Magic vs. Heat Prediction
Can the Orlando Magic get to the .500 mark when they go on the road to face the Miami Heat tonight at 7:30PM ET?
703 Orlando Magic at 704 Miami Heat
Tuesday, December 4, 2018
7:30PM ET – American Airlines Arena
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Public Betting Trends
According to oddsmakers at BetNow.eu, Miami is the slight favorite at home, as the Heat are getting odds of -2.5 points against Orlando. The over/under total for the contest is currently listed at 209 points. The public betting currently has 67 percent going on Miami as the home favorite. This information is subject to change, however, so be sure to check out our NBA Public Betting Page for updated figures on the game.
Magic on long road trip
The Magic are playing their sixth straight road game tonight and are 2-3 on the road trip thus far following a 99-85 loss at Phoenix on Friday. Orlando is 11-12 overall, 14-9 against the spread and 14-9 with the under. The Magic have covered the spread in four straight games.
Orlando is playing pretty well on defense this season, allowing just 108.1 points per game. They do allow opponents to just 36.2 percent from the arc. On offense, Orlando is putting up 105.8 points per game, which ranks just 25th in the league. Nikola Vucevic has been leading the team this year with 21 points, 11.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game while Aaron Gordon is adding 16.1 points and 7.2 rebounds per contest.
Heat win back-to-back
Miami is coming off back-to-back wins over the Pelicans and Jazz at home, including a 102-100 win on Sunday. The Heat are now 9-13 on the season, 10-12 against the spread and 13-9 with the over. Miami has covered the spread in four of its last five.
The Heat are not great on offense this year, as they average just 108.2 points per game while shooting 43.3 percent. Their defense is giving up only 109.6 points per game while holding opponents to 44.6 percent shooting. They have a lot of injury issues coming into the night. Goran Dragic is already out with a knee injury while Rodney McGruder is questionable with an ankle injury. Josh Richardson has been leading the way with 20.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game while Hassan Whiteside is adding 13.6 points, 13.9 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game.
NBA Betting Trends
Orlando
The Magic are 5-1 against the spread in their last six conference games and 5-2 ATS in their last seven Tuesday games.
Miami
The Heat have failed to cover in five straight division games and they are just 2-6 ATS in their last eight home games.
Prediction:
Orlando won the first meeting between these two back on Oct. 17 and I like the Magic tonight. Orlando has been doing a good job of covering and the Magic are playing better overall basketball than the Heat right now. Miami hasn’t been able to catch many breaks in terms of injuries this year and they are likely to be without some of their top scorers tonight as well. I will take the Magic, who have covered in eight of their last nine, with some points.
NBA Prediction: Orlando Magic +2.5