After a whirlwind season, the NBA Playoffs are finally here. The first matchup for this year’s postseason is a play-in game featuring the Atlanta Hawks (40-42) traveling to Orlando to face the Magic (41-41).
The Hawks are entering the postseason on a three-game winning streak, including a victory over Orlando at home on Sunday, where neither team played their full lineup. Ironically, Atlanta’s last loss was in Orlando, a 119-112 contest that did feature both teams’ full lineup.
Before Sunday’s loss, Orlando had won five straight games. Like the Hawks, several of those wins were against teams that weren’t featuring their starting lineups because their playoff fates had already been sealed.
Tuesday’s matchup will be the third time these two teams have played in less than a week. Will Orlando or Atlanta come out on top? We’ll cover that and provide our three favorite player prop bets for this contest.
Orlando Magic PF Paolo Banchero OVER 30.5 Points
The Magic took a step backward this season as power forward Paolo Banchero missed nearly half of his team’s contests with an injury. The team still went four games above .500 without him, but his absence was felt.
It would be hard not to feel a void when Banchero scored 25.9 points, grabbed 7.5 rebounds, and dished out 4.8 assists in 46 games. His work against Atlanta was among his best.
The 6-foot-10 forward scored over 31 points in all three contests against the Hawks, helping his team win two of those three contests. Expect him to do the same on Tuesday night, scoring at least 31 points to lead the Magic and cover his player prop bet.
| Player | Prop | Price |
|---|
| Paolo Banchero | Over 24.5 Points | |
| Paolo Banchero | Under 25.5 Points | |
Atlanta Hawks PG Trae Young UNDER 10.5 Assists
Atlanta guard Trae Young has continued to dominate the league in his seventh NBA season. The 6-foot-1 phenom scored 24.2 points per game while also averaging an NBA-best 11.6 assists per outing.
He’s not been a facilitator against Orlando, however. The Hawks have relied on him to score more against the Magic as he’s averaging 28.3 points and 8.0 assists per contest against the Eastern Conference foe. Expect him to fall short of his assist prop bet mark on Tuesday against Orlando for a fourth time this season.
| Player | Prop | Price |
|---|
| Trae Young | Over 10.5 Assists | |
| Trae Young | Under 10.5 Assists | |
Orlando Magic SG Kentavious Caldwell-Pope OVER 1.5 3-Pt Field Goals Made
Veteran Kentavious Caldwell-Pope found a new home in Orlando this season, his 12th in the NBA. Although his 8.7 points per game is nearly a career low, his impact and leadership on the court have helped the Magic advance to their second consecutive postseason.
The 6-foot-5 shooting guard has not played more than seven minutes since these two teams squared off in Orlando on April 8th. In that outing, the veteran finished with 15 points by hitting three of his six trifectas. Expect him to repeat that performance and cover this player prop bet in Tuesday’s play-in game.
| Player | Prop | Price |
|---|
| Kentavious Caldwell-Pope | Over 1.5 Threes | |
| Kentavious Caldwell-Pope | Under 1.5 Threes | |
Best Bet: Orlando (-5.5)
You have to go back to the start of March to find a time the Magic have lost back-to-back games. Orlando is 11-6 over the past 17 outings, owning wins over the Bucks, Cavs, and Lakers along the way.
Although this game should be close, expect Orlando to protect their home-court advantage and win this game. The Magic have won both games over Atlanta by six or more points, and the team should cover the oddsmakers’ five-point spread.
