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We have a battle of two struggling teams going down in the Sunshine State tonight as the Los Angeles Lakers begin a six-game East Coast road trip when meeting the Orlando Magic.
The drama for Los Angeles (22-23) continued on Wednesday when it fell 111-104 to the Pacers, its fourth loss in five games. LeBron James once again led the injury-riddled team with 30 points and 12 rebounds in the setback. The controversy coming out of that game was Russell Westbrook being benched late and there’s now questions over whether head coach Frank Vogel will still have a job when the Lakers return home from this road trip.
Orlando (8-38) were bested by the 76ers in a 123-110 loss on Wednesday, a game where Joel Embiid added fuel to his MVP campaign with 50 points and 12 rebounds. The Magic did get a good effort from Mo Bamba, who dropped 32 points in 30 minutes.
Los Angeles enters the game as a five-point favorite on DraftKings Sportsbook. The total is set at 219.
Lakers vs. Magic, 7:00 p.m. ET
Pick ATS: Lakers -5
The Lakers’ problems have been well documented but they have serious issues if they’re not able to put away the worst team in the league on the road. L.A. should be able to calm the storm for at least one night so just on principal, lay it with the road team.
Over/Under: Over 215
The Magic have been averaging just 101.9 points over their last 10 outings so they could drag the total down. Meanwhile, the Lakers have averaged 113.8 points during that same stretch and should be able to generate enough offense to push the over in this one.
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