After an 11 day, 5 game road trip West; Orlando return home for Atlanta to visit the Amway Center. For Game Day 29 the Magic face the Hawks in a Southeast Division matchup.
The tip time is shown on the Orlando Magic website as being 12:00 midnight here in the UK (7pm Eastern for our friends in Orlando).
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The Game Day 29 – The Matchup As Orlando Return Home For Atlanta
Last Games
Sunday 12th December – Orlando Magic 94 – 106 Los Angeles Lakers
Magic Top Performers – Cole Anthony led the Magic with 21 points. Franz Wagner added 20 points and 7 rebounds. Robin Lopez was called on to play minutes, dominating against Dwight Howard. RoLo contribution in the box score was 9 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and a block. Wendell Carter Jr bounced back with 16 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and a block. Terrence Ross continued his scoring run, notching 15 points. He supplemented this with 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals.
Monday 13th December – Houston Rockets 132 – 126 Atlanta Hawks
Hawks Top Performers – Trae Young led the Hawks with a massive 41 points and 9 assists. John Collins had 14 points, whilst Clint Capella finished with a double-double of 12 points and 16 rebounds, also adding a steal and 2 blocks. Danilo Gallinari, Lou Williams and Cam Reddish all had 12 points coming from the bench.
Season Records
Orlando’s record is now 5 wins and 23 losses. The Magic stay 14th in the Eastern Conference. Of the last 10 games played the Magic have won just the 1, whilst being on a 5 game losing streak. In fact for Orlando it is now 12 losses in 13 games. The schedule has universally agreed to be one of the NBA’s worst for a team this season and so far has been very road heavy for Orlando. The home record stands at 2 wins of 10 games played, whilst on the road it is 3 wins in 18 played. In points per game the Magic score 101.4 whilst conceding 111.8. Offensive and defensive rankings both have Orlando at 28th.
The Atlanta Hawks are 10th in the Eastern Conference with a 13-14 record. Of the last 10 games played the Hawks have won 5, including losing their last 2. Their road record is a losing one at 5 of 13 played. Atlanta score an average of 111.4 points per game, whilst conceding 109.5.
Head-To-Head: The Atlanta Hawks
Of the 124 regular season games played with Atlanta the Magic trail at 64-60.
Orlando return home for Atlanta tonight in what will be the second meeting of four this season. The Hawks had struggled but season statistics and play is much improved from when we met on Game Day 14, with Orlando losing in Atlanta by 111-129. That win moved Atlanta to having won 4 games consecutively.
Last season (2020-21) saw the series swept by Atlanta. The 2019-20 season was split 2-2, each team winning one road and home game. Season 2018-19 saw Orlando sweep the Hawks 4-0.
The teams have met in the playoffs on 3 occasions. Orlando lead by 2-1 on series and 10-5 in games. Orlando won the Eastern Conference Semi-final 4-1 in 1996. Again in the 2010 Eastern Conference Semi-final Orlando swept the series 4-0. Atlanta took the series in the 2011 First Round by 4-2.
Our Opponents – The Atlanta Hawks
Coach McMillan saw little change in the off-season but has seen his beaten Eastern Conference finalists struggling in the early season.
He used a starting line-up on Monday night of Trae Young (PG), Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot (SG), Kevin Huerter (SF), John Collins (PF) and Clint Capella (C).
From the bench came Danilo Gallinari, Lou Williams, Cam Reddish, Delon Wright and Gorgui Dieng.
Their injury report on ESPN shows De’Andre Hunter and Soloman Hill are out following surgery. Bogdan Bogdanovic is out rehabbing with an ankle injury.
The Orlando Magic Injury Report
ESPN shows one exit from the list and an update on progress
Mo Bamba sprained his right ankle during the abysmal third quarter against the Lakers and did not return to the game. He is no longer listed on the injury report so should be available.
Markelle Fultz is still out. However on Friday 10th December he went through his first full practice since the ACL injury in the left knee.
Jalen Suggs is out with a fractured right thumb. He will be out for “an extended period of time” and is to be reevaluated in the next week.
E’Twaun Moore remains out with a sprained left knee.
Michael Carter-Williams is out after surgery to remove a bone fragment and repair his left ankle ligament.
Jonathan Isaac continues to be out as he rehabilitates from a left knee ACL injury that saw him miss all of last season. He is said to be making great and steady progress, but is not yet cleared for contact.
The Magic Lineup On Game Day 29
With Bamba looking to be available Coach Mosely will almost certainly utilise the unit that has consistently opened games since Jalen Suggs went down.
Starting lineup – Cole Anthony (PG), Gary Harris (SG), Franz Wagner (SF), Wendell Carter Jr (PF), Mo Bamba (C)
Available From The Bench – Chuma Okeke, Moe Wagner, RJ Hampton, Ignas Brazdeikis, Mychal Mulder and Robin Lopez
Check Out Other Orlando Magic U.K. Content
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Some Final Thoughts On Game Day 29 As Orlando Return Home For Atlanta
Players
There are two Orlando Magic players who are now such a factor that opponents can not ignore in their scouting reports.
Franz Wagner has scored double digit numbers in 23 of his 28 career games. His movement on and off the ball, ability to see a pass and strong defensive instincts are making him an early candidate for Rookie of the Year. Following the games on Sunday night he ranked first in the NBA rookies for points, second in steals, fifth for assists and sixth in rebounds.
Cole Anthony is putting the Magic offence on his shoulders each game. After all of Sunday’s games had been played Cole was 24th in points per game, 25th in assists per game and 23rd in free throw percentage. His stats are all above those of his rookie season, with 20.5 points per game, 6.1 rebounds 5.6 assists. Cole is shooting a 42.5 field goal percentage, 37.6% from the three 87.4% from the free throw line.
Atlanta may have struggled so far but they have talent, depth and threats in every position on the court. Trae Young has been a threat all season, regardless of team results. He is averaging 27 points per game (joint 2nd with Stephen Curry and Giannis Antetokounmpo), whilst adding 9.7 assists per game. Those figures are improved since the first meeting of the teams on Game Day 14.
Clint Capella is getting rebounds for fun. He is second for total rebounds and leading the NBA in offensive boards. John Collins is hitting 2 pointers with great efficiency. Both Capella and Collins are in the Top 15 for total blocks so far this season. From the bench Lou Williams and Danilo Gallinari always present a scoring threat.
Plays And Style
Orlando can not have another game with a prolonged scoring drought. The disastrous third quarter against the Lakers saw the Magic outscored 10-36 in the period, which included a 10 minute period without an Orlando basket! Orlando’s 2 of 23 shooting in that period is the worst percentage by a Lakers opponent in a quarter since 1999, but we still only lost by 12 points. One moment in that period where a basket came could have changed the momentum and eventual outcome.
The Magic do not give up, evidenced by being second in scoring fourth quarter points. There is a strong spirit in the squad.
Turnovers will be punished by Atlanta so Orlando must reduce this number again. The Hawks seek to draw fouls, especially Trae Young who has made 149 of 168 attempts from the free throw line. Therefore Orlando’s defence must be disciplined.
Finally, the Hawks take care of the ball making very few turnovers and do not foul. They put up a lot of shots and are league leaders in three-point percentage.
Coming off of a long road trip and facing a good but underachieving team will be no easy task as Orlando return home for Atlanta.
Let’s Go Magic!
