The Atlanta Hawks and the Orlando Magic will look to go en fuego on the court this Friday, as they face each other in Mexico City. Will the Hawks fly back to the United States with a win? Or, will the Magic stun Atlanta?

Catch this game live on Friday, November 10, 2023 at 10:30 AM, Manila time

Away: Atlanta Hawks (4-3/0-0 Neutral)

Projected Starting Five:

  • Trae Young
  • Dejounte Murray
  • De’Andre Hunter
  • Jalen Johnson
  • Clint Capela

For the first time in franchise history, the Hawks are crossing the south border for a game in Mexico this Friday. A short trip away from the US could be the spark Atlanta needs to recover from a 126-117 road loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder last Tuesday, though, the Hawks were among the hottest teams in the league prior to that stumble. After going 0-2 straight up to start the season, the Hawks went on a four-game win streak, a stretch that saw them take down the likes of the Damian Lillard-infused Milwaukee Bucls and the New Orleans Pelicans. 

With a dangerous backcourt tandem of Trae Young and Dejounte Murray, the Hawks are currently second in the entire NBA with 122.0 points per game. They make a living out of the free-throw line, too, as Atlanta is first overall with 23.0 FTM/G and second with 27.3 FTA/G. Young, in particular, is so good at drawing fouls, and he should make plenty of trips to the charity stripe again versus the Magic, who are in the bottom 10 in the league with 21.3 personal fouls per game. 

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Home: Orlando Magic (4-3/0-0 Neutral)

Projected Starting Five:

  • Cole Anthony
  • Jalen Suggs
  • Franz Wagner
  • Paolo Banchero
  • Goga Bitadze

Orlando is also coming off a loss, with the Magic suffering a 117-102 loss at home to the Dallas Mavericks last Tuesday. But unlike Atlanta, the Magic are no strangers to playing in Mexico. For what it’s worth, they have been there twice in 2018 when they defeated the Chicago Bulls and the Utah Jazz in Ciudad de México. 

Orlando, however, will play the Hawks potentially without Gary Harris, Markelle Fultz, and Jonathan Isaac, who are all currently carrying injury designations. Fultz, though, practiced with the team on Wednesday, so that’s a good sign for the Magic, who have covered the spread five times in seven games this season, thus far. Orlando isn’t the high-scoring team the Hawks are, but it’s got better defense. The Magic are third in the league with just 105.4 points allowed per game and seventh in adjusted defensive rating (110.2). Although they have a relatively high foul rate, that’s the price they pay for being extra aggressive always on defense. The Magic, in fact, are No. in the NBA in defensive turnover rate (16.1%). 

PREDICTIONS:

Spread: The Hawks (-3.5) cover the spread.

Over/Under: The total (232.0) hits the Under.

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