Celtics vs Magic Predictions, Player Props & Best Odds (Dec. 23)

• The Boston Celtics visit the Orlando Magic on Monday night
• The Magic are still without Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, and lost Mo Wagner for the season on Saturday
• See the Boston Celtics vs Orlando Magic predictions, player props, and best available odds for Dec. 23

An injury-plagued season just keeps getting worse for the hard-luck Orlando Magic (18-12, 11-2 home, 17-12-1 ATS). Already missing leading scorers Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, the elder Wagner brother, Mortiz, suffered a season-ending knee injury on the weekend. What’s left of the Orlando roster will host the reigning-champion Boston Celtics (11-6, 11-2 away, 11-17 ATS) on Monday night at the Kia Center at 7:10 pm ET.

Celtics vs Magic Predictions

• Orlando Magic +10.5 (-105) at Caesars 
• Suggs over 20.5 points (-115) at DraftKings
  

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The Magic have shown remarkable resilience this season. Banchero, their lone All-Star last season, has played just five games, yet the Magic still hold the #4 seed in the East. They’re 2-3 straight-up and 3-2 ATS since Franz Wagner was injured on Dec. 6, with wins against Phoenix (115-110 home) and Miami (121-114 home) and respectable losses to Milwaukee (114-109 away), New York (100-91 home), and OKC (105-99 home).

It’s no secret how the Magic are managing to tread water: defense. The Magic sit third in the NBA with a 106.5 Defensive Rating while playing at the fourth-slowest pace in the league.

I don’t have a ton of negative things to say about the Celtics. Jayson Tatum (28.8 PPG, 9.3 RPG, 5.7 AGP) has become a legitimate contender in the NBA MVP odds and, with Payton Pritchard (16.0 PPG, 43.1 3P% doing his best Steph Curry impression, they are deserving favorites in the NBA championship odds.

But they are once again staring down a massive spread on Monday night, laying 10.5 points on the road to a team that’s tied for the second-best home record in the league (11-2). The Celtics aren’t 11-17 against the spread because they’ve dropped off by any noticeable amount compared to last season. They’re just having to cover massive numbers on a nightly basis.

I’m also going back to a player that burned me last time: Jalen Suggs (16.0 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 3.9 APG). The Magic point guard was limited to just nine points in 17 minutes against OKC on Thursday (when I also bet him to go over) before missing Saturday’s win over Miami. The Gonzaga product is listed as questionable tonight. If he’s in the lineup, I expect him to have another big night. In four full games without Wagner, he’s averaged 22.8 PPG as Jamahl Mosley asks him to shoulder more of the scoring burden.

BOS vs ORL Player Props

NBA player props from DraftKings on Dec. 23.

The Celtics/Magic player props list Tatum with a game-high point total of 25.5 with Jaylen Brown (23.4 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 4.7 APG) and Jalen Suggs both at 20.5. Orlando center Goga Bitadze (9.5 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 1.9 APG) leads the rebound totals at 9.5.

A trio of players – Tatum, Suggs, and Derrick White (17.0 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 4.7 APG) – have assist total of 4.5, which is the biggest number on the board in what’s expected to be a low-scoring today by modern NBA standards.

Best Celtics vs Magic Odds

There is a pretty sizable range in Monday’s Celtics vs Magic odds. The point spread is 10.5 at most books but a point lower at BetMGM. On the moneyline, Orlando is a lengthy +400 at Caesars while bettors can find the best Celtics price (-490) at FanDuel.

The game total shows a full two-point discrepancy across sportsbooks. The lowest total is currently 213.5 (O -115 | U -105) at ESPN Bet, while the highest total is 215.5 (O -110 | U -110) at BetMGM, creating a unique opportunity to try to middle the game total before tip-off.

Don’t expect the total to stay at 213.5 for long though. The NBA public betting splits for Monday show the vast majority of money (94% of O/U handle) on the over as of 1:43 pm ET.