NBA - Magic Thunder Odds Preview

A key NBA battle sees the visiting Thunder travelling to Orlando Friday to face the Magic on Friday.

The Magic bring a 36-22 record (25-31-2 ATS) to the battle against the 36-20 Thunder, who are 29-27 ATS. OVER/UNDER bettors have seen Orlando go 24-30-4 so far and the Thunder go 34-22.

Betting Line:
Bettors looking to back the visiting Thunder before tip-off in this one will find them as 6.5-point underdogs, while the total sits at 207.

Power Rankings / Prediction:
The Odds Shark Power Rankings have the Magic at No. 2 and the Thunder at No. 9 heading into this contest. Handicapping models run by the computers at Odds Shark project a 106-103 result in favor of the Magic.

How They Match Up:
Offensively, the game matches up Orlando's No. 11-ranked offense (99.8 PPG) against a Thunder defense that ranks No. 20 at 102.3 PPG. The Magic have averaged 46% from the field per game, less than the Thunder have managed so far this season (46.1% on average).

Defensively, the Thunder feature the league's No. 19-rated defense on the road, allowing 102.5 points per game. Orlando, meanwhile, comes in at No. 14 in the league in scoring at home.

In their last action, Oklahoma City was a 109-105 loser on the road against the Spurs. They covered the 7–point spread as underdogs, while the combined score (214) was profitable news for OVER bettors. Oklahoma City got 30 points from Kevin Durant en route to a 109-105 loss at the hands of Oklahoma City on Wednesday at AT&T Center.

Orlando lost its last outing, a 111-105 result against the Kings on February 23. The Magic failed to cover in that game as a 14-point favorite, while the 216 combined points took the game OVER the total. Dwight Howard was dynamite, scoring 31 points and adding 17 rebounds but Sacramento still won, 111-105, over Orlando on Wednesday at Amway Center.

Oklahoma City Thunder Trends:
When playing on Friday are 4-6
Before playing LA Lakers are 6-4
After playing San Antonio are 3-7
After a loss are 8-2

Orlando Magic Trends:
When playing on Friday are 4-6
Before playing Charlotte are 8-2
After playing Sacramento are 8-2
After a loss are 8-2

A few Thunder at Magic trends to consider:
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Oklahoma City's last 6 games when playing on the road against Orlando
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Oklahoma City's last 14 games when playing Orlando
Oklahoma City is 6-3 SU in its last 9 games
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Oklahoma City's last 12 games
Orlando is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Oklahoma City
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Orlando's last 6 games when playing at home against Oklahoma City
Orlando is 8-2 SU in its last 10 games when playing Oklahoma City
Orlando is 12-4 SU in its last 16 games at home

Next up:
Oklahoma City home to LA Lakers, Sunday, February 27
Orlando home to Charlotte, Sunday, February 27