Orlando Magic vs. Atlanta Hawks Predictions 12/22/21

Orlando Magic (6-25 SU, 13-18 ATS) vs. Atlanta Hawks (14-15 SU, 12-17 ATS)
When: Wednesday December 22 2021, 07:30 PM (ET)
Where: State Farm Arena: Atlanta, Georgia
TV: Bally Sports Southeast

Point Spread: ORL 8.5/ATL -8.5 (Opened at ATL -8.5 at Bovada)
Total: 215.5 (Opened at 215.5)
Money Line: Orlando 333/Atlanta -500)
Power Rating: Magic -7.5

Probable Starting Lineups

Magic: PG Cole Anthony, SG Gary Harris, SF Franz Wagner, PF Chuma Okeke, C Wendell Carter Jr
Hawks: PG Trae Young, SG Kevin Heurter, SF Timothy Luwau-Cabarrot, PF John Collins, C Clint Capela

Key Injuries

Magic
Cole Anthony: ankle (QUESTIONABLE) Mo Bamba: ankle (OUT) Ignas Brazdeikis: illness (OUT) Wendell Carter Jr.: leg (QUESTIONABLE) Michael Carter-Williams: ankle (OUT) Markelle Fultz: knee (OUT) Jonathan Isaac: knee (OUT) E’Twaun Moore: knee (OUT) Terrence Ross: illness (OUT) Jalen Suggs: thumb (OUT) Moritz Wagner: illness (OUT)

Hawks
Bogdan Bogdanovic: foot (QUESTIONABLE) Solomon Hill: hamstring (OUT) De’Andre Hunter: wrist (QUESTIONABLE) Trae Young: illness (OUT)

Recent Form

The Orlando Magic enter today’s game having won 2 of their past 10 games. When playing away from home, the Magic have played at a below .500 rate, having gone 4-15. As the road team, Orlando travels to Atlanta with a negative plus-minus of rating -7.9 points. Overall the Magic are ranked 30th among NBA teams in point differential (-9.3). Among NBA teams, they have played the 7th toughest schedule.

For bettors, taking the Orlando Magic to cover the spread has been a losing bet as they are covering the spread in 41.90% of their games. Their season-long plus-minus against the spread is -0.9.

On offense, the team’s leading (qualified) scorer is SF Franz Wagner. So far, Wagner is averaging 14.55 points per game. This output places him 16th among small-forwards. If Cole Anthony can play, the team will benefit from his ability to shoot from outside as he leads the team averaging 2.78 three-pointers per game. The same goes for Wendell Carter Jr., who has been in charge of cleaning up the glass, at 9.93 boards per game.

The Atlanta Hawks enter today’s game, having won 4 of their past 10 games. When playing at home, the Hawks are an above .500 team, having gone 8-7. As they get set to host the Magic, Atlanta has a positive home plus-minus of 3.9 points. Overall the Hawks are ranked 10th among NBA teams in point differential (1.6) while playing the 13th hardest schedule.

For bettors, taking the Atlanta Hawks to cover the spread has been a losing bet as they have covered in 41.40% of their games. Their season-long plus-minus against the spread is -1.5. On offense, the team’s leading scorer is PG Trae Young. So far, Young is averaging 27.28 points per game while knocking down just under 3 three-pointers per contest. Clint Capela is the team’s leading rebounder at 12.79 boards per game.

An Eye On Pace

Heading into tonight’s game, the Orlando Magic are ranked 12th in possessions per game. On offense, the team has favored the three-point shot, ranking 10th at 37.2 attempts per game. So far, the Magic have struggled to generate shots from the free-throw line, averaging just 19 attempts per contest. On the other side, Atlanta’s average of 97.7 possessions places them 19th among NBA teams. On the offensive end of the court, the team ranks 24th in three-point attempts per game, instead opting for two-point field goal attempts (7th).

Matchups And Efficiencies

Even though the Atlanta Hawks have taken the 6th fewest three-point shots, they are connecting at a rate better than every other team in the league (38%). On the other hand, Orlando has struggled with its three-point efficiency, hitting just 32% of their looks from downtown.

The Historicals

Tonight’s matchup between the Magic and Hawks will be their third meeting of the season. So far, Atlanta has taken the first two games, winning by 18 and 12 points, respectively. Overall, the Hawks have won in 5 straight matchups with Orlando.

How the Public is Betting the Magic vs. Hawks

Unknown% are betting the Nuggets against the spread.
Unknown% are wagering on the game to go Over the posted total of OFF

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Betting Trends Worth Noting

• Magic are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games overall.
• Magic are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games as an underdog.
• Hawks are 20-7 ATS in their last 27 home games vs. a team with a losing road record.

Joe’s Pick To Cover The Spread

Orlando will come into this game with a roster decimated by both injuries and COVID 19. However, even at full strength, the Magic have struggled to find success against their Eastern Conference foe. Look for the Hawks to have their way with a team likely to be without their main corp of players.

Prop Bets Worth Wagering

Even though Orlando is missing contributors across all position groups, they are especially thin in the front-court. My favorite prop bet of the night is for John Collins to reach a double-double in points and rebounds. With Clint Capela on the Health And Safety Protocols List, look for Collins to pick up the slack with a big night, both scoring the ball and crashing the boards.