Magic Host The Pacers In 6 Pointer

In the battle of teams vying for the play-in tournament, the Magic host the Pacers in a 6 pointer at the Amway at 7PM tonight (EST).

The Stats

Orlando have a 25-35 record and sit 13th in the Eastern Conference.
Orlando score 110.8 points per game (26th of 30) and concede 114.3 points per game (14th of 30).
The Magic are 17th in the NBA for pace and won our last game against the Detroit Pistons 106-108.

The Pacers sit just above the Magic with a 26-35 record and currently sit 12th in the Eastern Conference.
A Magic win would see us leapfrog the Pacers into 12th position.
Indiana score 114.9 points per game (13th of 30th) and concede 117 points per game (23rd of 30).
Indiana are 8th in the NBA for pace 100.9 and narrowly lost to a fancied Boston Celtics 138-142.

Orlando are expected to have a fully fit line-up to choose from with Jonathan Isaac’s minutes gradually being increased as he continues his return from injury.
Caleb Houstan and Kevon Harris are currently with the Lakeland Magic.
Former Pacer and recent Magic signing Goga Bitadze has yet to make a debut for Orlando.
Indiana are without guard Kendall Brown.

Indiana are 2-8 in their last 10 games. The most recent win coming against the Chicago Bulls on February 16th.
So far, Indiana leads the season series 2-1 but the Magic won game 3 by a score of 126-120.
It is worth noting, the first encounter was a 1 point game with Indiana winning a blowout in the second game of the series.
Tyrese Haliburton has been in sensational form for Indiana and leads the team in scoring at 19.9 points per game.
Rightly deserving his All Star status, Haliburton also is fourth in the NBA for assists per game with 10.1, third for overall assists with 497 and third for steals with 1.8 per game.
Dangerous players for Indiana also include Myles Turner who ranks third in the NBA for blocks per game with 2.3. Buddy Hield is always a threat from downtown with a 3-point field goal percentage of 42.5%. Hield leads the league with shots from beyond the arc with 234.
Indiana also boast rookie Benedict Mathurin. He is the closest threat (alongside Jaden Ivey) to Orlando’s Paolo Banchero for Rookie of the Year honours. Mathurin is currently posting 17.2 points per game.
As is now standard, Orlando’s top scorers are Banchero with 19.7 points per game and Franz Wagner with 18.9 points per game.
Markelle Fultz has been on a tear for the Magic as of late and his performance against Haliburton will be one to watch.

In closing, Indiana leads the head-to-head between the teams 70 wins against Orlando’s 52.
The Magic know this is a huge game tonight. Orlando bring better form into the game, winning 3 of the last 5 and 6 of the last 10.
Both sides have had contrasting starts. The Pacers were very much a surprise package to start the season whilst the Magic struggled, largely due to the volume of injuries.
Orlando will look to take this game to even the season series, leapfrog the Pacers and get momentum before games against New Orleans and Milwaukee.