NBA Picks and Betting Tips: Los Angeles Lakers vs Orlando Magic Prediction, 22nd November

NLB Staff

21.11.2024 10:05

Lakers vs Magic Prediction

Entering this game, the Los Angeles Lakers have been one of the best teams in Western Conference play under new head coach J.J Reddick’s philosophy, while Orlando continues dominating despite their key player Paolo Banchero being injured. As the Lakers come off a 124-118 win against Utah, this Magic squad continues building on their strong record over their 2 previous weeks. This matchup will occur on November 22nd at 8:00 A.M. IST in Crypto.com Arena of Los Angeles. Below are our key betting tips, top player props, public trends, and recent head-to-heads to create an accurate prediction for this matchup.

Lakers vs Magic Key Betting Tips & Predictions

1. Los Angeles Lakers vs Orlando Magic Moneyline Pick

Looking at the moneyline, the Lakers should win their -235 because of their higher probability of coming out on top at multiple positions. As Austin Reaves and Cam Reddish complement each other’s game wonderfully, they should have a great ability to outscore Jalen Suggs plus Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Although Rui Hachimura will be outscored by Franz Wagner at small forward, his high-intensity play will cause the Magic small forward to have a little less efficient game. With Lebron James and Anthony Davis controlling the frontcourt against Tristan Da Silva plus Mortiz Wagner, the Lakers will have a great chance of winning their -235 money line and 8th in 9 games vs Orlando.

2. Los Angeles Lakers vs Orlando Magic Point Spread Pick

As the Lakers have their spread at -5.5 during this matchup, they should have a massive advantage in this game. Led by Austin Reaves at point guard, his ability to use intelligence and score layups or create from outside continues to play a huge role for this squad. Having great assist-making prowess, he continues to be a leader who will have to go up against a two-way player in Jalen Suggs. But, as he is a bigger player and provides defense on his own, he shoots limited Suggs came to perimeter shooting while continuing to make dribbles that don’t let the Magic point guard use his quick hands. With Cam Reddish having played great defense this season, he should continue locking down KCP’s three-point shooting while providing a good amount of offense by using strength in this game. With Rui Hachimura having high energy and great leaping abilities, he should win a massive rebounding advantage against Franz Wagner although the Magic forward will be able to knock down long-range shots. Driving in won’t come as easy due to the force Hachimura provides and could lead to him having to force out multiple times. As their combo of Lebron James and Anthony Davis should dominate this game inside on all three facets, they should continue having control over Tristan Da Silva plus Moritz Wagner. Seeing this, the Lakers should easily win their -5.5 spread.

3. Los Angeles Lakers vs Orlando Magic Over/Under Pick (Total Points)

With the over/under in this game being 231.5 points, both teams have very strong offenses that should make it high-scoring. As Orlando is led by a pretty good three-point shooter at point guard, he hopes to get his backcourt mate’s game going as well. Led by one of the best all-around small forwards, they also have a great center who can finish at his own will. Having several bench pieces who provide at high volumes, their opponents in Los Angeles continue to have a great point guard who can play an elite two-way game from inside or three-point range. Having a MVP candidate at center who can score at his own will, their wings will both provide a lot of points with their ability to use force from anywhere on the court to make shots. Having another backup forward whose three-point shooting has come on, they should go way over their 221 combined points from last time out.

Los Angeles Lakers vs Orlando Magic Top Player Props

Anthony Davis over 28.5 points at 1.80: As Anthony Davis continues to build his MVP case this season, he has an easy matchup against Mortiz Wagner this game. Someone who has shown great ability to score inside and use power to finish floaters and create mid-range shots, he should provide a lot of points once again since he is the much stronger center. Averaging 30.7 points a night, Anthony Davis should hit the over in this game.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope under 8.5 points at 1.74: Although the Magic shooting guard has been great on defense, his offensive game has been very inconsistent this season. Going up against one of the better defenders in Cam Reddish, he will potentially be off his normal three-point shooting rhythm once again. Being someone who is averaging 7.3 points a night, he should be somewhere around that range in this matchup.

Los Angeles Lakers vs Orlando Magic Injury News & Impact

Los Angeles Lakers Injuries: As this group is still missing one of their key pieces Jared Vanderbilt, 4.8 rebounds, due to a foot injury, his loss will continue forcing Lebron James to play an extended amount of time at power forward. Meanwhile, this unit will miss out on Jaxson Hayes, 4.6 rebounds, and Jalen Hood-Schifino as key players off the bench to keep this Lakers rotation deep.

Orlando Magic Injuries: Paolo Banchero, 29.0 points and 8.8 rebounds, still remains out for this squad, but the Magic have shown the ability to continue with Franz Wagner as the leading scorer from his small forward position. Although Tristan Da Silva is quite a huge downgrade from Banchero, their bigger issue is not having a rebounder like Wendell Carter Jr. due to a foot injury. With Mortiz Wagner starting, he hasn’t shown the same consistent ability to get a high volume of boards but is someone who can only really score inside.

Lakers vs Magic Head-to-Head Trends

As the Lakers have dominated this matchup by winning 7 of their last 8 head-to-head matchups, they should continue this great streak against Orlando. With this Los Angeles squad having scored over 100 points in 7 straight games, this should be another high-scoring effort from them. Being 8-2 against the spread over their last 10 matchups vs this Magic squad, the Lakers have averaged 118.7 points over 3 previous games against Orlando.

Betting Insights & Public Trends

As the current public trends show, Los Angeles is favored to win this game by 70.1% of the bettors against Orlando.

Lakers vs Magic Final Prediction

As the Los Angeles Lakers continue being one of the strongest rosters in NBA play, they can easily dominate this matchup against a squad missing their most key player. With J.J. Reddick still having not lost a game at home this season, his streak should continue in this matchup. Seeing that their group is led by Austin Reaves at point guard, he should have a very favorable advantage against Jalen Suggs due to size. Even though Suggs has been a great defender, Reaves ability to finish and find his teammates in trouble will make the Magic point guard a less efficient one in this game. Austin Reaves is someone who can really provide scoring through deep threes or layups and should outscore his opponent due to Suggs real threat only being three-pointers with the Lakers guard providing elite defense. Someone like Reaves who can create steals allows Cam Reddish to play his role at an even higher level. As this game’s shooting guard matchup will be more of a defense battle with Kentavious Cadwell-Pope not being a threat outside of long-distance shooting, Reddish should provide some layups due to a size advantage against this great backcourt stopper. Seeing this plus the fact that Cam Reddish has provided rebounds at a pretty high volume, he should have an advantage in this matchup for the most part.

With Los Angeles getting Rui Hachimura back at small forward, his ability to finish inside and crash the glass will play a key factor in keeping his battle close against Franz Wagner. Although the Magic will easily win this matchup with Wagner being the way more efficient scorer, Hachimura’s defensive game should also limit Orlando’s small forward’s game by a little. Seeing that Lebron James will once again start at power forward for this squad, he should have one of the biggest mismatches against Tristan Da Silva. With his ability to use size and strength against a smaller defender like Da Silva to finish inside, the vision of James will help find other shooters in space as well. As he is also a great knockdown three-point shooter, he will create one of the scariest frontcourts with MVP candidate Anthony Davis. Seeing that Davis has continued being an elite rebounder and all-around scorer, Dalton Knecht should come off the bench and keep this game out of reach for Orlando. But, if Gary Blitzdale and Cole Anthony continue dominating off the bench on this Magic squad, they can keep it a lot closer than expected.

Our prediction: The Los Angeles Lakers will win this game and cover their -5.5 spread, while score goes over 231.5 points.