The Orlando Magic will seek their first win of the season on Wednesday as they visit the Cleveland Cavaliers. Despite No. 1 overall pick Paolo Banchero having a historic start to his career, Orlando (0-4) is the only winless team in the Eastern Conference. Meanwhile, Cleveland (2-1) lost its opener but has won back-to-back contests since then. Darius Garland (eye) and Ricky Rubio (knee) are out for the Cavs, while Orlando is down Markelle Fultz (toe), Gary Harris (knee), Jonathan Isaac (knee) and Jalen Suggs (ankle).
Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. ET from Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland. The Cavs are favored by 8.5 points in the latest Magic vs. Cavaliers odds from Caesars Sportsbook, while the over/under is set at 214.5. Before you make any Cavaliers vs. Magic picks or NBA predictions, you'll want to see the NBA predictions from the advanced computer model at SportsLine.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $10,000 in profit for $100 players on its top-rated NBA picks over the past three-plus seasons. The model enters Week 2 of the 2022-23 NBA season on a stunning 91-63 roll on all top-rated NBA picks that dates back to last season, returning more than $2,100. Anyone following it has seen huge returns.
Now, the model has set its sights on Magic vs. Cavaliers. You can head to SportsLine to see its picks. Here are several NBA betting lines for Cavaliers vs. Magic:
- Magic vs. Cavaliers spread: Cleveland -8.5
- Magic vs. Cavaliers over/under: 214.5 points
- Magic vs. Cavaliers picks: See picks here
Why the Magic can cover
Banchero is showing why he was the first overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft as he's filling up the stat sheet on a nightly basis. The Duke product is averaging 22.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.5 blocks per night, and he is the first player with four straight 20-plus point games to start his career since Grant Hill in 1994.
The young Magic squad is also buying in defensively as Orlando has a top-10 squad in opposing 2P percentage. It will be even harder for Cleveland to get points inside the arc with All-Star guard Garland out and he's the team's best playmaker. The Cavs are also sloppy with the ball, ranking among the bottom-seven in turnovers per game, so the energetic Magic bunch should have plenty of fast break opportunities.
Why the Cavaliers can cover
Cleveland is the best shooting team in the NBA so far in this young season as it leads the league in both 3P percentage and FT percentage. With the way the game has changed, those are the two primary options to generate points outside of layups and dunks, and the Cavs have a deep team even without Garland available.
Eight different players are averaging at least 8.3 points per game, led by Donovan Mitchell's 33.3 PPG. Though a small sample size, Mitchell is posting career-highs in points, rebounds, assists and steals, while also shooting a career-high from beyond the arc. After coming up one point short of covering in their opener, the Cavs have won ATS with ease over their last two games, winning each outright by double-digits.
How to make Cavaliers vs. Magic picks
The model has simulated Magic vs. Cavaliers 10,000 times and the results are in. The model is leaning Under and it also says one side of the spread hits well over 50% of the time. You can only see the pick at SportsLine.
So who wins Cavaliers vs. Magic? And which side of the spread covers well over 50% of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the spread you need to jump on Wednesday, all from the model that has crushed its NBA picks, and find out.
