Orlando Magic at Brooklyn Nets (Nov. 28, 2022): 3 Things To Watch, Odds and Prediction
The Orlando Magic head back on the road to take on the Brooklyn Nets as they pick up the pieces from a blowout home loss on Sunday.
Orlando Magic (5-15) at Brooklyn Nets (10-11)
Time/TV: 7:30 p.m./Bally Sports Florida
WATCH MAGIC-NETS ON FUBO TV
FOLLOW LIVE: @OMAGICDAILY
Line: Nets by 10
Tickets: $16-$5,369 on StubHub
Season Series: Tonight in Brooklyn; March 26 in Orlando; April 7 in Brooklyn
Pace | Off. Rtg. | Def. Rtg. | eFG% | O.Reb.% | TO% | FTR | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Orlando | 98.7 | 109.6 | 115.1 | 53.1 | 28.7 | 16.5 | 29.2 |
Brooklyn | 98.4 | 112.9 | 112.4 | 56.8 | 22.2 | 14.8 | 25.8 |
OMD Prediction
The Orlando Magic have to pick up the pieces following a disheartening loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday. They played with no intensity or force and got beaten down pretty handily in the defeat. It is one thing to be undermanned as the Magic are, it is another to no-show a game. Especially against another undermanned team.
The Magic have a lot of questions they need to answer. And these are not things that should wait for the team’s impending renaissance of health — Markelle Fultz will not play Monday, but his return is imminent.
The Magic are back to acting and playing like one of the worst teams in the league. Their record through the first quarter of the season suggests that. And the team has to find its competitive edge again.
That will be tough against a Brooklyn Nets team with two high-profile scorers that is starting to figure itself out after a tumultuous first quarter of the season. The Nets have had their own effort issues, especially on defense. But will the Magic be able to press that advantage?
3 Keys To Watch
Bamba on the boards
Wendell Carter will likely still be QUESTIONABLE for this game with a plantar fascia strain that has bothered him for some time. The Orlando Magic do not seem to be in any rush to throw him on the court. That has unfortunately left the team exposed in a major way on the interior.
Mo Bamba might be able to get to shots with his overall length and be a good shot blocker, but he has not been a good defender. And he has been especially weak on the glass.
Bamba has a defensive rebound rate of 16.6 percent. Among centers who average at least 15.0 minutes per game, that is the 15th-worst mark in the league (with some notable names like Jaren Jackson Jr. and Al Horford behind him).
This has been the most noticeable downside to Carter’s absence from the lineup. Orlando’s rebounding has taken a significant nosedive.
Against the Brooklyn Nets, the Orlando Magic cannot afford to lose the battle inside. Brooklyn is not a particularly big team and does not go after offensive boards. So it should be easier to dominate the interior.
Beyond the chaos
The Brooklyn Nets have been a cauldron of chaos for most of this season. It started with Kevin Durant asking to be traded and continued through Kyrie Irving’s suspension for promoting and failing to apologize for posting an anti-Semitic video.
There has not been a chance for this team to get stable. And this group very much relies on its stars to drive the bus. There is not much in reserve.
But since Irving returned from that team suspension, the Nets are starting to figure some things out. They are 10th in the league in offensive rating (116.5 points per 100 possessions) and that seems to be more in line with the team’s capabilities on that end. Brooklyn is even 15th in the league in defensive rating.
That is enough for the Nets to sit at 3-2 since Irving’s return. And it feels like Brooklyn could be ready to make its move. Especially with Ben Simmons starting to get comfortable and more assertive as a playmaker for this team.
A bit Moe Wagner?
The Orlando Magic were happy to have Moe Wagner back in the lineup these last two games. He is the first of what appears to be a nice chain of players getting set to return. That light is still at the end of the tunnel no matter how dark it seems now.
With Mo Bamba dealing with back spasms — that is why he missed the second half of Sunday’s game — the Magic may be leaning on Moe Wagner more to fill in center minutes.
That is a lot to ask for a player who is still clearly getting back into game shape and rhythm.
Wagner has 19 points in 43 minutes in two games this season. But he is shooting just 5 for 15 from the floor, including 2 for 11 from deep. A lot of Wagner’s shot diet are those pops to the three-point line. He is not yet hitting at the percentage he drained last year that brought a ton of optimism for this upcoming season.
If Bamba has to miss time, the Magic are going to be leaning harder on Wagner to carry the team through the interior. That means he has to hit the threes he gets but also that he has to dive into the paint a whole lot more and mix things up on the inside.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.