Orlando Magic v New Orleans Pelicans Betting Tips [13 August 2020]

In somewhat of a dead rubber game Orlando Magic and New Orleans Pelicans will clash at the Athletic Visa Center with very different agendas. Orlando will be seeded 8th in the Eastern Conference no matter what happens in their final seeding game of the NBA Restart and face top-seed Milwaukee Bucks in the play-offs. As for New Orleans their hopes of reaching the play-offs were dashed on Sunday as they lost to San Antonio Spurs and witnessed the Portland Trailblazers defeat Philadelphia later on that evening. The Pelicans are currently 13th in the Western Conference and bottom of their Southwest Division.  

With Orlando already qualified they may look to rest some of their key players with an eye towards their first play-off match with the Bucks. Magic started with two straight wins but have lost five games consecutively in the bubble most recently losing out to the Brooklyn Nets 96-108 and lost out on the 7th seed to the Nets as a result. Their record reads at 30-42 with a 44% winning percentage but Orlando did manage to overturn New Orleans on all three occassions when they met in 2019. 

The Pelicans will be drifting away into the off-season regardless of the result in this match and it has been a year of rebuilding for those in New Orleans. Four of their top-five highest scorers are in their rookie year and it is likely others will get the chance to impress in the final game of the regular season with a host of injuries in the roster. Similar to their opponents the Pelicans are 2-5 since the NBA season resumed leaving them labouring in the West and bottom of the pile in the Southwest Division.  

Orlando will no doubt field a weakened side but winning is great habit and they will be keen to end a five-game losing run. New Orleans will be depleted themselves with a string of injuries among their roster so I’m backing a win for Orlando in this final regular season game.