Raptors vs. Magic Odds, Picks
Raptors odds | -6.5 [BET NOW] |
Magic odds | +6.5 [BET NOW] |
Moneyline | -250/+205 [BET NOW] |
Over/Under | 223 [BET NOW] |
Time | 8 p.m. ET |
Odds via DraftKings. Get up to a $1,000 sign-up bonus at DraftKings today or see more offers and reviews for the best online sportsbooks.
The Raptors and Magic are quite familiar with one another. The teams met in the first round of last year's playoffs, and they appear to be on a crash course toward another meeting in this year's first round, in the 2 vs. 7 series.
Toronto and Orlando are two of the bubble's hottest teams. Both started 2-0 and were the last undefeated teams in the East, but the Magic fell to Indiana Tuesday for their first bubble loss.
Toronto Raptors
The Raptors are a balanced team that grinds out wins methodically and surely. They're built around their defense, best in the league other than Milwaukee's outlier unit.
Toronto has the metrics of a top-five team, despite the fact that just about every key player (save OG Anunoby) missed double-digit games this season. Now Kyle Lowry, Pascal Siakam and Marc Gasol are healthy, so the Raptors may be even better than their underlying metrics indicate.
Toronto's offense is more middle of the pack, relying on transition points for its best scoring opportunities. The Raps beat Orlando three times already this season by nine, 16 and seven points, all of them before December.
Orlando Magic
The Magic were one of the early bubble surprises before a harsh reality check to start the week.
First came the terrible Jonathan Isaac news: He tore his ACL, which will keep him out this season and probably most of next. Then the Magic came out totally flat against the Pacers, falling behind 43-22 in the first quarter and never really getting back into the game to take their first bubble loss.
This is the same Magic team you've come to know over the past few years. They slog through offense at a bottom-five pace, don't score a ton of points and rely on a top-10 defense to do just enough.
Isaac wasn't fully healthy yet, but he grades out as their best player and certainly their best defender. Toronto has typically been a very difficult matchup for Orlando, especially for star center Nikola Vucevic.
One crazy streak for the Magic right now is that they've gone over their game total an incredible 15 straight times, the longest streak by any team since the 80s! Even with the slow Magic start Tuesday, the game hit the over in the final minutes.
What do you do with a streak like that? Are the Magic "hot" or are they due for an under?
Betting Analysis & Pick
That 224.5 total is the interesting play, of course, considering the crazy Orlando streak. Is a 16th straight over in the cards? Don't be so sure.
You should know that the Orlando under was 29-20-3 before this streak. The Magic had also covered 10 of their last 11 before losing to Indiana as favorites. All good things must come to an end.
In the end, I'm passing on the 224.5 and just going with Toronto. The Raptors are the far better team and have taken care of Orlando thrice this season, and there's little reason to expect anything different this time. They covered this line in all three wins, and I'd bet Toronto comfortably up to -7.5 again here.
The PICK: Raptors -7.5 or better
[Bet $20+ on the Raptors at PointsBet and Win $125 if they make at least one 3-pointer]