Game Tonight: OKC Thunder vs Magic Odds, Starting Lineup, Injury Report, Predictions, for Nov. 1st
Quite an impressive week for the OKC Thunder who set aside tanking and wowed their fans and analysts alike with a 3-0 performance.
It wasn’t just three wins either, they defeated the team most have tapped to win the title and often referred to as the deepest team in the association (Clippers) twice and then marched into Dallas and took down Luka Doncic and his cohorts in overtime!
With that let’s jump into week three of NBA action and the preview for the next match against fellow tankers… the Orlando Magic.
OKC Thunder vs Magic Odds, Spread, Over/Under
The latest odds from Odds Shark have the Thunder as three point favorites. The over/under is 217.5. The money line is set at +125 for the Magic and -174 for the Thunder.
Magic +125 | Thunder -175 (Bet Now!)
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
Thunder Starting Lineup:
As the old saying goes – if it ain’t broke – don’t fix it… So with that analogy in mind let’s assume Mark Daigneault goes with who has been getting the job done.
That means sticking with four of the five guys who played during the win streak. The one question mark is which big the coach will tap as he used Jeremiah Robinson-Earl versus the Clippers and elected to go with Aleksej Pokusevski in Dallas.
Also of note, Josh Giddey remains listed as questionable but if he is updated to active then simply plug him in for Wiggins.
Thunder Injury Report
It was anticipated Josh Giddey (ankle) would be back before now but he remains listed as questionable (although that could be updated shortly).
No doubt this will be a tough game for Chet Holmgren (foot) to watch given he’s out for the season while the guy picked just ahead of him is feasting on the court.
The Magic have a bunch of guys on their injury report including Jalen Suggs (ankle) and Cole Anthony (oblique) who are questionable. Plus Mo Wagner (ankle), Markelle Fultz (toe), Jonathan Isaac (knee) and Gary Harris (knee) who are all out indefinitely.
OKC Thunder vs. Magic Prediction
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was spectacular leading the way to the current three-game win streak and when we witness performances like last week it’s hard not to covet Victor Wembanyama even more.
Sure, the youngster is as LeBron James called him an alien, surpassing the prior ‘unicorn’ moniker for greatness. Yes, he’s projected to shift the future success of a franchise. However, and perhaps this is a selfish reason, I want the OKC Thunder to get VW (or Scoot Henderson) because SGA deserves to shine and not be forced to have to sit out the later stages of seasons.
I get it — it makes complete sense why the team needs to tank to help the rebuild but here’s hoping this is the final season of that process so SGA can be unleashed.
With that in mind this game features two teams who at season end will be actively losing. That’s not all these clubs have in common either.
Orlando like the Thunder struggle to find their offense at times going long stretches where the offense gets stagnant. And similar to the OKC Thunder they are performing well defensively.
The difference is the Thunder have the wins to show for their effort whereas the Magic have a single victory so far.
Diving deeper into the numbers the Magic ranks 7th for opponent scoring allowing 110.3 points per 100 possessions versus OKC who allow 111.3 points which is tied for 12th.
From an efficiency perspective the Magic allow opponents to shoot 44.4 percent from the field and 34.4 percent from deep ranking sixth and 14th respectively.
In comparison, OKC allows opponents to shoot 46.3 percent from the field (tied 13th) and are excellent perimeter defenders with the third best rank for opponent perimeter efficiency (32.1%).
As noted, both clubs struggle to score although OKC has the edge scoring 112.3 points versus 105.6 by the Magic in 100 possessions.
Neither squad is overly proficient and they really struggle from the perimeter with the OKC Thunder ranking 29th (29.5%) and the Magic ranking 27th (30.5%) from deep.
Depending on how you personally view the club’s desire to win the draft lottery you might prefer the Thunder to lose this match. Losing both games on the schedule against Orlando could be the difference in that ping pong ball bouncing in favor of the Thunder.
I tend to think it’s more likely the tanking teams are all aware of each other and likely approach their games with the view of splitting them.
Perhaps they even consider having each team win on their home floor. Or maybe I’m looking at this far too analytically. Maybe the players and coaches don’t even get that deep and just come out with the view of bringing their best against the other side’s best.
Either way, I’m leaning to SGA leading his club to four wins in a row as the enjoy this early season win streak.
Thunder 111 – Magic 106
What channel is the Thunder-Magic game on?
Per usual the game will be broadcast on Bally Sports Oklahoma or NBA League Pass. Tip-Off is set for 8:00 p.m. EST (7:00 CT) from the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City.
OKC Thunder vs. Magic Live Stream
If you need a live stream of the event, check out FuboTV for a free trial!
Thunder Next Game and Schedule
Week three serves up three matches for the OKC Thunder. They’ll host the Nuggets on Thursday and finish the week on the road against the hottest team in the association — the Bucks.
Next. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander wins Player of the Week honors. dark
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.