Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics will look to extend their winning ways when they host Aaron Gordon and the Orlando Magic in their mid-week matchup of eastern Conference rivals on Wednesday night. With Boston looking to take care of business and Orlando looking to record consecutive victories for the first time in three weeks, let’s find out which team is offering the best value against their NBA odds for this Magic vs Celtics.
Magic vs Celtics 2020 NBA Spread, Game Info & Expert Preview
#NEBHInjuryReport update: Marcus Smart (quad), Daniel Theis (ankle), Kemba Walker (knee) and Rob Williams (hip) are all OUT tonight. Gordon Hayward (calf) and Enes Kanter (hip) are available to play, per Brad Stevens.
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) February 5, 2020
Why Bet On Orlando?
The Magic snapped a five-game losing streak by subduing Charlotte 112-100 on Monday night as Aaron Gordon posted a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds to lead the way to victory. The win was just Orlando’s third in their last 10 games.
“I think this will be a good confidence-builder,” Orlando coach Steve Clifford told reporters after the win. “It’s good sometimes to have four days off, but we hadn’t won a game for two weeks. And, as (everyone) knows, it feels like it has been months. I think it will, hopefully, give us some confidence.”
The Magic got a big boost from the return of point guard Markelle Fultz, who scored 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting while dishing out a career-high 14 assists.
“Going into the game, my mindset was being aggressive, drawing two and always making the right play,” Fultz told reporters. “I have unbelievable trust in all my teammates in them making open shots and making the right plays, so when I had a chance to drive and someone helped, I just kicked it. Our offense was flowing today, and we made shots.”
Orlando ranks a dismal 29th in scoring (103.3 ppg), but first in points allowed (104.6 ppg). Unfortunately, the Magic have gone an uninspiring 9-16 on the road
Team Stats
Offense- Total Score: 103.34
- Field Goal Percentage: 43.20
- Three-Point Percentage: 33.55
- Free Throw Percentage: 75.96
- Total Rebounds: 44.70
Defense
- Total Score: 104.56
- Field Goal Percentage: 45.50
- Three-Point Percentage: 36.03
- Free Throw Percentage: 76.56
- Total Rebounds: 46.18
Orlando Magic NBA Betting Trends
- Magic are 3-1-1 ATS in their last 5 Wednesday games.
- Magic are 1-4-1 ATS in their last 6 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.
- Magic are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games overall.
- Magic are 0-7 ATS in their last 7 when their opponent scores 100 points or more in their previous game.
Why Bet On Boston?
The Celtics are on a nice roll,having won four straight and seven of their last eight games including a 123-115 win over Atlanta on Monday night despite being without All-Star point guard Kemba Walker and Marcus Smart. Boston got a team-high 28 points from Jayson Tatum, 24 points from Gordon Hayward who started at point guard and 21 points from the red-hot Jaylen Brown. The C’s got past Atlanta despite committing 15 turnovers.
“I don’t think throwing the ball all over the gym is a good recipe to win,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens told reporters after the game. “But we fought, we made some tough plays, we made some timely plays, and I thought we got a lot of good contributions from a lot of people.”
The still-blossoming Brown is averaging 24 points during the four-game winning streak.
“Just had to figure it out,” Brown told reporters. “It was ugly, but we figured it out. We made a lot of mistakes, but we made less mistakes than they did, so we won. As we inch towards the playoffs, we’ve got to clean up habits and do a better job. We can’t just take plays off or shoot bad shots because we’re playing against Atlanta. We’ve got to continue to play the game the right way.”
Boston is ranked a solid 11th in scoring (112.7 ppg) while ranking a stellar second in points allowed (105.5 ppg). The Celtics are 20-5 at home heading into this matchup.
Team Stats
Offense- Total Score: 112.67
- Field Goal Percentage: 46.29
- Three-Point Percentage: 35.66
- Free Throw Percentage: 80.38
- Total Rebounds: 45.45
Defense
- Total Score: 105.49
- Field Goal Percentage: 44.31
- Three-Point Percentage: 34.26
- Free Throw Percentage: 75.07
- Total Rebounds: 43.82
Boston Celtics NBA Betting Trends
- Celtics are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 after allowing 100 points or more in their previous game.
- Celtics are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 home games.
- Celtics are 7-1 ATS in their last 8 when their opponent allows 100 points or more in their previous game.
- Celtics are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games following a ATS win.
- Celtics are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games vs. a team with a losing straight up record.
- Celtics are 32-15-4 ATS in their last 51 Wednesday games.
Magic vs Celtics Expert Analysis and Prediction
Orlando had won three straight against Boston until falling to the Celtics 109-98 at home on Jan. 24 as a 14-point underdog. For this matchup, I’m expecting Boston to record another near, double-digit win at TD Garden to cover the spread as an 8.5-point home favorite.
The Magic are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games as an underdog and 0-5 ATS in their last 5 games against a team with a winning percentage above .600. Conversely, Boston has gone a perfect 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games overall, an identical 4-0 ATS in their last four home games and 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games as a favorite.
The Celtics have heated up nicely since the all-star break and they’d like nothing better than to keep their momentum going by putting the Magic in their place in this contest. Boston Has been fantastic at home this season and Orlando looks like a completely different team when they’re one the road versus playing on their home floor. Keep it simple MYBookie basketball betting faithful. Boston wins and covers!
Pick: Boston 112 Orlando 101
