NBA: Orlando Magic vs Detroit Pistons Pick and Predictions 10/19/2022

Game: 7:00 PM ET, Wednesday, October 19th

Venue:  Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Michigan

Where to Watch: NBA League Pass, local cable 

Magic: 22-60, Last place NBA Southeast MISSED PLAYOFFS; 0-0 fresh start

Pistons: 23-59, Last place NBA Central MISSED PLAYOFFS; 0-0 fresh start

DraftKings:  Point Spread: Pistons -4; 217.5 O/U

Don Best: Point Spread: Pistons -4; 217 O/U

William Hill: Point Spread: Pistons -4.5; 218 O/U

Magic: PG Markelle Fultz, SG Jalen Suggs, SF Franz Wagner, PF Paolo Banchero, C Wendell Carter Jr

Pistons: PG Cade Cunningham, SG Jaden Ivey, SF Saddiq Bey, PF Bojan Bogdanovic, C Isaiah Stewart

Another NBA season is HERE!  This one will be darkly clouded by a race to the bottom of the standings.  A great big shadow lingers over all the bad teams in the NBA… and this is a matchup of two of the worst.  That shadow is next Draft’s consensus #1 pick Frechman 7’4 Center Victor Wenbanyama!  I have often railed that “tanking” does not work.  Because it doesn’t.  While bad teams were racing to the bottom to get a shot at guys like Markelle Fultz, the oft injured Zion Williams, Derrick Williams, Michael Kidd Gilchrist, Antony Bennett, Jahlil Okafor, Dragan Bender… you know… duds.  While they were doing that… actual stars were found outside of the top-five like Donovan Mitchell, Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Giannis, Jimmy Butler (30th), Rudy Gobert (27th), Nikola Jokic (second round, two time MVP)... you know perennial all-stars.   With that said… this season tanking will work.   Victor W (the W is for winning) is a transformative player like LeBron, Lou Alcindor, Magic… etc.  The kid was most recently described as half Kevin Darant and half Kevin Garnett…a 7’4 Center with a well rounded game that includes outside shooting, passing, and dribbling… and he comes along at a time when lots of teams have opted to play undersized Power Forward at the Center position for flexibility.  He will work… and the team that tanks hard enough will thank themselves.   

The Magic and the Pistons are two bad teams who will be seen only on league pass and only to the mildly interested.  They both have been doing the same thing the last couple of seasons.  Trading good players for picks and stockpiling young lottery picks for some day in the future.  The Pistons though feel like they have done a better job.  The Pistons roster LOOKS better.  The Magic roster looks like a tire fire.

The Orlando Magic kept on stumbling last season. It lead to drafting PF Paolo Bachero #1 overall.  The big kid out of Duke is a hybrid big man… as is all the rage he has guard skills.  Like many other Duke high draft picks his awesomeness did not help his stacked Duke team excel in March Madness. Pairing him with other youngsters like SF Franz Wagner and SG Jalen Suggs does make a cohesive, talented core.. But they simply don’t have enough NBA experience to all of a sudden start winning.   

The Detroit Pistons began a new chapter last season when the drafted PG Cade Cunningham #1 overall and handed him the keys to the team.  Cade is a real NBA player with lots and lots of upside in his still teenage body.  A tall point guard with floor general skills… This team will explode into life when they find him a legit #2.  Some people believe back-up Center rookie Jalen Duran will be another real NBA player soon.  They lost lots of games and they probably will again… but they have the budding bulbs of talent.

Al McMordie was 778-638 (+ $80,850) the last 2 years in Basketball. You should be following a handicapper all season long!  Get Big Al's picks right now at the Shop Picks page, where you can find all of the Best Bets from our champion sports handicappers. BigAl.com can help you with all your bets from NCAAF, NFL, MLB, NHL… get positive value from all your bets! Remember: winning a bet is way more fun than making a bet!

The Magic spent LAST SEASON 29th in scoring with 104.2 points per game, 28th in FG percentage with 43.4, 28th in 3-point shooting with 33.1%, and 14th in offensive rebounds.  They were also average on defense… not a lot of winning basketball.

The Pistons spent LAST SEASON 28th in scoring with 104.8 points per game, 29th in field goal percentage with 43.1%, 29th in 3-point shooting with 32.6%, and 25th in offensive rebounds.  They were truly the gang that couldn’t shoot straight.  

Our prediction for Wednesday, October 19th is…. Pistons 105 - Magic 92

*** I would not even cover this game of last season's last place teams, unless I thought it was a GREAT BETTING OPPORTUNITY. ***

Bet on the Pistons AND separately bet on the UNDER… They will be actually trying this season… The Magic will not be trying any harder than a bottom 3 finish to get those ping pong balls.  Plus the Pistons best player is entering his second season while the Magic’s best player will be playing his first NBA game.

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Detroit is 144-108 ATS (+25.2 UNITS) when the total is 210-219.5 since 1996.

Orlando is 37-40 ATS as an underdog of 3.5 to 9.5 the last 3 seasons.

Magic: SG/PG Jalen Suggs, Jalen was a college star who was taken by the Magic with the fifth overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft.  He is skilled and he had a quiet rookie season in a crowded Magic jumble of random guards.  Fans should not forget this kid has a high ceiling… and with the tankathon on… he could be an important piece to the future of Orlando or to the trade deadline.

Pistons:  PF Jalen Duran,  The Charlotte Hornets had it all!  In this last draft, this team who is devoid of true big men had the 10th and 12th picks… They selected PF Jalen Duran with the tenth and C Mark Williams with the 12th… Poof!  Instant improvement.  And then jarringly they traded Duran in a three way deal with the Knicks and Pistons…. And then the talking heads had a field day pronouncing Jalen a top-five talent in a good draft that somehow fell to 10th?  It is head scratching what the inept Hornets intended to accomplish… The Pistons now have another young, multi-positional, multi talented lottery pick.

Magic: Jamahl “somebody has got to do it” Mosley

Pistons: Dwayne “the Raptors was a long time ago” Casey

** These are quality coaches who have been babysitting bad rosters.  Hopefully they are not held accountable for the record of two of the youngest, most disorganized rosters in the league **