The Orlando Magic and Brooklyn Nets will play Friday at Barclays Center. Tip-off from Brooklyn is at 7:30 p.m. ET. The Nets are seven-point spread favorites.
Orlando (34-45 SU and 45-32-2 ATS) is 6-4 straight-up and 9-0-1 against the spread in their last ten games. It plays Cleveland on Thursday at home. The Magic, 13th overall in the EC, are eliminated from the 2023 NBA Playoffs.
Brooklyn (44-36 SU and 40-38-2 ATS) is 5-5 straight-up and 4-6 against the spread in its last ten games. The Nets are sixth in the Eastern Conference standings. Forward Dorian Finney-Smith is questionable with a wrist injury but is “confident” he will play Friday, per Brian Lewis of the .
Brooklyn and Orlando split their two previous meetings this season. The Nets won 109-102 on November 28, shooting over 54 percent from the field. Orlando evened up the series with a 119-106 home victory on March 26. The Magic shot a hair under 53 percent and held the Nets to 40.7 percent shooting.
Orlando is no longer in the playoff race but there is hope that it is well on its way. With a top draft pick set to join an already impressive core, there is certainly magic in the air in Orlando.
Ex-Duke Blue Devil Paolo Banchero paces Orlando in scoring. He averages 20.0 points on 42.7 percent shooting and 6.9 rebounds per game. A few other players to watch are forward Franz Wagner (18.8 PPG), center Wendell Carter Jr. (15.5 PPG and 8.8 RPG), Fultz (14.2 PPG and 5.8 APG), and Anthony (13.0 PPG and 4.7 RPG).
tha rook pic.twitter.com/TqYsJblXUi
— Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) April 5, 2023
Orlando averages 112.0 points per game (26th) and shoots 47.3 percent (20th) with a 34.9 shooting percentage from deep (24th). The Magic hit 78.4 percent of their free throw attempts (16th) and average 43.1 rebounds (16th) with a +1.1 rebounding margin. They're 26th in adjusted offensive rating, 23rd in effective field goal percentage (53.5%), and 16th in pace of play, per Dunks and Threes.
The Magic give up 114.0 points per game defensively (16th), and their opponents shoot 47.5 percent (18th), including 35.1 percent from three-point range (6th). Orlando is 13th in adjusted defensive rating and 28th in assist-per-turnover ratio.
No House Advantage: Bet on player over/unders VS THE HOUSE to 21x your bet OR play in PICK 'EM contests against other people! Click here to get a 1st deposit match up to $100 1st w/ promocode WandW!