The Magic will be hosting the Hornets on Friday for a win-or-go home Play-In Tournament matchup. The winner will be the No.8 seed in the Eastern Conference and face the Pistons in the first round. On DraftKings Sportsbook, Charlotte is favored by 3.5 points and this game carries a total of 218.5 points.
Let’s dive into my preview and pick for this matchup.
Magic vs. Hornets preview
The Magic had a chance to earn a playoff berth Wednesday vs. the 76ers, but fell short 109-97 in Philadelphia. Now, the Magic find themselves in this win-or-go home matchup vs. the Hornets, who got here by defeating the Heat in a 127-126 overtime thriller Tuesday in Charlotte.
Both hailing from the Southeast division, the Magic and Hornets faced each other four times in the regular season and Charlotte won this season series 3-1. The Magic took the first matchup by 16 points, but then lost the final three by an average of 20.3 PPG. Franz Wagner did miss each of these final three matchups, so Orlando does have this excuse, but nonetheless, all of these were very easy wins for the Hornets.
After trading for Desmond Bane in the summer, many viewed the Magic as one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference, myself included, but they haven’t lived up to the hype with a 45-37 record and ranking 17th in net rating. Wagner has only played in 34 games, but Orlando is just 13-12 with he, Paolo Banchero and Desmond Bane all active.
This trio is all healthy now and before losing by 12 points to the 76ers on Wednesday, the Magic closed the regular season with an embarrassing 113-108 loss to the undermanned Celtics. Boston rested it’s entire playoff rotation for this game while Orlando was at full strength and looking to get a win to possibly avoid the Play-In Tournament. Rumors have been swirling that HC Jamal Mosley will be fired no matter what happens with the Magic, so the team isn’t in a good place to say the least and now, they have to face a Hornets team that has had their number and that is in much better spirits.
Charlotte surviving Tuesday’s nail-biter vs. Miami was huge for this young team’s morale, as the Hornets have struggled in close games. This season, they are just 11-18 in clutch games, which is when the score is within five points with five minutes left in the contest. Despite these late game struggles, Charlotte has been one of the best teams in the NBA in the second half of the season.
Since the All-Star break, the Hornets are 19-9 and ranks second in net rating. Charlotte’s starting five of LaMelo Ball, Kon Knuepell, Brandon Miller, Miles Bridges and Moussa Diabate is easily the best five-man unit in the NBA this season with a 16.2 net rating. Plus, the Hornets have Coby White flourishing as the team’s sixth man since he was acquired at the deadline. The guard is averaging 15.6 PPG with Charlotte and he scored 19 points Tuesday vs. the Heat, including a ridiculous fadeaway three-pointer to force overtime.
The Hornets have a real knack for beating on struggling teams and with the Magic discombobulated right now, Charlotte fully deserves to be favorited for this do-or-die matchup, even with it taking place in Orlando.
Magic vs. Hornets pick, best bet
The Magic look like a team thats ready to call it a season, fire their coach and start fresh in October. Meanwhile, the Hornets are an ascending group that would love to earn the franchise’s first playoff berth in a decade.
The Hornets should win this game and they deserve to be favorited by more than 3.5 points. Charlotte could win with ease and backing the club to cover is a no-brainer. The Hornets are a league-best 50-33 ATS and 23-15 ATS when favorited this season.
