James’s Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Orlando Magic Picks
- The Spread: Magic (+5)
- Over/Under: UNDER 218.5 points
- Player Prop Bet #1: Anthony Edwards OVER 30.5 points
- Player Prop Bet#2: Paolo Banchero OVER 24.5 points
Greetings, basketball fans. Welcome back to our NBA coverage here at Latest Basketball News. One of the games on tap from Tuesday night’s slate features the Minnesota Timberwolves (25-10 SU, 16-18-1 ATS) taking on the Orlando Magic (21-15 SU, 14-21-1 ATS).
Here is a look at which team has the edge going into this matchup and why.
Tipoff
When: Monday, January 9, 2024 at 7:00 PM ET
Where: Kia Center, Orlando, FL
TV: BSFL and BSN
Can The Timberwolves Turn Things Around Against the Magic?
The Minnesota Timberwolves have the best record in the Western Conference and the second-best record in the association behind the Boston Celtics. However, they come into this matchup with a 5-5 record over their last 10 games, and they have dropped three of their last four decisions.
This includes a 115-108 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday night. Anthony Edwards led Minnesota with 36 points, 10 rebounds, and three assists. Karl Anthony-Towns chipped in with 24 points, seven rebounds, and two blocked shots.
“We could’ve helped ourselves in a lot of different ways throughout the game,” Towns said. “It’s tough to say at the end that’s what hurt us.
“Coach gave us good looks. We got good looks, all of us. Just one of (those) days, it didn’t go down for us when it needed to. We’re a tough group of guys in here. Tough game. We’ll be all right.”
Minnesota shot 43.6 percent from the field and just 31.7 percent from beyond the arc. On the heels of a disappointing showing against Dallas, the Timberwolves are hoping to turn things around against the Magic.
Can The Magic Extend Their Winning Streak To Three Games?
On the other side of this matchup, the Magic are 5-5 across their last 10 outings as well. They have the fifth-best record in the Eastern Conference, and they have posted wins in each of their last two games. This includes a 117-110 overtime win over the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday night.
Paolo Banchero paced Orlando with 35 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, and three steals. Banchero’s solid all-around performance was a point of emphasis for head coach Jamahl Mosley.
“He’s a winner,” Mosley said, via CBS Sports. “I’ll probably say the same exact thing every time: He’s a winner. He’s going to find a way to help the team win, whatever that looks like. Finding guys, finding mismatches, defensive assignments, whatever it looks like. This young man is growing more and more each and every single game.”
Caleb Houstan – who is averaging 4.9 PPG this season – chipped in with 25 points and four assists. Despite not shooting the ball particularly well (43.9 percent), the Magic did convert 17 of their 41 attempts from 3-point range (41.5 percent).
As was the case against the Hawks, Orlando will need multiple players to step up against the league’s top defense.
Now, let us look at the all-important betting trends for both sides.
The Minnesota Timberwolves opened as a consensus four-point favorite. The line has recently moved to five points for the road team. Here is a look at how both teams have performed against the spread this season.
Based on the above trends, going with the Magic to cover feels like an excellent choice in this matchup.
Prediction: Orlando Magic (+5)
Over/Under
The projected over/under total for this matchup opened at 222.5 points. At the time of this writing, the line has moved to 218.5 points (via pre-game.com). Here is a look at why going with the “OVER” is the smart choice here.
Prediction: OVER 218.5 points
The key player to watch for the road team is Anthony Edwards. He currently has -105 odds of scoring more than 30.5 points and -125 odds of scoring less than 30.5 points.
As the trends indicate, going with the “over” for Edwards looks like a good choice here.
Prediction: Anthony Edwards OVER 30.5 points
The key player to watch for the home team is Paolo Banchero. He currently has -115 odds of scoring more than 28.5 points and -115 odds of finishing with less than 28.5 points. Here is a look at how his season splits stack up against his projected scoring total for this matchup.
Going with “under” for Banchero looks like a safe bet based on these trends.
Prediction: Paolo Banchero UNDER 28.5 points