The Charlotte Hornets will take on the upstart Orlando Magic Friday night inside Spectrum Center in Charlotte, NC. The game will tip off at 7:00 p.m., and the Hornets will look to snap a four-game slide and get a much-needed win.

Bookmaker has installed the Magic as a heavy -11.5-point favorite. 

The Magic (45-31) have surprised a lot of people around the league, but this team has felt they were building something for a while now. They have a solid young core and nucleus, and they have been able to grind out wins and also put up some points in blowout triumphs. They can score and hang with most teams in the league.

They are led by power forward Paolo Banchero, who has played at a very high level. He comes into this game with a 22.4 points per game average and is the face of the franchise. The Magic know they can build around him and will continue to build up their bench and depth heading into next season. 

They will push the pace in this game and force the Hornets to try to keep up with them. Orlando should be able to coast in this game as long as they do not make careless mistakes and play sloppy basketball. 

Small forward Franz Wagner has been a great complement to the Magic this season, averaging around 19.6 points per game and 5.3 rebounds a night. He loves to put the ball on the floor and create off the dribble. 

The Hornets (18-58) have gone through a dismal and terrible season, and any wins at this point would not only be a miracle but a positive sign for a team that will be making big-time changes come the off-season.

Charlotte has dropped nine out of ten overall, and they are sitting an unheard of 40 games under .500, which clearly shows they are in a full-blown rebuild. They have endured many injuries and inconsistent play, and they got off to a plodding start and were never able to recover. 

On offense, they have a couple of players they think they can build around. One of those is veteran Miles Bridges, who has played well but is also dealing with an injury. He missed Wednesday's game against the Portland Trail Blazers due to a wrist injury, and the Hornets would love to have him on the floor for this one.

He is averaging around 21.4 points per game, along with just under four assists a night. The Hornets need to slow down the Magic's offense, and they will also have to do a decent job of guarding the perimeter and their strong shooters. If they do not do that and lose the battle on the glass, they will get blown out in this one. 

The Hornets are 1-4 in their last five games and 3-2 in their previous five games against the spread. They are also 13-25 in their road games against the number. The totals have gone over in three out of their last five games and 19 out of their last 38 games at home. The Magic are 3-2 in their previous five games and 2-3 in their last five games against the spread too. They are a solid 23-14 in their road games against the number.