Orlando Magic vs. Charlotte Hornets Prediction, Preview, and Odds - 4-5-2024
Will the Orlando Magic be able to sweep the season series as they battle against the Charlotte Hornets? The Orlando Magic is set to face the Charlotte Hornets in a tough Eastern Conference match at the Spectrum Center. The Orlando Magic are currently fourth in the East and are coming off a 117-108 road win against the New Orleans Pelicans, while the Hornets are 13th in East and coming off an 89-86 home loss against the Portland Trail Blazers. This is the fourth and final regular season game between the two teams, with the Magic winning all three games so far. Despite being 26th in the sport with 110.5 points per game, Orlando Magic has been doing well and has a shot of securing one of the top four seeds and securing home-court advantage in the NBA playoffs. The Charlotte Hornets have been struggling defensively throughout the season, with 106.1 points and are 21st in basketball with 116.6 points. The Magic's defense is strong, with an adjusted defensive rating showing a significantly different level of play.
Published : 4 weeks ago by in Sports
The Orlando Magic (45-31, 49-27 ATS) will be on the road against the Charlotte Hornets (18-58, 30-46 ATS) in a battle of haves and have nots in the Eastern Conference inside of the Spectrum Center on Friday evening. The Magic are fourth in the East and are coming off a 117-108 road win against the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday while the Hornets are 13th in the East and are coming off an 89-86 home loss against the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday. This is the fourth and final regular season game against each other in the regular season as the Magic won all three games thus far.
The Orlando Magic have been doing incredibly well and have a shot of grabbing one of the top four seeds and getting home-court advantage in the opening round of the NBA Playoffs. The team is 26th in the sport with 110.5 points per game up to this point and need to improve on that aspect of the game. The Magic have been doing well and are coming off a 117-108 road victory against the New Orleans Pelicans. Orlando Magic coach Jamahl Moseley discussed how and how he is okay with that. “That’s about as physical as you can get… (This is a) big-time sign of growth for a young team that continues to learn how to win in these moments. You’re getting hit, you’re getting grabbed, you’re getting held - all those things, which is OK with us. We embrace the physical. That’s fine.” This team is also absolutely dominating on the defensive side of the floor as they are not dominating at this point of the year. They are third in the NBA with 108.2 points per game allowed and are holding their opponents to 35.5 percent from beyond the arc. If they can figure out how to be even better offensively, they will be scary to face off against.
Who Will be Their Next Coach? The Charlotte Hornets have been terrible throughout the entire season as they are 13th in the East with an 18-58 record and are not in playoff contention. Charlotte is doing a terrible job offensively as they are the second-worst in the sport with 106.1 points per game. They are coming off an 89-86 home loss against the Portland Trail Blazers and things did not look well as this was the first time that Scoot Henderson and Brandon Miller faced off in the NBA. Miller discussed how he is looking at Charlotte as a “It was good, it was fun. A great environment and I feel like Charlotte the city came out to support so it’s all good vibes.” Their defense has been struggling throughout the year as well as they are 21st in basketball with 116.6 points per game so far. If they can figure out how to continue improving in the final handful of games, they will be in a great position for next season to build on this.
The Orlando Magic are the better team here and they have shown that as they have won each of the three games against the Charlotte Hornets by an average of 15.0 points. These offenses are on two different levels as of late with the Magic are scoring 113.0 points in their previous three games while the Hornets are averaging 101.3 points in their last four games. Charlotte has struggled brutally at home as they are 10-28 at home. The adjusted defensive rating throughout the season shows a significantly different level of play as the Magic are second in the NBA with a 110.5 defensive rating while the Hornets are the second-worst with a 119.0 defensive rating so go with the Orlando Magic to cover the spread. Want a second opinion on this pick? Visit WinnersAndWhiners.com These defenses have shown they are not going to be able to get stops at a consistent enough level as Orlando is allowing 100.0 points in their last five games while Charlotte is giving up 113.0 points in their previous four games. These teams have been giving up a few too many three-pointers as the Magic are seventh in the NBA with a 35.5 opposing 3-point percentage while the Hornets are 24th in the league with a 37.6 3-point percentage against. All in all, go with the over as the better option here.
From an early age, Justin knew he would be involved with sports in some way shape, or form. Justin played baseball in high school as well as basketball. He also coached basketball during summer vacations for local recreational organizations throughout high school. In college, he began writing for the school newspaper, both news articles as well as sports but soon discovered sports was his vocation. For the last seven years, he has written sports editorials for both hard copy newspapers as well as online sites and has now joined our team here at StatSalt. He has a deep passion for breaking down the games and also being on them. Be sure and follow along with Justin on a daily basis as he will point you in the right way.
Topics: Basketball, NBA, Charlotte Hornets, Orlando Magic