Free NBA Pick: Hornets vs. Magic NBA Odds
Looking for Charlotte Hornets vs. Orlando Magic free NBA picks & NBA odds? NBA betting sees the Hornets taking on the Magic on Friday, October 28, 2028 at Amway Center in Orlando, FL. Cappers Picks provides complimentary expert handicapping picks on all NBA basketball matchups so stay tuned for more FREE daily NBA hoops predictions like this Hornets-Magic matchup.
2028 NBA Handicapping
(2-2) Charlotte Hornets vs. Orlando Magic (0-5)
Date: Friday, October 28
Time: 7:00 PM EST
Venue: Amway Center
NBA Moneyline Odds: Hornets -152 | Magic +125 (Bet Now!)
NBA Betting Odds: CHA -3
NBA Betting Total: 226.5
The Magic enter this game one of just two or three teams without a win straight up. The Lakers are also winless at 0-4, and the Kings, as of this writing, are 0-3 ahead of their Thursday showdown with the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Hornets, on the other hand, have started the year .500, alternating wins and losses since opening night.
Charlotte is most recently coming off a 134-131 loss to the New York Knicks, while Orlando’s latest loss was to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday, 103-92.
Charlotte Hornets
The Hornets are going to be shorthanded in this one.
LaMelo Ball is still out. He did have his fourth-year option picked up on Thursday by Charlotte, but that won’t help him get on the floor any quicker.
In addition to Ball still being sidelined, leading scorer Terry Rozier is listed as doubtful about 24 hours ahead of tip-off. So is Cody Martin.
On the year, Charlotte is scoring 124.5 points per game, which is good enough for top honor across the league. It’s Small Sample Size Theatre, but the free-flowing offense has been able to produce without it’s best player, which is a sign of great offensive things to come.
The problem is that the offense (ranked 4th in Offensive Efficiency) can’t entirely make up for a defense threatening to be bottom 10. So far this season, the Hornets are giving up 109.2 points per 100 possessions and 117.3 points per game outright. Those numbers are only good enough for 18th and 21st in the NBA, respectively.
Orlando Magic
The Hornets aren’t the only shorthanded team in this one. Orlando is suddenly down another point guard in Cole Anthony
The 22-year-old has an injury to his right internal oblique muscle and is expected to miss an undetermined amount of time.
Also sidelined is Mo Wagner and Markelle Fultz, and that’s on top of Jalen Suggs, Jonathan Isaac and Gary Harris who all remain out indefinitely.
The good news is that Orlando continues to see epic production from rookie Paolo Banchero. There have been plenty of fun stretches, too, for players like Bol Bol and Wendell Carter, Jr.
This team doesn’t have much to play for this season, but they’re still a low-key League Pass wild card with enough young energy to keep fans going.
NBA Betting Trends:
- Magic are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games playing on 1 days rest.
- Magic are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games overall.
- Hornets are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games vs. a team with a losing straight up record.
- Hornets are 15-6 ATS in the last 21 meetings in Orlando
Free Charlotte Hornets vs. Orlando Magic NBA Prediction:
Recent trends—not to mention Orlando’s general sense of gloom and doom—point toward an easy Charlotte win here both straight up and against the spread. But with Charlotte just as banged up as Orlando, I’ve got my eye on the underdog.
Orlando keeping this one close and losing at the buzzer is safer than picking them to win outright. So the smart(er) money is on ORL +3 instead of at +125 on the moneyline. But if I’m predicting the final score, I might put my neck out there and say the Magic get their first win of the year.
It doesn’t look like they’ll get many straight-up Ws in 2022-23, but everyone’s gotta win sometime. Right?
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