Tonight sees the Miami Heat in Orlando to take on an in form Magic team. The battles between these Florida rivals is always a fierce one and tonight should be no different.
The Stats
The Orlando Magic
- Orlando’s record is 23-33
- The Magic are 13th in East.
- Orlando score 111.2 points per game (27th of 30) and concede 114 (17th of 30)
- Orlando are now 6-4 in their last 10 games. The home record is 14-14, whilst on the road it stands at 9-19
- The Magic are 17th in the NBA for pace, have an improving offensive rating at 25th and 20th in defence.
- Orlando last played on Thursday evening, beating the Denver Nuggets by 104-115
The Miami Heat
- Miami are 6th in the Eastern Conference
- Their record stands at 31-25
- Miami score just 108.4 points per game (30th of 30) but concede only 108.2 (2nd of 30)
- The Heat have won 6 of their last 10 games. Their road record is 12-16.
- Miami rank at 27th in both pace and offensive rating, but a strong 4th in the NBA’s defensive ratings.
- The Heat are on the second night of a back-to-back. The beat the Houston Rockets in Miami last night by 95-97.
Injury News
For the Orlando Magic Gary Harris is considered questionable to face Miami. Chuma Okeke is still working his way back to fitness, having been assigned to the G-League affiliate Lakeland Magic.
For Miami Gabe Vincent returned last night having been day-to-day. Udonis Harlem, Omer Yurtseven, Victor Oladipo, Duncan Robinson, Nikola Jovic and Kyle Lowry are all out.
What To Expect For The Miami Heat In Orlando
For the Miami Heat in Orlando everything will be about Jimmy Butler (21.9 ppg). He is the heart and soul of this Heat team. His experience and know how down the stretch was the difference in the Heat’s recent home-court victory over Orlando. However Bam Adebayo is almost equalling Butler in points per game (21.8 ppg) whilst Tyler Herro remains a shooting threat (20.5 ppg).
Miami look after the ball, play slow and use the shot clock. They are a team that will force turnovers and steal the ball. As a team they score almost 83% of their attempts from the free throw line.
The Magic will hope to find consistent scoring opportunities across the team. The Magic score far more as a collective than the Heat do. Paolo Banchero leads the Magic in scoring (20 ppg), closely followed by Franz Wagner (19.3).
Orlando will seek to win this from a strong defensive game, that will see Wendell Carter Jr and Jalen Suggs having pivotal roles.
Head-To-Head – The Miami Heat
The all time head-to-head record in the 131 regular season games played sees the Magic trailing by 57-74
The teams have met once season with Miami winning 105-110. Recent history is not with Orlando. Last season the teams met four times, Miami taking the series 3-1. Miami have won 9 of the last 12 meetings.
In the playoffs the teams have met over 5 games in 1997, Orlando losing 3-2 in the Eastern Conference First Round.
