By james art 
The only undefeated team in the Western Conference looks to maintain that perfect record at home in their next game as the Oklahoma City Thunder host Orlando on Monday night. The Magic face a tough road matchup as they look to snap out of a punishing losing streak.
Tip-off is set for 9:15 PM ET at Paycom Arena in Oklahoma City. Read our Orlando Magic vs. Oklahoma City Thunder predictions and picks.
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Has the magic run dry?
Orlando (3-4) took off for the new season in October. Three of the opening four games ended in victories, and the Magic broke the 110-point barrier in each of those meetings to send a warning to the rest of the Eastern Conference. Then things suddenly started to slow down. Sunday night’s tough loss to the Mavericks was Orlando’s third in a row, sending the team back down to earth with a season-high seven losses.
Previously, Dallas, shelling the Magic, boasted one of the solid defenses in the NBA, rated 108.7 and seventh best in the league. But offensively, Florida struggled both moving the ball — their 86.2 field goal attempts ranked 24th in the NBA — and shooting, hitting just 44.9 percent from the field in the game of the Mavs.
Paolo Banchero leads the team with 29.0 points per game, 8.8 rebounds and 5.6 assists, but even before this weekend’s injury report, aside from a few moments from Jalen Suggs and Franz Wagner, the young star wasn’t getting the support , which he needed to get this Magic team working again. Banchero is now out indefinitely with an oblique injury and is expected to be out for several weeks, a huge blow to the Floridians at this already critical time.
Thunderstorms continue
The Oklahoma City Thunder (6-0) are on a roll. Saturday’s win over the Clippers was his sixth straight since the start of the season, sending the team atop the Western Conference in early November. Early indications are that the Thunder are more than capable of matching their impressive record from 2023-24, when they went 57-25 and won the conference before falling in the semifinals to Dallas.
Last year’s MVP runner-up Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has picked up right where he left off, averaging 26.5 points, 6.7 rebounds and 6.5 assists in his team’s six games so far. Gilgeous-Alexander was ably assisted by Chet Homgren (17.7 points, 9.8 rebounds, 3.3 blocks, 54.3% FGs) and Jalen Williams (17.5 points, 6.7 rebounds, 5.3 assists) . But on defense, Oklahoma really showed its mettle.
The Thunder’s 95.1 defensive rating is by far the best in the league, while with 13.3 steals and 8.0 blocks per game, they also comfortably lead the rest of the NBA in those stats. For Monday’s game, the Thunder will be without Jaylin Williams (hamstring), Kenrich Williams (knee) and Isaiah Hartenstein (hand), while Nikola Topic is out for the season after undergoing ACL surgery over the summer.
Best bets
A full game side bet
rating:
A spread of more than 11 points is not easy to cover even for the best teams. But the way the Thunder are going right now, it’s hard to look past him, especially against an Orlando team that looks lost on the court right now.
Oklahoma City is 5-1 against the spread in 2024-25, failing to cover on just one occasion — coming up short by just half a point in an Oct. 30 game against San Antonio. Since losing to Dallas, Orlando is 2-5 against the spread and has not covered in any of its last five games.
At home, the Thunder are 1-1 ATS in 2024-25, with a 12-point margin going into Wednesday’s win over the Spurs the closest any team has come to the Western Conference leaders heading into the final buzzer. The Thunder lead the NBA with an average opponent margin of -18.6. With Banchero out, it’s hard to see how Orlando can cope.
Take Thunder
Forecast: Thunderstorms -11.5
Complete selection of the entire game
rating:
Although Oklahoma City is not the best scoring team in the NBA, it moves the ball extremely well, creating chances on the court. The Thunder rank eighth in the league in pace of play, averaging 106.6 possessions per game. Orlando is tied for 19th with an average of 103.3 possessions.
Take over.
Prediction: Over 216.5 points