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Two in-form teams in the Eastern Conference are the Orlando Magic and the Cleveland Cavaliers. The two franchises meet in a hugely anticipated matchup at the Amway Center on Monday night, and in our latest NBA betting picks, we preview the match and tell you the best bets to place.
- What; 2023/24 NBA Eastern Conference
- Who; Orlando Magic vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
- Where; Amway Center, Orlando, Florida
- When; Monday, December 11th 2023
- Time; 7 pm ET
The Magic and the Cavaliers met as recently as last Wednesday night in Ohio. On that occasion, the Cavaliers came out on top by 121 points to 111 at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.
Final score: Cavs thump Magic 121-111https://t.co/4ORnssESy9
— FearTheSword (@FearTheSword) December 7, 2023
By coincidence, the fixture schedule is giving the Magic an almost immediate chance to avenge their loss. This loss was all the more frustrating as it came immediately after the Magic saw their nine-match winning streak snapped by the Nets.
Orlando is in the mix at the top of the Eastern Conference
It’s the nine-match winning streak that has put the Orlando Magic at the top end of the Eastern Conference. They currently sit second, just one 1.5 games behind the Boston Celtics, and level on wins with the Milwaukee Bucks.
As for the Cleveland Cavaliers, they are doing okay as well. After a shaky start to the season, J.B. Bickerstaff’s team has recovered well, winning seven of their last ten. The Cavaliers are on a winning streak of three that has seen them move up to sixth place in the conference, 3.5 games behind the Celtics.
Betting to win the 2023/24 NBA Championship
Before we get onto the match betting for the Magic and the Cavaliers, let’s first take a look at the latest betting to win the 2023/24 NBA Championship.
The Cavaliers are being given a better chance of winning the championship than the Magic. The best NBA betting sites have the Cavaliers at +2800 and the Magic at +10000.
In the betting to make it to the postseason playoffs, BetOnline has the Cavaliers at -1400 for yes and +750 for no. In the case of Orlando, they are -290 to be playing in the postseason and +230 to not make it.
The overall favorite in the betting is the current leaders of the Eastern Conference, the Boston Celtics. The Celtics are +350 to win the 2024 NBA Championship. They are followed by the Milwaukee Bucks and Denver Nuggets, both on +400. The Phoenix Suns make up the leading four candidates at +650.
Orlando Magic vs. Cleveland Cavaliers Match Betting
First up, for anybody wanting to know about betting on basketball, please check out our How to Bet on Basketball guide. Our guide will help you understand the odds better and give you more information about the three main betting lines (money line, handicap spread, and total points spread) used to bet on basketball.
The Orlando Magic are the warm favorite on the money line. Home-court advantage is clearly playing a part here, and if you feel that will be what wins the match for the Magic, you can get odds of -135 on them to win on the money line. For the Cleveland Cavaliers to win, they are +115.
Moving onto the handicap spread, the Cavaliers are getting a 2-point start. To win with the 2-point start, Cleveland is -110. To win and cover, the Magic is -110.
Finally, the total points spread is 225.5. Both over and under are -110. For our odds, we only use the top-rated NBA betting sites.
| Orlando Magic vs. Cleveland Cavaliers |  |  |  |
| Orlando | -135 | -135 | -135 |
| Cleveland | +115 | +115 | +115 |
| Orlando (-2) | -110 | -110 | -110 |
| Cleveland (+2) | -110 | -110 | -110 |
| Over 225.5 | -110 | -110 | -110 |
| Under 225.5 | -110 | -110 | -110 |
Magic vs. Cavaliers: Latest Form
In their last ten matches, the Orlando Magic is 8-2, with the Cleveland Cavaliers 7-3. At home, the Magic has a 10-2 record, but the Cavaliers have an impressive 7-3 record on the road. At home, Cleveland is 6-6, so it’s pretty easy to see that they are performing better away from the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse this season.
In their most recent outing, the Orlando Magic ended their two-match losing streak by thumping the Detroit Pistons 123-91 at the Amway Center on Friday night. But that was the Piston’s 19th successive defeat of the season, so that result has to be put into perspective.
The Cavaliers defeated the Heat 111-99 in Miami on Friday night. This was their third successive win and the fifth in their last six matches. The only defeat in that period was at home to the Portland Trail Blazers, where the Cavaliers crashed to a 103-95 loss.
Our Magic vs. Cavaliers Betting Picks
This matchup sees the Orlando Magic put their excellent home record up against the Cavaliers’ impressive away record. So far this season, only the Mavericks (117-102) and the Hawks (120-119) have left the Amway Center with victories. The Celtics (113-96), Bucks (112-97), and Lakers (120-101) have all left Florida with their respective tails between their legs.
Those wins were pretty comprehensive, and against most of the betting favorites to win the NBA Championship. The two losses were surprise results, and one was extremely close.
But, we feel the Cavaliers are in better form than Orlando over the past three to four matches. Therefore, we are going to stick our necks out and go for Cleveland to win with the spread for our betting pick.
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