Orlando Magic (29-42) vs. Los Angeles Lakers (34-37)
March 19, 2023 9:30 pm EDT
The Line: Los Angeles Lakers -6.5; Over/Under: +231
(Get latest betting odds)
The Orlando Magic pay a visit to the crypto.com Arena to take on the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night.
The Orlando Magic have been in a slump as they’ve lost five of their last seven games overall, but they will be looking to build some momentum here after sneaking past the Clippers in a 113-108 road win last night. Markelle Fultz led the team with 28 points on 10 of 17 shooting, Wendell Carter Jr. added 27 points with 12 rebounds and two blocks while Franz Wagner chipped in with 20 points on seven of 13 shooting. As a team, the Magic shot 50 percent from the field and 10 of 31 from the 3-point line as they looked to be in trouble when they scored just 17 points in the third quarter to fall behind by eight points, before they exploded for 39 points in the fourth quarter to pull off the impressive comeback victory.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Lakers have split their last eight games and they will be hoping to avoid a third straight defeat after coming up painfully short to the Mavericks in a 111-110 loss on Friday. Anthony Davis led the team with 26 points, 10 rebounds and three assists, Austin Reaves added 16 points off the bench, Dennis Schroder scored 15 points while D’Angelo Russell tallied 11 points with 11 assists. As a team, the Lakers shot 51 percent from the field and just five of 20 from the 3-point line as they struggled to get going offensively and had to claw their way back from a 14-point deficit to take the lead late in the fourth quarter, only to see the Mavericks close the final 2:48 on a 9-3 run to snatch the game from them in the end thanks to Maxi Kleber who drained the game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Looking at the betting trends, the Magic are 16-7 ATS in their last 23 road games, 1-5 ATS in their last six games playing on zero days rest and 1-6 ATS in their last seven games against a team with a losing record. The Lakers are 5-2 ATS in their last seven home games, 17-6 ATS in their last 23 games against a team with a losing record and 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games overall.
Head to head, the under is 23-9 in the last 32 meetings overall, the Magic are 0-3-1 ATS in the last four meetings overall and the Magic are 4-1 ATS in the last five meetings in Los Angeles.
The Magic are going to be shorthanded once again as Jonathan Isaac and Jalen Suggs are still out, while the Lakers are still missing LeBron James and Anthony Davis is listed as day to day. The Magic were really struggling before they pulled out a nice win over the Clippers last night, but it’s going to be tough to replicate that effort on zero days rest against a Lakers team who have been playing some of their best basketball of the season. The Lakers are 17-6 ATS in their last 23 games against a team with a losing record and the Magic are only 1-6 ATS in their last seven games playing on zero days rest, so I’ll back the Lakers to get the job done at home in this one.
