Not our night Magic fans!
PORTLAND TRAILBLAZERS 130 – 107 ORLANDO MAGIC
Having watched the game there is no pretending that this was anything other than a disappointing night of Magic basketball particularly on D. The first half saw our Magic give up a season high 69 points. We had no answer to CJ McCollum who hit 41 points. With effort the lead was cut to 2 points late in the 3rd but the score got blown wide apart as we succumbed to an embarrassing 38-19 final quarter, seeing Steve Clifford emptying the bench with 3 minutes remaining.
Defence Is A Concern
For a team built on a defensive identity last night was a concern but it wasn’t an isolated game as we have been conceding a lot of points recently. Aaron Gordon’s absence was a huge loss to the team for this game but is not the whole answer as to our performance. We were doing well after Jonathan Isaac went out on January 1st, in fact the defensive ratings got better without him as the guys stepped up. Our opponent points per game has been rising steadily in recent weeks & is no longer the best record in the league. Our efficiency has also been getting worse over that period. The last occasions we held an opponent to 100 points or less both came against Charlotte on February 4th (100 points) & January 20th (83 points).
Staying 7th For The Moment
Our Orlando Magic remain 7th but that may change after tonight as the Nets play in Boston. Any remote chance of 6th is gone for me as the Pacers took another victory to move 11 wins ahead of us.
Yes this was a disappointment but we go again on Wednesday night in Miami, the first night of a 4 game road trip.
