New Orleans Pelicans vs Orlando Magic Prediction, 3/21/2024 Preview and Pick

Game: New Orleans Pelicans vs Orlando Magic

Date: Thursday, March 21, 2024

Location: Kia Center in Orlando, FL

TV: Bally Sports Florida

The Orlando Magic (41-28) will play the New Orleans Pelicans (42-26) at Kia Center on Thursday.

The Pelicans faced off with the Nets and went home with a win by a final score of 104-91 in their last contest. New Orleans walked away from the contest with a 50.6% field goal percentage (42 of 83) and converted 10 of 34 shots from beyond the arc. At the charity stripe, the Pelicans knocked down 10 of 13 tries for a percentage of 76.9%. Regarding grabbing rebounds, they compiled 48 with 11 of them being offensive. They also recorded 29 assists for this game as well as forcing the opposition into 13 turnovers and earning 7 steals. When talking about defending, New Orleans allowed their opponent to shoot 36.9% from the floor on 31 of 84 shooting. Brooklyn recorded 19 dimes and had 6 steals in the game. On top of that, Brooklyn totaled 42 boards (14 offensive, 28 defensive) and had 5 blocks. Brooklyn finished the game at 77.3% at the free throw line by making 17 of their 22 shots. They also knocked down 12 of their 40 shots from distance. Concerning personal fouls, the Pelicans finished with 19 and the Nets recorded 13 personal fouls.

Zion Williamson is a player who was a contributor for this game. He scored 28 points on 11 out of 16 shooting. He was on the court for 33 minutes played and pulled down 7 rebounds. Williamson finished the game shooting 68.8% from the floor and also recorded 4 dimes.

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New Orleans enters this matchup with a mark of 42-26 this year. They are averaging 116.0 pts per game (13th in the league) while going 48.9% from the field. The Pelicans are connecting on 38.0% on three-point shots (837 of 2,203) and 76.8% from the charity stripe. As a unit, New Orleans is grabbing 44.6 boards per contest and has accounted for 1,850 dimes on the campaign, which ranks 11th in the league in terms of passing. They turn it over 13.2 times per game and as a squad are committing 18.7 personal fouls per game.

On the defensive end, the Pelicans are forcing 14.2 turnovers per contest while drawing 18.6 fouls. They are currently ranked 17th in the league in allowing assists to the opposition with 1,812 surrendered for the year. The Pelicans defense is allowing a shooting percentage of 45.9% (2,745 of 5,975) and they relinquish 42.3 boards per game as a basketball team. They are surrendering 34.6% on 3-point attempts and they rank 8th in the league in points per game allowed (110.7).

When they last played, the Magic walked away with a victory by a final of 112-92 when they played the Hornets. With respect to rebounding, Orlando allowed Charlotte to collect 30 in total (4 on the offensive glass). They finished 31.0% from distance by going 9 out of 29 and walked away from this one shooting 7 of 9 from the free throw line (77.8%). The Magic allowed the Hornets to convert 38 of 79 attempts from the floor which gave them a rate of 48.1% in this matchup. When all was said and done, the Magic ended up going 44 out of 81 from the floor which had them shooting 54.3%. Pertaining to 3-point attempts, Orlando converted 12 out of 34 tries (35.3%). They were able to convert 12 of the free throw tries for a rate of 92.3%. The Hornets committed 13 personal fouls for the matchup which took the Magic to the free throw line for a total of 13 shots. They also turned the ball over 16 times, while getting 10 steals for this contest. The Magic earned 31 defensive rebounds and 10 offensive boards totaling 41 for the contest.

Cole Anthony pitched in for the Magic for this game. He converted 9 of 12 in the matchup for a field goal percentage of 75.0%, and had 6 rebounds. Anthony earned 21 points in his 21 mins of playing time and accounted for 3 dimes in the game.

Orlando has a record of 41-28 this season. The Magic are committing 20.3 fouls every game and they shoot 75.5% from the charity stripe. They are assisting teammates 24.6 times per contest (27th in basketball) and they turn it over 14.9 times per contest. Orlando has scored 7,642 points so far this season (110.8 per game) and they pull down 42.6 rebounds per game. In terms of offensive execution, the Magic are connecting on 47.7% from the field, which ranks 14th in the NBA.

The Orlando defense gives up 35.6% on shots from beyond the arc (795 of 2,233) and their opposition makes 77.2% of their free throw shots. They have given up 23.9 dimes and 39.8 rebounds every game, which has them ranked 1st and 1st in the league. The Magic on the defensive side of the court are 3rd in the NBA in PPG given up with 108.8. They are forcing their opponents into 15.0 TO's every game and have allowed teams to shoot 47.4% from the field (18th in the NBA).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take New Orleans

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