Orlando Magic (16-50) vs. New Orleans Pelicans (27-38)
March 9, 2022 8:00 pm EDT
The Line: New Orleans Pelicans -8.5; Over/Under: -
(Get latest betting odds)
The Orlando Magic invade the Smoothie King Center to take on the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday night.
The Orlando Magic have been in a rut as they’ve lost seven of their past 10 games overall and they will be hoping to avoid a third straight defeat after coming up short against the Suns in a 102-99 loss last night. Wendell Carter Jr. led the team with 20 points and 12 rebounds, Moritz Wagner added 12 points off the bench while Cole Anthony chipped in with 11 points and five assists. As a team, the Magic shot just 38 percent from the field and seven of 39 from the 3-point line as they clawed their way back from an early 15-point deficit to take the lead late in the fourth quarter, only to allow the Suns to slip away in the end. Cole Anthony shot just four of 14 from the field while Terrence Ross scored just nine points on two of 10 shooting off the bench.
Meanwhile, the New Orleans Pelicans have been in decent shape as they’ve split their last eight games overall, but they will be hoping to avoid a third straight defeat after getting routed by the Grizzlies in a 132-111 road loss last night. CJ McCollum led the team with 32 points and 11 assists on 13 of 21 shooting, Willy Hernangomez added 17 points with nine rebounds while Naji Marshall chipped in with 16 points. As a team, the Pelicans shot 46 percent from the field and 11 of 34 from the 3-point line, but they just never looked threatening in this one after falling behind by 19 points at halftime and by as many as 36 points in the third quarter.
Looking at the betting trends, the Magic are 5-2 ATS in their last seven games against a team with a losing record, 1-4 ATS in their last five games playing on zero days’ rest and 2-7 ATS in their last nine games as an underdog. The Pelicans are 6-1-1 ATS in their last eight games against a team with a losing record, 2-5 ATS in their last seven games playing on zero days’ rest and 4-1 ATS in their last five games overall.
Head to head, the over is 5-0 in the last five meetings overall, the Magic are 5-2 ATS in the last seven meetings overall and the Magic are 4-0 ATS in the last four meetings in New Orleans.
The Magic are going to be shorthanded again as Markelle Fultz has been ruled out and Jalen Suggs is listed as day to day, while the Pelicans are sweating on the availability of Brandon Ingram who is listed as day to day currently. The Pelicans have looked like a much better team with McCollum in the lineup and I think they can bounce back with a win and cover here assuming that Ingram is good to go in this one.
