Orlando Magic vs. San Antonio Spurs (Oct. 10, 2021): 3 Things To Watch, Odds and Prediction

The Orlando Magic make their home preseason debut as they take on the San Antonio Spurs in a small preview of the team’s season opener one week away.

Orlando Magic (0-2) vs. San Antonio Spurs (1-2)

Time/TV: 6 p.m./Bally Sports Florida
WATCH MAGIC-SPURS ON FUBO TV
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Line: Spurs by 1.5
Tickets: $6-$89 on StubHub
2021 Season Series: Spurs 104, Magic 77 in San Antonio on March 12; Spurs 120, Magic 97 in Orlando on April 12
2022 Season Series: Tonight in Orlando (Preseason); Oct. 20 in San Antonio; Nov. 5 in Orlando

OMD Prediction

The Orlando Magic used their practice Friday as a “clean-up day” after their preseason loss Wednesday. A big thing they focused on was their defensive pressure and intensity. That was something that appeared to be missing as they worked on a few other things, especially with their frontcourt rotation. Orlando will want to get back to their defense.

The matchup with the New Orleans Pelicans was definitely an odd one. They kept the floor spread with four shooters and stayed small, hurting the Magic’s look at playing Wendell Carter at power forward. The team will probably begin to play something of a normal rotation in this one. And the San Antonio Spurs have guards who will test the team. This will be a chance for the Magic to really test their defense and get ready for the season.

3 Keys To Watch

Guard Experiments

The Orlando Magic have made it clear: These preseason games are an extension of their training camp. They are using these games as a chance to get extended looks at different playing combinations and groups before the season begins. The game Wednesday was spent looking at big man combinations. It would not be surprising then to see the Magic experiment with some of their guard combinations and try to go a little smaller.

The Orlando Magic have not had their three guards — Jalen Suggs, Cole Anthony and R.J. Hampton — on the court together except for a brief bit at the end of the first half against the Boston Celtics. The team has not used Franz Wagner very much at power forward to this point in the season. Some of that has had to do with the team’s limited options available at power forward and center with Chuma Okeke and Jonathan Isaac’s continued absence.

This would be a good opponent and a good time to try out some different guard lineups.

Defense defense defense

The Orlando Magic have made it no secret they want their defense to take the lead this season. They expect their defense to be their calling card. And that was what was disappointing about Wednesday’s game. Orlando struggled defensively and were passive letting New Orleans shoot over them. The Magic could use some tightening on that end.

Jamahl Mosley commented after the game that giving up 104 points was still below league average. But that was a raw number. Orlando’s defense really struggled and 104 points in a 96-possession game is a poor 108.3 defensive rating. It was not a good performance. And so rightly, the Magic will put a lot of their attention on the defensive end in this preseason game and trying to fine-tune things on that end.

Rookie Rhythm

The Orlando Magic’s rookies in Jalen Suggs and Franz Wagner will make their Amway Center debuts on Sunday. And both players will have a lot of intrigue about them. Both have struggled a ton with their shots and putting up counting stats, although both have done good things in other areas.

Suggs is averaging 5.5 points per game on 4-for-18 shooting. Wagner is averaging 1.5 points per game on 1-for-9 shooting. That is not exactly inspiring confidence. Although it is clear the team is working on some other things and not necessarily running plays for them at this point.

The Magic undoubtedly would like to put some focus on them and see them take some steps forward production-wise. Doing at home feels like a good time to do it.