After a much-needed win against Dallas Mavericks, Orlando Magic travel to Memphis, where they will face off against Grizzlies at FedExForum for the 2nd time this season.
Orlando Magic are currently sitting at 9th spot in the Eastern Conference, with an overall record of 31-36 and a 3-2 record in the last 5 fixtures. Looking back at their last 5 matches, Orlando Magic failed to defeat Cleveland Cavaliers (107:93) and Philadelphia 76ers (114:106). On the other side, Magic won against Golden State Warriors (103:96), Indiana Pacers (112:117) and most recently against Dallas Mavericks (111:106), which ended their 2 consecutive matches losing streak.
As it stands now, Orlando are still 1 match away from reaching the 8th seed and playoff spot, behind 31-34 Miami Heat. The upcoming fixture will on one side be extremely important for Orlando to win, and an extremely hard one as well, especially with underwhelming performances behind Orlando in the last 3 fixtures.
Memphis Grizzlies are currently second-to-last in the Western Conference, with a 27-40 record and a 3-2 record in the last 5 fixtures. While they have not been too impressive this season, I can safely say Memphis Grizzlies have put up some good performances recently. Despite losing to Chicago Bulls (107:109) and Oklahoma City Thunder (99:95), Memphis Grizzlies won against the Mavs (91:111) and playoff-bound Portland Trail Blazers (120:111) and Utah Jazz (114:104) in their last 2 fixtures. With an impressive performance in their last 2 fixtures, Memphis Grizzlies seem more than ready to face off against playoff chasing Orlando Magic, who have not been too impressive recently.
Orlando Magic remain without Isaiah Briscoe and Mo Bamba. As for the hosts, whey will miss Jaren Jackson and Kyle Anderson, while both Bradley and Holiday are listed as probable.
I've already mentioned it and I'll do it again. Memphis Grizzlies have been performing well recently, grabbing two incredible wins against playoff-bound Utah and Portland. Most of their success has come from their big men; Noah and Valanciunas, who combined 34 points, 6 assists and 15 rebounds against Jazz in addition to having a huge presence on the court. The duo will prove to be a real test for Orlando and Nikola Vucevic, who I expect will not have an easy time tonight. In addition to great work from their big men, Grizzlies also possess excellent defence, which is ranked 6th best in the league. On the other side, we have got Orlando who have dropped in form, losing 2 in a row, before defeating the struggling Dallas Mavericks on Saturday. While Orlando has had some bright points in this season, I do not believe they are ready for the improved Grizzlies at FedExForum, where they will get faced against superb defence from the home side. All in all, Magic are expected to struggle to find any easy points, and the same can be said for poor Memphis attack. With that in mind, this match will most likely end as low scoring, where I don't believe either team will manage to score more than 100 points. Additionally, when it comes to picking out the winner, I believe Memphis have got an edge, due to playing at home and good work from their big men, which should cause some problems for Orlando in the paint.
Prediction: Under 207.5
Prediction: Grizzlies to win
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