The Magic are hosting the Pelicans on Thursday, which is the final preseason game for both of these teams. On DraftKings Sportsbook, Orlando is favored by 7.5 points and this game carries a total of 229.5 points.
Magic vs. Pelicans prediction, preview
After overachieving despite many key injuries last season, the Magic have aspirations of being one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference this season. Orlando has two terrific, versatile forwards in Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, and while the team was elite defensively last season, the Magic struggled offensively, especially as a three-point shooting club. To address these issues, the Magic went out and traded for Desmond Bane from the Grizzlies this offseason, who is exactly the type of player Orlando needs. The shooting guard averaged 19.2 PPG while shooting 48% from the field and 39% from beyond the arc last season, and Bane should help the Magic take another step forward this season.
While Orlando added Bane and the club has hopes of being a real threat come playoff time, the Pelicans traded away many key pieces this offseason and it is likely to be another down year for New Orleans. After trading Brandon Ingram to the Raptors at the deadline last season, the Pelicans traded CJ McCollum to the Wizards this offseason. New Orleans received Jordan Poole back in the deal, but the guard has been very up-and-down since leaving the Warriors a few years ago and this New Orleans team is going to heavily rely on Trey Murphy and more importantly, Zion Williamson this season.
The Duke product made a bunch of headlines this summer as Williamson is apparently in much better shape this season. When healthy, the forward should put up huge numbers for this lackluster Pelicans team, but Williamson has been an extremely fragile and unreliable player throughout his career and expecting him to play the majority of games this season is very unrealistic.
This preseason, the Magic are 3-0 and they rank second in net rating. Meanwhile, New Orleans has been strong as well, with a 2-1 record and ranking fourth in net rating. Both these clubs have limited most of their key players to less than 20 minutes per game this preseason and this strategy should continue for both teams in this preseason finale on Thursday. That being said, when the starters are the floor in this matchup, Orlando’s first unit should have no trouble outperforming New Orleans’ starting five.
Magic vs. Pelicans pick, best bet
While these two clubs both rank inside the top-five in net rating this preseason, the Magic top-to-bottom are a much better team than the Pelicans and with this game being in Orlando, the Magic should win this exhibition, making them a perfect 4-0 for the preseason.
Backing Orlando -7.5 is a viable move, but a better way to bet on this game is backing the Magic for over their team total of 118.5 points. This preseason, Orlando ranks third in offensive rating and the club has scored at least 120 points in all three of it’s contests.
