Orlando Magic vs Indiana Pacers NBA Betting Preview & Odds
NBA action on Thursday night and we will see the Orlando Magic take on the Indiana Pacers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. Los Angeles Clippers. Local TV will carry this game, which has a start time of 7:00 pm EST.
Current betting odds for this game have the have the Pacers listed as 7.5 point favorites, while the total has been set at 207.
Head-To-Head This Year: Indiana won the 1st meeting 97-84 as 4.5 point home favorites… Indiana won the 2nd meeting 95-86 as 3.5 point road favorites… Indiana won the 3rd meeting 105-102 as 1.5 point road favorites.
The Orlando Magic haven’t had much to smile about this year, but they do come in off a 22 point win over Chicago and then followed that up with a 34 point win over Brooklyn. Both those games were at home and this one is on the road where they have gone just 11-26 on the year, including 0-6 their last 6. We also note that the two wins were the first time since February 7th and 8th that they won two in a row and they haven’t won 3 in a row since mid December. The leading scorer on the team is Nikola Vucevic at 17.8 ppg and he leads them in rebounding as well at 9.0 rpg, but he is listed as questionable for this game. Victor Oladipo is 2nd on the team in scoring at 15.9 ppg, but he did have just 7 points in the rout of Brooklyn. Evan Fournier (14.8 ppg & 40.3% from long range) and Elfrid Payton (10.8 ppg) round out the double digit scorers on the team. Overall the Magic enter this game ranked 21st in the league in scoring, putting up just 101.4 ppg, while also ranking 13th in shooting overall, 14th in three point shooting and 17th from the charity stripe. The defense has been average at best as they rank 17th in points allowed at 103.2 ppg, while also ranking 19th in defensive FG% overall and 20th in 3-point defense. On the road the Magic averaged 98.9 ppg on 44.5% shooting, while allowing 104.6 ppg on 46.2% shooting.
Trends: The Magic are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games following a straight up win of more than 10 points and 7-3 ATS in their last 10 vs. Eastern Conference, but 0-7 ATS the last 7 in the series and 7-16 ATS in their last 23 after scoring 100 points or more in their previous game. The Over is 7-3 in their last 10 games playing on 1 days rest, while the Under is 8-1 in their last 9 after scoring 100 points or more in their previous game.
The Indiana Pacers are trying to hold on tom the 8th playoff spot in the East, but a home loss to a struggling Chicago team that is right behind them in the standings is not a good way to go about holding on to that spot. The Pacers are still in the 8th spot, but their lead over Chicago is down to just two games. They still have some breathing room and their remaining schedule isn’t that tough with four of their last 8 games at home and just 2 of the 8 being vs teams that are in the playoffs as of now. This is a game they must win. Indiana is led by Paul George, who averages 23.4 ppg, which is 10th in the league. He is dealing with an ankle injury, but is listed as probable for this game. Monta Ellis is next at 14.1 ppg, while George Hill is 3rd at 12.1 ppg and is the team’s best long range threat hitting 40.4% of his shots from downtown. C.J. Miles (11.4 ppg) and Myles Turner (10.5 ppg) round out the double digit scorers on the team, while Ian Mahinmi leads the team in rebounding at 7.1 rpg and chips in with 9.2 ppg. Overall Indiana comes in ranked 19th in the league in scoring, putting up 101.7 ppg, while also ranking 18th in shooting overall, 19th from long range and 16th from the charity stripe. The defense is what leads this team as they are 7th in points allowed, giving up just 100.4 ppg, while also ranking 8th in defensive FG% and 3rd in 3-point defense. At home this year the Pacers have averaged 101.9 ppg on 45.5% shooting, while allowing 98.2 ppg on 44.4% shooting.
Trends: The Pacers are 7-2 ATS in their last 9 when their opponent allows 100 points or more in their previous game and 6-1 ATS in their last 7 games following a straight up loss, but just 4-9 ATS their last 13 games at home and 2-7 ATS in their last 9 home games vs. a team with a losing road record. The Over is 3-1-1 in their last 5 vs. a team with a losing straight up record, while the Under is 21-7 the last 27 games in this series.
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