Orlando Magic vs. Los Angeles Clippers: 3 Best Bets

After suffering the first loss of the season in a nailbiter against the Los Angeles Lakers, the Orlando Magic stay at the Crypto.com arena to take on the Los Angeles Clippers, this time with no rest.

The Magic’s first back-to-back tips off at 10:30 pm, and the Clippers had all of Monday off after dismantling the San Antonio Spurs by 40 points on Sunday night. Paul George scored 19 points, but it was his five steals that helped send the game to garbage time early on. He will definitely be a factor in the matchup.

The new-look Clippers won’t debut against the Magic. Orlando gets to duck James Harden, who was traded to LA earlier this morning after offseason theatrics. The Magic are fully healthy, and the Clippers will be without Terance Mann, Brandon Boston Jr., Harden, PJ Tucker, and Filip Petrusev. Ivica Zubac is listed as questionable.

The game is on League Pass, so after the trick-or-treaters have called it a night, Orlando basketball will be on the docket. Here are the lines and odds, courtesy of SI Sportsbook.

The Lines

Point Spread: Clippers (-6.5)/Magic (+6.5)

Money Line: Clippers (-275)/Magic (+200)

Over/Under: 220.5

Our Picks

Safe Pick: Clippers -6.5 (-118)

Look, this is an Orlando Magic site, but the Clippers could not miss on Sunday. Paul George was a defensive terror, the Clippers shot over 50%, and Russell Westbrook was 3/5 from deep. That’s insanity. On top of that, Westbrook is trying to keep his minutes pending the arrival of James Harden, so expect him to be a man on fire.

Safest pick: Paolo Banchero OVER 16.5 points (-133)

Sure, Paolo Banchero has yet to score 15 points in a game, let alone 17 this season, but it’s only a matter of time before that changes. Yes, he will have to go up against Kawhi Leonard, but in their lone matchup, he scored 23 points. Banchero has gotten off to a shaky start, but now is the time for him to kick off the rust.

Team Pick: UNDER 220.5 points

The Magic has not posted above 220 total points so far this season, and the Clippers have done it twice. Both of these teams are defensive-minded, and the fatigue from playing back-to-back games should slow down the Magic. Unless the Clippers run away with this, expect it to be a dogfight with a low final score.

The Clippers are heavy favorites for three reasons: rest, experience, and home-court advantage. A tandem of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George is tough to beat, and the Magic simply don’t have the skill yet to do it.