NBA Regular Season 2023/24, Friday, 10.11.2023
The NBA Mexico City Game 2023 will take place this year between the Hawks from Atlanta, who have started the season successfully, and the Orlando Magic led by the German basketball world champions Franz and Moritz Wagner. Excitement is guaranteed in the huge CDMX arena!
My Orlando Magic Atlanta Hawks tip analyzes that an offensively weak and defensively strong team will meet an opponent with exactly the opposite characteristics, which is why I expect a final score under 234.5 points
The Orlando Magic are right on schedule with their rebuild!
With power forward Paolo Banchero (20), the reigning Rookie of the Year, and small forward Franz Wagner (22), they already have a promising young core with All-Star potential around which they want to build a future contender.
With the addition of guards Anthony Black (6th pick) and Jett Howard (11th pick), the Magic have bolstered their roster with talent selected early in this year’s draft, making them the fourth-youngest squad in the Association.
After seven games played, the team from Florida has a positive record of 4-3. They have not only won against rebuilding teams such as Houston, Portland and Utah, but also at home against the Los Angeles Lakers.
So far, they have only suffered defeats against ambitious play-off contenders such as the Clippers, Mavericks and away to the Lakers.
With an average of 108.6 points, the offense is lame, making it the eighth worst in the league. On the other hand, they have the third-best defense in the NBA with only 105.4 points allowed.
The point differential of 3.1 points per game is the ninth best in the league.
While Banchero has been much more efficient offensively so far in his sophomore year and has also improved his passing game, co-star Franz Wagner has stagnated statistically (shooting percentages of 40.3% from the field and 33.3% from the three-point line could be improved).
Atlanta’s superstar guard Trae Young also has poor shooting percentages. The point guard is currently converting just 33.6% of his shots (only 27.3% on a whopping 6.3 three-point attempts per game)
In order to build on his surprising run to the Conference Finals in 2021 and re-establish himself as a serious playoff contender, Young will finally have to become a reasonably efficient scorer.
Co-star Dejounte Murray, who is currently putting up impressive numbers after a somewhat disappointing debut season in Georgia, is currently helping with that.
The 2022 All-Star is averaging 22.6 points, in contrast to Young’s strong rates of 50% from the field and 38.5 points from the three-point line.
With De’Andre Hunter, Jalen Johnson, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Saddiq Bey, Onyeka Okongwu and Clint Capela, Young and Murray are supported by six players who score more than ten points per game.
Like the Magic, the Hawks have a 4-3 record after seven games, with four wins in a row, including against the ambitious Milwaukee Bucks and the league-best defense of the Minnesota Timberwolves, being particularly impressive.
With 122 points per game, the Southerners have the third-best offense in the league, while the defense ranks 22nd with 116.7 points allowed.
The average point differential of +5.2 is the eighth best in the league.
The fact that the Hawks have won nine of their last eleven head-to-head meetings with the Magic in the Mexican capital speaks in their favor.
With the exception of the last meeting, which the Hawks won by +1, these were usually clear victories for the Hawks.
There are some interesting betting options for the duel between the Magic and Hawks. For example, the top sports betting providers offer bets on at least 20 points from Franz Wagner (odds around 1.74) as well as a +5.5 handicap bet on the Magic (odds around 1.64).
My Magic Hawks tip, however, assumes that the score will fall below 234.5 points in the course of the game, which is rewarded with attractive odds of 1.71 at Bet365.
In previous games involving the Magic and Hawks, an average of around 226.3 points have been scored. My tip therefore also includes a certain points cushion and still guarantees formidable odds.
My Orlando Magic Atlanta Hawks betting tip: Under 234.5 points in the game!
