Magic vs Raptors Odds, Picks & Predictions | NBA Betting Preview (Friday, March 15)

Here's everything you need to know about Magic vs. Raptors on Friday, Mar. 15 — our expert prediction and betting picks for today's game.

Let's dive into my Magic vs Raptors pick and prediction.

Pick: Magic Team Total Over 112.5 (-115) 

Pick: Magic Team Total Over 112.5 (-115) 

The Magic offense will have a major advantage in the paint tonight as the Raptors have been awful at defending the rim since trading away their entire roster.

The Raptors are allowing opponents to generate 35.4% of their shots at the rim and are allowing them to convert on 71.1% (10^th percentile) of these looks with Jakob Poetl off of the floor post All-Star Break.

They have zero rim-protection without Poetl and they’ve resorted to playing Kelly Olynyk most of their minutes at the center position since Poetl got hurt. With Olnynyk on the floor this season, the Raptors are allowing 120.9 points per 100 possessions.

This is a recipe for disaster against this Magic offense that leads the entire NBA in offensive rim rate (38.8%), and ranks fourth in the NBA in free throw rate.

The Magic bigs should have easy post-ups all night and Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero should be able to drive the ball all the way to the rim at will. Expect a dominant offensive performance from the Magic here.

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The Raptors offense has been flying high since the All-Star Break as they rank first in the NBA in transition rate (21%) and fourth in transition offensive rating over that span. That 21% mark is nearly 4% more than the second-ranked Thunder (17.4%).

This team is clearly making a conscious effort to push in transition and avoid playing in the halfcourt. Unfortunately, the Magic have done a pretty good job of limiting transition success this season as they rank seventh in the NBA in defensive rating in transition.

They are allowing the 10^th most transition opportunites though so it’s not like teams aren’t getting shots off in transition against them — they are just defending these shots well.

The Raptors will have opportunities here but they will need guys like Immanuel Quickley and Gradey Dick to score at a high-level if they want to hang in this game.

I like the Magic team total over 113.5 as I just don’t believe this Raptors defense matches up well at all in this matchup.

The one thing I'm sure about is the fact that the Magic offense has a massive edge over this Raptor defense, and I expect them to score closer to 120 here.

Take the Magic team total over 113.5 tonight in Toronto.

Pick: Magic Team Total Over 112.5 (-115) 

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