With seven of their next nine games on the road, the Orlando Magic have some major work to do in order to make a playoff push. Things won’t get any easier today when they travel north of the border to do battle with the Toronto Raptors. Sportsbooks opened the Raptors as 9-point home favorites with a total of 218.5.
- The Raptors are 1-4 ATS in their last five home games.
- The home team is 3-0-1 ATS in the last four meetings between the Raptors and Magic.
- The UNDER is 4-1 in the last five meetings between the Raptors and Magic.
Standout Stats
- Orlando rattled off five straight wins heading into the all-star break with a winning average of 22.8 points per game but couldn’t hold off the rebuilding Chicago Bulls in a 110-109 home loss on Friday. The Magic are 1 1/2 games behind the eighth-place Detroit Pistons for the final playoff spot.
- All-star Orlando center Nikola Vucevic collected 19 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists, two blocks and two steals in Friday’s setback to record his sixth straight double-double.
- Toronto shooting guard Danny Green has been lights-out of late, going 14-of-25 from 3-point range over the last four games. On the season, Green is averaging 9.9 points per game while shooting 45 percent from the field and 42.8 percent from beyond the arc.
- The UNDER is trending in this series, as four of the past five meetings between the Magic and Raptors have gone below the closing total. Toronto has also gone UNDER in five of its previous seven games against Eastern Conference teams.
- While the Raptors are clearly the better team in this matchup, they haven’t been covering the spread when facing Orlando. The Magic are 3-0-1 ATS in the past four clashes between Orlando and Toronto.
My best bet for Magic-Raptors
Magic +9
I don’t expect Orlando to win this one outright, but I think they’ll keep it close enough to cover the +9 spread. The Raptors haven’t been a reliable home wager this year, going 13-17 ATS despite posting a 25-5 SU mark. The Magic have been a much better road bet at 16-12 ATS and I think they keep the train rolling in Canada tonight.
The Raptors are 1-4 ATS in their last five home games.home The home team is 3-0-1 ATS in the last four meetings between the Raptors and Magic. The UNDER is 4-1 in the last five meetings between the Raptors and Magic.
