Orlando Magic vs New Orleans Pelicans Prediction, 2/27/2023 Preview and Pick

Game: Orlando Magic vs New Orleans Pelicans

Date: Monday, February 27, 2023

Location: Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, LA

TV: Bally Sports New Orleans

Odds/Point Spread: Orlando (+5)

The Orlando Magic are headed to Smoothie King Center on Monday where they will attempt to beat the New Orleans Pelicans. New Orleans opens this contest as 5-point favorites. The betting total comes in at 234.

The Magic took the court against the Pacers and ended up losing by a score of 121-108 in their last contest. Orlando finished the contest with a 38.9% field goal percentage (35 out of 90) and made 6 of their 29 shots from downtown. When they shot from the free throw line, the Magic knocked down 32 of 38 attempts for a percentage of 84.2%. With respect to getting rebounds, they compiled a total of 55 with 15 of them being of the offensive variety. They also dished out 16 assists for the matchup while creating 7 turnovers and getting 4 steals. In regard to the defense, Orlando allowed their opponent to shoot 48.5% from the field on 48 out of 99 shooting. Indiana earned 35 dimes and had 9 steals in this contest. In addition, Indiana collected 45 rebounds (10 offensive, 35 defensive) and got 8 rejections. Indiana finished the contest at 71.4% at the charity stripe by knocking down 10 of 14 shots. They knocked down 15 of 40 tries from distance. When talking about fouls, the Magic ended up finishing with 19 and the Pacers recorded 24 fouls.

Franz Wagner is one guy who came through for this contest. He left the arena with 21 points on 7 out of 12 shooting. He was on the court for 34 minutes played and also pulled down 6 boards. Wagner finished the game shooting 58.3% from the field and also distributed 2 dimes.

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Orlando steps onto the hardwood with a win-loss mark of 25-36 for the season. They cough up possession 15.1 times per contest and as a unit are committing 20.2 fouls per contest. As a team, Orlando is snagging 42.8 boards per game and has accounted for 1,384 dimes this season, which is 28th in the NBA in terms of passing. The Magic are shooting 34.8% on shots from beyond the arc (650 of 1,866) and 78.8% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 110.8 pts per contest (28th in basketball) while hitting 46.9% from the floor.

On the defensive end, the Magic are forcing 14.6 turnovers per contest and they draw 20.5 fouls. They give up 34.9% on shots from beyond the arc and they are 16th in basketball in points per game from their opponents (113.7). The Magic are giving up a shooting percentage of 47.5% (2,524 of 5,316) and they concede 42.2 boards per contest as a team. They are currently ranked 25th in the NBA in allowing assists to their opponents with 1,575 surrendered on the season.

In their last game, the Pelicans took a defeat with a final score of 128-106 when they played the Knicks. The Pelicans corralled 26 defensive boards and 13 offensive rebounds totaling 39 in this game. They turned it over 7 times, while getting 11 steals for this game. The Knicks had 22 fouls in this matchup which got the Pelicans to the free throw line for 21 attempts. They were able to make 18 of them for a percentage of 85.7%. Regarding 3-point shots, New Orleans knocked down 8 of 38 tries (21.1%). When the final whistle blew, the Pelicans shot 40 for 102 from the field which had them at 39.2%. The Pelicans allowed the Knicks to knock down 45 of 88 tries from the floor which gave them a rate of 51.1% in this matchup. They finished 39.6% from 3-point land by going 19 of 48 and finished the contest at 19 of 23 at the charity stripe (82.6%). With respect to how they attacked the glass, New Orleans allowed New York to get 54 in all (11 on the offensive glass).

Brandon Ingram ended up having an impact for the Pelicans in this contest. Ingram had 19 points in his 36 mins of playing time and tallied 3 dimes for the matchup. He made 7 of 22 in the game for a field goal rate of 31.8%, and had 4 rebounds.

New Orleans has a record of 30-31 this season. When it comes to executing on offense, the Pelicans are connecting on 47.8% from the floor, which is 12th in the NBA. New Orleans has totaled 6,995 points for the year (114.7 per game) and they pull in 44.0 rebounds per contest. They are assisting teammates 25.7 times per contest (10th in the NBA) and they are losing possession via turnover 14.9 times per contest. The Pelicans commit 20.7 fouls every game and they hit 78.1% from the free throw line.

The Pelicans on the defensive end are ranked 17th in the NBA in points per game surrendered with 113.8. They are forcing 15.1 TO's every game and have allowed teams to shoot 47.5% from the field (17th in the NBA). The New Orleans defense gives up 34.0% on shots from beyond the arc (750 of 2,203) and their opponents are connecting on 77.8% of their shots from the charity stripe. They relinquish 25.1 assists and 42.4 rebounds per contest, which is 12th and 8th in the league.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take New Orleans (-5)

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