Charlotte Hornets (44-38, ninth in the Eastern Conference) vs. Orlando Magic (45-37, eighth in the Eastern Conference)Orlando, Florida; Friday, 7:30 p.m. EDTLINE: Hornets -3.5; over/under is 218PLAY-IN GAME: The Magic and Hornets square off to decide the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference.BOTTOM LINE: The Orlando Magic and the Charlotte Hornets take the court for the NBA Playoffs Play-In Tournament. The winner claims the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs.The Magic are 26-26 against Eastern Conference opponents. Orlando is 20-26 against opponents with a winning record.The Hornets are 11-5 against the rest of their division. Charlotte is seventh in the Eastern Conference scoring 116.0 points per game and is shooting 46.0%.The Magic are shooting 46.4% from the field this season, 0.3 percentage points lower than the 46.7% the Hornets allow to opponents. The Hornets are shooting 46.0% from the field, 1.6% lower than the 47.6% the Magic’s opponents have shot this season.TOP PERFORMERS: Paolo Banchero is averaging 22.2 points, 8.4 rebounds and 5.2 assists for the Magic. Jalen Suggs is averaging 2.8 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.Popular ReadsLaMelo Ball is averaging 20.1 points and 7.1 …
