basketball | Tuesday, February 14, 2023 1:57 PM (Revised at: Wednesday, February 15, 2023 7:43 AM)

Toronto Raptors vs Orlando Magic Best Bet: Fultz to Come up Short on V-Day

Milan Stanojic

Toronto Raptors vs Orlando Magic Best Bet: Tuesday, February 14th

The Toronto Raptors welcome the Orlando Magic tonight to Scotiabank Arena for their 4th encounter of the season. The Magic have been the better team in this match-up this season, winning 2 of their games, but the Raptors have the better record and are in very good form.

In this article:

Toronto Raptors vs Orlando Magic Preview
Toronto Raptors vs Orlando Magic Best Bet

Toronto Raptors vs Orlando Magic Preview

Wed, Feb 15th. 00:30 (UK time)

The Toronto Raptors are having a disappointing season s far, regressing to 9th place in the east with a 27-31 record. They’ve won 6 of their last 10 and are coming off a 119-118 win against the Pistons. The Raptors are in the midst of a 5 game homestand right now, and they’ve won 2 of the 3 so far. Their play at home has been respectable, winning 17 of their 30 games and covering the spread in 16.

But despite their lack of success in winning games this year, the Raptors have been doing some things well. For one, their slow pace has led to them allowing just 112.4 points per game and their opponents are attempting just 82.1 field goals per night. The Raptors are also averaging 9.3 steals (1st in NBA) and 5.3 blocks (7th) per game, and one could argue whilst ranking 8th in defensive rating over the last 5 games.

For the Magic, it’s been a tough season so far, but they are doing a good job developing their young core of players around Paolo Banchero. The 20-year old is averaging 20 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game in his rookie year and the Magic have kept a lot of games closer than a lot of punters (and bookies) have expected. The Magic have covered the spread in 33 of their 56 season games so far, ranking them 3rd in the NBA in that regard.

But whilst the Magic have seen some success this year, it hasn’t been because of a high-powered offensive plan. The Magic are 25th in the NBA in offensive rating and averaging just 110.9 points per game. That said, their defence has been surprisingly sturdy, allowing an average of 113.5 points per game, and ranking 15th in defensive rating.

Toronto Raptors vs Orlando Magic Best Bet

This will be the 4th and final meeting between these two teams this regular season, and the results have been as follows:

Raptors vs Magic – 121:108
Magic vs Raptors – 109:113
Magic vs Raptors – 99:111

As you can see, their encounters have been low scoring as the season has gone on, and I expect something similar tonight. We all know what time it is in the season, both teams have slowed down their play recently and I don’t expect a high-scoring affair. Not to mention the Magic played against the Chicago Bulls where their starters played some solid minutes.

Markelle Fultz has averaged 4.33 assists in their 3 encounters against the Raptors this year. The Raptors are at home, rested and in dire need of wins right now, and I think they’ll be looking to put down the clamps tonight. I’m expecting a low-scoring game from the Magic, and Fultz to hit the Under.