basketball | Wednesday, December 14, 2022 12:59 PM

Orlando Magic vs Atlanta Hawks Best Bet: Hawks Continue Road Struggles

Milan Stanojic

Orlando Magic vs Atlanta Hawks Best Bet: Wednesday, December 14th

Following a double win in the Mavs vs OKC game on Monday, we’re back with another high-value wager for tonight. We have the Orlando Magic taking on the Atlanta Hawks at Amway Center for their third encounter of the year. In their most recent meeting just 2 weeks ago, the Hawks came away with a comfortable 108-125 victory. Will the Magic be able to turn things around in the series or will the Hawks steal both road games in Orlando?

In this article:

Orlando Magic vs Atlanta Hawks Preview
Orlando Magic vs Atlanta Hawks Best Bet

Orlando Magic vs Atlanta Hawks Preview

Thu, Dec 15th. (00:00)

With all that’s been going on in the NBA, it’s easy to slip through the cracks and find yourself undervalued, and that’\s exactly what happened to the Orlando Magic, They’ve been doing a whole lot of losing this season, and with a record of 8-20 they are pinned in 13th place in the conference. But during their most recent home stand, they’ve been surprising the bookmakers left and right. The Magic covered the spread in each of their last 4 games, and not only that, but they actually won 3 – against the Clippers and Raptors (2).

The Orlando Magic have ranked 5th in net rating during their last 3 games, including 8th in both offensive and defensive rating. Even with Wendell Carter Jr, Suggs, Harris and Isaac out, they still managed to play great on both sides of the floor. Although they’ve had one of the worst offences in the league this year, averaging just 108.2 points per game (28th), they have seen a slight increase recently. This alone is nowhere near enough to make them a good team, but their defence has been surprisingly good as well, allowing 109.3 ppg over their last 5. Don’t expect this form to last too long though. They are finishing up a 5-game homestand and that usually means the end of a hot streak for young teams.

As for the Atlanta Hawks, you just love these types of opportunities to fade a team that is considered ‘good’. We all expected a lot from the Hawks this year after acquiring Dejounte Murray, but they are now 7th in the east with a 14-14 record. Not terrible, but Murray and Collins are out for tonight, whilst Trey Young is listed as ‘questionable’ and didn’t play in their last game. The Hawks have won just 3 of their last 10, and are coming off a tough 128-103 loss against the Grizzlies.

The Hawks have ranked 29th in net rating over their last 5 games, whilst ranking 30 offensive and 23rd in defensive rating. They have covered the spread in just 1 of their last 5 games, including 3 of their last 10. They are known for being a very poor road team with a 5-9 record including a 5-8-1 record ATS.

Orlando Magic vs Atlanta Hawks Best Bet

It’s surprising to see the bookies giving an edge to the Hawks tonight considering how bad they are on the road this year. They are listed at 1.67 at Pinnacle whilst the Magic are at 2.29.

Need I say more? Okay! Not only have the Orlando Magic been respectable at home this year (all things considered), they have a 10-6 record ATS. With all of their flaws as a young team, backing them at home has actually been a good idea, especially during their last 5, where they have covered in all but 1. Considering the injury issues and poor form of the Hawks, along with the Magic’s recent form, I’m backing the home team against the spread.