Boston Celtics vs Orlando Magic Prediction, 12/23/2024 Preview and Pick

Game: Boston Celtics vs Orlando Magic

Date: Monday, December 23, 2024

Location: Kia Center in Orlando, FL

TV: FanDuel Sports Network

The Orlando Magic (17-12) will take on the Boston Celtics (21-6) at Kia Center on Monday.

The Celtics took the court against the Bulls and ended up losing by a score of 117-108 in their last contest. Boston wrapped up the contest having earned a 39.2% field goal percentage (38 out of 97) and knocked down 14 of their 56 3-point attempts. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Celtics converted 18 of their 21 tries for a rate of 85.7%. Concerning hauling in boards, they compiled a total of 45 with 11 of them being offensive. They also dished out 21 assists in this game while forcing 12 turnovers and earning 6 steals. With respect to defending, Boston let their opponent shoot 44.7% from the floor on 42 of 94 shooting. Chicago totaled 23 assists and had 2 steals for the matchup. Furthermore, Chicago had 56 rebounds (11 offensive, 45 defensive) and added 8 rejections. Chicago finished 87.5% from the charity stripe by making 14 of 16 shots. They also converted 19 of 52 tries from 3-point range. When it comes to personal fouls, the Celtics left the arena with 13 while the Bulls totaled 19 personal fouls.

Jayson Tatum is someone who played a role in the game. Tatum ended up shooting 45.5% from the field and also dished out 4 assists. He was on the court for 37 mins played and also collected 10 rebounds. He finished with 31 points on 10 out of 22 shooting.

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Boston comes into this one with a record of 21-6 for the year. They turn it over 11.8 times per game and as a basketball team they are committing 16.3 fouls every game. As a unit, Boston is pulling in 44.8 boards per game and is sitting with 698 assists this year, which ranks 15th in the league in terms of passing. The Celtics are shooting 36.7% on shots from 3-point land (508 of 1,384) and 79.9% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 119.5 pts per contest (3rd in the league) while connecting on 45.6% from the field.

When they are on defense, the Celtics are able to force 13.5 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 19.3 personal fouls. They currently rank 7th in the league in giving up assists to their opponents with 655 surrendered so far this year. The Celtics defensively are giving up a FG percentage of 46.0% (1,128 of 2,450) and they surrender 44.7 rebounds per game as a unit. They are giving up 35.0% on shots from beyond the arc while they are 8th in the NBA in PPG from their opponents (110.0).

In their last game, the Magic took a loss by a final score of 105-99 when they faced the Thunder. The Magic earned 30 defensive boards and 10 offensive rebounds totaling 40 in the matchup. They turned it over 20 times, while recording 6 steals for the game. The Thunder committed 20 personal fouls for this game which took the Magic to the free throw line for a total of 25 attempts. They were able to convert 18 of the free throws for a clip of 72.0%. When discussing 3-point attempts, Orlando converted 11 out of 35 tries (31.4%). When the final whistle blew, the Magic finished the game shooting 35 for 78 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 44.9%. The Magic allowed the Thunder to convert 40 of their 83 tries from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 48.2% for the matchup. They went 32.3% from 3-point land by shooting 10 out of 31 and walked away from this one shooting 15 out of 16 at the free throw line (93.8%). In reference to rebounds, Orlando permitted Oklahoma City to get 32 in all (4 on the offensive glass).

Anthony Black was important for the Magic for the matchup. Black had 23 points in his 31 minutes on the court and tallied 3 assists for the contest. He buried 8 out of 14 in the game for a rate of 57.1%, and added 1 rebound.

Orlando has a win-loss record of 17-12 on the season. The Magic are committing 20.2 personal fouls every game and they go 78.2% from the free throw line. Their rate of earning assists is at 23.9 times per game (25th in basketball) and they are turning it over 15.2 times per contest. Orlando has accumulated 3,097 points for the campaign (106.8 per game) and they snag 42.1 boards per game. When it comes to offense, the Magic are shooting 45.1% from the field, which has them ranked 23rd in basketball.

The Magic on the defensive end are ranked 2nd in the NBA in points allowed per game with 103.6. They are forcing 16.9 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 46.3% from the field (15th in the NBA). The Orlando defense allows 36.5% from downtown (337 of 923) and opponents are making 76.2% of their free throw attempts. They have allowed 23.0 assists and 40.5 rebounds every game, which has them ranked 2nd and 1st in basketball.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Boston

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