The Orlando Magic finish their season-long road trip with a game against the Charlotte Hornets. A game that will have some playoff implications for a struggling Magic team.
Orlando Magic (20-23) vs. Charlotte Hornets (15-29)
Time/TV:
5 p.m./FOX Sports Florida
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2020 Season Series:
Tonight in Charlotte; Feb. 3 in Charlotte; March 15 in Orlando; April 1 in Orlando
| Pace | Off. Rtg. | Def. Rtg. | eFG% | O.Reb.% | TO% | FTR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orlando | 98.7 | 104.9 | 105.9 | 49.1 | 26.2 | 13.0 | 25.5 |
| Charlotte | 96.9 | 106.0 | 113.0 | 50.8 | 27.9 | 15.4 | 25.4 |
OMD Prediction
Orlando Magic coach Steve Clifford lamented his team’s effort and intensity in their loss Saturday to the Golden State Warriors. He then noted the loss meant more because the schedule is going to get really tough. Starting with a very strange trip to Charlotte with a day of rest in between after a West Coast trip. Making matters worse, the Hornets have been sitting and waiting since returning from their own road trip Wednesday. The Hornets have been off for nearly five days. Orlando has a lot going against it in this game. The Magic will need energy defensively especially against the Hornets’ guards in Devonte’ Graham and Terry Rozier. The Magic are typically good at bouncing back from disappointing efforts, but they are fighting a lot more than that in this one.
1) The Orlando Magic need their best players — Nikola Vucevic, Evan Fournier and Aaron Gordon — to be the energy this team lacks to avoid future disappointing losses.
2) The Orlando Magic hope they can be more consistent in the second half of the season, John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com writes.
3) The Orlando Magic lament their missed opportunity to defeat the Golden State Warriors and understand they have to do a whole lot better, Roy Parry of the Orlando Sentinel writes. A rare lack of energy was a big characteristic of these two defeats, Josh Robbins of The Athletic writes.
4) Injuries are the biggest story for the Orlando Magic through the first half of the season, Josh Robbins of The Athletic writes.
5) The Orlando Magic are struggling to score right now and their experiment of using Khem Birch at the 4 is not quite worth continuing, Omar Cabrera writes.
6) The Charlotte Hornets are elite at playing clutch games. That is something, Jonathan DeLong of At The Hive writes.
7) The Orlando Pinstriped Post crew discusses what has disappointed them, what has encouraged them and where the Orlando Magic go in the second half of the season.
8) The Orlando Magic hope last week’s games mean Aaron Gordon is starting to take flight again, Jean Racine writes.
9) Charlotte Hornets rookie P.J. Washington has exceeded expectations at the season’s midpoint, Giovanni Spillman of Swarm and Sting writes.
10) Nikola Vucevic’s consistency makes him our second-quarter MVP.
11) We name our all-decade team for the Orlando Magic for a decade that most fans would like to forget.
12) Aaron Gordon returned home to Archbishop Mitty in San Jose to get his jersey retired.