Orlando Magic vs. Portland Trail Blazers Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 2/8/2022

Time: 10 p.m. ET

Venue: Moda Center, Portland, OR

Where to watch: ROOT-SP, BSFL

DraftKings: Blazers -3.5

BetMGM: Blazers -3.5

Caesars: Blazers -3.5

Magic: 12-43

Blazers: 21-33

It is a battle of losing streaks on Tuesday when the Orlando Magic take on the Portland Trail Blazers, but I feel very inclined to take the worst of the two teams because basketball is weird like that.

And yes that means I feel that the Magic will actually win for the fourth time in seven games on Tuesday because what's going on in Portland right now is quite unfathomable to the human eye. Portland is in the midst of a serious problem that may only be resolved by trading literally everyone left on the roster not named Damian Lillard.

Now that the Blazers have gone about trading Norman Powell and Robert Covington to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for Eric Bledsoe and two other players, the Blazers are left in a serious crossroads. And with Lillard still resting an abdomen injury, all eyes appear to be on CJ McCollum and where he may land up next.

Portland is currently facing a five-game losing streak and has lost seven of its last eight. The fact that this team should have been considered a contender in the Western Conference under first-year head coach Chauncey Billups is really the most shocking aspect of this entire season, at least within this conference.

The Blazers are coming off a 29 point loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday. McCallum had only 17 points on seven of 18 shooting, and Ben McLemore led the way with 19 points on just 13 shots. Anfernee Simons, the player Portland believes in so much to trade away Powell and Covington, also had 19 points but was a - 35.

Who thought that the rebuild in Portland was going to come so swiftly? More than likely, not a single one of you did, nor did I, but it is fastly approaching and one has to wonder what good it's going to do for Portland to hang onto the crux of this roster that is facing a downward spiral.

And that's why when I look at the lesser of two evils for this matchup on Tuesday, I look at Orlando and although the Magic possess one of the worst records in the NBA to this point, they are playing much better basketball than Portland right now.

Yes, the Magic are coming off a 33 point loss to the Boston Celtics on Sunday, and that's a day after they lost by 20 to the Memphis Grizzlies at home. But the one thing that I admire most about Orlando from a viewing standpoint is that you see a young team, with a young head coach in Jamahl Mosley, and you see a team that is willing to try and get better.

You can look at the box score and see that Jalen Suggs had only 17 points, or Wendell Carter finishing with only 14 points, and those being the only two players on the Orlando roster that actually finished in double figures in scoring. But I can also look to the one-point win over the Indiana Pacers on the road last week. I can also look to a solid effort in Chicago, but only losing by 11 to Chicago Bulls two days after defeating the Dallas Mavericks at home by two points.

When you see young teens that actually want to play and do it well, you feel a lot better about the situation of where they're in. When I look at Portland and I know that they're supposed to be playing better and they're not, it's agonizing to think that this team should be so much better. And in all aspects, they should win this game. But sometimes you have to look at effort more than you do the actual results and I think Orlando will be the one to put on a better effort to go into Portland and pull off the upset. Magic by 6

The Magic are 54-44 ATS on the road in the past three seasons.

The Magic are 45-73 ATS off at least two straight losses at home.

The Blazers are 7-15 ATS following giving up 130 points or more.

PG: Cole Anthony

SG: Jalen Suggs
SF: Franz Wagner
PF: Wendell Carter Jr.
C: Mo Bamba

PG: Anfernee Simons

SG: CJ McCollum
SF: CJ Elleby
PF: Tony Snell
C: Jusuf Nurkic

Magic: Markelle Fultz (knee, out), Jonathan Isaac (knee, out), R.J. Hampton (knee, out), E'Twaun Moore (knee, out)

Blazers: Damian Lillard (abdomen, out), Eric Bledsoe (Achilles, out), Larry Nance Jr. (knee, out), Keon Johnson (ankle, out)