Orlando Magic vs. Charlotte Hornets (Nov. 24, 2021): 3 Things To Watch, Odds and Prediction
The Orlando Magic return after a rough road trip as they debut their City Edition jerseys against the Charlotte Hornets at Amway Center.
Orlando Magic (4-14) vs. Charlotte Hornets (11-8)
Time/TV: 7 p.m./Bally Sports Florida
WATCH MAGIC-HORNETS ON FUBO TV
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Line via WynnBet: Hornets by 7.5
Tickets: $12-$456 on StubHub
2022 Season Series: Hornets 120, Magic 111 in Orlando on Oct. 27; Tonight in Orlando; Jan. 14 in Charlotte; April 7 in Charlotte
| Pace | Off. Rtg. | Def. Rtg. | eFG% | O.Reb.% | TO% | FTR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlotte | 102.0 | 109.0 | 109.5 | 52.0 | 26.5 | 13.0 | 22.0 |
| Orlando | 99.0 | 102.1 | 111.8 | 48.8 | 28.2 | 15.9 | 21.2 |
OMD Prediction
The Orlando Magic will be without Cole Anthony for the third straight game when they take on the Charlotte Hornets tonight. Considering Anthony had 24 points in the first meeting in Orlando about a month ago, the Magic are missing a big weapon in their hopes of scoring the win. The Magic’s offense tends to fall off a cliff when Anthony is off the floor.
The Hornets do not have many issues offensively. They are coming off a 109-103 win over the Washington Wizards where Terry Rozier hit eight 3-pointers on his way to 32 points and LaMelo Ball added 28 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists.
Charlotte struggled some in that first meeting because Orlando was more solid defensively and had some rhythm offensively with Anthony leading the way. But the Hornets’ defense stiffened up and forced turnovers to pull out the victory. The question now is whether Orlando will be able to keep up missing so much.
38. Prediction. 112. 170. 97
3 Keys To Watch
Eye on pace
When the Orlando Magic and the Charlotte Hornets met about a month ago, it was a clash of pace. The Hornets were playing at one of the fastest paces in the league while the Magic were playing at one of the slowest. Charlotte is still going at a decent clip. Orlando though is starting to pick up.
The Magic now rank 14th in the league in pace at 99.0 possessions per 48 minutes. That is at seventh in the league in the last 10 games at 99.7 possessions per 48 minutes. This is not typically what coaches mean when they talk about pace — and the opponent has a lot to do with bumping up this number. But it is a sign the team is getting through its sets quicker and either taking quicker shots or pushing the ball up the court faster.
Orlando scores only 9.7 fast-break points per game, 25th in the league. The team gives up 11.5 fast-break points per game, 11th in the league. So this increase in pace is not being seen perhaps in the areas a young team would like to see them.
Charlotte wants to get up and down a lot. So who is controlling the pace will be key.
Sophomore Bump
The Orlando Magic have celebrated Cole Anthony’s emergence this season. It is a strong sophomore bump. It is still nowhere near the leap LaMelo Ball has taken as a sophomore. Last year’s Rookie of the Year has not rested in his laurels.
Ball is averaging 19.8 points, 8.0 rebounds and 7.7 assists per game with a 49.7-percent effective field goal percentage. His impact has been demonstrable in changing the Charlotte Hornets in every way. He has helped set up a ton of weapons that have worked to his strengths such as Miles Bridges with his improving 3-point shot and his ability to slash to the rim.
Ball makes everything work better for this team. And stopping him is task one. He had a poor game against Jalen Suggs and Cole Anthony in their last meeting — seven points on 3-for-14 shooting.
Spooky Mulder
It has been too long since Mychal Mulder signed with the Orlando Magic without an X-Files reference. So there it is.
Mychal Mulder has been pushed quickly into the rotation with the injuries the Magic have at guard — Gary Harris remains listed as questionable at time of printing. Mulder has had some nice runs though. He is averaging 4.8 points per game in 9.3 minutes per game. In the two games against the Milwaukee Bucks, he scored 26 total points and 9-for-23 shooting.
Of course, most of this scoring came in garbage time when the game was long decided. Mulder has a strong statistical profile because he has been playing in this garbage time and the Magic have played well in those minutes.
Injury updates remain scarce from Orlando Magic. dark. Next
Mulder though struggled a lot in his meaningful minutes against the Bucks. So the Magic are still going to be hoping to see more from Mulder if they are using him to fill in for injured players.