The Orlando Magic (5-22) travel to Staples Center Sunday to take on the Los Angeles Lakers (14-13). Tip-off is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. ET. Below, we look at the Magic vs. Lakers odds and lines, and make our expert NBA picks, predictions and bets.
The Lakers are coming into this game following a 21-point road win over the Thunder. They went 1-1 on their road trip, losing to a Ja Morant-less Grizzlies.
The Lakers are 4-10 ATS as home favorites, struggling to cover despite having a 9-7 overall home record. L.A. is the worst ATS team in the NBA with an overall ATS record of 10-17.
As for the Magic, they just covered against the Clippers at Staples Center despite losing by 3 points. This will be the last of Orlando’s five-game West Coast road trip. They’re 12-15 ATS this season and 9-8 ATS as road underdogs.
Magic at Lakers odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 3:38 p.m. ET.
- Money line: Magic +420 (bet $100 to win $420) | Lakers -600 (bet $600 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Magic +9.5 (-107) | Lakers -9.5 (-115)
- Over/Under (O/U): 220.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
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Magic at Lakers key injuries
Magic
- PG Jalen Suggs (thumb) out
Lakers
- F Anthony Davis (knee) questionable
- F LeBron James (abdomen) probable
Magic at Lakers odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Lakers 112, Magic 103
Money line
PASS on the money line. The Lakers have been great at home, but a -600 favorite in a regular-season NBA is never worth it. The Magic at +420 also isn’t a wise play.
Against the spread
BET on the MAGIC +9.5 (-112) as they’ve been hanging around with teams as of late. While they’re just 1-5 overall in their last six games, only two of those games have been decided by five or more points.
The Magic, behind PG Cole Anthony and two young, athletic big men, are competitive. While they shouldn’t beat the Lakers, challenging them is likely, especially considering the status of Davis.
The Lakers have the 23rd-best offensive rating, so this game will be two bad offenses taking on each other.
Considering how neither team is great at rebounding either, a blowout seems unlikely as the Lakers just haven’t been as dominant. They haven’t shown enough to justify being double-digit favorites.
Over/Under
BET on the UNDER 220.5 (-110) as both teams have relatively inefficient offenses.
Both teams rank in the bottom 10 in the league in offensive rating. While the Lakers do have the second-highest pace in the league, the Lakers are just 7-6 O/U following a win.
This is also a much higher number than I’d expect with the Magic having struggled to score for most of the season. The Magic have scored less than 100 points in six of their last 10 games.
I wouldn’t back two teams that play at a fast pace yet struggle to play consistently quality offense.
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