Orlando Magic vs. Charlotte Hornets (Nov. 12, 2024): 3 Things to Watch, Odds and Prediction

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Season Series: Tonight in Orlando; Nov. 25 in Charlotte; Feb. 12 in Orlando; March 25 in Charlotte

OMD Prediction

Our Record: 8-3/5-5 ATS

The Orlando Magic feel like they have their feet back under them now. A pair of wins against two struggling teams was exactly what the doctor ordered for them. They needed a boost of confidence. They even started hitting some shots!

This week will present some more serious challenges. The New Orleans Pelicans and Washington Wizards are not the same caliber of team as even the Charlotte Hornets, against whom the Orlando Magic open their NBA Cup play on Tuesday.

The Magic struggled against some elite-level opponents on the road last week. And so Orlando has to show it can compete against teams that will present a challenge and be a bit more consistent.

This is a different Hornets team than you might expect. New coach Charles Lee has slowed the pace down considerably even with LaMelo Ball leading the way. Ball is healthy though and putting up All-Star numbers again with 29.4 points per game and 6.2 assists per game.

Magic fans do not need to be told about Brandon Miller's potential after his showing last year in that April game everyone regrets. Miller is averaging 17.0 points per game and shooting 37.3 percent from three early in his second season.

The Hornets will be without Miles Bridges (right knee bone bruise) and could be without Tre Mann (questionable with low back soreness). That cuts deeply into the Hornets' offense. They have not cleared 110 points since Oct. 30.

If the Magic are the team they showed this weekend, their defense should be able to hold the boat this time. But this is an improving Hornets team nobody should be sleeping on.

3 Things to Watch

3. Offensive rebounding maters

For the longest time, the going thought around the league was that offensive rebounding was not worth the trouble. It was far better to send players back on defense to stop transition opportunities and concede any missed shots.

As teams have tried to manufacture more fast-break opportunities and pick up their pace in general, they have had to come up with new strategies to slow them down. And so teams have returned to attacking the glass. And offensive rebounding is up throughout the league.

Offensive rebounding has been a big factor for the Orlando Magic especially in the last three games as they came out of their five-game losing streak.

The Orlando Magic had 15 offensive rebounds for 22 second-chance points in Sunday's win over the Washington Wizards. That was one of the ways the Magic have made up for their poor shooting.

In the last three games, Orlando is posting a 33.8 percent offensive rebound rate and scoring 17.7 second-chance points per game. Those rank in the top five in the league during the last three games. That has been vital.

It has been a big part of the Charlotte Hornets' attack this year too. They are averaging a 33.8 percent offensive rebound rate for the season, fourth in the league, and scoring 17.9 second-chance points per game, the third-most in the league.

Orlando has been a good rebounding team this year. The Magic are leading the league with a 75.9 percent defensive rebound rate. Their ability to control the glass will decide this game.

2. Finding Jalen Suggs

Jalen Suggs is still going through a bunch of ups and downs at the point guard position. When it seems like he has taken some steps forward, he takes a step back. Suggs right now is in something of a step back.

He dealt with foul trouble throughout the game Sunday, playig in only 18:12 and finishing with five points, two assists and four turnovers while shooting just 2 for 8 and 1 for 6 from three. This has been part of a difficult little stretch for Suggs—he has had 14 turnovers against 11 assists in the last three games while shooting 40.7 percent from the floor and 3 for 15 from three.

Some of these struggles were foreseeable. Suggs is still learning how to manage the team. And the Magic are asking him to increase his self-creation and usage with Paolo Banchero out.

No player probably benefited more from Banchero's gravity than Suggs did. Banchero set up a lot of Suggs' spot-up 3-point opportunities—Suggs is averaging only 5.2 3-point attempts per game since Banchero's injury.

Suggs still requires some patience. His defense has been as good as ever—and he likely gets the call on LaMelo Ball in Tuesday's game. And Suggs just has to get more precise and reduce his turnovers to be more effective.

1. Brandon Miller memories

While everyone was ogling Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren last year, second overall pick Brandon Miller quietly put together a solid rookie season. He averaged 17.3 points per game and shot 44.0 percent from the floor and 37.3 percent from three. And that was without LaMelo Ball for most of the season.

Miller had one of his best games against the Orlando Magic. In a late-season matchup that Orlando certainly rued, Miller scored 32 points on 5-for-6 3-point shooting, going on a first-quarter scoring binge that caught the road-weary Magic off guard. They never found their groove and dropped that important game.

That was one of four games where Miller eclipsed 30 points and one of 10 games making at least five 3-pointers. It showed his promise and potential as a scorer and featured player for the Hornets. They have one of the best young players in the league.

Miller has at least matched what he did last year. But there have been fits and starts to his sophomore season. He missed four games earlier in the season but has averaged 19.2 points per game on 36.7 percent shooting in the five games since.

That includes back-to-back 20-point games, scoring 29 in the blowout win over the Indiana Pacers and 22 points in the overtime loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. Miller is a dangerous player and a future star in this league.