Warriors vs Magic Picks & Odds: Dubs Hope To End Slump Against Lowly Orlando

The Golden State Warriors (3-5 SU, 2-6 ATS) are 14-4 SU and 10-8 ATS in their last 18 games against the Orlando Magic (1-7, 2-4-2). The Warriors will be looking to snap a three-game losing streak with a win Thursday night as a Warriors vs Magic prediction favorite in Orlando.

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Warriors vs Magic Sportsbook Odds

The Warriors opened as a 7-point road favorite before heavy betting action on them drove the line on Thursday up to Golden State -9. The total in this matchup has settled in at 227 points after Sportsbook at 225.5 points. The UNDER is 10-4 in Golden State’s last 14 games at Orlando.

Get the best Warriors vs Magic odds and lines available from our recommended sportsbooks for your favorite picks of the night.

Golden State Is Off To A Slow Start On Defense This Season

The Warriors fell to 0-3 SU and ATS over their last three games and to 1-6 ATS over their last seven games with their 116-109 loss to the Miami Heat on Tuesday night.

Poor defense has been one of the primary reasons for Golden State’s slow start to the 2022- 23 season as the defending champions are allowing 121.3 points per game to rank 29th in the NBA. In last year’s championship campaign, Golden State gave up only 105.5 points per game to rank third.

Klay Thompson is also off to a rough start. Thompson is scoring only 13.3 points per game after averaging 20.4 points last year when he returned from a long injury layoff. He is shooting 29.5 percent from three-point range, significantly lower than his career average of 41.5 percent from behind the line.

Orlando Struggling To Get Offense Going Despite Solid Young Core

Wendell Carter Jr. scored a season-high 30 points on Tuesday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder, but it wasn’t enough to turn the tides in Orlando’s favor as the Magic lost 116-108 as 3.5-point road underdogs.

Carter is averaging a career-high 16.1 points this season and Paolo Banchero is off to a strong start to his rookie year, averaging 21.8 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. But despite those solid starts, Orlando ranks 29th in the NBA in scoring with only 105.9 points per game.

As a result, the Magic are off to a disappointing 1-7 SU and 2-4-2 ATS start to the new season. Slow starts are nothing new for this Orlando franchise that is now just 44-118 SU since the start of the 2020-21 campaign.

Warriors Player Prop: Klay Thompson UNDER 17.5 Points (-114)

Klay Thompson is averaging only 11.8 points per game over his last five games and has failed to score more than 11 points in three of those five games. Thompson is always capable of turning things around, but he looks to be a safe fade in his current form.

Magic Player Prop: Paolo Banchero OVER 20.5 Points (-115)

Paolo Banchero has scored at least 21 points in five of the first eight games of his NBA career. Facing off against the defending champions and their struggling defense, look for Banchero to step up with a big game on offense and to put at least 21 points on the board.

Warriors: Keys To Victory

While the Warriors have struggled on defense this season, they still rank fourth in the NBA in scoring with 117.5 points per game. Golden State should be able to win as a Warriors vs Magic prediction if it can turn Thursday night’s game into a shootout.

Magic: Keys To Victory

Orlando does not have the firepower to win in a high-scoring showdown with the Warriors. With that in mind, the team’s best bet to get the job done as a Warriors vs Magic pick at home would be to control the tempo and to slow Golden State’s offense down as much as possible.

NBA Computer Pick: Warriors -9

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