Orlando Magic at New Orleans Pelicans (Oct. 6, 2021): 3 Things To Watch, Odds and Prediction

The Orlando Magic continue on the road to start their preseason as they visit the New Orleans Pelicans as they look to build on a solid preseason debut.

Orlando Magic (0-1) at New Orleans Pelicans (0-1)

Time/TV: 8 p.m./NBA League Pass
WATCH MAGIC-PELICANS ON FUBO TV
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Line: No Line
Tickets: $6-$24 on StubHub
2021 Season Series: Magic 115, Pelicans 110 in New Orleans on April 1; Pelicans 135, Magic 100 in Orlando on April 22
2022 Season Series: Tonight in New Orleans (Preseason); Dec. 23 in Orlando; March 9 in New Orleans

OMD Prediction

The Orlando Magic’s first preseason game had plenty of sloppiness and plenty of signs that it was the first preseason game. There were turnovers and missed shots and disorganization and miscommunication. That is the preseason. Still, the Magic were pretty solid defensively. They played with great energy. Orlando got exactly what it wanted from the debut game.

The question now is how does the team grow from here? How do the Magic build on what they did well? The real answer is to continue playing with the same defensive energy and begin to tighten the screws. The Magic’s offense should also begin to come around too. The New Orleans Pelicans are still integrating new pieces and hope to have Jonas Valanciunas back in the lineup (although Zion Williamson remains out).

3 Keys To Watch

Shooting threes

Nobody is trying to keep it a secret: The Orlando Magic have not been a good 3-point shooting team for nearly a decade. They have struggled to find — and/or just refused to draft — shooters to help spread the floor. So it was a bit surprising to see the Magic essentially win the preseason debut on their 3-point shooting.

The Orlando Magic made 17 of 42 3-pointers in the loss to the Boston Celtics on Monday with Cole Anthony and Jalen Suggs even hitting a pair of 30-footers for good measure. The team does not seem to have any hesitation or fear of letting it fly from deep. That is certainly a welcome three.

But everyone suspects the Magic are not going to be a great 3-point shooting team. Or, at least, they are not full of 3-point shooters. And so the question is whether this is a repeatable performance or a sign of their offensive strategy at all.

Rookies settling in

A lot of the Orlando Magic’s growth this season will come from how their rookies develop and grow. To say the least, both Jalen Suggs and Franz Wagner had nervy moments in their preseason debuts. Suggs settled in a bit quicker to score nine points, albeit on 3-for-11 shooting. Wagner hit on only one of his five shots on the game.

They both still did plenty of good things, especially on the defensive end. Suggs had his series of blocks. And Wagner has proven already to be quite adept at positioning himself and being in the right spots to help his team defend.

This is all ultimately a good thing. And the hope is that with the first game behind them — and not having to deal with Marcus Smart and Jayson Tatum — both players will look a whole lot more comfortable the second time around.

Lineup and rotation changes

Orlando Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said he would use the preseason to toy with lineups and different combinations when it comes to his team. He somewhat surprisingly opted to start Terrence Ross. But he also threw out a lineup that featured Cole Anthony, Jalen Suggs and R.J. Hampton on the floor together.

There are surely some other ideas he wants to test out and see on the floor. And there were surely be other playing groups he wants to try out. When will he get to them? And will he use these games to figure more of this out? That is the bigger question for the Magic at this point.

Definitely in these preseason games, especially this one, keep an eye on who Mosley is playing players with. And what lineups he is starting to lean on. This is the time to experiment with everything and Mosley certainly has not been shy about doing that so far.