The Orlando Magic and the Utah Jazz collide at the Delta Center on Thursday night.

Orlando Magic

The Orlando Magic will be hoping to avoid a third straight loss after getting routed by the Clippers in a 118-102 road loss on Tuesday. Paolo Banchero led the team with 15 points, Franz Wagner added 14 points and eight rebounds while Moritz Wagner chipped in with 13 points in just 14 minutes off the bench. As a team, the Magic shot 46 percent from the field and seven of 30 from the 3-point line as they held the Clippers to just 13 points in the first quarter to take the early lead, but they could never really capitalize on their strong start and fell victim to a scoring surge in the third quarter where the Clippers exploded for 41 points to flip the game on its head. 

Orlando Magic Team Facts

• The Magic have lost 16 of their last 17 away games when playing with a rest advantage.
• The Magic have covered the spread in each of their last six games against teams that held a losing record.
• Six of the Magic’s last seven games against Western Conference opponents have gone UNDER the total points line.

Utah Jazz

Meanwhile, the Utah Jazz have lost three of their first five games overall, but they will be eager to stay hot in this one after making light work of the shorthanded Grizzlies in a 133-109 win last night. Collin Sexton led the team with 23 points and six assists on eight of 10 shooting off the bench, Jordan Clarkson added 20 points, six rebounds and five assists while Lauri Markkanen tallied 19 points with 11 rebounds. As a team, the Jazz shot 54 percent from the field and a sizzling 22 of 43 from the 3-point line as they stormed out of the gates with 42 points in the first quarter, before they poured in another 37 points in the second quarter to lead by as many as 35 points which allowed them to rest all of their starters early. 

Utah Jazz Team Facts

• The Jazz have won eight of their last nine games as home underdogs on the second leg of a back-to-back.
• The Jazz have covered the spread in each of their last nine games as home underdogs on the second leg of a back-to-back.
• Each of the Jazz’s last six night games against Eastern Conference opponents have gone OVER the total points line.

Matchup/League Facts

• The Jazz rank 1st in the league for offensive rebounds per game this season (15.0).
• The Jazz ranks 2nd in the league for rebound percentage this season (54.4%).
• The Magic rank 1st in the league for opponent rebounds per game this season (40.5).
• The Magic rank xth in the league for Q1 opponent points per game this season (22.0).

Peter’s Pick

The Magic have split their first four games, but they’ve looked good in each game and they could easily be 3-1 on the season heading into this game with everyone from Banchero to Harris and Wagner all playing well. The Jazz were looking terrible before they blew past the Grizzlies last night, but the Grizzlies are missing so many key players so it’s hard to get too excited about that. It’s hard to split these two teams at the moment, but the Magic are the team playing the better basketball at the moment, so that’s where I’m leaning here.