New Orleans Pelicans vs Orlando Magic Prediction, 1/20/2023 Preview and Pick

Game: New Orleans Pelicans vs Orlando Magic

Date: Friday, January 20, 2023

Location: Amway Center in Orlando, FL

TV: Bally Sports Florida

The Orlando Magic will try to defeat the New Orleans Pelicans at Amway Center on Friday.

The Pelicans stepped onto the hardwood against the Heat and took a loss by a final of 124-98 in their last game. In the matter of personal fouls, the Pelicans finished with 17 and the Heat recorded 17 personal fouls. They knocked down 12 of their 35 shots from long range. Miami finished shooting 75.0% at the charity stripe by burying 12 of 16 tries. In addition, Miami collected 43 rebounds (10 offensive, 33 defensive) and added 3 blocks. Miami doled out 37 assists and had 11 steals for the contest. In terms of the defense, New Orleans let their opponent shoot 53.2% from the floor on 50 out of 94 shooting. They also recorded 27 assists for this game as well as forcing 9 turnovers and earning 5 steals. With respect to grabbing boards, they collected 38 with 9 of them being of the offensive variety. At the charity stripe, the Pelicans buried 11 of their 18 shots for a rate of 61.1%. New Orleans finished the game having earned a 46.3% field goal percentage (37 of 80) and made 13 out of their 30 shots from 3-point land.

CJ McCollum is a player who had an impact in the matchup. He notched 21 points on 8 out of 17 shooting. He played 31 minutes and also collected 2 rebounds. McCollum finished shooting 47.1% from the floor and also earned 4 dimes.

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New Orleans comes into this contest with a win-loss mark of 26-19 on the campaign. They average 116.6 pts per game (9th in the league) while connecting on 48.1% from the field. The Pelicans are connecting on 36.6% on three-point shots (506 of 1,382) and 77.7% from the charity stripe. As a unit, New Orleans is snagging 44.7 boards per game and has earned 1,172 dimes this season, which is 8th in the league in terms of passing the rock. They are losing possession via turnover 15.2 times per game and as a unit are committing 20.5 personal fouls on a nightly basis.

When they are on the defensive end, the Pelicans are forcing 15.6 turnovers per game while drawing 21.1 fouls. They are 17th in the league in giving up assists with 1,139 conceded so far this season. The Pelicans defense is giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 47.2% (1,872 of 3,963) and they concede 42.0 rebounds per contest as a unit. They relinquish 34.0% from beyond the arc while they are 17th in basketball in PPG allowed (113.5).

When they last played, the Magic walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 119-116 against the Nuggets. The Magic earned 29 defensive boards and 10 offensive rebounds totaling 39 in the matchup. They turned it over 13 times, while recording 7 steals for the contest. The Nuggets committed 22 personal fouls for this contest which got the Magic to the free throw line for 34 tries. They were able to bury 27 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 79.4%. Concerning shooting from 3-point land, Orlando made 7 out of 29 attempts (24.1%). At the conclusion of this game, the Magic ended up shooting 41 out of 84 from the field which had them at 48.8%. The Magic allowed the Nuggets to knock down 48 of their 89 attempts from the field which left them with a rate of 53.9% in this game. They went 33.3% from three-point range by going 13 of 39 and walked away from this one shooting 10 out of 19 from the free throw line (52.6%). Regarding rebounds, Orlando permitted Denver to grab 41 overall (12 offensive).

Markelle Fultz was important for the Magic for the matchup. He knocked down 8 out of 10 in this contest for a rate of 80.0%, and had 7 rebounds. Fultz scored 20 points in his 27 mins on the hardwood and tallied 6 dimes in this game.

Orlando has a mark of 16-28 for the year. The Magic are committing 20.7 personal fouls per game while shooting 79.1% from the free throw line. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 22.3 times per contest (27th in the NBA) and they turn the ball over 15.4 times per game. Orlando has tallied 4,861 points on the campaign (110.5 per contest) and they pull in 42.9 rebounds per game. When it comes to offense, the Magic are shooting 46.9% from the floor, which is 19th in the NBA.

The Orlando defense concedes 34.1% on shots from distance (571 of 1,674) and their opponents are knocking down 78.1% of their free throw attempts. They allow 25.6 assists and 42.6 total rebounds per game, which is ranked 19th and 8th in the league. The Magic are ranked 18th in basketball in points given up per game with 114.3. They are able to force 14.2 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 47.3% from the field (16th in the league).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take New Orleans

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