Thursday’s first NBA Week 7 match is between Orlando Magic and Charlotte Bobcats. The opening tip-off is set to commence at 11:10am with the game to be played at Time Warner Cable Arena. The home team Charlotte Bobcats are the favourites for the match. View our preview and teams for the game between Orlando Magic and Charlotte Bobcats.

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When: 11:10 | Thursday 12/12/2013

Where: Time Warner Cable Arena, Charlotte, NC

Orlando Magic $2.78 vs Charlotte Bobcats $1.47 at Sportsbet Australia get a $250 FREE BET on this match

Orlando Magic $2.75 vs Charlotte Bobcats $1.67 at Luxbet Australia get a $500 FREE BET on this match

Odds Comparison:

Orlando Magic	2.78	2.85	2.75	2.85	3.09	2.73
Charlotte Bobcats	1.47	1.45	1.46	1.45	1.39	1.46

Teams:

Orlando Magic:

Charlotte Bobcats:

Preview:

The Oklahoma City Thunder couldn’t keep up with the Memphis Grizzlies in last season’s Western Conference semifinals without the injured Russell Westbrook.

It’s the Grizzlies who will be short-handed this time around.

The Thunder try to keep rolling when they visit injury-plagued Memphis for the first time since the playoffs Wednesday night.

While Oklahoma City (16-4) got past Houston in the opening round despite losing Westbrook to a torn meniscus in Game 2, coach Scott Brooks’ team lasted just five games in a second-round series against Memphis (10-10).

The Thunder, though, are close to full strength and again looking like one of the NBA’s best teams. Oklahoma City has won three straight and 11 of 12 after pulling out a 101-92 victory at Atlanta on Tuesday.

“We finally got a couple stops in a row at the end,” said Brooks, whose team limited the Hawks to 35.6 percent shooting. “Any time you hold an NBA team in the 30s percent-wise in field goals, then you’re doing a good job defensively.”

Kevin Durant scored 30 to go along with 10 rebounds while Serge Ibaka added 19 and 10. Westbrook shot just 6 of 21 but finished with 14 points, 11 assists and nine boards.

“You have nights when you don’t make shots, but you can’t have nights when you don’t play defense,” said Westbrook, who also had four steals. “I take pride in defending every single night and trying to help my team win games.”

Durant is averaging 29.0 points in 29 meetings against the Grizzlies since 2008-09, including playoffs. The Thunder have lost three straight and eight of their last 11 in Memphis.

The Grizzlies dropped back-to-back games by an average of 23.0 points before beating Orlando 94-85 on Monday. Zach Randolph led the way with 19 points and 12 rebounds while Jon Leuer added 16 and 12 off the bench.

Memphis, which continues to play without star center Marc Gasol due to a sprained MCL, was also missing forward Ed Davis (ankle) and guard Tony Allen (hip). Before the game, the Grizzlies announced swingman Quincy Pondexter will be out indefinitely with a stress fracture in his right foot.

“Guys are stepping up. That’s what we need. We need everybody now,” Randolph said. “It’s tough. It’s real tough. We’ve got to just come out and play. Everyone has to step up like they’ve been doing.”

Leuer is averaging 15.0 points over the last four games, more than double his season mark of 7.3

“We’ve had a lot of guys go down,” he said. “It obviously makes it tough, but it opens up other opportunities for guys to come in and contribute.”

Memphis is giving up 96.0 points per game, a significant drop off from last season’s NBA-leading mark of 89.3. The Grizzlies are 2-9 when surrendering more than 93 points compared to 8-1 when they don’t.

Oklahoma City is averaging 104.6 points to rank among the league’s highest-scoring teams.

Thunder guard Thabo Sefolosha is uncertain to be available after missing Tuesday’s win with a sprained right knee.

Source: www.nba.com