The Golden State Warriors will take on the Orlando Magic on Tuesday night. It's time to continue our NBA odds series and make a Warriors-Magic prediction and pick.
These teams have had vastly different seasons. The Warriors are currently the third-best team in the NBA with a 47-24 record on the season. Anything but a deep playoff run for this Golden State squad would be a disappointment.
The Magic, on the other hand, have already disappointed. To be fair, expectations were low, but Orlando still managed to fall short of them. The Magic are currently 19-53, a mark that is tied for the worst record in the league. Despite the records at play, this could be a fairly entertaining matchup. It's time to get into the pick.
Here are the Warriors-Magic NBA odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
NBA Odds: Warriors-Magic Odds
Golden State Warriors: -7.5 (-106)
Orlando Magic: +7.5 (-114)
Over: 214.5 (-110)
Under: 214.5 (-110)
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Why The Warriors Could Cover The Spread
Seeing a spread this small is a huge surprise. The Warriors have been dominant for most of the season, and now they face one of the worst teams in the NBA as single-digit favorites. While it's true that the Warriors will be without star point guard Stephen Curry, that shouldn't prevent them from covering this spread. The rest of their roster, led by All-Star Andrew Wiggins and shooting guard Klay Thompson, is more than capable of blowing Orlando out. The Magic rank in the bottom 10 in the NBA in nearly every single important offensive stat, as well as in most defensive metrics. It seems that the bookmakers are giving too much credit to the Curry injury in this one.
The Magic also won't be at full health in this matchup. They'll be missing shooting guard Jalen Suggs, one of their most important players. The high-profile rookie has had an up-and-down season, but he starts for the Magic and nearly averages 30 minutes per game. That type of workload is hard to replace, especially for an Orlando team that severely lacks depth.
Why The Magic Could Cover The Spread
Orlando has the advantage of playing on its home court in this game. The Magic have been about equally good on the road and at home, but the Warriors have been significantly worse when playing on the road. Golden State is 29-9 at home, but that record falls all the way to 18-15 when they play anywhere else. It's clear that the Warriors are far more comfortable playing at home, so the fact that this game is in Amway Center is a huge advantage for the Magic.
Unsurprisingly, the Warriors haven't been great against the spread when they play on the road. Golden State has only earned a 15-16-2 record in that category, with an 8-9-2 record as road favorites. They'll also of course be missing Curry in this game, who is easily the most important player on the team. He leads the team in points and assists per game, so his absence will certainly be felt here. Overall, this isn't the worst spot to take the Magic to cover.
Final Warriors-Magic Prediction & Pick
Neither side of the spread looks particularly appealing in this matchup. Instead, the over is the best pick on the board. Even with both team missing an important starter, the number is just too low to not bet the over here.
Final Warriors-Magic Pick: Over 214.5 (-110)
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