The Memphis Grizzlies get set to take on the Orlando Magic Thursday night inside the FedEx Forum in Memphis, TN. They tip it off at 8:00 pm. Orlando has had a solid season, while Memphis has been hit with the injury bug.  Bookmaker has installed the Magic as a solid 5-point favorite. 

The Grizzlies (17-27) have had some issues this season and they too are in the midst of a bad run of late, having dropped four of seven but they still have won two straight. They need to get more out of their stars and they are looking for Desmond Bane to pick up the slack in place of Ja Morant who is lost for the rest of the remainder of the season. 

Bane is netting 24 points per game, while Morant was adding a team-high 25 but he has not had the flashes of big games like we have seen in the past since he came back to them.

Morant was suspended for the beginning of the season and has appeared in only nine games and then about two weeks ago, the news came down that he will miss the rest of the regular season after having successful surgery on his right shoulder. It has been a nightmare of a season for him and Memphis in that regard. Now Bane has to carry the load and it will be a tough task. 

Memphis will need to make this a low scoring sloppy game and see if they can force some turnovers against the Magic. 

The Magic (23-21) have held their own this season and they would love to get a run going and string together some nice wins. They have had an up and down season, but they feel they are getting closer to being a consistent playoff team rather than a team on the outside looking in. 

Orlando has dropped six of eight and they know the time is now to try to turn things around for their franchise. They have some young and athletic talent that they believe in and they also know they have the face of the franchise in young power forward Paolo Banchero, who is averaging around 22.5 points per game to go along with seven rebounds per contest. 

The Magic are also getting some nice production from Cole Antony who is coming off the bench and netting around 13 a game and has shown he is capable of being a solid point guard in the league. He adds four rebounds and three assists per game too. He looks to dish first and then score, which has really opened things up on the floor. 

Orlando connects on 53% from the floor and around 34% from beyond the arc. They are a decent shooting team and look for them to push the pace against Memphis and try to get some early clean open looks. 

Memphis is 3-2 in their last five games and 3-2 in their last five games against the number and they are also 14-11 in their road games against the spread too. The totals have gone over in two out of their last five games and just five out of their last 19 games at home. The Magic are 2-3 in their last five games and 3-2 in their last five games against the number. They are also 14-9 in their road games against the spread too. The totals have gone over in two out of their last five games.