Sean Barnard details his preview and prediction for Sunday’s NBA matchup between the Orlando Magic and the San Antonio Spurs.
Tipping off at 7:00 p.m. ET across a 10-game NBA slate, the Orlando Magic will face off with the San Antonio Spurs.
This is the second matchup between these two teams this season. On Dec. 3rd, the Spurs edged out the Magic in a 114-112 victory, despite Victor Wembanyama being unavailable.
Looking at the odds for tonight, the Spurs are 5.5-point favorites with -205 moneyline odds on DraftKings Sportsbook. The Magic hold +170 odds of winning outright, with the game total set at 223.5 points.
Let’s dive into a preview and prediction for the Sunday night matchup.
Magic at Spurs Preview
It has been an up-and-down season for the Orlando Magic. They hold a 25-22 record on the season and sit in seventh place in the Eastern Conference. Orlando is coming off back-to-back wins over the Raptors and Heat, but it lost four consecutive games before that. On the season, the Magic are 19-28 against the spread, and the over has hit in 24 of their 47 matchups.
Orlando is averaging 115.7 points per game, sitting 18th in the NBA. It ranks 17th in offensive rating, 19th in field-goal percentage, 27th in three-point percentage and 15th in pace. Defensively, the Magic have allowed the 15th-most points per game. They rank 16th in defensive rating, 25th in opponent field-goal percentage and 21st in opponent three-point percentage.
Franz Wagner remains sidelined for tonight’s matchup as he nurses an ankle injury, leaving the Magic without their top scorer at 22.2 points per game. They’ll likely lean on former first overall pick Paolo Banchero, who averages 21.8 points while leading the team with 8.8 rebounds and 4.9 assists.
Meanwhile, Desmond Bane has settled in after a tough start to the season, and Anthony Black has emerged as one of the team’s biggest bright spots. Jalen Suggs, Wendell Carter Jr., Tristan da Silva and Goga Bitadze also play important roles in the rotation.
The San Antonio Spurs hold a 32-16 record on the season, which slots them in third place in the Western Conference. They have hit a bit of a rut as of late, dropping three of their past five games, including against the Hornets and Pelicans. Overall, the Spurs have gone 24-23-2 against the spread, and the game total has gone under in 31 of their 48 games.
The Spurs are scoring 117.0 points per game, which ranks 11th in the NBA. They rank 10th in offensive rating, 11th in field-goal percentage, 22nd in three-point percentage and 16th in pace. Defensively, opponents are scoring the sixth-fewest points at 112.1 points per game. San Antonio ranks third in defensive rating, fourth in opponent field-goal percentage and 16th in opponent three-point percentage.
San Antonio is playing on the second night of a back-to-back, and Jeremy Sochan missed last night’s game due to a quad issue. Victor Wembanyama headlines the production for San Antonio, averaging 24.1 points, 11.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists and an NBA-leading 2.6 blocks per game. De’Aaron Fox adds 19.9 points and 6.1 assists, while Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper round out the guard rotation. Devin Vassell, Keldon Johnson, Harrison Barnes and Julian Champagnie also play key roles in the rotation.
Magic at Spurs Prediction, Best Bet
This is a tough spot for the Spurs after playing in Charlotte last night and returning home for the second half of a back-to-back. However, the Spurs are 5-3 against the spread on the second night of a back-to-back this season and 5-2 against the spread with a rest disadvantage.
The Spurs beat the Magic 114-112 in the first matchup between these two teams. This game was not as close as the score implies, as San Antonio led for 95% of the matchup and pushed the lead to as large as 15. It is worth noting that Paolo Banchero was absent from this game, but so was Victor Wembanyama. The Magic have struggled to play to their best with both Banchero and Franz Wagner on the floor this season, and they will be without Wagner tonight.
Orlando has played with an admirable spark of late, but the Spurs have a clearer identity on both sides of the ball. Desmond Bane has not been the cure to the Magic’s spacing issues in the way it was hoped. This will be increasingly problematic against a Spurs defense that ranks sixth in opponent points per game and third in defensive rating. Expect Orlando to have difficulty penetrating the paint and to lack the perimeter shooting to have enough offensive success.
I am backing the Spurs to get back in the win column tonight and cover the 5.5-point spread. Victor Wembanyama will be a level of rim deterrent that was not present in the first matchup, which will be extremely disruptive to the Magic’s offensive process. Expect Orlando’s offense to struggle throughout, and for this to pave the way for a Spurs win. San Antonio has several ball-handlers who will have success penetrating the paint and creating looks for themselves. Count on the Spurs getting back in the win column tonight and looking like the better team on both ends of the floor.