by Chuck Sommers
Thursday, Apr 07, 2022
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Venue: Spectrum Center, Charlotte, NC
Where to watch: Bally Sports Southeast-Charlotte, Bally Sports Florida
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Hornets -13.5
BetMGM: Hornets -13.5
Caesars: Hornets -13.5
Season record
Magic: 21-59
Hornets: 40-39
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Magic - Hornets preview and analysis
Magic analysis
The Orlando Magic and the Charlotte Hornets will be playing in Charlotte, North Carolina this upcoming Thursday, April 7th.
After a six game losing streak, the Orlando Magic went on to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers in Orlando, Tuesday, April 5th. Definitely an unexpected outcome considering Orlando was on a roll to lose a seventh game, but to everyone’s surprise, they chose to come back with a vengeance.
"It was a game that obviously had a lot of implications and we just got out-competed," said Kevin Love, who scored 17 points and 13 rebounds for Cleveland. "We definitely need a better effort than we had tonight. We let their record, and who they have out, dictate how we played."
Mo Bamba scored 20 points and 12 rebounds, and Ignas Brazdeikis scored 20 points, helping the Orlando Magic break their losing streak, beating out the Cleveland Cavaliers 120-115.
"There is no overlooking in this league," said Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff. "Tonight, time and time again, they outworked us. Give them credit, but it's disappointing. We didn't get the job done. We didn't show the fight that we needed to show."
Everyone seemed to be on their “A game” on the Magic side. Markelle Fultz finished with 16 points and six assists in his first start of the season. Moritz Wagner also scored 15 points, 10 of which were in the fourth quarter.
"My goal was to try to get us off to the best start. We actually didn't start off that good, but we made a run back into it," Fultz said. "It's a game of runs, and we did a good job of sticking with it tonight. As the game went on we got a little better at both ends."
It seems that the Magic were tired of playing pick a card and coming up with no aces and finally tried another trick. Whatever the case may be, it worked, and we can only hope it’ll continue, making for a great show.
Hornets analysis
It seemed all of Florida was on fire Tuesday night. Between the Orlando Magic making a comeback after their crazy losing streak and the Miami Heat beating out the Charlotte Hornets by almost 30 points, not even being surrounded by ocean on three sides could put that fire out.
The Charlotte Hornets allowed 144 points to be scored against them for the second consecutive game after a 144-112 loss Saturday to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Miles Bridges scored 29 points and LaMelo Ball finished with 18 points and 14 assists for Charlotte. Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough to keep up with Miami who beat Charlotte 144-115.
“I’m kind of surprised, a different sense of urgency, but we have to fix it next game,” Bridges said. “We have to get better. Around this time if you don’t have a sense of urgency, you shouldn’t be playing. We just have to fix that.”
Fortunately for the Hornets, they are locked into the play-in tournament. This will be the first game past the end of the regular season since 2016 for Charlotte.
Prediction
Based on each of their most recent games, it may seem that Orlando may hold the upper hand against Charlotte. However, looking at the bigger picture, it would seem Charlotte cannot be written off so soon. The Orlando Magic is only fifth in the Southeast Division, compared to the Charlotte Hornets number three spot.
If we were to simply compare each team's past ten games, it would paint a much more revealing picture. The Charlotte Hornets have won six of their past ten games, as opposed to the Orlando Magic's three wins.
Unless Orlando has more tricks up their sleeves, Charlotte will surely swarm them, leaving them stung. Hornets by 15
Betting trends
The Magic are 19-19 ATS off an over this season.
The Magic are 12-4 ATS after failing to cover five or six of their last seven.
The under is 18-17 when the Hornets face division opponents this season.
Projected starting lineup
Magic:
PG: Markelle Fultz
SG: Jalen Suggs
SF: Terrence Ross
PF: Chuma Okeke
C: Mo Bamba
Hornets:
PG: LaMelo Ball
SG: Terry Rozier
SF: Gordon Hayward
PF: Miles Bridges
C: Mason Plumlee
Key injuries
Magic: Franz Wagner (ankle, out), Wendell Carter Jr. (wrist, out), Cole Anthony (toe, out) Jonathan Isaac (hamstring, out), Gary Harris (personal, questionable), Admiral Schofield (knee, questionable)
Hornets: None
Statistical leaders
Magic:
Points: Cole Anthony -- 16.3
Rebounds: Wendell Carter Jr. -- 10.5
Assists: Cole Anthony -- 5.7
Hornets:
Points: Miles Bridges -- 20.4
Rebounds: Mason Plumlee -- 7.8
Assists: LaMelo Ball -- 7.6
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Chuck Sommers
About the Author:
Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.
