Orlando Magic at Los Angeles Lakers (Nov. 21, 2024): 3 Things to Watch, Odds, and Prediction

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Season Series: Tonight in Los Angeles; March 24 in Orlando

OMD Prediction

Our Record: 11-5/7-9 ATS

The Orlando Magic's gameplan for this season is to defend like maniacs. They are one of the best defensive teams in the league and chase after players with their swarm of arms and physicality. They have been a stonewall against a lot of great teams.

The question every night is whether they can get enough offense to make that defense work. When the Magic miss extra shots or turn the ball over, they can get caught defensively. The Magic with a set defense are extremely difficult to crack. All Orlando has to do is score enough to put the pressure on other teams to break that defense.

That will present the biggest challenge on a back-to-back in Los Angeles. The Orlando Magic go from playing a poor offensive team in the LA Clippers to one of the best offensive teams in the Los Angeles Lakers. A Lakers team that is verifiably on fire right now with shooters galore with D'Angelo Russell finding himself in JJ Redick's offense and the emergence of rookie Dalton Knecht.

And that does not get into LeBron James and Anthony Davis playing like the superstars they are. That alone will make the game a challenge for the Magic and their defense.

Orlando feasts on bad offenses. But the team is only 1-3 this year in games against top 10 offenses. All three of those losses were blowouts (the Cleveland Cavaliers, Memphis Grizzlies and Dallas Mavericks). The Grizzlies game was on the second night of a back-to-back at least.

The Magic are going to need their offense to give them some life to hang tough in this one. The defense needs the help.

3 Things to Watch

3. Defense vs. Offense

This game matches up two opposing strengths and will be a big test of the Orlando Magic's overall defense.

The Los Angeles Lakers are ranked fourth in the league in offensive rating and fifth in the league in turnover rate. They are deadly efficient and do a good job making sure they get at least a shot. JJ Redick has proven himself to be a solid offensive mind.

The Orlando Magic rank second in the league in defensive rating. A big part of their defense is their ability to create turnovers too. Orlando is fourth in the league in opponent turnover rate. The Magic use a lot of turnovers to generate offense.

That makes this game a chicken or an egg problem or an irresistable force vs. an immovable object. Someone is going to blink. And that will determine this game.

2. Rookie Watch

Is this the right time to remind everyone that the Orlando Magic lost a four-way coin flip with the Indiana Pacers, Philadelphia 76ers and Los Angeles Lakers in the 2024 NBA Draft?

The Sixers won the coin flip to pick Jared McCain at No. 16. The Los Angeles Lakers got second to pick Dalton Knecht at No. 17. Orlando picked Tristan da Silva at No. 18.

McCain is already blossoming with the Sixers, averaging 15.6 points per game and dropping 29 points on the Magic in last week's game at the Kia Center.

Knecht is now coming into his own. He is averaging 11.3 points per game and shooting 46.4 percent from three. He is averaging 24.3 points per game and shooting 67.7 percent from three in his last four games. He scored 27 and 37 in his last two outings.

Knecht was on the Magic's radar as he mysteriously fell down the draft board. They may well have taken the Tennessee sharpshooter if he were still on the board.

Orlando though took Tristan da Silva, another senior forward who expected to contribute immediately. Da Silva is not putting up gaudy numbers, but he is starting to come into his own too.

Since joining the starting lineup, he is averaging 6.6 points per game and 4.1 rebounds per game and shooting 25.0 percent from three. His opportunities have been more limited. But he is coming off some solid showings, scoring 10 points in Wednesday's loss to the LA Clippers.

1. The looming decision

As of this writing, the Orlando Magic's injury report has not been released. But Wendell Carter's return is very imminent. He was upgraded to QUESTIONABLE before Wednesday's game with his plantar fasciitis and is doing more on the court in pregame, a sure sign that he will return soon.

There is a big debate raging among Magic fans about whether the team should return to Wendell Carter in the starting lineup or stick with Goga Bitadze. They may not be making that decision today, but Bitadze has played well enough to get minutes in a rotation in the NBA.

As a starter this year, Bitadze is averaging 10.1 points per game and 8.0 rebounds per game. Bitadze gives the team some much-needed paint presence and an above-the-rim presence. He has filled his role well.

He is coming off perhaps his worst game as a starter, scoring nine points and grabbing two rebounds and allowing Ivica Zubac to grab eight offensive rebounds in Wednesday's loss to the LA Clippers. Bitadze's biggest issue has been consistency. And Wednesday was a bad game.

Goga Bitadze is in the spotlight against Anthony Davis now. A good game makes the decision a lot more interesting as Carter returns.