Orlando Magic vs. Golden State Warriors Betting Preview
Where: Oracle Arena, Oakland, CA
When: Thursday, March 16, 2017, 10:30 PM ET
Line: Orlando Magic (+13.5) at Golden State Warriors (-13.5); total: 219.0 – view all NBA lines
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Betting on the Orlando Magic (24-44)
What a discouraging defeat Monday’s contest against the Sacramento Kings must’ve been for the Orlando Magic. Orlando won its last eight games wherein it scored 115 or more points, but the 120 put up by the Kings was more than enough that evening to send the team to its third-straight loss.
We shouldn’t expect another scoring outburst from the Magic anytime soon, as they’re only one of two teams along with Dallas averaging less than 100 points scored per game this season. They’re also the second-worst three-point shooting team in the league with a dismal 32.5-percent clip, and that simply cannot do against the sharpshooting Warriors ahead.
In essence, Orlando wasted fantastic performances from a couple of its young stars against the Kings. Elfrid Payton notched his third triple-double of the season with 13 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists, and Nikola Vucevic tallied 23 points and nine boards of his own in the loss. Ultimately, Payton and Vucevic’s stellar outputs weren’t enough to contain Sacramento’s six players who scored in double-digits.
The Magic will likely extend their woeful slide at hostile Oracle Arena this Thursday against one of the best home teams in the league. To make matters worse, they’ve mustered up just one win over their last eight games on the road (3-5 ATS).
Betting on the Golden State Warriors (53-14)
Sticking to the the topic of three-game skids, the Golden State Warriors finally broke their own such stretch with the narrow 106-104 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday.
Reigning MVP Stephen Curry had to fight hard to end his 29th birthday on a high note, and he was indeed rewarded with a fitting 29-point outing at that. His fellow duo of Warriors standouts appear to have gotten over the sudden loss of Kevin Durant (sprained knee) in the staring lineup as well. Klay Thompson scored 28 points against the Sixers, and Draymond Green had a monster stat line of 20 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and six blocks – a new career high.
All things considered, though, it’s crucial that Curry rediscovers his prolific scoring ways like in seasons past. He’s made just 26 of his 89 shots from beyond the arc over the last eight games (29 percent).
Then again, another date with the Magic could fix just that, as Steph hit seven of his 13 three-point attempts in the win over Orlando in January. He’ll also relish the fact that he and his Dubs are 11-1 in Oracle this season against teams from the East, as well as them being winners of seven-consecutive meetings against the Magic (5-2 ATS) by an average margin of 11.3 points.
Writer’s Prediction
The Warriors (-13.5) cruise to a 115-93 victory.
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