Orlando Magic vs. San Antonio Spurs (Dec. 23, 2022): 3 Things To Watch, Odds and Prediction

The Orlando Magic head to the holidays getting some injured players back in Wendell Carter and Gary Harris and a chance to continue their winning run against the San Antonio Spurs.

Orlando Magic (12-21) vs. San Antonio Spurs (10-21)

Time/TV: 7 p.m./Bally Sports Florida
WATCH MAGIC-SPURS ON FUBO TV
FOLLOW LIVE: @OMAGICDAILY
Line: Magic by 6.5
Tickets: $34-$2,737 on StubHub
Season Series: Tonight in Orlando; March 14 in San Antonio

OMD Prediction

The Orlando Magic pulled one out against the Houston Rockets on Wednesday. At the end of their road trip, they looked tired and ready to head home with poor defense and an anemic offense. But they made a key tactical change and found the energy to make an incredible comeback and win the game they were supposed to win.

Now the Magic return home with another challenge in a game they should win again with the Christmas holiday ahead of them. Orlando has rarely played as the favorite and this is another game the team should win — but could easily lose if the team does not play sharp.

They should get some help too with Wendell Carter and Gary Harris. That should give the team a defensive boost at least. But it should be an energy boost as the Magic continue to get healthier. The team is in a stretch of games upcoming that should help Orlando build up some wins and get into the Play-In race. That is a real sentence Magic fans should be saying.

3 Keys To Watch

Wendell and Gary return

The Orlando Magic’s big news for the holiday season is Wendell Carter and Gary Harris’ return to the lineup. Both will be available for Friday’s game against the San Antonio Spurs after prolonged absences — Carter has missed the last 17 games and 18 of the last 19 with a strained plantar fascia and Harris has missed the last 11 games with a right hamstring strain.

Both players are guys who give the team some necessary stability, especially on defense. Carter left the team to injury as the only player with a positive net rating (three others have joined him since). Carter still leads the team in on-court defensive rating by 3.0 points per 100 possessions.

Harris has not played enough to rack up those same statistics. Especially since most of his playing time this year has come during the team’s losing streak — five of his six games played so far. Harris is a solid shooter and more than anything he gives the team a guard who knows where to be on the floor and can hit shots when he is left open.

As most fans have noted, Friday will mark the first time that Franz Wagner, Paolo Banchero, Markelle Fultz and Wendell Carter share the floor.

Turnover control

As with many young teams, turnovers are a big factor for the team. The Orlando Magic have had their issues with turnovers throughout the season. When they swing up, the team can struggle and hurt their defense with them. When they swing down, the Magic can be a ruthlessly efficient team and a capable defensive team. Orlando’s turnovers are a big part of the story.

Here are the numbers: The Magic are currently ranked 28th with a 16.1-percent turnover rate. That is obviously not good. But during the last eight games (where the Magic have won seven), the Magic have a turnover rate of 14.4 percent (14th in the league during that stretch).

That tells a lot of the story for Orlando and why the team has been successful. Digging deeper, the Magic are giving up are 25th in the league giving up 19.3 points off turnovers per game. In the last eight games, the Magic give up 16.5 points off turnovers per game (16th in the league).

Again, these are clear signs of what the team has done to get better and something to watch for in wins and losses.

Credit to Sochan

San Antonio Spurs rookie Jeremy Sochan has been getting some Internet heat of late. He has struggled at the foul line this year — shooting 50.0 percent from the line. So Sochan has taken some of his shooting work from the practice court to the game court.

His shooting coaches with the Spurs have him doing form, one-handed shots and he has been willing to do it during games to keep cementing the form his coaches are trying to teach.

This has gotten the Internet buzzing with some of the macho culture — the same kind of culture that Shaquille O’Neal said kept him from trying an underhand free throw to improve his free throw shooting — commenting on what the rookie is doing. Never mind this kind of form shooting is something that everyone is taught and even elite players will do from time to time.

Sochan is still refining his game. He is right now an energy dynamo averaging 8.2 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. He scored 23 points, grabbed nine rebounds and dished out six assists in Thursday’s nine-point loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. Oh, by the way, he made 7 of 10 free throws.

There is a lot to like about the Spurs’ rookie. And he is willing to put in the work to get better.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.