Orlando Magic vs Milwaukee Bucks Picks and Predictions Dec 30
Orlando Magic vs Milwaukee Bucks Predictions
WagerTalk NBA handicapper Andy Lang offers his Orlando Magic vs Milwaukee Bucks betting preview for Thursday, December 30. At the time of posting, the Bucks have climbed to a 14-point road favorite in Orlando, with the total sitting at 218 points.
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| Thurs, Dec 30 | NBA Betting Notes |
|---|---|
| Point Spread: | Milwaukee Bucks -14 at Orlando Magic |
| Total: | 218 Points |
| Game Time: | 7:10pm ET / 4:10pm PT |
| Arena: | Amway Center in Orlando |
| TV: | Bally Sports Florida |
Orlando Magic vs Milwaukee Bucks Analysis
The 23-13 Milwaukee Bucks go for second straight win against the 7-28 Magic as the two teams meet for the 2nd time in three days in Orlando. The Bucks came away with a 127-110 victory over the Magic as they managed to cover the 15 point spread. Milwaukee scored 72 points in the first half and were in cruise control the rest of the way. The Magic will be looking to avoid a four game season sweep, as the Bucks also won the first games by 9 and 31 points respectively.
It looks like the Orlando Magic will be short-handed once again on Thursday night. Robin Lopez, Chuma Okeke, Mo Bamba amongst others have been ruled out as they are on the leagues health and safety protocol list. Most importantly, Cole Anthony remains out with an ankle injury.
The Magic struggle to compete with a team like the Bucks when they are at full strength, never mind when they are in this condition. Franz Wagner was lone the bright spot for Orlando in their loss to Milwaukee, as he scored 38 points and grabbed 8 rebounds. The Magic are a bottom five team in almost any category you can find.
The Milwaukee Bucks should be locked in tonight to finish off a two win business trip to Orlando. They are basically full strength, only Brook Lopez is on the injury list and he’s been out all season. The Bucks have now won 10 straight games against the Magic. Giannis Antetokounmpo led the way last game with 28 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists.
The Bucks are 6th in the league in scoring offense and 14th in the league in scoring defense. Plain and simple, the Bucks are in a completely different class than the Magic and they are the healthier team now as well.
The Milwaukee Bucks are 14 point favorites, the over/under is 218 points. The Bucks are 8-2 against the spread in their last 10 games against the Magic, while the Magic are 0-7 ATS in their last 7 home games against Milwaukee. The Bucks are healthy and have plenty of weapons to bury a good team, never mind a poor team decimated by injuries.
I’ve noticed a trend in these three head-to-head games between these teams. Milwaukee builds a huge lead early and sometimes let’s the foot off the gas in the 2nd half. In their three meetings Milwaukee led by 8, 41 and 27 points at halftime. The first half spread is -9 tonight and I just don’t see how the Magic compete in this game, especially early on.
Official Play: Milwaukee Bucks 1st Half -9
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Orlando Magic vs Milwaukee Bucks Preview from GoldSheet
Perhaps the Magic will take some inspiration from the Detroit Lions, who recently scored one of the upsets of the NFL season when dumping the Cardinals, as Orlando looks to shake a 10-game series losing streak to the Bucks. It didn’t work on Tuesday in a 127-110 loss at Amway Center to the champs, who had stretched the lead by 27 at halftime to give Milwaukee a hat-trick against the Magic already this season after a couple of comfy wins over Orlando five weeks ago at Fiserv Forum.
But NBA dynamics as they are, not sure it will be quite as easy for the Bucks tonight in this quick turnaround. Even with the Magic roster looking like a MASH unit with no fewer than 10 listed on the injury/protocols report as of Wednesday and Jamahl Mosley filling out his bench with emergency 10-day contracts, some reasons for optimism as Orlando made a late run to cut the deficit to 8 at one stage of the 4th Q on Tuesday, and Michigan rookie Franz Wagner scored a career-high 38.
Though only 2-12 SU at home, the Magic has hardly been a go-against proposition in December, covering seven of its last 14 games. Note that even as Milwaukee has surged to a season-high 10 games above .500, the Bucks have covered only 6 of their last 15 outings, and it’s been over a month since Giannis and friends won back-to-back games by double-digit margins.
NBA Stat Sheet
Each day, WagerTalk handicapper Ralph Michaels puts together his NBA Stat Sheet, which offers a head-to-head comparison for how teams are performing in a number of key areas heading into a game. Check out Thursday’s sheet, with notes on tonight’s Orlando Magic vs Milwaukee Bucks contest.
NBA Tip-Off Show
Join Joe Raineri and a rotating panel of guests for the NBA Tip-Off Show at 4:15pm ET / 1:15pm PT as we discuss tonight’s marquee games. Stay up-to-date on the latest NBA news, stats, analysis, and predictions with our panel of professional handicappers as they preview tonight’s NBA action, including this Orlando Magic vs Milwaukee Bucks clash, from a betting perspective.
WagerTalk Live Odds Screen
WagerTalk’s live odds screen features up-to-the-minute lines from a variety of offshore and domestic sports books. Track the NBA point spreads, moneylines, first half lines and betting percentages for all of Thursday’s NBA games, including this Orlando Magic vs Milwaukee Bucks showdown, from your desktop or phone.
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