The NBA season will continue with games on Monday. The Orlando Magic will hit the road and take on the Milwaukee Bucks. It's time to continue our NBA odds series and make a Magic-Bucks prediction and pick.
These two teams have had different starts to the season. The Orlando Magic are 4-13 and are coming off back to back losses. The Milwaukee Bucks are 9-8 and have won their last three games. These two teams just played each other, so this rematch should be fun.
Here are the odds for the Magic-Bucks Monday night NBA matchup, courtesy of FanDuel.
NBA Odds: Magic-Bucks Odds
*Watch NBA games LIVE with fuboTV (click for free trial)*
Orlando Magic: +12.5 (-110)
Milwaukee Bucks: -12.5 (-110)
Over: 217 (-110)
Under: 217 (-110)
Why The Magic Could Cover The Spread
The Orlando Magic have been unimpressive through 17 regular season games. With only four wins, the Magic have not had a lot to be optimistic about. Orlando just played Milwaukee and came up short, losing by 9 points. If the Magic can learn from that game and make up for their mistakes then they could be competitive. They are getting a rare opportunity to play against a team they just played and lost to. If the Magic took their day off between these games seriously and used it to prepare for Milwaukee then maybe they can cover and compete.
The leading scorer for Orlando in their loss to the Bucks was RJ Hampton. Hampton has had somewhat of a quiet career thus far, only in his second year, but showed some flashes on Saturday. He played a season high 28 minutes and managed to put up 19 points and 9 assists. With injuries to Cole Anthony and Gary Harris, Hampton was given the opportunity to play significant minutes and capitalized. Both Anthony and Harris are questionable heading into Monday's game, and if they miss this match maybe Hampton can string together another solid performance.
Another player who the Magic have high hopes for is rookie Jalen Suggs. Suggs has struggled to shoot efficiently from the field, but has been given solid opportunity to develop. He had 14 points in their loss to Milwaukee and is averaging over 12 points a game. Rookies take time to develop and it's an encouraging sight to see Suggs start to step things up. In their game against the Nets, Suggs played over 30 minutes and scored 21 points. The Magic have a lot of pieces with potential. If Orlando hopes to compete on Monday they will need everyone to step up and play their part.
Why The Bucks Could Cover The Spread
The Milwaukee Bucks have been underwhelming this season. The expectations were high for the reigning NBA Champions, yet they have been coming up short. Injuries have certainly played a role, but this Bucks team needs to step things up. They are coming off a 9 point victory over the Magic and will be looking to make it back to back wins. The Bucks are more than capable of dominating Orlando, they just need to come into this game ready to get a win. Milwaukee should face little resistance from a cripple Magic team.
Leading the way for the Bucks is Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Greek Freak is arguably the best player in the NBA. Giannis made history against Orlando on Saturday by becoming the only player in league history to put up 30+ points, 20+ rebounds, and 5+ assists in only 30 minutes. This type of dominance has become normal for the Milwaukee star and he has shown no signs of slowing down. The Magic will find it very difficult to play back against Giannis. Expect the Greek Freak to have another phenomenal, if not historical, performance.
Some other good news for Milwaukee is that Khris Middleton has finally returned to action. The Bucks star guard missed 8 games due to injury but has finally returned to action. In three games back he has yet to have a very impressive performance, but it is encouraging to see him on the court playing 30+ minutes. Against the Magic on Saturday he scored 13 points and dished out 8 assists. Middleton can have a tremendous impact on this Bucks team, and if he finally starts hitting shots the Bucks will easily run away with this one. Expect a healthy Bucks team to come out on Monday and dominate.
Final Magic-Bucks Prediction & Pick
Even with such a wide spread this pick is pretty easy. The Bucks absolutely dominated the Magic through three quarters of their last game. The Magic scored a lot of garbage time buckets to make the game seem closer than it really was. That is always the risk with a wide spread. If a team goes way out in front they tend to stop trying, allowing the other team to put up meaningless points that screw up the spread. Even with that risk, still opt to side with the Bucks on this one. Pick Milwaukee to win and cover.
FINAL MAGIC-BUCKS PICK: Milwaukee Bucks -12.5 (-110)
FINAL MAGIC-BUCKS SCORE PREDICTION: Bucks 119 – Magic 104
Follow Us
Subscribe