Charlotte Hornets vs Orlando Magic 10/27/2021 NBA Odds, Preview, and Prediction

The Charlotte Hornets look to bounce back from their first loss of the season as they visit the Orlando Magic at the Amway Center on Wednesday night.

Charlotte rattled off three straight wins to start the season but saw their best start ever ended in an overtime home loss to the Boston Celtics in their last game. The Hornets were well in control of the game in the final period before allowing Boston to rally and force OT. Charlotte went ice cold in OT as the Celtics pulled away to win the game by double-digits.

Meanwhile, the Magic are coming off their third loss of the season against the Miami Heat. Orlando’s three losses this year have come via a losing margin of 17 or more points. They opened the season with back-to-back defeats to the San Antonio Spurs and New York Knicks before stunning the Knicks in the second of a back-to-back home and away games.

Charlotte Hornets

Year two of the LaMelo Ball era is looking better than the first one. Ball is averaging 22.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 6.8 assists per game with shooting splits of .472/.500/1.00 to start the season. Miles Bridges is also off to a spectacular start and is leading Charlotte in scoring at 25 points per game while also averaging 8.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 2.3 steals per game.

Charlotte is 3-1 on the season and they rank second in the league in scoring at 121.5 points per game scored and second in assists at 28.3 dimes per contest. The Hornets, however, need to tighten their defense as they are only ranked 27th in scoring defense at over 117 points per game allowed. In their last game, Charlotte allowed the Celtics to put up 140 points in 53 minutes of action.

Orlando Magic

The Orlando Magic are 1-3 to start the season and are still struggling to find their form. Cole Anthony continues to improve and he is currently Orlando’s best player at 15.2 points and 5.8 assists per game this season. Mo Bamba is also having a good start at 13.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per game. Rookie Jalen Suggs is scoring 12.3 points per game while Wendell Carter Jr. is contributing 10.8 points and 9.2 rebounds per game.

Orlando is 20th in scoring defense as they are conceding 113.8 points per game while scoring just 98.3 points per game, which is 27th overall. The Magic are also just 25th in passing at 21.0 assists per game and if they want to win this game, they need to display better teamwork and ball movement.

Who Wins?

Charlotte is 3-7 SU in their last 10 games played. The Hornets are 2-0 SU in two road games played this season. Orlando is 1-10 SU in their last 10 games played. The Magic are 1-12 SU in their last 13 games played at home.

Head to head, the Hornets are 15-5 SU in their last 20 games played against the Magic. Charlotte is also 7-2 SU in their last nine games played in Orlando.

On the other hand, the Magic have struggled as expected. Orlando beat the New York Knicks last Sunday in their home-and-away schedule. If you take that game away, then this is an Orlando team that has lost three games by an average margin of 21 points per game with no losing margin coming below 17 points.

Charlotte is playing much better right now and they have also proved they can win on the road. These are two young teams but while the Hornets have found their direction, the Magic are still trying to figure things out.

With a core led by LaMelo Ball, Miles Bridges, Gordon Hayward, and Terry Rozier, the Hornets are going to contend for a playoff spot. Orlando meanwhile may be one lottery pick away from serious contention. Give me the Hornets.

Prediction: Charlotte Hornets

Other Bets to Make

The Hornets are 4-2 ATS in their last six games played. Charlotte is 7-1 ATS in their last eight games as road favorites, 13-5 ATS in their last 18 games as betting favorites, 25-11-1 ATS in their last 37 games against an opponent with a losing straight up record, 38-12-1 in their last 51 games against an opponent with a winning percentage of .400 or worse, and 21-7-1 in their last 29 games against an opponent with a losing home record.

The Magic are 1-6 ATS in their last seven games played. Orlando is 7-18-1 ATS in their last 26 games as betting underdogs, 2-6 ATS in their last eight games when playing on one-day rest, 7-19-1 in their last 27 games after allowing more than 100 points in their previous game, 3-11-1 ATS in their last 15 games against an opponent with a road winning percentage of .600 or better, 1-4 ATS in their last five games after an ATS loss, and 1-4 ATS in their last five games after a straight-up loss.

Head to head, Magic are 5-2 ATS in their last seven meetings against the Hornets. However, Charlotte has covered the betting spread in 14 out of their last 19 meetings in Orlando.

The Hornets look like a team that has figured out their identity. Miles Bridges, LaMelo Ball, Gordon Hayward, and Kelly Oubre Jr. are scoring in double digits for Charlotte and they’ve got a bunch of guys off the bench who can produce and give their core players the support they need to win games.

Meanwhile, the Magic are still figuring things out. Cole Anthony is their leading scorer and he is averaging just 15.3 points per game. They do have a balanced offense where six players are scoring in double digits but having a team like that is a double-edged sword as while they have many options, they don’t have a go-to guy in the 4th quarter.

Orlando’s three losses have been by 17 points or more so I’ll gladly lay points to the Magic for as long as it’s below double-digits. Give me the Hornets again.

Prediction: Charlotte Hornets -6

The total has gone over in four out of the last five games played by the Hornets. The over is 4-1 in their last five games against the Eastern Conference, 4-1 in their last five October games, 4-1 after a double-digit home defeat, 4-1 after an ATS loss, 8-2-1 in their last 11 Wednesday games, 6-2 in their last eight games against an opponent with a losing record, and 5-2 after allowing more than 125 points in their previous game.

The total has gone over in five out of the last six games played by the Magic. The over is 4-0 in their last four games after an SU loss, 5-1 after allowing 100 or more points in their previous game, 16-5 in their last 21 games as home underdogs, 22-6 in their last 28 Wednesday games, 13-3 in their last 16 games after an ATS loss, and 8-1 in their last nine games played on the road.

Head to head, the over is 6-2 in the last eight meetings between these two teams. The total has gone over in 14 out of the last 19 meetings in Orlando.

The Magic have given up 120+ points twice in four games and they are allowing an average of 113.75 points per game this season. Charlotte meanwhile ranks second in the league in scoring at 121.3 points per game and has topped the 123-point scoring plateau three times in four games played this season.

While Orlando isn’t a prolific scoring team, their lackluster defense is going to make it easy for Charlotte to score. Charlotte should be able to hit 120 points in this game, which will make covering 217 an easier task. I think the total is too low when you have a team like the Hornets.

Prediction: Over 217

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