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The Orlando Magic and New Orleans Pelicans will have round two of their season series on Wednesday in Louisiana. Orlando, which won 121-106 roughly 10 nights ago, will look for a shutout of the head-to-head tussle. Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, Jalen Suggs and Cole Anthony hope to get another dub on the road in the rematch.
The Pelicans will try to even the series without Brandon Ingram who will again be in street clothes in the rematch. Jose Alvarado’s absence will only make it tougher for the hosts to get some payback. Zion Williamson, though, has been cleared to play, so he will lead his team’s home defense.
Orlando Magic vs New Orleans Pelicans: Preview, prediction and betting tips
The Smoothie King Center will host the showdown between the Orlando Magic and New Orleans Pelicans.
Bally Sports New Orleans and Bally Sports Florida will air the game live. Basketball fans outside the said regions can still stream the action by subscribing to the NBA League Pass.
Moneyline: Magic (+165) vs. Pelicans (-200)
Spread: Magic (+5.0) vs. Pelicans (-5.0)
Total (O/U): Magic (o209.5 -110) vs. Pelicans (u209.5 -110)
Editor’s Note: The odds could change closer to the game. The odds listed were as per available information at the time of the writing.
Orlando Magic vs New Orleans Pelicans: Game preview
The Orlando Magic have not played well since the last week of March. They earned wins against the Memphis Grizzlies and Portland Trail Blazers, but one could argue they played subpar.
The Magic barely survived the decimated Blazers 104-103 on Monday. They can’t play the same way against the Pelicans and walk away with a road win.
The New Orleans Pelicans’ lone win in a five-game homestand was against the Milwaukee Bucks on Mar. 28. Tying the Orlando series will ease the losses to the Boston Celtics, OKC Thunder and Phoenix Suns.
Ingram’s absence has hurt them, but the Pelicans seem to have lost the sense of urgency that was palpable in the previous weeks. New Orleans can’t afford to have the same slow start it did versus Phoenix in the rematch with Orlando.
Orlando Magic vs New Orleans Pelicans: Starting lineups, subs and rotations
PF - Paolo Banchero, SF - Franz Wagner, C - Wendell Carter Jr., SG - Gary Harris and SG - Jalen Suggs will start for the Orlando Magic.
Joe Ingles or Cole Anthony will likely be the sixth man for the Magic on Wednesday. One of them could take out Harris in the rotation. Against the Pelicans’ imposing frontline, Jonathan Isaac or Mo Wagner could also come in early for Carter.
PF - Zion Williamson, SF - Herb Jones, C - Jonas Valanciunas, SG - CJ McCollum and SG - Trey Murphy III will open the game for the New Orleans Pelicans.
Pelicans coach Willie Green has rotated his players based on how the game is going. Larry Nance Jr. and Naji Marshall will be contenders to come off the bench early to help in defending Banchero and Wagner.
Editor’s Note: These are predicted starting lineups, which could change depending on the availability of players uncertain to play.
Orlando Magic vs New Orleans Pelicans: Betting tips
Zion Williamson has a 26.5 over/under points prop on Wednesday versus Orlando. Over his last five games, he has been causing panic among opposing defenses “Zanos” is averaging 29.6 PPG on 61.4% shooting during that stretch. With the way he has been playing, he's likely topping the points prop.
Paolo Banchero gets a 21.5 over/under points prop. Unlike Williamson, Banchero has had an up-and-down scoring issue over the past four weeks. He limped to a 28-point output in back-to-back games against the Grizzlies and the Blazers.
New Orleans will put defensive ace Herb Jones on him and likely prevent him from getting over his points prop.
Orlando Magic vs New Orleans Pelicans: Prediction
The Orlando Magic are on a two-game winning roll but they have not played their best basketball.
Orlando’s run is likely ending at the Smoothie King Center against the New Orleans Pelicans. The home team’s aggressiveness could return after the lethargic showing versus Phoenix two nights ago and beat the visitors against the spread.
