Orlando Magic vs. Atlanta Hawks (Feb. 16, 2022): 3 Things To Watch, Odds and Prediction

The Orlando Magic return home from their West Coast trip with one final home game before the All-Star Break as they take on the Atlanta Hawks.

Orlando Magic (13-46) vs. Atlanta Hawks (27-30)

Time/TV: 7 p.m./Bally Sports Florida
WATCH MAGIC-HAWKS ON FUBO TV
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Line via WynnBet: Hawks by 6
Tickets: $24-$620 on StubHub
2022 Season Series: Hawks 129, Magic 111 in Atlanta on Nov. 15; Hawks 111, Magic 99 in Orlando on Dec. 15; Magic 104, Hawks 98 in Atlanta on Dec. 22; Tonight in Orlando

OMD Prediction

Good luck trying to predict this game.

There are a lot of factors that would normally suggest this is a game where both teams could be due for bad performances. But someone has to win. And these last games before the All-Star Break are always important for teams in the playoff hunt.

The reality is that the Wednesday and Thursday before All-Star Weekend can be difficult for teams to retain their players’ focus. It is human nature. The long weekend and break are on the horizon. It is easy to give into that. The Orlando Magic certainly could have done that when they were coming home from Denver to close their road trip.

Giving up is not really how this team is made up. But the All-Star Break has a weird pull.

So too is the weird pull of the first game back from a road trip. It is essentially like a continuation of the road trip. So the Magic looked tired at the beginning of Monday’s loss to the Nuggets. How will they look in this game?

Let’s get weird then.

3 Keys To Watch

Aggressive Wendell Carter

Wendell Carter addressed the media after Monday’s loss to the Denver Nuggets and painted a more optimistic picture of the team. He said the team needs to understand how good it is and play with the confidence of a good team. They need to know their hard work will pay off if they stick with it and keep lifting each other up.

Carter rarely spares himself from criticisms of lacking confidence. He knows it was a problem with the Chicago Bulls and something he is conscious of and trying to get better at.

There is a lot of progress in that sense. Carter is playing a whole lot more aggressively this season. He scored 25 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in Monday’s loss to the Nuggets. He has pretty consistently been one of the players taking a ton of shots too — the only game he has taken fewer than 10 shots in the last month was the 33-point loss to the Boston Celtics.

It is pretty easy to see when Carter is aggressive. And the Magic are a whole lot better when he is looking for his shot and looking to attack.

Like everyone else, Orlando needs its best players to play confidently.

Trae vs. the Magic

Trae Young is still a scoring dynamo. He is averaging 27.9 points per game and dishing out 9.4 assists per game. He is shooting a career-best 37.8-percent from beyond the arc.

The Atlanta Hawks are built perfectly around him with Clint Capela rolling to the basket and shooter all around him. Young put in a killer 41-point performance in a win Tuesday against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Oddly, Young has not been good against the Orlando Magic this year. He is averaging just 19.0 points per game and dishing out 5.0 assists per game with a 51.2-percent effective field goal percentage and 4-for-15 shooting from beyond the arc in two games.

It is not like D.J. Augustin is there to pester and make Trae Young’s life difficult anymore.

How have the Magic done this? There is probably some extra focus on keeping Young off the 3-point line. There is probably a lot of focus on crowding him in the paint and getting him to dish the ball out.

Some of it is also probably some 3-point luck too. This will be a big test for the Magic’s guards.

Suggs pushes the pace

The Orlando Magic have now climbed into the top-10 in the league in pace — possessions per 48 minutes. The idea for the Magic to push the pace and get up the court quickly is something that Jamahl Mosley wants embedded in them.

That is where Jalen Suggs comes in. He has been one of the main catalysts of pushing the ball.

The Magic have a pace of 99.4 possessions per 48 minutes for the season. In their last 15 games, the Magic are up to 101.9 possessions per 48 minutes. With Suggs on the floor in the last 15 games, Orlando’s pace is up to 104.6 possessions per 48 minutes.

Does that mean the Magic are more effective offensively? Orlando has a 100.8 offensive rating with Suggs on the floor the last 15 games. So the answer there is no.

But the team is definitely trying to get up the floor more and play with more possessions. Learning control is the next step.