Rockets vs Magic Prediction

Orlando Magic (0-0) vs Houston Rockets (0-0)

Game Info: Wednesday, October 25, 2023 at 7:00 pm (Amway Center)

Betting Odds: Orlando Magic -3.5 -- Over/Under: 225.5

The Houston Rockets travel to the Amway Center to take on the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night.

Houston Rockets Betting Preview

The Houston Rockets will be looking to move off the bottom of the standings now that they have stocked up on young talent in the offseason with the likes of Tari Eason, Jabari Smith Jr and Alperen Sengun. The biggest moves the Rockets made was the acquisition of Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks, but perhaps the most underrated move was the fact that they now have Ime Udoka as their new head coach. I wouldn't expect the Rockets to become title contenders overnight, especially considering how young they are, but they're making all the moves you want to see if you're a Rockets fan and I expect them to get off to a better start than last season where they lost nine of their first 10 games.

Orlando Magic Betting Preview

Meanwhile, the Orlando Magic will have their eyes on making it to the NBA Playoffs after finishing with just 34 wins last season. The Magic are coming in with the same squad as they search for continuity and it's understandable given that they weren't able to build any momentum with all the injuries they had to deal with. I expect Paolo Banchero to have an even bigger year after he won the NBA Rookie of the Year award, but he should have plenty of help this time, from players like Franz Wagner, Markelle Fultz and Wendell Carter Jr. In hindsight, the Magic did better than expected last season and they were able to give plenty of minutes to Banchero, so the future is bright for the young Magic to make some noise, perhaps in the NBA Playoffs.

Peter's Pick

Rockets fans have been going through some tough seasons in recent years, but they made all the right moves in the offseason, so the only way is up for this young squad. The Magic were relatively quiet in the offseason, but they look all set to rebound from a tough year and I don't think they got off to another slow start now that they have a fully healthy roster. This should be a close one, but I'm leaning towards the Magic to draw first blood with a win and cover at home.

The pick in this article is the opinion of the writer, not a PickDawgz site consensus.