Wednesday, January 6: vs. Indiana Pacers
Orlando returns home in time for a tilt with the 19-14 Indiana Pacers, a team with just one loss less than Orlando, and one spot above the team in the seedings.
Obviously, a win here is huge for the team, as it gives it a leg up on a team close to it in the standings. Not only important now, but if the East stays anything like it is, these tiebreakers can become hugely important later on (do not forget, the Pelicans made the playoffs over the Oklahoma City Thunder last year due to an Anthony Davis game-winner)
Hoops Habit
Main weapon: Paul George
Accomplishing this will not be easy.
Paul George is still scoring 24.5 points a game while hitting 3.1 3-pointers per game. He is a matchup nightmare on both ends of the floor, and is surrounded by role players who are fulfilling those roles well.
This is not an easy matchup for the Magic, who will look to their perimeter to carry them. George will toy with them on both ends while being the leader of his team also.
This game will be the second of a four-game road trip for the Pacers, who were hovering around the second seed for considerable time, but have struggled with consistency. They have beaten the Toronto Raptors and Atlanta Hawks this month, but have lost to the Milwaukee Bucks and Sacramento Kings.
Magic fans need no lessons on the frustrations of poor consistency, but the Pacers are more than capable of becoming very hard to deal with.
Like the Magic and Pistons, every win is worth its weight in gold right now as the standings change every day. Another hard-fought matchup, another must watch.
Next: Third time around the Nets