Orlando Magic at Milwaukee Bucks (Nov. 20, 2021): 3 Things To Watch, Odds and Prediction

The Orlando Magic look to move on from a frustrating loss in Brooklyn as they meet up with the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks for the first of a pair of games.

Orlando Magic (4-12) at Milwaukee Bucks (8-8)

Time/TV: 8 p.m./Bally Sports Florida
WATCH MAGIC-BUCKS ON FUBO TV
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Line via WynnBet: Bucks by 10.5
Tickets: $44-$526 on StubHub
2022 Season Series: Tonight in Milwaukee; Nov. 22 in Milwaukee; Dec. 28 in Orlando; Dec. 30 in Orlando

OMD Prediction

Orlando Magic fans have spent the last evening and morning griping about the officials in what was a fairly poorly officiated and frustrating game. That frustration was written all over the players’ faces too, even if they were not about to publicly chide the officials (as of this writing, the NBA’s last two-minute report was not released).

The game was rightfully frustrating for the team for those reasons. But they let that frustration beat them as much as they let the Brooklyn Nets beat them. LaMarcus Aldridge took advantage of the team’s switching and poor rotation decisions to finish the Magic off. It was not even James Harden.

Orlando has struggled to respond to runs this year. While the team has looked better at it in the last two games. The biggest challenge can be responding to setbacks. The team has to be able to take the lessons from the previous game and move forward. That will be the biggest challenge from this game against a Milwaukee Bucks team that is finding itself again.

3 Keys To Watch

Jalen Suggs figuring it out

In Wednesday’s win over the New York Knicks, Jalen Suggs looked like he finally had his breakthrough moment. He hit a couple of 3-pointers, played some fantastic defense and made some huge plays down the stretch of the game. Orlando does not win that game without Suggs.

The question was whether the rookie would match that performance the next night or go back to struggling.

He matched it with 17 points in the first quarter and his second 20-point game of his young career — albeit, just 21 points total for the game. Suggs was confidently shooting once again and using his defense to feed his offense. It was all the promise everyone had for Suggs.

Nobody should expect that kind of explosion again. But Suggs should continue to be seeking consistency and that level to keep growing his game. It is no coincidence that Orlando has competed to the end in every one of his good games.

Bucks getting healthy

It is weird to see the Milwaukee Bucks at 8-8 and their numbers middling through the league. The championship hangover is real as are the injuries the team has faced to this point in the season. The Bucks have not had their trio of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton on the floor much this year — just 57 total minutes so far this season.

Middleton made his way back from sitting out with COVID on Wednesday after an eight-game absence. He has scored 16 points in both of his games since his return. And that will be a huge boost to this team’s offense.

Giannis is still Giannis, of course. He is averaging 27.5 points per game and 11.7 rebounds per game. Slowing him down will still be task number one for this team. And with Middleton back, slapping a zone on them is probably not enough to slow them down.

Back-to-Back Rotation

Back when the Orlando Magic lost to the Detroit Pistons, the team was dealing with a back-to-back and clearly looked it. Jamahl Mosley, still learning how to manage a team as a head coach, threw out some lineups that clearly were not going to help the team win. A third-quarter drought cost the team that game.

Mosley explained after the game that he went to some of those lineups because of the back-to-back and his desire to make sure players were rested. Especially in that case because the team was finishing a stretch of five games in seven nights.

Mosley’s rotation decisions are certainly a big focus for a lot of fans — especially when it comes to R.J. Hampton’s puzzlingly decreasing minutes. That came under question again Friday when Mosley had Moritz Wagner play his four only minutes in the fourth quarter of a tight game or why Wendell Carter once again did not play in the fourth quarter.

Mosley has gotten a lot better at settling on a consistent rotation and putting out more competitive lineups. The Magic have played a lot better as the team has settled in of late.

But here is another back-to-back. And how Mosley manages his team will be front and center for this young team.