Magic – Pacers

The Indiana Pacers are 1 point spread favorites as they travel to Orlando to take on the Magic in the first NBA match of the night, set to start at 00:05 GMT time.

Orlando (19-16, 12-6 home) was having a very good season, showing some excellent team basketball despite not owning any all stars in the roster. However, a couple of injuries and some sudden fatigued have transformed the Magic in one of the worst NBA sides in the last week. The Magic lost 3 games in a row by an average difference of 21 points and coach Skiles stated that he will make some changes today. Quote: “I have to take action. It might not work, but I’ve got to do something”.

The Magic will likely miss starting point guard Elfrid Payton. Their best player Vucevic will probably play, but he could be limited in minutes as he hasn’t fully recovered from a knee injury, alternating sitting out with playing poorly in the last weeks – surely a big reason for Orlando’s struggles.

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Indiana (19-15, 7-10 away) has re-emerged as a legit contender in the Eastern Conference after some great moves in the off season, but also due to the fact that Paul George is back to a Superstar level this season. Despite struggling on the road, particularly lately and losing 3 out of the last 4 matches overall, the Pacers are actually playing pretty well. They beat Pistons by 10 and lost to the Bulls, Bucks and Heat by 2, 4 and 3 points respectively. Indiana head coach Frank Vogel urged his side to be more focused down the stretch in order to avoid losing any more close games in a silly manner.

The Magic seem totally out of rhythm right now, there is no energy on the court and without energy the Magic don’t have the quality to win too many games at this level. The great start seems to have taken a lot from this team and the current injuries do not help.

The fact that Orlando lost 9 of the last 10 against Indiana, including the last 5, isn’t good news either. The Pacers’ defense should be able to contain Orlando’s offense, which is horrid at the moment, as they barely average 86 PPG in the last three matches. A better team, healthier and in better form, Indiana seems very likely to come out on top here. With all these factors in mind, my tip is Pacers to win and they should cover the tiny 1 point handicap as well. Prediction: Orlando Magic – Indiana Pacers 85 – 93.

Pick: Pacers -1
Odds: 1.85 @ Pinnacle
Stake: 8
Possible profit: 6.80
Event date: 7 January