The Orlando Magic (22-30) face an immense challenge on Saturday evening when the Milwaukee Bucks (44-7) come to town for what could be a preview of a first-round matchup in the 2020 NBA Playoffs. The Bucks are the NBA’s best team and they have been hot in recent days, winning 12 of the last 13 games. To make things more difficult for the home team, Orlando, currently No. 8 in the NBA Eastern Conference standings, will be entering the contest without Jonathan Isaac (knee), Al-Farouq Aminu (knee) and DJ Augustin (knee) available to play. George Hill (hamstring) will not play for Milwaukee.
Tip-off is at 5 p.m. ET at Amway Center. Sportsbooks list the Bucks as nine-point road favorites, while the over-under, or total number of points Vegas thinks will be scored, is 218.5 in the latest Bucks vs. Magic odds. Before making any Magic vs. Bucks picks or NBA predictions, see what SportsLine’s advanced computer model has to say.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times, and last season it returned a whopping $4,280 on its top-rated NBA spread and money line picks. It’s already returned over $3,000 in profit on all top-rated NBA picks during the 2019-20 season and entered Week 16 on a blistering 34-18 run on all top-rated NBA spread picks. Anybody who has followed it has seen huge returns.
Now, the model has set its sights on Bucks vs. Magic. You can head to SportsLine to see its picks. Now, here are several NBA betting lines and trends for Magic vs. Bucks:
- Bucks vs. Magic spread: Bucks -9
- Bucks vs. Magic over-under: 218.5 points
- Bucks vs. Magic money line: Bucks -435, Magic +339
- MIL: The Bucks are 29-22 against the spread this season
- ORL: The Magic are 1-7 against the spread in the last eight games
Why the Bucks can cover
The model knows that Milwaukee is the best team in the NBA right now, winning 12 of the last 13 games. The Bucks are elite on both ends of the floor, headlined by a defense that is clearly the best in the NBA. In this matchup, Mike Budenholzer’s team should be able to feast on an Orlando offense that struggles mightily to maintain efficiency.
The Bucks lead the country in shooting efficiency allowed and defensive rebounding, with tremendous numbers when evaluating opponent free-throw rate. Offensively, the Bucks should also be able to have success, although the Magic are potent defensively, leaving the Bucks best-suited to lean heavily on their impactful defense.
Why the Magic can cover
Even so, Milwaukee isn’t a lock to cover the Bucks vs. Magic spread on the road. The model also has considered that Orlando does have a very good defense, which props up the team’s overall effectiveness. The Magic rank within the top 10 of the NBA in numerous defensive categories, including turnover rate, defensive rebounding and foul avoidance.
Orlando should also have the opportunity to close possessions effectively, with Milwaukee essentially choosing not to crash the offensive glass on a regular basis. Orlando also does a good job with ball security, and simply getting shots to the rim can increase variance in a positive direction for the home team.
How to make Bucks vs. Magic picks
SportsLine’s model is leaning under on the total, with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Vucevic both projected to fall short of their scoring averages. The model also says one side of the spread hits in over 50 percent of simulations.
So who wins Bucks vs. Magic? And which side of the spread hits in over 50 percent of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Magic vs. Bucks spread you need to jump on Saturday, all from the model that has crushed its NBA picks, and find out.
