Orlando Magic vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (Jan. 22, 2020): How To Watch, Odds and Prediction
The Orlando Magic return home from their season-long road trip to start a gauntlet homestand beginning with the streaking Oklahoma City Thunder.
Oklahoma City Thunder (23-19) vs. Orlando Magic (21-23)
Time/TV:
7 p.m./FOX Sports Florida
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2020 Season Series:
in Oklahoma City on Nov. 5; Tonight in Orlando
Pace | Off. Rtg. | Def. Rtg. | eFG% | O.Reb.% | TO% | FTR | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Oklahoma City | 99.4 | 109.3 | 107.7 | 52.8 | 24.1 | 13.8 | 28.7 |
Orlando | 98.5 | 105.2 | 105.6 | 49.8 | 26.5 | 13.0 | 25.1 |
OMD Prediction
They often say the first game back from a road trip is as difficult as the road trip itself. It still feels like the team is getting its legs back. The Orlando Magic return home to a brutal three-game homestand and four-game stretch before getting a chance to breathe this week. It literally is out of the pan and into the fire. The Oklahoma City Thunder are coming off a game where they erased a late deficit to defeat the Houston Rockets on the road. Chris Paul is controlling the pace of games and picking his spots to masterfully pick defenses apart with players around him capable of scoring and taking advantage. Orlando will have to be on point defensively again, limit turnovers and contain Chris Paul and Shai Gilgeous Alexander.
1) The Orlando Magic are happy with a 3-3 road trip and their pace so far this season, but they know there is a difficult challenge ahead starting with this homestand, Chris Hays of the Orlando Sentinel writes.
2) The Orlando Magic returned home from their road trip exactly what they were when they left — a .500 team with all the inconsistencies wrapped in that moniker.
3) Do you feel like the Orlando Magic lose a lot of leads? Seth Arora shows that the numbers back up your perception.
4) Markelle Fultz’s most immediate goal is to get through the season healthy, but he has plans to join the ranks of NBA All-Stars in his career, John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com writes.
5) Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is putting on the ritz on and off the court to boost the Oklahoma City Thunder in the post-Russell Westbrook era, Tyler Parker of The Ringer writes.
6) Gary Clark hopes he can show enough to stick with the Orlando Magic, David Yapkowitz of Basketball Insiders writes.
7) Do not expect Nikola Vucevic to head anywhere any time soon, Luke Duffy of Hoops Habit writes.
8) Looking ahead to a tight free-agent market, Danny Leroux of The Athletic suggests the Orlando Magic could look to trade D.J. Augustin and add salary to create a second mid-level player.
9) Oklahoma City Thunder two-way player Luguentz Dort stepped in to make some big plays in the upset win over the Houston Rockets on Monday, Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman writes.
10) Nikola Vucevic displayed his consistency in the second quarter of the Orlando Magic’s season, even if he did not return to their All-Star level.
11) Justin Hickey of Daily Thunder grades Chris Paul at the season’s midpoint. Spoiler: He is playing really well.
12) Aaron Goldstone of Orlando Pinstriped Post asks what is going on with Melvin Frazier and whether the Khem Birch at the 4 experiment is actually working.
13) Omar Cabrera writes despite the numbers, the Khem Birch experiment is not working and the Orlando Magic should remove him from the starting lineup.
14) The Orlando Magic need Evan Fournier, Nikola Vucevic and Aaron Gordon to pick up their play and be greater leaders for the team.