Orlando Magic vs New York Knicks Prediction, 3/18/2021 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Orlando Magic vs New York Knicks

Date: Thursday, March 18, 2021

Location: Madison Square Garden in New York, NY

TV: MSG

Odds/Point Spread: Orlando (+4)

The New York Knicks (20-21) play the Orlando Magic (13-26) at Madison Square Garden on Thursday. The odds on this matchup have New York as 4-point favorites. The total has been set at 227.

The Orlando Magic took the court against the Miami Heat and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 102-97 in their last game. Orlando ended the game with a 44.0% FG percentage (33 of 75) and knocked down 16 of their 40 three-point shots. At the free throw line, the Magic converted 15 of 21 tries for a rate of 71.4%. Concerning getting rebounds, they compiled 45 with 8 of them being offensive. They also doled out 25 dimes for this contest in addition to forcing the other team into 11 turnovers and earning 4 steals. With respect to defense, Orlando let their opponent shoot 41.6% from the floor on 37 of 89 shooting. Miami doled out 28 assists and had 15 steals for the matchup. Additionally, Miami pulled down 43 rebounds (10 offensive, 33 defensive) and had 1 block. Miami walked away from this one shooting 93.3% from the free throw line by making 14 of their 15 tries. They also converted 14 of their 50 attempts from three-point range.

Nikola Vucevic is one guy who had an impact for the game. He ended up walking away with 38 points on 15 of 27 shooting. He was on the court for 38:15 mins played and grabbed 10 rebounds. Vucevic finished the game shooting 55.6% from the floor and also earned 6 assists. An additional guy that was a determining factor in this contest for the Magic was Michael Carter-Williams. He had 3 rebounds in 33:47 min played on the night. He finished the game at 37.5% from the field in this game via 3-of-8 (9 points). At the conclusion of this game, Carter-Williams earned 7 assists.

Orlando steps onto the hardwood with a record of 13-26 on the season. They are giving up possession 13.5 times per contest and as a group they commit 16.9 fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, Orlando is pulling in 46.6 boards per contest and has accumulated 883 assists on the year, which has them ranked 26th in the league in terms of passing the ball. The Magic are shooting 35.5% on shots from downtown (464 of 1,308) and 79.0% from the free throw line. They currently have an average of 104.6 pts per game (29th in basketball) while hitting 43.0% from the floor. Defensively, the Magic are forcing 13.0 turnovers per contest while drawing 18.2 fouls. They are surrendering 36.7% on three-point shots and they are 14th in basketball in points per game allowed (111.7). The Magic defense is allowing and opponent field goal percentage of 46.9% (506 of 708) and they surrender 46.1 rebounds per game as a team. They rank 23rd in the league in giving up assists with 1,006 conceded on the season.

In their last game, the New York Knicks took a defeat with a final score of 99-96 against the Philadelphia 76ers. The Knicks earned 38 defensive boards and 9 offensive rebounds totaling 47 in this matchup. They also coughed up the ball 12 times, while earning 7 steals in the game. The 76ers committed 22 personal fouls for the matchup which took the Knicks to the free throw line for a total of 22 shots. They were able to bury 14 of the free throws for a rate of 63.6%. In regard to three-point shots, New York knocked down 8 of their 24 tries (33.3%). When all was said and done, the Knicks went 37 out of 84 from the floor which had them at 44.0%. The Knicks permitted the 76ers to knock down 37 of their 90 tries from the field which gave them a percentage of 41.1% for the game. They wrapped up this game 34.4% from distance by going 11 out of 32 and ended up going 14 out of 19 at the charity stripe (73.7%). Concerning rebounding, New York allowed Philadelphia to pull down 50 overall (12 on the offensive side).

Julius Randle pitched in for the Knicks in this matchup. He buried 7 of 19 for the matchup for a rate of 36.8%, and accumulated 15 rebounds. Randle totaled 19 points in his 40:35 mins on the court and had 8 dimes for this contest. One more player that ended being a contributor for New York was RJ Barrett. He ended up walking away with 4 dimes in his 40:33 minutes on the hardwood, and he knocked down 7 of 17 from the floor. Barrett walked away from this one going 41.2% from the field as well as totaling 17 points and 8 boards.

New York has a mark of 20-21 for the season. The Knicks are committing 20.8 personal fouls every game and they shoot 77.3% from the charity stripe. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 21.0 times per contest (29th in the NBA) and they are losing possession via turnover 13.6 times per contest. New York has scored 4,309 points for the campaign (105.1 per contest) and they collect 46.1 rebounds per game. As an offense, the Knicks are hitting on 45.4% from the floor, which is ranked 22nd in the NBA. The Knicks on the defensive side of the court are 1st in the league in PPG allowed with 105.1. They have conceded 22.9 dimes and 43.4 rebounds every game, which has them ranked 3rd and 13th in the league. The New York defense allows 33.4% on shots from behind the 3-point line (501 of 1,500) and opponents are knocking down 77.0% of their free throw shots. They are forcing 12.1 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 44.2% from the floor (1st in the league).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Orlando (+4)

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