The Orlando Magic (21-32) visit the Charlotte Hornets (15-39) Sunday. Tip-off for this Southeast Divisional showdown from Spectrum Center is set for 1 p.m. ET. Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Magic vs. Hornets odds, and make our expert NBA picks and predictions.
Orlando won at Minnesota 127-120 Friday as a 5.5-point underdog, notching their 2nd win in their last 5 games. Sunday’s contest will wrap up a 4-game road stretch, in which they are 2-1 straight up (SU) and against the spread (ATS). The other win in the swing came against Philadelphia 119-109 as 9.5-point underdogs Monday. Despite winning 2 of their last 3, the Magic are only 5-5 SU in their last 10, but they are 7-3 ATS during that span.
Charlotte enters on a 3-game skid, recently falling Friday in a 118-112 battle at Detroit as a 1.5-point favorite. The loss ended a 3-game road stretch in which the Hornets went 1-2 ATS.
This is the 3rd of 4 regular-season meetings between the 2 teams. They split the first 2 contests, both played in Orlando. The Magic won 113-93 as 1.5-point underdogs Oct. 28, while Charlotte prevailed 112-105 as 2-point favorites Nov. 14. Both games cashed Under tickets.
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Magic at Hornets odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Saturday at 10:58 p.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Magic -105 (bet $105 to win $100) | Hornets -115 (bet $115 to win $100)
- Against the spread: Magic +1.5 (-115) | Hornets -1.5 (-105)
- Over/Under (O/U): Off the board
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Magic at Hornets key injuries
Magic
- F Cody Martin (knee) out
- G Kelly Oubre Jr. (hand) out
Hornets
- None
For most recent updates: Official NBA injury report.
Magic at Hornets picks and predictions
Prediction
Magic 112, Hornets 107
Moneyline
BET ORLANDO (-105) TO WIN 0.3 UNITS.
Charlotte’s 7-16 home record is the 2nd worst in the league (only Detroit, at 7-19, is worse).
The Magic are the better of 2 bad teams in this matchup and they are a bad matchup for the Hornets.
Charlotte has no favorable matchups to stop the Orlando’s young rising stars.
Against the spread
BET ORLANDO +1.5 (-115) TO WIN 0.3 UNITS.
The Magic have been very consistently covering the spread as of late, but there are reasons to worry about this bet. They tend to play down to their level of competition, which leads to them struggling against teams they should beat.
They are 0-5 ATS in their last 5 games vs. teams with a worse than .400 road-win percentage. Leaning Magic is still safer as they are 15-3 in their last 18 when playing on 1 day’s rest, per covers.com.
Over/Under
While the O/U is off the board as of this publishing, I like UNDER once it’s posted as long as the line is 220.5 or higher.
For the Hornets and for recent head-to-head matchups between these 2 teams, Under is clearly the safer bet. The Under is 4-1 in the last 5 Hornets-Magic games.
For Orlando the Under is 2-1 in its last 3 games and 4-6 in its last 10.
The Under for Charlotte has been more consistent. The Under is 4-1 in the Hornets’ last 5 games, and is 4-0 in their last 4 games playing on 1 day’s rest.
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