Orlando seek a home win tonight on Game Day 10 against the San Antonio Spurs. A win in the Amway Center has eluded the Magic this season so far.
The tip time is shown on the Orlando Magic website as being 11:00pm here in the UK (7:00pm Eastern for our friends in Orlando).
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The Matchup For Game Day 10 As Orlando Seek A Home Win
Last Games
Last time out Orlando took a home court loss to the Boston Celtics by 92-79. A cold second half saw Orlando lose as the Magic offence faltered badly.
Orlando came out in the first quarter and were locked in on both ends of the court. The offensive struggles manifested themselves with a shade under 4 minutes of the second quarter remaining, seeing Orlando fail to score again before the break. The Magic then went scoreless for the opening 6 minutes of the second half, being outscored by 31-10 through the third period. With a mountain to climb going into the final frame Orlando we’re unable to find the needed energy and accuracy.
Wendell Carter Jr recorded a 13 points and 13 rebounds double-double. Beyond that Cole Anthony (13 points), RJ Hampton(12 points) and Jalen Suggs (10 points) were the only players to record double digit scoring. For the first time in his NBA career Franz Wagner failed to score 10 points or more. He missed that target by 1 point as he put 9 points on the board. However it is Franz’s defensive play that I want to mention here. Wagner matched up against Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Dennis Schroder at various points. That Boston trio took a combined 10 shots when Wagner was their opponent. Just one of those attempts went in.
San Antonio fell a point short in a home loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night. A final score of 109-108 saw Dejounte Murray lead the Spurs with 23 points, 8 assists and 9 rebounds. Devin Vassell had 21 points from the bench.
Records For The Season So Far
In the early NBA standings Orlando sit 14th in the Eastern Conference, with a losing 2-7 record. The San Antonio Spurs are 13th in the West, having a 2-6 losing record.
The Orlando scoring statistics dropped after the Celtics loss. Orlando now average just 101.1 points per game. The points conceded further reduced to an average of 109.3 points per game. The Magic rank in the bottom five for NBA teams in offence, defence, pace, assists, steals, turnovers and our over all field goal percentage. Ranking badly in opposition offensive rebounding is also seeing second chance points remain something for Orlando to reduce.
The Spurs have their woes also, mostly through conceding excessively. They score the per game 109.8 points but concede 110.2. San Antonio play with pace (3rd fastest in the NBA). They don’t shoot a lot from three, but are league leaders from inside the arc. Assists and steals are strengths. They defend the long ball well but are susceptible from inside the arc.
Head-To-Head – The San Antonio Spurs
These two teams met in San Antonio on opening night, the Magic falling to a 97-123 loss. The Spurs have won the last 4 meetings and Orlando have not won a road game since November 2018.
History sees San Antonio lead the all time record of regular season games played by 47-19
The teams have never met in the playoffs.
Our Opponents – The San Antonio Spurs
Coach Popovich’s starting unit last game was Dejounte Murray (PG), Derrick White (SG), Keldon Johnson (SF), Doug McDermott (PF) and Drew Eubanks (C).
Devin Vassell, Bryn Forbes, Lonnie Walker IV and Thaddeus Young can all have impact off the bench.
As I write the Spurs are listed on ESPN as having two injury concerns. Jakob Poetl (C) is out through COVID protocols. Zach Collins (F) will not make his Spurs debut until Christmas through a foot injury.
The Orlando Magic Injury Report
At the time of writing ESPN shows Orlando as still having some absences.
Gary Harris is probable for tonight having been absent with a left ankle sprain.
E’Twaun Moore remains out, diagnosed with a left sprained knee.
Michael Carter-Williams is out after undergoing 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.
Markelle Fultz is still out after last season’s left knee ACL tear and subsequent surgery.
Mychal Mulder and Ignas Brazdeikis being on two-way contracts may not be part of the Orlando Magic squad tonight. This is because the Lakeland Magic begin their season at home tonight in defence of their G-League title. With Orlando’s injury concerns it would be a surprise if either was not in the Amway Center.
The Magic Lineup As Orlando Seek A Home Win
Coach Mosely continued with the same starting 5 used for all 9 opening games, a consistency missing for the Magic last season.Expect to see again Jalen Suggs (PG), Cole Anthony (SG), Franz Wagner (SF), Wendell Carter Jr (PF) and Mo Bamba (C) start.
Again Coach Mosely used a shortened rotation, until the game was lost. Coach Mosely is aiming to keep either Cole Anthony or Jalen Suggs on the court at all times. The same is somewhat true of Mo Bamba and Wendell Carter Jr also.
Chuma Okeke, Terrence Ross, Moe Wagner, RJ Hampton, Mychal Mulder and Ignas Brazdeikis all came from the bench.
Robin Lopez, was available but did not feature.
Check Out Other Orlando Magic U.K. Content
On each game day make sure to check Twitter and Facebook to play along with our Magic Moments competition. Simply comment with your prediction for each of five questions we will ask on that night’s game. At the end of the season we will send out a prize to whoever tops the league with the most correct predictions.
Be sure to subscribe to Orlando Magic U.K. YouTube channel for episodes of our podcast Penny For Your Thoughts.
Final Thoughts As Orlando Seek A Home Win
On paper and in preseason both teams are closely matched. Opening night was not a close game as the Spurs took a comfortable win. Both teams will see this game as very winnable.
It will be interesting to see how Jalen Suggs has grown from his experience against Murray on opening night. The contribution from the bench of Chuma Okeke and RJ Hampton could be pivotal as Terrence Ross will draw the defences attention again. There are opportunities for both to get points tonight.
The opportunity to respond after Orlando’s last outing is tonight. Sometimes you just have to put a bad performance in the past, move on and make a statement on the court.
Let’s Go Magic!
