Milwaukee at Orlando
Time: 7 PM ET (NBA TV)
Spread: ORL -4
Total: 198
Betting odds c/o 5dimes
The Orlando Magic are 7-8 on the season and one of the most improved clubs in the NBA in this young season. The Milwaukee Bucks will meet one of their former skippers Scott Skiles, the one behind the turnaround. Early odds at 5dimes showed the Magic as 4-point favorites over the visiting 6-9 Milwaukee Bucks.
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Orlando has recently made a move to shake things up some. Skiles moved Victor Oladipo to a sixth man role and inserted Channing Frye into the starting lineup. Oladipo and second-year point guard Elfrid Payton have not functioned well as a duo, which is unsurprising given that neither is a prolific shooter.
To address the issues with court spacing, the stretch-4 Frye is a welcome breath of fresh air. While he struggled last year, he has a renewed commitment to defense playing for a coach who will accept it no other way.
The Magic disposed of the New York Knicks on Tuesday night 100-91 despite a big game from rookie Kristaps Porzingis. The Magic still have lost three of its past five games, with two of the losses coming to Eastern Conference playoff teams in Cleveland and Washington. Even so, the Magic can once again climb to .500 if it prevails as favored to.
One of the biggest factors in the Magic’s turnaround has been shooting guard Evan Fournier. He has made the leap from role player to semi-star and he leads Orlando in scoring at 17.7 points per game, while also ranking among the league leaders in minutes played (36.0). But by and large, the Magic have been a very balanced team, featuring five players all averaging double figures. Nikola Vucevic has seen his numbers dip a little, but he remains the Magic’s only legitimate low post threat.
How Milwaukee counters Vucevic could prove vital in this game. The Bucks have the length in their frontcourt to give “Vooch” some problems. Free agent acquisition Greg Monroe will draw the assignment, and he is not known as a premier defender, but he will have plenty of help.
Giannis Antetokounmpo will be there with plenty of help side defense and the Bucks will also likely give John Henson some extended burn as a good shot blocker and defender.
Antetokounmpo is blossoming this season as most expected he would. He leads Milwaukee in scoring at 17.8 points per game and he is a jack-of-all-trades. The “Greek Freak” averages 2.27 blocks/steals per game while posting a PER of 19.3 on the offensive end. He also keeps his turnovers down at just 1.1 per game while averaging 2.6 assists per contest. Monroe is second in scoring at 16.1 points per game, and he was surprising not chased heavily in free agency over the summer.
Khris Middleton had a much better experience, notching a $15 million per year contract despite being mostly a role player and shooter. Middleton is shooting 45.3 percent from behind the arc and averaging 14.2 points per game.
Perhaps most surprisingly for the Bucks, its backcourt has been mediocre at best. Michael Carter-Williams stats have deflated since leaving the Philadelphia 76ers, and the thought that Jason Kidd could take his game to the next level appears to be fading. Carter-Williams is shooting 42 percent from the floor and averaging 11 points and five assists per game.
Expect Magic guard Victor Oladipo to go hard at him in a continued quest to prove he should have been Rookie of the Year in 2014. Oladipo in his own right is hitting just 33 percent from the floor, and as much firepower as these teams have it could be a game largely decided on the defensive end of the court—where both teams excel. Orlando ranks No. 2 in the NBA in opponents’ field goal percentage and the Bucks made its name last season as a strong defensive club and surprise team.
