better basketball and have momentum.
PREDICTION: BROOKLYN NETS
The Magic are 1-5 ATS in their last six games played. Orlando is 2-5 ATS in their last seven games played on the road. The Nets are 6-1 ATS in their last seven games played. Brooklyn is 5-0 ATS in their last five games played at home. Head to head, the Nets are 6-4 ATS in their last 10 games played against the Magic.
The Magic are racking up losses fast right now as they have struggled to play defense. The Nets may be without Irving the rest of the way, but they are still a formidable team. The Nets have won their last five home games by an average winning margin of 6.2 points per game. Brooklyn has covered 16 out of their last 28 games played at home. I’ll lay the points and pick the Nets against a struggling Orlando Magic team.
PREDICTION: NETS -3
The total has gone over in five out of the last seven games played by the Magic. The over is 2-1-1 in Orlando’s last four games played on the road. The total has gone under in six out of the last eight games played by the Nets. The under is 3-2 in Brooklyn’s last five games played at home. Head to head, the total has gone under in four out of the last six meetings between these two teams.
These teams have combined to score only 201.66 points per game in their last three meetings. They combined to score only 190 points in their first meeting of the season last January 6, 2020. Orlando has the best scoring defense in the league this season but they have struggled as of late and have allowed 112 points or more in each of their last four games played. The Nets are without Kyrie Irving so that’s a factor here but Brooklyn has plenty of capable scorers left and I think 211.5 is too low for these teams, given how both have played recently.
PREDICTION: OVER 212.5
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