3 Things to Keep an Eye on: Odds and Predictions

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Season series: Tonight in Orlando; November 6 in Indianapolis; Nov. 13 in Orlando; April 11 in Indianapolis
Season series 2024: Magic 128, Pacers 116 in Indianapolis on Nov. 19; Magic 117, Pacers 110 in Indianapolis on Dec. 23; Pacers 111, Magic 97 in Orlando on March 10

Our record: 1-2/1-2 ATS

The Orlando Magic got a good dose of reality in their first loss of the season against the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday. It won’t be that easy. There will be some fights and nothing is guaranteed.

More specifically, the team knows they must confront their demons in a variety of ways. The biggest problem is the turnovers that dogged the team last year when they finished 26th in the league. The 19 turnovers for 30 points gave the defense every chance to assert itself. Not that it played well.

Orlando knows he still has a lot of growing up to do. At some point, the Magic need to play with more energy for the second night in a row.

That won’t be a problem on Monday evening. Orlando will look to capitalize on what they’ve gained as the Indiana Pacers travel south from Indianapolis to Orlando following an overtime loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Pacers are trying to find their feet early in the season and hardly look like the team that shocked the East with a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals. Orlando could come out with an energetic effort and get a big win to keep the Pacers going before they head out on a five-game road trip.

3. It depends on the pace

The Orlando Magic have not expressed a desire to increase their tempo and play with more possession, but you can feel the team trying to get down quicker and increase the tempo a little more. Whether they succeeded is another question, but the players are trying to move faster on the field and intervene more quickly in the team’s actions.

So far, the Magic have played at a pace of 100.2 possessions per 48 minutes. But they played two games with fewer than 100 possessions per 48 minutes and became increasingly quicker before reaching the breakneck pace that the Memphis Grizzlies were playing.

While Orlando wants to do more in transition – according to NBA.com, it’s averaging 12.3 fast-break points per game so far this season and a pitiful 0.84 points per possession in transition – the team isn’t at its best yet . The team still makes some mistakes and poor decisions in the transition.

Orlando wants to play a fast but more controlled game. That’s not how the Indiana Pacers normally play. They were second in the league last year with 102.2 possessions per 48 minutes. But the Pacers rank 26th with 98.6 possessions per 48 minutes. The Magic don’t want to rush their offense.

2. Fighting Stars

Paolo Banchero had a memorable opening night with 33 points and 11 rebounds. He seemingly had complete control of the game, dictating where he would go and how he would attack

He wasn’t nearly as strong against the Brooklyn Nets with 15 points as he constantly absorbed double teams. But he still had nine assists.

The battle for points continued Saturday, and Banchero narrowly missed his shots, scoring 16 points on 4-for-12 shooting and 7-for-13 shooting from the line. A better night from the foul line might have saved the night, but Banchero struggled to match his high start. He hasn’t even built a middle class show jumper yet.

Banchero is still looking for ways to influence the game. As is Tyrese Haliburton. But Haliburton is also having problems this season.

Haliburton scored 15 points but made just one of his nine 3-point attempts in the Indiana Pacers’ season-opening win over the Detroit Pistons. However, he went scoreless against the New York Knicks on Friday. He scored 22 points in Sunday’s loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, including the game-winning three that forced overtime.

But Haliburton has 11 assists against seven turnovers in his first three games. This is different than Haliburton. And it explains, at least in part, why the Pacers have failed to live up to expectations so far this season.

1. Fight for the benches

Last year, the Orlando Magic and Indiana Pacers were able to outscore teams because of their benches.

The Pacers led the league with an average of 46.8 points per game, while the Magic were fourth with 41.5 points per game. Both teams could field waves of scorers and energy players to unsettle teams, winning mini-battles in the second and third quarters to make up for or erase deficits.

Both teams are once again relying on their bench groups and are at the top of the league in bench rankings at the start of the season.

The Pacers are averaging 51.3 points per game from their bench to start the season, good for second in the league. And the Magic are scoring 42.3 points per game off the bench, good for seventh.

Orlando needs its bench to continue to step up and carry some of the scoring load. That didn’t happen in Saturday’s defeat. The Memphis Grizzlies were able to outscore the Orlando Magic’s bench. But more than that, they have expanded and expanded their lead.

This group of banks has seen the most changes in the lineup. While Anthony Black played really well, the team saw Cole Anthony struggle and Gary Harris play shockingly low minutes in Saturday’s game, perhaps because it was a back-to-back and looking at his injury history.

Whatever the case, the Magic need to be competitive off the bench against this Pacers team. That remains one of Indiana’s great strengths.