Orlando Magic vs New Orleans Pelicans Prediction, 3/9/2022 NBA Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Orlando Magic vs New Orleans Pelicans

Date: Wednesday, March 9, 2022

Location: Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, LA

TV: Bally Sports Florida

The Orlando Magic (16-49) are hitting the road to Smoothie King Center on Wednesday where they will take on the New Orleans Pelicans (27-37).

The Magic stepped onto the hardwood against the Grizzlies and took a loss by a score of 124-96 in their last contest. When talking about personal fouls, the Magic ended up finishing with 20 while the Grizzlies recorded 7 personal fouls. They also made 14 out of their 34 shots from downtown. Memphis finished the contest at 66.7% at the free throw line by making 18 of their 27 tries. Moreover, Memphis grabbed 49 rebounds (6 offensive, 43 defensive) and earned 5 blocked shots. Memphis dished out 55 assists and had 25 steals for the matchup. When it comes to defending, Orlando let their opponent shoot 50.0% from the floor on 46 of 92 shooting. They also recorded 25 assists in the matchup as well as creating 4 turnovers and getting 7 steals. When it comes to rebounding, they collected 41 with 1 of them being offensive. At the charity stripe, the Magic converted 11 of their 16 attempts for a percentage of 68.8%. Orlando wrapped up the game with a 43.0% field goal percentage (37 of 86) and made 11 of 35 three-point shots.

Franz Wagner is one guy who played a role in this game. He notched 15 points on 6 out of 9 shooting. He played 24 minutes and also grabbed 5 boards. Wagner shot 66.7% from the floor and also distributed 6 assists.

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Orlando comes into this game with a win-loss record of 16-49 this year. They currently have an average of 103.8 points per game (28th in the NBA) while hitting 43.4% from the field. The Magic are hitting 32.9% on 3-point shots (773 of 2,347) and 78.8% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Orlando is collecting 43.8 rebounds per contest and has tallied 1,514 dimes this season, which is 22nd in basketball in terms of passing. They are turning it over 14.7 times per contest and as a team are committing 19.8 personal fouls every game.

When they are on defense, the Magic are able to force 13.5 turnovers every game and they draw 18.4 fouls. They are ranked 18th in the league in giving up assists with 1,603 conceded on the year. The Magic defense is allowing a shooting percentage of 46.0% (2,655 of 5,771) and they surrender 47.1 rebounds per game as a team. They concede 36.4% from beyond the arc and they are ranked 22nd in basketball in PPG allowed (111.9).

When they last stepped on the court, the Pelicans walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 138-130 against the Nuggets. When discussing cleaning the glass, New Orleans allowed Denver to pull down 37 overall (10 offensive). They shot 30.3% from 3-point land by shooting 10 of 33 and ended up shooting 34 out of 43 from the free throw line (79.1%). The Pelicans allowed the Nuggets to bury 47 of their 87 attempts from the field which left them with a shooting percentage of 54.0% for this contest. When the final whistle blew, the Pelicans finished shooting 48 out of 101 from the field which had them sitting at 47.5%. In regard to shots from beyond the arc, New Orleans buried 14 of 33 attempts (42.4%). They were able to knock down 20 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 69.0%. The Nuggets were called for 15 fouls for this contest which took the Pelicans to the free throw line for a total of 29 shots. They also turned it over 14 times, while getting 9 steals for this contest. The Pelicans were able to corral 35 defensive boards and 14 offensive boards totaling 49 for this contest.

Brandon Ingram ended up having an impact for the Pelicans in the game. He knocked down 12 of 24 in this game giving him a field goal percentage of 50.0%, and earned 5 rebounds. Ingram had 38 points in his 40 mins of playing time and totaled 9 dimes for the matchup.

New Orleans has a win-loss mark of 27-37 so far this year. In terms of offensive execution, the Pelicans are hitting on 45.2% from the field, which ranks 22nd in the league. New Orleans has scored 6,893 points so far this year (107.7 per contest) and they average 45.5 boards per game. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 24.9 times per contest (10th in the league) and they are losing possession via turnover 14.3 times per contest. The Pelicans commit 20.0 fouls per contest while shooting 78.9% from the free throw line.

The New Orleans defense surrenders 35.6% on shots from behind the 3-point line (808 of 2,270) and their opponents are converting on 78.1% of their free throw shots. They allow 23.7 assists and 42.3 rebounds every game, which is 10th and 3rd in the NBA. The Pelicans on defense are ranked 13th in the league in points per game surrendered with 109.1. They are forcing 13.7 TO's every game and have allowed teams to shoot 46.3% from the floor (21st in the NBA).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Orlando

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