Blazers vs. Magic prediction and odds for Thursday, July 13 (Fade the mini-Magic)
Portland is big and athletic even without Scoot Henderson. They're primed to take advantage of an undersized Orlando team that is 0-3 to start the summer.
By Josh Yourish
Even with Scoot Henderson injured, the Portland Trail Blazers have plenty of talent on their Summer League roster.
That was on full display against the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday at the Thomas & Mack Center in Vegas when Shaedon Sharpe dropped 26 points in a Dion Waiters/Tim Hardaway Jr. like battle with Nick Smith Jr. who went for 33.
Tonight, Sharpe and his Blazers will face Anthony Black, Jett Howard and the 0-3 Orlando Magic. Portland is 2-1 in Vegas. Let’s check out the odds for this matchup.
Blazers vs. Magic odds, spread and total
Spread
- Trail Blazers -4 (-110)
- Magic +4 (-110)
Moneyline
- Trail Blazers -175
- Magic +150
Total
- 178.5 (Over -110 / Under -110)
Odds are available via DraftKings Sportsbook.
Blazers vs. Magic prediction and pick
There is a trend with the Orlando Magic in the regular season and the summer and it continued against the New York Knicks yesterday.
They just can’t really shoot it well enough. Jett Howard was drafted to solve that and yesterday he went 4-for-8 from 3 and scored 22 points on 17 shots, but Orlando's bench went 2-for-11 from 3. As a team the Magic were around 35%.
That’s not necessarily a bad number, but it’s also not a great one and it’s a continuation of the trend.
The Magic aren’t big or athletic enough this summer to not be able to knock down a lot of outside shots. Their center is DJ Wilson, a stretch four and the only forward in their starting lineup.
They even mostly bring guards off the bench which allowed the Knicks to grab 19 offensive rebounds and win the game despite shooting 38.6% from the field as a team. They have oversized guards like Anthony Black and Howard, but they're still all guards. This is the mini-Magic.
The Trail Blazers are big and athletic enough to take advantage of Orlando’s lack of size and rebounding. They also have enough shot makers with Sharpe and Kris Murray, Keegan’s brother, who had 19 points last time out.
It’s hard to say that the Magic are going to start 0-4 in Summer League with two lottery picks, but their roster just isn’t built to win in Vegas.
Pick: Trail Blazers -4 (-110)
Follow all Josh Yourish’s bets HERE
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change