The Magic home-stand begins with Boston visiting the Amway Center tonight to take on Orlando. Confidence will be high within the Magic squad having broken a four game losing streak on Monday night.
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).
To watch the game live or on demand in the UK you will need an active NBA League Pass subscription. Never miss a game again and watch the entire 2021/22 season by subscribing to NBA League Pass.
The Matchup For Game Day 9 As The Magic Home-Stand Begins With Boston
Last Games
Last time out on Monday night Orlando finished a three game road trip by beating the Minnesota Timberwolves by 115-97. A determined fight back by Orlando included outscoring the T’Wolves by 24 points in the final quarter. The Magic were tenacious and aggressive on defence all night. Holding Minnesota to 4-of-21 shooting in the final quarter demonstrated a step forward in their defensive cohesion.
Cole Anthony owned the opening minutes of the fourth, scoring 11 of his season-high 31 points in the opening six minutes of the period. Franz Wagner scored 10 of his new career-high 28 in the closing six minutes of the game. It included throwing down a vicious highlight reel driving dunk over the Minnesota defence for his final bucket. Wendell Carter Jr fouled out but recorded a double-double with 15 points and 14 rebounds. Mo Bamba was combative all night and added 4 more blocks to his season total. Jalen Suggs finished with 15 points.
Boston imploded during the final quarter on Monday night at home to the Chicago Bulls. The Celtics went into the fourth with a 14 point lead, only to be outscored by 39-11. That saw the Celtics fall to a 128-114 loss. Jaylen Brown led the scoring for Boston with 28 points, whilst Jayson Tatum notched 20. Al Horford recorded a 20 point and 10 rebound double-double.
Records For The Season So Far
In the early NBA standings Orlando sit 13th in the Eastern Conference, tied with the Indiana Pacers (in 14th) with a losing 2-6 record. The Boston Celtics sit 12th, a place above Orlando having played a game less for a 2-5 losing record.
The Orlando scoring statistics were improved by Monday’s win, now averaging 103.9 points per game. The points conceded reduced to an average of 111.5 points per game. However turnovers and second chance points remain something for Orlando to focus upon reducing.
Boston are a team searching for rhythm under rookie head coach Ime Udoka. They have talent but as yet have to hit their winning stride this season. Games have been high scoring affairs. Boston score the NBA’s 4th most points per game at 113.9, but concede the league’s most of 119.7. They lead the NBA in blocks, with Al Horford and Robert Williams III being 1st and 3rd in the NBA in this category. Despite this and also being 8th for steals Boston are inconsistent defensively. Both Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum rank top 10 in the NBA for scoring but the team can experience periods of scoring doldrums.
Head-To-Head – The Boston Celtics
The head-to-head record sees the Celtics leading 69-51 in the 120 regular season games played. Much of the recent history is not with us. Currently the Celtics are on a 6 game winning streak against Orlando.
The last two seasons have seen the Magic swept 3-0 by Boston on each occasion. This was a marked turnaround from the 2018-19 season when Orlando swept Boston 3-0. However prior to that success the Magic had lost 7 of the 8 previous meetings, with the Celtics then also holding a six game winning streak.
In playoffs the Celtics and Magic have met in 3 series, playing 17 games. Orlando are up 2-1 in series and 9-8 in games. In 2010 the Celtics won 4-2 in the Eastern Conference Finals. 2009 saw Orlando win the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals, taking the series 4-3. In 1995 Orlando had won the series 3-1 in the first round of the playoffs.
These two teams met twice in preseason, each taking a home court victory.
Our Opponents – The Boston Celtics
Boston have no injury concerns as I write. Payton Pritchard has been absent with a nasal fracture but is available. Neither Sam Hauser nor Brodric Thomas League as Boston’s two-way G League players are named.
In the Chicago defeat they used a starting unit of Marcus Smart (PG), Jaylen Brown (SG), Al Horford (PF), Jayson Tatum (SF) and Robert Williams III (C).
Dennis Schroeder, Josh Richardson, Juancho Hernangomez, Grant Williams, Enes Kanter, Jabari Parker, Aaron Nesmith, Romeo Langford, Bruno Fernando and Payton Pritchard can all feature from the bench.
There is some desire amongst Boston fans for Schroeder to take the starting point guard role and Marcus Smart become the sixth man.
The Orlando Magic Injury Report
At the time of writing ESPN show Orlando as still having some absences.
Gary Harris is again questionable for tonight 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.
The Orlando Lineup
Coach Mosely continued with the same starting 5 used for all 8 opening games. Jalen Suggs (PG), Cole Anthony (SG), Franz Wagner (SF), Wendell Carter Jr (PF) and Mo Bamba (C) still hold one of the best plus/minus rating in the NBA for a starting unit.
That strength saw Coach Mosely shorten his bench rotation, trying to keep either Cole Anthony or Jalen Suggs on the court at all times. The same was true of Mo Bamba and Wendell Carter Jr. Aside from Cole and Franz there were other huge efforts from the squad.
Chuma Okeke, Terrence Ross, Moe Wagner and RJ Hampton all came from the bench.
Robin Lopez, Mychal Mulder and Ignas Brazdeikis were 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 The Magic Home-Stand Begins With Boston
Orlando are seeking a first home win of the season and Boston’s inconsistency presents an opportunity. It will only be possible if the Magic can remain locked in at both ends of the floor and stick to the game plan.
It is beyond argument that Orlando are facing some of the top talent tonight that the NBA has to offer. They will have to try and contain the scoring prowess of Brown and Tatum, both who have posted 40+ point games this season. The Boston defence has the ability to be elite with Horford, Smart, Tatum and Brown all more than capable in this area. Their young players of Langford, Pritchard and Nesmith can all make telling contributions.
This game could be fun to watch.
Let’s Go Magic!
