Will Banchero lead the hosts to their first win?
First home game for the Magic! In the NBA playoffs, the series moves from Orlando to Boston, and Wettbasis has a tip for you. The home team already has its back against the wall.
The first two games ended with a win for the record champions, and another defeat for the Florida franchise would be a foregone conclusion. After all, no team has ever come back from 0-3 in a postseason series.
However, the signs are not bad for a home win. In addition to home advantage, the fact that there is a question mark over Jayson Tatum on the other side speaks in their favor. The top forward already missed the last game due to a hand injury and it is at least questionable whether he will be fit enough to make a comeback on the court.
Orlando Magic – Statistics & current form
Orlando has faced Boston twice in the NBA playoffs so far and has always come out on top. For now, there are no signs of a third victory. After two defeats, the opponent is clearly in the lead, which is not surprising. The Celtics are the reigning NBA champions and finished the regular season in second place, while the Magic only managed to secure seventh place via the play-in tournament.
One of the Magic’s shortcomings is their less than ideal personnel situation. After 29 games in the regular season, they lost Moritz Wagner, a powerful forward, who will not be able to return to the court this season due to a cruciate ligament rupture.
The same applies to Jalen Suggs, who is also unable to help in the postseason due to a knee injury. The two absences have weakened the squad, and Suggs’ absence is particularly painful as the 23-year-old was in good form before his injury.
Against Boston, the home team will nevertheless be counting on their home advantage. The Magic have a slightly positive record of 23 wins and 19 losses in front of their own fans in the regular season. In addition, the home team has won its last four home games against their upcoming opponent!
Franz Wagner also impresses in the playoffs
Alongside Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner has also been a reliable performer in the series. The German scored 23 and 25 points in the two games, maintaining his regular season form, when Wagner averaged 24.2 points.
Boston Celtics – Statistics & current form
The champions finished the regular season in second place in the Eastern Conference, but no team was more successful on the road than Coach Joe Mazzulla’s side! 33 of the 41 games played away from home ended in victory for the Celtics! This corresponds to an impressive win rate of 80.5 percent.
In the current series, the visitors are also playing strong defense. In the first matchup, Magic scored 86 points, and the home team then narrowly missed reaching triple digits with 100 points. At the same time, however, their own offense also had room for improvement, averaging 106 points.
No more than 105 points for the Celtics?
Against this backdrop and with the visitors’ top scorer Jayson Tatum possibly missing again, the odds of a maximum of 104 points for the visitors are also worth considering in the match between the Orlando Magic and Boston Celtics. This is a limit that the “Celtics” have not exceeded in their last four away games in Orlando, and the prediction is available at Betano.
As mentioned, the 18-time NBA champions may have to do without Jayson Tatum once again. The forward is very valuable on both sides of the court, but at least on offense, he was ably replaced by Jaylen Brown in the last game when Tatum was already missing.
The guard scored 36 points, the highest tally of any player on the court at TD Garden, and also showed that he has recovered well from his own injury. Brown missed the last three games of the regular season due to injury, but now he seems to be fit again.
Will Brown step up again on offense?
With that in mind, the betting odds for Brown to score more than 20.5 points in Game 3 between Orlando and Boston are also worth considering. They are available at Bet365, and the British bookmaker not only impresses with its wide range of betting markets, but also with an attractive Bet365 new customer bonus!
Orlando Magic – Boston Celtics Head-to-head comparison / H2H record
The last two head-to-head matches were won by the men from Massachusetts, while Magic won two of the three encounters in the previous regular season. In addition, as mentioned, the home team has won the last four home games in this matchup. Nevertheless, the Orlando Magic vs. Boston Celtics Game 3 odds clearly favor the visiting NBA record champions.
Orlando Magic – Boston Celtics Tip
For Game 3 between the Orlando Magic and Boston Celtics, the prediction is once again for more than 28.5 points by Paola Banchero for the home team. The 2022 first pick leads the Magic in the series, averaging 34 points. In addition, the forward was already in strong form during the regular season.
Banchero increased his scoring average from 22.5 points before the All-Star break last February to 29 points. In the first home game of the series, the 22-year-old will naturally be highly motivated again, which is why the Orlando Magic against Boston Celtic tip is also a good bet from this perspective.
