Oklahoma City Thunder Vs. Orlando Magic: Predictions, Starting Lineups (2/13/24)
Can the Oklahoma City Thunder snap out of their three-game road losing streak against a surging Magic team? Find our Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Orlando Magic predictions, betting picks, and game preview below!
Oklahoma City Thunder Vs. Orlando Magic Prediction
It has been a long time coming for the Orlando Magic to have a completely healthy roster. For the past several seasons, Markelle Fultz, Wendell Carter Jr., Jonathan Isaac, and others have suffered injuries that have kept them out of a substantial amount of games. However, they finally have no names on their injury report. Do they have enough talent to push for fourth or fifth place in the Eastern Conference standings?
Certainly. The Magic have won five of their past six games and are only 3.5 games out of fourth place. The Philadelphia 76ers and New York Knicks are two teams that are likely better when they are in full health, but they won’t be for the foreseeable future. New York will be without Isaiah Hartenstein, Mitchell Robinson, Julius Randle, and O.G. Anunoby for at least a bit longer, while the Sixers still miss Joel Embiid. Without Embiid, the Sixers boast a 6-13 record, which is obviously a substantial difference from their 26-8 record with him.
Knowing all of this, the Magic will be making a huge late-season push to climb to as high as fourth in the Eastern Conference. And to do that, they need to log as many home wins as possible while stealing the occasional road game. Orlando has a 17-7 record on its home floor, boasting the third-lowest (best) defensive rating in the NBA and a 48/36/77 team shooting split.
The Magic have been particularly impressive in their past three home games; they have the fifth-highest net rating, including an offensive rating of 123.0, which is a terrific trend in the right direction for a defensive-centric unit. Orlando has shot 50% from the field and 40% from behind the arc in that stretch; it also held a fully loaded Phoenix Suns squad to just 98 points.
This matchup heavily favors Orlando on the glass, as it has the second-highest total rebounding rate in the NBA at home. As we know, if the Thunder have one substantial weakness that could limit their upside as a team, it is on the glass. They rank second-to-last in total rebounding rate this season and have pulled down four percent fewer boards in their past three games.
Due to improved offensive play at home and their elite rebounding prowess, particularly at home, the Orlando Magic are an easy team to back in this spot.
Oklahoma City Thunder Vs. Orlando Magic Prediction: Orlando Magic +3.5 (-110)
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Oklahoma City Thunder Vs. Orlando Magic Best Odds
Oklahoma City has a 2.5-point edge over the Orlando Magic on Tuesday night despite being the road team. The Thunder have Moneyline odds of -142 to continue applying pressure on the other teams atop the Western Conference, while the Magic are +120 to win outright at home. The Over/Under is a modest 223 points total, with -110 odds on both sides of this line.
Oklahoma City Thunder Starting Lineup
PG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
SG: Josh Giddey
SF: Lu Dort
PF: Jalen Williams
C: Chet Holmgren
Orlando Magic Starting Lineup
PG: Markelle Fultz
SG: Jalen Suggs
SF: Franz Wagner
PF: Paolo Banchero
C: Wendell Carter Jr.
Oklahoma City Thunder Vs. Orlando Magic Injuries
The only two players on the Oklahoma City Thunder’s injury report are newly acquired forward Gordon Hayward (calf) and veteran signing Bismack Biyombo. Biyombo and Hayward are expected to make their Thunder debuts after the All-Star break, giving the team even more veteran leadership and experience for their title push.
On the other hand, the Orlando Magic are one of the few organizations without injuries at the moment. Unless someone is a late scratch, every player should be available.
