Orlando Magic vs. Charlotte Hornets: Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 2/5/2023

Time: 1 p.m. ET

Venue: Spectrum Center, Charlotte, NC

Where to watch: BSSE-CHA, BSFL

DraftKings: Magic -1

FanDuel: NL

BetMGM: Magic -1.5

Caesars: NL

Magic: 21-32

Hornets: 15-39

The All-Stars have been announced, the trade deadline is days away, and the NBA season has never seen so much parity and intrigue than it has at this moment. All you need to do is look at the Western Conference and laugh with a hearty burst at how ridiculous this season has been. You know what's not ridiculous? Our champion handicappers continuing to kill it on the NBA level over the last 30 days. All you need to do is take one look at what they're doing and see that this is the place to be as we purge through the second half of the season. Doc's Sports has been tremendous over the last month with a 17-8-0 run and net profit of $8,100. Team Del Genio has also been very good at an 11-6-1 run that has made for some very exciting runs near to the top. Basketball is taking full swing with football about to be set on the back burner, and you want to be locked in at bigal.com. Take advantage of our Best Bets page at bigal.com to see what our champion handicappers bring to the table. Make sure you're following winners at bigal.com and get that same kind of money in your pocket.

Magic: won 127-120 at Timberwolves

Hornets: lost 118-112 at Pistons

The Orlando Magic are going to go through some growing pains throughout the course of this season. It's not going to be perfect and it's not going to be anything that this team would have anticipated going through at all this season. But Orlando is playing much better than anticipated and it of course stems around their rookie of the year candidate and likely favorite Paolo Banchero.

 

Orlando will drive for its third win in four games on Sunday when it visits the Charlotte Hornets in a battle of two of the more intriguing teams in the future of the Eastern Conference. Orlando is coming off a 127 dash 120V over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday in a bounce back effort after losing to the Philadelphia 76ers 2 days prior.

 

But the game was not about Orlando putting up 127 points in a victory over Minnesota. It was more about what happened during the game when punches were thrown and five players were ejected in a massive melee inside Target Center. Among those ejected were Austin Rivers and Mo Bamba. But it ended up being a balanced scoring effort for Orlando with Cole Anthony scoring 20 points and dishing out six assists while grabbing 8 rebounds in 27 minutes off the bench.

 

“You obviously want to have your teammate's back and at the same time, you’ve got to be a professional,” said Magic forward Moritz Wagner, who was ejected after a fight with the Detroit Pistons in December. “So, that’s a challenge for a young team like us. I think this time around we did a good job compared to last time. So, yeah, I don’t really know. It’s a weird dynamic. You don’t really want to be in those situations and it’s not really the best look. You want to be professional. At the same time, there is something in me that appreciates the team sticking together like that.”

 

Orlando has covered five of its last seven and seven of its last ten overall which has been a good sign for a team that has kind of been hovering up and down between being a favorite and being an underdog on the books. On the court, has been a different story. Orlando is still trying to find an identity having gone 5-5 in its last 10 games and knowing that there's is going to be a season of growing pains going forward. But so far, the future is absolutely bright.

 

The Hornets are trying to avoid losing their fourth straight game after losing 118-112 to the Detroit Pistons on Friday. Since winning against Chicago and Miami Charlotte has found itself on the wrong end of three straight games and has not looked like anything has been promising going forward. Terry Rozier and LaMelo Ball Each had 23 points but combined to shoot 16 of 42 to get there. As well as six of 23 from 3 point range, but we tend to look away from that. Charlotte shot 44% from the floor in just nine of 34 from 3 point range while Detroit just made anything it wanted.

 

“The fourth quarter really killed us after we had done a good job for the first three,” Hornets coach Steve Clifford said. “We had five turnovers in the quarter, we went 1 for 7 on 3 — and six of those were good shots — and we missed five free throws. That's the game right there.”

 

I want to believe in the Hornets but right now it is very difficult to do so. Even against the spread, they are 3-4 in their last seven and one of those had to include being 11 point underdogs and covering by two at Milwaukee. For this team, it's just about trying to figure out how to close games.

 

The Hornets have won five of their last seven in this series against Orlando with the most recent being a victory by the final score of 112-105 when the Hornets were two point favorites. That was when Charlotte was considered a rising star in the east. I would lean that arrow now toward Orlando who has the much better team in this matchup. Magic 118, Hornets 106

Magic are 12-8 ATS after a non-conference game this season.

Magic are 21-16 ATS revenging a loss this season.

Hornets are 1-6 ATS when the line is +3 to -3 this season.

PG: Markelle Fultz

SG: Gary Harris

SF: Franz Wagner

PF: Paolo Banchero

C: Wendell Carter Jr.

PG: LaMelo Ball

SG: Terry Rozier

SF: Gordon Hayward

PF: P.J. Washington

C: Mason Plumlee

Points: Paolo Banchero -- 20.5

Rebounds: Wendell Carter Jr. -- 8.7

Assists: Markelle Fultz -- 5.6

Points: LaMelo Ball -- 23.1

Rebounds: Mason Plumlee -- 9.8

Assists: LaMelo Ball -- 8.3