Who is the Hotter Team? Pelicans Take On Magic
Pelicans vs Magic Betting Preview, Odds and More
The New Orleans Pelicans are landing in Orlando for a cross-conference battle of fifth seeds, in a game with playoff-seeding implications for both teams. These teams are parallels of one another in many ways, starting with how nobody expected to see them here. Each team has been on an absolute tear of late and they will put each other to the test Thursday.
The Orlando Magic, who are 8-2 in their last ten games, are coming off a fourth-straight win against weaker conference foes and will use Thursday and see how their young core stacks up against Western Conference playoff competition.
The Pelicans are also 8-2 in their last ten and are thriving with a healthy Zion Williamson at the helm. They comfortably defeated the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday behind Zion’s 28 points and a double-double from Larry Nance Jr.
The Pelicans vs Magic betting lines opened at Pelicans -2.5 and the over/under at 211. Let’s look at these NBA odds and the NBA public betting and see what we can find.
New Orleans Pelicans vs Orlando Magic 
Day/Time:
Location: Kia Center, Orlando, FL
Streaming: NBATV, Bally Sports Florida, Bally Sports New Orleans
Oh Ohh It’s Magic
The Magic have made the playoffs in only two of the last ten years. On Tuesday the Magic defeated the Charlotte Hornets 112-92, clinching at least a play-in spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Cole Anthony led the Magic with 21 points, while Jalen Suggs had 16 points and six assists. Orlando dominated the first half, outscoring Charlotte 67-32, and never looked back.
The Orlando Magic have clinched a postseason spot. pic.twitter.com/xF7lGalFkX
— PaoloMuse (@PaoloBMuse) March 20, 2024
NBA scores today won’t show you that the Magic are the number one defense in the league post-all-star break. Led by a young duo in Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, and defensive standouts Wendell Carter Jr. and Jalen Suggs, the Magic are tied for the most wins and have a top-five net rating during that stretch.
The Magic have found success based on great defense and team play, every night it seems like someone different is stepping up for them. This game on Thursday is between two of the best defensive NBA teams at the moment so we expect at least one (if not both) of the Magic’s young stars to hit the points under.
Check out the prop bets of Wagner and Banchero for some possible value.
Winning with Williamson
Just like the Magic, the Pelicans can attack you from every angle. On any given night a few different Pelicans can give you a 30-piece from CJ McCollum, Brandon Ingram or Zion Williamson. But recently, the thing that has differentiated the Pelicans from being a feel-good story to a potential threat for a deep NBA playoff run, is the play of Zion Williamson.
Zion is on track to play the most regular season games of his career this season, and it is directly leading to more Pelicans wins. Zion has finally picked up his rebounding effort and has averaged 29.6 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists in the Pelicans last five games. Zion has also hit his over on points in each of those last five games.
Zion Williamson scores 28 to power the @PelicansNBA to their 7th win over the last 8 games, moving .5 GB of the Clippers for the 4 seed!
28 PTS | 11-16 FGM | 7 REB pic.twitter.com/40Hfb0teLA
— NBA (@NBA) March 20, 2024
Too Close to Call
Oddsmakers have the Pelicans vs Magic betting lines opening at Magic +2.5 over/under at 211. We believe that although both of these teams have been on a roll, the Pelicans have faced tougher competition and are likely the slightly better team. These are two of the best teams against the spread this year, the Magic are 44-23 and the Pelicans are 37-28-2.
That being said, the Magic are 22-9 against the spread at home this season and the Pelicans are 18-14-2 on the road. Orlando has had a strong edge over the Pelicans in their past NBA matchups, the Magic being 8-2 straight up and holding the Pelicans to an average of 109 points per game.
The Magic’s home-court advantage and past success could point to them having a slight edge on Thursday.
The Pelicans vs Magic betting will be tough to predict, but the under is something to look at. These are two of the top three defensive teams over the last fifteen games and are both 2-8 on over/unders in their last ten. The under could be a solid bet if picking between two surging teams seems too risky.
For NBA betting news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.
