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The NBA regular season continues on Friday. The Orlando Magic will hit the road and take on the Houston Rockets. It's time to continue our NBA odds series and make a Magic-Rockets prediction and pick.
Both of these teams have had very rough starts to the season. The Orlando Magic are 5-18 but are coming off an impressive victory. While the Houston Rockets are 5-16 and have actually won their last four games. This should be an interesting match up between two teams with the worst records in the NBA.
Here are the odds for the Magic-Rockets Friday night NBA matchup, courtesy of FanDuel.
NBA Odds: Magic-Rockets Odds
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Orlando Magic: +2.5 (-110)
Houston Rockets: -2.5 (-110)
Over: 217 (-110)
Under: 217 (-110)
Why The Magic Could Cover The Spread
The Orlando Magic have not been having a very successful season. They are a young team with some talent that is lacking direction. However, they managed to pull out an impressive win over the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday. The Magic don't have realistic playoff ambitions, but any bright spots are a welcome sight to fans. They are playing one of their most evenly matched games of the season on Friday. The Rockets have also been very unsuccessful so this matchup should actually be pretty interesting. Expect the Magic to try and battle and try to expand their win streak to two games.
Leading the way for the Orlando Magic has been Cole Anthony. In spite of the team's overall struggles, Cole Anthony has managed to impress. In their win over Denver, Anthony had 24 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists. This was Anthony's first game back from a six game absence and his impact was evident. When Cole Anthony plays he gives this team an offensive presence that it lacks in his absence. Anthony will look to carry his momentum from their win over the Nuggets in this game against Houston.
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Another bright spot for the Magic has been rookie Franz Wagner. Wagner has been given the opportunity to make an impact on this Magic team and he has been doing just that. Wagner had 15 points and 5 assists in their win over the Nuggets. Rookie's often go through an adjustment period in the league, but Wagner has shown that he was worth the 8th overall pick. On the season he is averaging over 13 points a game. Expect the Magic rookie to keep on playing solid basketball and to potentially have a big night against a weak opponent.
Why The Rockets Could Cover The Spread
The Houston Rockets have been having a very underwhelming season. Through their first 17 games of the season they only had 1 win. However, since then, they have gone on a four game win streak. Their last win came over the Oklahoma City Thunder by 4. The Rockets are kind of hot right now and betting against them has been a losing move recently. Houston has some talent on their roster and this team has shown that they can battle and win games. Expect the Rockets to come out firing and trying to push their win streak to five games.
One important part of the Houston Rockets is Eric Gordon. Gordon is in his sixth year as a Rocket and has been a cornerstone of this team. While he had an underwhelming performance against the Thunder, Gordon has proven that he can provide this team with an offensive spark. On the season he is averaging 13 points a game and is shooting nearly 42% from beyond the arc. Gordon is a veteran on a young Rockets team and has had a positive impact. Gordon will look to continue being a productive offensive contributor in this game against Orlando.
Another bright spot for this Rockets team has been Jae'Sean Tate. Tate is in his second year in the NBA has shown improvement across all metrics. Where he really impressed was in their win over the Thunder. In the Rockets last game Tate had an extremely impressive stat line with 32 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists, 5 blocks, and 2 steals. He did everything in that game and showed that he can impact the outcome of games. If Tate can carry that momentum into this match up then the Rockets should be able to take care of business at home.
Final Magic-Rockets Prediction & Pick
This game will likely come down to the wire. It is a pretty tough decision because both of these teams have been having very underwhelming season and this one could go either way. With such a split decision you should side with momentum. The Rockets have been hot and are playing a weak team, they should be able to get a win at home. Pick the Rockets to win and cover.
FINAL MAGIC-ROCKETS PICK: Houston Rockets -2.5 (-110)
FINAL MAGIC-ROCKETS SCORE PREDICTION: Rockets 105 – Magic 100
