3 Best NBA Bets and Player Props for Celtics Magic

Even within a single NBA game, the betting markets are plentiful.

You can bet on traditional markets like the spread or total, but we also have tons of player support markets to look through.

Which bets stand out today as Orlando Magic is facing Boston Celtics?

Let’s dig into the best bets in FanDuel Sportsbook’s NBA betting oddsusing FanDuel Research’s NBA projections to try to find value.

Magic of Celtics Betting Picks

Celtics over 114.5 points (-105)

Tonight’s nationally televised match between the Orlando Magic and Boston Celtics has lost some of its edge due to injuries.

The Magic have six guys listed on damage reportbelow Franz Wagner, Moritz Wagner, Goga Bitadzeand Jalen suggests. The home team is thus favored with a massive 14.5 points. It’s not a post I feel comfortable biting into, especially since Paolo Banchero is finally back in the fold for Orlando, but I see some value in the surplus on Boston’s team total.

The Celtics are averaging 117.5 points per game (fourth most in the NBA) and have scored over 114.5 points at a 55.0% rate this season. The main reason I like Boston tonight? The offense is due major positive scoring regression, especially from three-point land.

Across their last five games, Boston has gone a vomit-inducing 61-for-212 (28.9% 3P%) from downtown. It’s been an appallingly unlucky stretch for one of the better three-point shooting teams in basketball. Before that span, they held to a 37.1% team three-point percentage, 11th best in the NBA.

Regression could come on strong tonight for a few important reasons. Trusted three-point shooters such as Derrick White, Sam Hauserand Payton Pritchard can only be incompetent for so long. That is the very nature of regression. Playing at home should also help, as the Celtics scored 118.0 points and 19.0 15:00 at TD Garden. It doesn’t hurt that Orlando is without two of their best defensemen in Franz Wagner and Suggs. Boston shoots a league-leading 49.3 three-point attempts, so they should eclipse 114.5 points with regression to come.

Derrick White scores 15+ points (+140)

Earlier this afternoon, this prop was erected at +150 odds but can still be found out for a value. Derrick White has scored at least 15 points in 65.8% of his games – up from the 41.7% implied probability at these +140 odds.

Also, White has scored 15 points at a 77.8% rate against the top 10 defenses in the league, including against this very magical team. He has also gone for 15 points in 81.8% of games against bottom 10 teams.

White is dying to encounter positive regression after suffering a 22.2% FG% and 10.3% 3P% in his last four games. Playing at home could help, as White sees improved shooting percentages from the field, the three-point line and the free throw line at TD Garden.

Our NBA projections expect him to score 15.2 points tonight.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope 2+ Threes Made (-125)

Coming into this season, Kentavious Caldwell Pope had a reputation as one of the best three-and-D assets in the league. For five straight seasons, he shot threes at or above a 40.0% clip.

However, his first season with the Magic got off to a rough start. Heading into the new year, he was shooting threes at a brutal 28.9% clip – good for the second-worst rate among players who attempted at least 150 threes.

We have marked him as a top regression candidate and can finally bite tonight. In January, KCP has drilled at least two threes in all but one of his six games, not including an 11-minute game he left with an injury.

He has gone 16-for-36 (44.4% 3P%) from behind the arc in that stretch and made at least three threes in four of those six contests.

With Suggs and Wagner — Orlando’s best three-point shooters based on volume — both out, KCP should continue to fill the team’s three-point void. This date with Boston could serve him well as they have given up the 13th-most 3PA and the 5th-most 15:00 over their last 15 games. On the season, the Celtics have surrendered the fifth-most 3PA and 3PM to opposing guards.

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The above writer is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports bets on FanDuel. The advice given by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author’s advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports bets.