Game Thread
Nets @ Magic
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Previous meetings: Orlando is 1-0. Won 105-82 in a game against the Nets on Dec. 14th.
Orlando Starters:
PG Elfrid Payton
SG Evan Fournier
SF Tobias Harris
PF Channing Frye
C Nikola Vucevic
Main storyline: Will Nikola Vucevic’s hot streak continue for record 6 games?
Nikola Vucevic led all players with 28 points on 14-for-21 shooting in the Magic's 104-89 home win over the Pelicans on Monday night. Vucevic has attempted at least 10 field goals and made at least half of them in each of his last 11 games. The only other Orlando players to fashion 10-plus game streaks of that type are Shaquille O'Neal (long of 21 in 1993-94) and Dwight Howard (long of 20 in 2010-11). Vucevic has scored 156 points over his last seven games, and 154 of them (98.7 percent) have come on two-point field goals; he's 0-for-2 from three-point range and 2-for-8 from the free-throw line over that span. That's the highest such percentage in NBA history by a player over a seven-game span in which he averaged at least 20 points per contest. The old record belonged to the Trail Blazers' Mychal Thompson. Klay's father scored 142 of his 145 points (97.9 percent) on two-pointers in March-April 1979.
On the other side of the court, Nets’ center Brook Lopez has strung together a nice series of games averaging 19.8PPG and 10.6RPG over his last 5. Will his streak continue, or will he be held to season lows against Orlando like he was during the December 14th matchup with the Magic? Lopez comes into Orlando on the heels of a 26 point outing in Miami on Monday.
The Nets, fresh off a hard-fought 111-105 victory over the Miami Heat on Monday, will look to exploit their rebounding abilities and gain extra possessions against the Magic. Neither team is particularly good at drawing fouls, with each team ranking in the bottom 5 of the league.
The Magic will still need to be wary of Brooklyn’s deep threats, most notably Wayne Ellington, who came off the bench to make seven three-pointers in the Nets' 111-105 win at Miami. That tied the most threes made by any non-starter this season. The Nets will also look to Shane Larkin and Bojan Bogdanovic to provide outside shooting.
Matchup to watch: Nikola Vucevic vs. Brook Lopez. These two players have a history with Magic fans, some who once pushed for trading then Magician Dwight Howard to the Nets for Brook Lopez and a package of other assets. That trade never materialized and the Magic eventually, through the dealings of now Magic GM Rob Hennigan, wound up with potential all-star Nikola Vucevic who is proving to be one of the best, if not best, players on the Magic roster this season.
Things to watch.
Will Payton's ankles hold up to another game under stress? His backup Oladipo looks poised for additional minutes tonight despite Payton being available to start the game. Expect early rest for Payton and a heavy dose of Oladipo at point guard this evening.
Will Andrew Nicholson provide the Magic with another outstanding performance off the bench after fading a bit over the last 10 games?
The Nets may look to take advantage of Thaddeus Young and it will be up to the Magic to adapt and use their larger players to effectively guard Young.
With Elfrid Payton resting his sore ankles, Mario Hezonja and Shabazz Napier look set to see extended minutes against Shane Larkin and Jarrett Jack. These two will need to be disruptive to avoid letting Larkin and Jack execute plays at will.
This game will likely be decided on the boards.
Don’t forget to vote for your favorite Orlando Magic players in the All-Star Game. Especially we all need to focus on Nik Vucevic.
Click below to vote:
http://vote.nba.com/?ls=iref:nba:specialst3c
