The Orlando Magic will take on the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City on Sunday night. The Magic are coming off a victory over the Detroit Pistons on Friday in which they played an excellent first quarter before coasting for the final three periods and surviving a late Pistons rally spearheaded by Charlie Villanueva.
The Thunder are coming off a loss in Houston against the Rockets.
The game starts at 7:00 pm EST and can be seen on Sun Sports. As always, if you can’t watch the game, you can hear it locally on WDBO 580 AM and in Spanish on WONQ AM 1030.
Per the Orlando Sentinel, Power Forward Ryan Anderson is out for tonight’s game against the Bobcats.
"“It’s sore and it’s swollen,” said Anderson, who is averaging 15.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. “It’s pretty painful, but I guess as the swelling goes down my pain will go to a central area. Hopefully, it’s not too bad.”"
Shooting Guard Vince Carter is listed as doubtful.
"Team officials don’t want to rush SG Vince Carter back too quickly from his sprained left ankle, and it seems unlikely that Carter will play tonight. Carter shot baskets during the Magic’s practice Saturday at RDV Sportsplex.“If it was an NFL injury report, it would probably be ‘doubtful,'” Van Gundy said. “But on the coach’s report it’s ‘hopeful.'”"
Click here to see more about each player.
Magic Small Forward Matt Barnes is also sick with flu-like symptoms but is expected to play tonight.
"“Matt’s sick,” Coach Stan Van Gundy said Sunday after shootaround at Ford Center. “He doesn’t have a fever, though. I got that news last night.”"
The Line: Magic – 6
Starters
Oklahoma City Thunder
Nenad Kristic
Jeff Green
Kevin Durant
Thabo Sefolosha
Russell Westbrook
Orlando Magic
Dwight Howard
Brandon Bass
Matt Barnes
J.J. Redick
Jameer Nelson
Last Meeting: The Orlando Magic last faced the Oklahoma City Thunder over 11 months ago on December 5, 2008. Orlando won the game 98-89. Dwight Howard has 21 points and 23 rebounds and the Magic won despite shooting 45% from the field and committing 17 turnovers. Russell Westbrooks scored 19 points while Kevin Durant had 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Season Series: Dwight Howard and the Magic dominated the Thunder last season, sweeping the season series. Before that 21-point, 23-rebound performance on December 5, Dwight Howard had a triple-double in Orlando on November 12, going for 30 points, 19 rebounds, and 10 blocks. Howard averaged 25.5 points per game, 21 rebounds per game and 8 blocks per game. The Magic easily defeated the Thunder on November 12, 109-92.The Magic held a 29-point lead at halftime. Jeff Green had 25 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Thunder.
About the Magic: The Magic are fresh off a win over the Detroit Pistons, but it was a game in which the Magic played pretty poorly for the final three quarters. Orlando made just 22 field goals after the first quarter and finished the game shooting 38.5% from the field after the opening period.
The Magic will be without Guard Vince Carter (ankle) and forwards Ryan Anderson (ankle) and Rashard Lewis (suspension). Anthony Johnson is expected to play today after missing Friday night’s game due to the loss of his father in law.
The Magic are going to have to start Brandon Bass on Sunday night because of the injury to Ryan Anderson. Bass is the only true Power Forward that will be able to play for the Magic tonight. Small Forward Matt Barnes and Center Marcin Gortat will probably have to spend some time at PF tonight. Gortat played alongside Dwight Howard for a brief stretch on Friday night against the Pistons. Magic Head Coach Stan Van Gundy also played Point Guards Jameer Nelson and Jason Williams in the backcourt together. Nelson was playing SG. Point Guard Anthony Johnson also spent some time at SG when both Carter and Mickael Pietrus were out.
About the Thunder: The Thunder are a very fun team to watch. Joshua Robbins takes a look at five good reasons to track the Oklahoma City Thunder here. They are a young team with a lot of exciting players. The Thunder won their first two games, defeating Sacramento and Detroit before losing to three straight games against playoff teams from last season – Portland, the Lakers and Houston.
Kevin Durant leads the Thunder with 24.2 points per game and 8.2 rebounds per game and is shooting 38.5% from the field. Russell Westbrook has been very good for the Thunder thus far, scoring 18.4 ppg, dishing out 7.8 apg and grabbing 5.4 rpg. Westbrook has shot the ball very well, shooting 50% from the field. Westbrook’s decisions haven’t all been great – he’s averaging 5.2 turnovers per game and has 19 turnovers in Oklahoma City’s three losses. Jeff Green is the only other Thunder player averaging double figures in scoring at 16.6 ppg.
The Magic will have just nine players available tonight with swing man Mickael Pietrus, Center Marcin Gortat and Point Guards Jason Williams and Anthony Johnson coming off of the bench.
The Magic will need a much better defensive effort and Dwight Howard will have to dominate the game like he did last season for the Magic to start the season 6-1 for the first time since the 1995-96 season.
(Andrew Melnick is Howard the Dunk’s lead blogger and a contributor at NFL Mocks Subscribe to his RSS feed and add him on Twitter to follow him daily.)