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The Minnesota Timberwolves take the trip to the Magic Kingdom to take on the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida.
Outside The Playoff Picture
The 25-28 Minnesota Timberwolves need to start winning games right now as they have moved outside the playoff picture with six losses in their last 10 games played. The Wolves have dropped three out of their last four games and have lost their last two games by a combined losing margin of three points.
Minnesota is 17th in team scoring at 111.3 points per game. The Wolves are 15th in assists at 24.4 dimes per contest and they are also 18th off the glass with 45.0 rebounds per game. The Timberwolves have the 17th best scoring defense in the league at 111.2 points per game allowed this season.
Minnesota Timberwolves vs Orlando Magic 2/719
Moneyline Odds: Timberwolves +115, Magic -135
Odds from BetOnline.ag as of 2/7/19
Anything But Magical
The Orlando Magic have been anything but magical this season. The team is 22-32 and is currently sitting at 11th place in the Eastern Conference team standings, four games behind the 8th seeded Miami Heat. The Magic have unable to build momentum as they have not won more than three straight games this season. Still there are plenty of game lest to play and Orlando still has a chance to make the playoffs. But they must start winning games now.
The Magic have the 4th lowest scoring average among the 30 NBA teams at 104.6 points per game. They are ranked 14th in assists with 24.6 dimes per contest and are 23rd off the boards at 43.8 rebounds per game. Orlando is giving up 107.9 points per game which is 8th-best in the league.
Who Wins?
Minnesota is 1-4 SU in its last five games played and the Timberwolves are 8-17 SU in their last 25 road games. Orlando is 3-8 SU in its last 11 games played. The Magic are 2-4 SU in their last six home games. Head to head, the Magic are 14-6 SU in their last 20 games when playing the Timberwolves. However, Minnesota has won four out of the last five overall meetings between these two teams. The Magic are 9-1 SU in their last 10 games against the Timberwolves.
The Magic have not been able to build momentum at any point this season. They haven’t won more than three straight games this season. Nikola Vucevic is having an All-Star season while Aaron Gordon and Evan Fournier have shown improvement but it’s not been enough. Now Orlando has lost rookie Mo Bamba indefinitely due to injury and that should affect their frontline rotation which is crucial against a team that has a dominant unicorn big man in Karl Anthony Towns.
Injuries may be the key to this game. While the Magic are without Mo Bamba and Jonathan Simmons, Minnesota’s injury list is longer. Point guards Derrick Rose, Jeff Teague and Tyus Jones are all out of this game with various injuries. Likewise, Robert Covington is out with an ankle problem. Without their three point guards and one of their starters, the Wolves are depleted. We talked about Minnesota unable to close out games recently, they will have a harder time without all three of their point guards. The Wolves are just 8-18 SU on the road this season while the Magic are a respectable 14-15 SU at home.
I’m picking the Orlando Magic to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves on 2/7/19.
Other Bets To Make
The Wolves are 1-4 ATS in their last five games played. Minnesota is 4-2 ATS in its last six road games. The Magic are 5-4-1 ATS in their last 10 games played and are 2-3-1 ATS in their last six home games. Head to head, Orlando is 7-3 ATS in their last 10 meetings with Minnesota and the Magic are 6-2 ATS in their last eight games against the Timberwolves.
Minnesota Timberwolves vs Orlando Magic 2/719
Spread Odds: Timberwolves +2 (-105), Magic -2 (-115)
Odds from BetOnline as of 2/7/19
Minnesota is 1-5 ATS in their last six games after an ATS loss, 0-5 ATS in their last five games after an SU loss and 0-4 ATS in their last four games overall. Orlando is 3-1-1 ATS in their last five games after an ATS loss and 5-2 ATS in their last seven game when playing on one day rest. The Magic have also owned this match up in recent seasons.
Prediction: Magic
The total has gone over in 17 out of the last 24 games played by Minnesota. The under is 5-2 in the Wolves’ last seven games and the over is 9-3 in their last dozen road games. The total has gone over in eight out of the last 12 games of the Magic but under in four out of their last six matches. The over is also 4-1 in the last five head to head games between these teams and the over is likewise 6-8 in their last 14 games played in Orlando.
Minnesota Timberwolves vs Orlando Magic 2/719
Over/Under Odds: Over 217½ (-112), Under 217½ (-108)
Odds from BetOnline as of 2/7/19
The under is 4-1 in Minnesota’s last five games when their opponent scores at least 100 points in their previous game and 5-2 in their last seven games overall. Orlando has seen the total go under in six out of their last seven games after allowing more than 125 points in their previous game and also 11-4-1 in their last 16 Thursday games. The Magic are 8th in scoring defense and the Wolves are missing several key players. Orlando isn’t a prolific offensive team itself at 27th in scoring.
Prediction: Under
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