Orlando Magic vs Miami Heat Prediction & Betting Tips - NBA

Prediction published on 20/12/2023, 02:41  by Joseph King | Modified on 20/12/2023 at 02:58 in NBA Predictions

Wednesday in the NBA sees an all-Florida affair as the Eastern Confernece’s fourth-placed Orlando Magic take on its seventh-place Miami Heat. The Magic have been one of the surprise teams of the 2023/24 campaign. They’ve shown a dramatic improvement over the team that finished 14 games below .500 and 13th in the East last year. Orlando’s 16-9 mark has them fourth in the conference and sitting four games behind the first-place Celtics. They’re coming off a pair of away games against Boston in the span of three days which saw them lose both, the most recent of which finished 114-97. Orlando returns to the Amway Center here and could really use a win now that they’ve lost four of their last six. Luckily for them, the Magic are a superb 11-2 on home soil this season. Their success has been built off of a solid defensive foundation which sees them giving up the fourth-fewest points per game (109.9).

The Miami Heat sit 2.0 games behind the Magic in the standings as their 15-12 record puts them seventh in the conference. They too will be looking to bounce back with victory following a close 112-108 home defeat to the Timberwolves. It wrapped up a four game homestand which saw the Heat go just 2-2 after also losing to the Bulls. Miami hasn’t experienced the same strong home court advantage that they had in previous seasons as they remain just one game above .500 at the Kaseya Center. However, at 8-6 on the road, the Heat possess the second best away record in the Eastern Conference. Similarly to their opponents today, it’s been Miami’s defense that has acted as the catalyst for that success. The visitors are giving up the fewest points in the entire NBA when away from home at just 107.4.