by Thomas Quaynor for Wannamakeabet.com
The Los Angeles Lakers (43-27) begin a four-game road trip against the Orlando Magic (33-38) tonight at Kia Center on NBA TV. This is the second and final regular season meeting between these teams. Orlando won the first matchup 119-118 on Nov. 11 in Los Angeles. Franz Wagner hit the go-ahead three-pointer with 2.5 seconds left in the game. Orlando has won two straight against the Lakers after losing seven in a row against them prior to those wins. Los Angeles is a 4.5-point favorite and the total is 215.5.
Los Angeles is coming of a shocking 146-115 loss to the Chicago Bulls at home on Saturday night. The 146 points allowed was a season-high for the Lakers, who normally tout a stout defense. It also tied the franchise-record for the most points allowed in a non-OT home game. The Lakers surrendered 146 points to the Denver Nuggets on Nov. 6, 1984. The loss spoiled the return of LeBron James, who missed the previous seven games with a strained left groin. LeBron registered 17 points (7-16 FG, 1-2 3Pt, 2-5 FT), six rebounds, four assists and three steals across 31 minutes.
Luka Doncic amassed 34 points (10-18 FG, 8-13 3Pt, 6-8 FT), eight rebounds and six assists over 32 minutes for the Lakers in the loss. Doncic’ eight three-pointers were a season-high. Austin Reeves added 25 points (9-13 FG, 3-7 3Pt, 4-4 FT) and five assists in 34 minutes. Reeves has scored at least 20 points in six straight games. The Lakers have dropped two in a row at home after winning seven straight home games.
Orlando picked up an easy 120-105 win at Washington in their previous game on Friday night. The Magic built a 31-point lead (102-71) heading into the fourth quarter. Paolo Banchero produced 30 points (11-22 FG, 3-5 3Pt, 5-6 FT), eight rebounds, five assists and a steal in 31 minutes. He’s scored 30 or more points in four of his last five appearances. Franz Wagner registered 21 points (9-18 FG, 1-4 3Pt, 2-2 FT), eight rebounds, five assists and a block over 24 minutes. Orlando will look to end a seven-game home losing streak tonight against the Lakers tonight.
GAME STORYLINES: LOS ANGELES
In June 2019, the Los Angeles Lakers traded for superstar power forward/center Anthony Davis to join LeBron James in forming one of the best duo’s in the NBA. The move worked out perfectly initially as the LeBron-AD duo led the Lakers to the 2019-20 NBA Title in their first year playing together. Unfortunately for the Lakers, a second NBA title never came close to happening as recurring injuries for both LeBron and Davis, along with constant roster upheaval led to four straight seasons of coming up woefully short in the postseason.
The 2024-25 season appeared to be heading down the same path as the previous four seasons for the Lakers as they’d play well in spurts while the injury status of LeBron James and Anthony Davis would seem to plague the Lakers every time they took the court. The Lakers season took a dramatic turn on the late-night or early-morning hours of Feb. 1-2, 2025 when they landed Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic in a trade for a package that included Anthony Davis. The move stunned the sports and non-sports world as nobody expected Doncic to ever be traded.
The addition of Luka Doncic immediately improved the perception and expectations for the Lakers as he’s six years younger than Anthony Davis, and is considered one of the best players in the NBA. In 17 games with the Lakers, Doncic is averaging 26.9 points, 8.7 rebounds, 7.9 assists, 1.8 steals and 3.6 threes per game. Luka is averaging 31 ppg and 4.7 threes over his last 10 contests as he’s gotten more comfortable with his new team. The Lakers are 11-6 in games with Doncic on the floor.
Forty-year-old LeBron James (24.9 ppg, 8.5 asts, 8.2 rebs, 2.3 threes, 51.6% from 2) continues to produce at a high level in his 22nd NBA season. He just returned from a strained groin injury that kept him out for 7 games. Luka and LeBron had meshed very well together prior to LeBron suffering the injury. They’ll need to regain that chemistry quickly in order to win games and secure a top four seed in the loaded Western Conference where 5.5 games separates the No. 2 seed from the No. 8 seed.
GAME STORYLINES: ORLANDO
After trading franchise center Dwight Howard in August 2012, the Orlando Magic would only make one playoff appearance (2018-19) over the next 11 seasons. Orlando’s fortunes changed dramatically over the course of back-to-back drafts in 2021 and 2022. The Magic owned 2 lottery picks (fifth and eighth overall) in 2021 and selected Jalen Suggs at No. 5 and Franz Wagner at No. 8. In 2022, Orlando secured the No. 1 overall pick and selected Duke forward Paolo Banchero.
Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero were instant impact performers as rookies. Wagner averaged 15.2 ppg and 4.5 rpg in 79 contests as a rookie, and has improved his stats in each of his first four years in the NBA. Banchero had a magnificent rookie year averaging 20 ppg and 6.9 rpg en route to being named the unanimous 2022-23 Rookie of the Year. He received 98 out of 100 first-place votes. Orlando saw a 12-game improvement (34-48) during Banchero’s rookie year in 2022-23.
After increasing their win total from 22 wins to 34 wins in 2023, the Orlando Magic made significant improvement last season as they finished with a 48-34 record. They secured the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference and pushed the Cleveland Cavaliers to the full 7 games in the first round of the playoffs. Orlando’s 48 wins last year was their most since 2010-11 when they finished 52-30 with Dwight Howard anchoring the team.
With the rapid improvement of the Orlando Magic over the past few seasons, expectations were high entering the 2024-25 season. Unfortunately, Orlando has been decimated by injuries for almost the entire season. The injury woes began just 5 games into the season when Paolo Banchero tore his right oblique muscle in a loss at Chicago on Oct. 30. Banchero would miss the next 34 games due to the injury, he returned on Jan. 10. Orlando was able to somewhat stay afloat without Banchero as Franz Wagner and an improved Jalen Suggs carried the team, but that all changed on Dec. 6 when Wagner also tore his right oblique muscle in a loss at Philadelphia. Orlando was 16-9 when Wagner went down, he missed the next 20 games.
Playing without their two stars in Paolo Banchero (missed 34 games) and Franz Wagner (missed 20 games) for an extended period derailed Orlando’s season as they’ve been below .500 since Jan. 30. The return of a healthy Banchero and Wagner should have provided some optimism for Orlando but the team got more bad injury news on March 4, when it was announced that Jalen Suggs would miss the remainder of the season after undergoing surgery to remove a cartilage fragment in his left knee. Suggs joins Moritz Wagner — Franz’ older brother — who also sustained a season-ending knee injury in December. Suggs (16.2 ppg) and Wagner (12.9 ppg) were averaging career-highs in points.
THE PICK: MAGIC (+4.5)
Despite the disappointing season where Orlando could end up with at least 10 fewer wins, Orlando’s star duo of Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner are still competing at a high level. They should be motivated to put on a show at home against one of the NBA’s premier teams on national television. I think the Lakers may still be flustered from Saturday’s embarrassing loss to Chicago at home. Take the Points and the Magic at home!
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NBA Picks 3/24 – LA Lakers @ Orlando Magic