Orlando Magic vs Charlotte Hornets Prediction, 5/7/2021 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Orlando Magic vs Charlotte Hornets

Date: Friday, May 7, 2021

Location: Spectrum Center in Charlotte, NC

TV: Bally Sports Florida

Odds/Point Spread: Orlando (+9)

The Orlando Magic (21-45) travel to Spectrum Center on Friday where they'll meet the Charlotte Hornets (32-33). Orlando opens this matchup as 9-point underdogs. The total is set at 216.

The Orlando Magic stepped onto the hardwood against the Boston Celtics and took a loss by a final of 132-96 in their last contest. Orlando wrapped up the game with a 38.8% FG percentage (33 out of 85) and made 6 of their 25 3-point shots. At the charity stripe, the Magic converted 24 of their 28 tries for a rate of 85.7%. In relation to rebounding, they compiled 45 with 10 of them being on the offensive end. They also distributed 13 assists for the contest as well as forcing the other team into 11 turnovers and having 7 steals. Regarding defending, Orlando allowed 53.1% from the floor on 51 of 96 shooting. Boston recorded 28 assists and had 8 steals in this contest. Furthermore, Boston collected 45 rebounds (9 offensive, 36 defensive) and added 7 rejections. Boston walked away from this one shooting 75.0% from the charity stripe by making 9 of their 12 shots. They knocked down 21 out of their 45 shots from downtown.

Dwayne Bacon is a player who was a major contributor in this contest. He recorded 20 points on 10 out of 18 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 29:09 mins played and collected 4 rebounds. Bacon ended up shooting 55.6% from the floor but didn't record an assist. Another guy that was a major contributor in this matchup for the Magic was Moritz Wagner. He snagged 4 rebounds in his 25:55 minutes on the court. He ended up going 50.0% from the floor for this game by hitting 4-of-8 (20 points). In all, Wagner went home without an assist.

Orlando heads into this one with a record of 21-45 this year. They turn the ball over 12.8 times per game and as a squad they are committing 16.9 fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Orlando is pulling in 45.2 boards per game and has accounted for 1,446 dimes on the season, which is 28th in the NBA in terms of passing the rock. The Magic are hitting 34.6% on shots beyond the perimeter (725 of 2,098) and 77.8% from the free throw line. They currently have an average of 104.1 pts per game (29th in the NBA) on 43.0% from the field. When they are on defense, the Magic are forcing their opponents into 13.0 turnovers per game while drawing 18.4 fouls. They are surrendering 37.3% from 3-point land and they are ranked 18th in the NBA in points per game allowed (112.5). The Magic are giving up an opponent FG percentage of 47.1% (859 of 1,217) and they concede 47.0 rebounds per game as a group. They are ranked 27th in basketball in giving up assists to the opposition with 1,711 surrendered for the campaign.

In their last game, the Charlotte Hornets went home victorious with a score of 102-99 against the Detroit Pistons. The Hornets pulled down 35 defensive rebounds and 16 offensive boards totaling 51 in the game. They gave up possession 8 times, while recording 8 steals for the contest. The Pistons had 21 personal fouls in this contest which got the Hornets to the charity stripe for 24 shots. They were able to make 18 of the free throw tries for a rate of 75.0%. In the matter of shots from 3-point land, Charlotte made 8 out of 31 tries (25.8%). At the conclusion of this game, the Hornets shot 38 out of 93 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 40.9%. The Hornets permitted the Pistons to bury 39 out of their 85 attempts from the floor which gave them a percentage of 45.9% in this matchup. They shot 28.1% from 3-point land by connecting on 9 out of 32 and ended up shooting 12 of 20 from the free throw line (60.0%). When talking about how they cleaned up the glass, Charlotte permitted Detroit to snag 46 overall (10 on the offensive glass).

LaMelo Ball ended up having an impact for the Hornets for the game. He knocked down 7 out of 16 for the game giving him a field goal percentage of 43.8%, and had 7 rebounds. Ball totaled 23 points in his 30:37 minutes of playing time and added 6 dimes in the matchup. One more player that was important for Charlotte was Terry Rozier. He ended up finishing with 6 dimes in his 39:03 mins played, and he converted 8 out of 23 from the floor. Rozier wrapped this one up going 34.8% from the field in addition to earning 18 points and 2 boards.

Charlotte has a win-loss mark of 32-33 this year. When it comes to offensive execution, the Hornets are shooting 45.8% from the floor, which ranks them 21st in the league. Charlotte has 7,129 pts for the campaign (109.7 per game) and they pull in 43.6 boards per game. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 26.9 times per contest (5th in the NBA) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 15.0 times per contest. The Hornets are committing 18.1 fouls per game and they connect on 76.3% from the charity stripe. The Hornets are ranked 11th in the NBA in points given up per game with 111.0. The Charlotte defense gives up 36.3% on 3-point attempts (943 of 2,597) and their opponents are converting on 74.9% of their free throw attempts. They allow 27.2 dimes and 44.8 rebounds per game, which ranks them 30th and 19th in the league. They are forcing their opponents into 14.8 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 46.6% from the field (16th in basketball).

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Orlando (+9)

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