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- Tickets: $43-$396+ on StubHub
- Season Series: Magic 116, Nets 101 in Orlando on Oct. 25; Magic 123, Nets 100 in Brooklyn on Nov. 29; Magic 100, Nets 92 in Brooklyn on Dec. 1; Tonight in Orlando
Brooklyn Nets vs. Orlando Magic: Stats and 3 Keys to Watch
Brooklyn | Orlando | |
|---|---|---|
96.9 | Pace | 97.6 |
111.0 | Off. Rtg. | 108.8 |
115.7 | Def. Rtg. | 106.0 |
53.9 | eFG% | 51.5 |
27.1 | O.Reb.% | 30.1 |
15.9 | TO% | 15.9 |
24.8 | FTR | 27.3 |
3. Protecting Home
The Orlando Magic have made it clear that their first goal this year is to protect their home floor at the Kia Center. They have openly stated their goal for the season is to earn homecourt advantage. Winning at home is a major priority.
That might make this homestand a bit of a disappointment.
They had a seven-game homestand and have already clinched a losing homestand at 2-4. Those two wins were pretty monumental—the 25-point comeback over the Miami Heat followed by the victory over the Boston Celtics.
This was always going to be a tough stretch even at home. The Orlando Magic have not faced a team currently with a losing record since Dec. 8 against the Phoenix Suns (and they are only under .500 because of Saturday's close loss to the Golden State Warriors).
Orlando feasted on teams with losing records last year and are feasting on them again—going 15-3 against teams with records worse than .500. Yes, that also means the Magic have not faced a team with a losing record since Franz Wagner's injury (except the aforementioned Suns, who played without Kevin Durant at the Kia Center).
The Magic will be happy for the reprieve even if they have struggled, going 3-5 since Wagner's injury. A string of four straight games against teams outside the Playoff picture will help the team find some balance. Especially with Paolo Banchero's return on the horizon. And there are more home games to come.
2. Life without Schröder
Every time the Orlando Magic have seen the Brooklyn Nets, the focus started with how they would contain Dennis Schröder.
There was no more consequential player for the Nets than Schröder. It is no surprise that the Brooklyn Nets are struggling since they traded him to the Golden State Warriors. Brooklyn is 2-4 since trading Schröder with a -7.7 net rating. Their offense has cratered to 102.3 points per 100 possession.
Only the Magic have been worse offensively since Dec. 15. But at least the Magic have their defense to lean back on. That is the kind of game that seems in store.
Schröder was the most consequential player for the Nets. They are still finding a way to create positivity on offense without him. Getting Cam Thomas back for some offensive push will help make them far more potent.
1. Shot quality
The Orlando Magic are a poor 3-point shooting team. They are still last in the league in 3-point field goal percentage. But the Magic have maintained throughout the entire season that they are happy with the shots they are getting. The process has been fine, even if the shots will not fall.
To that point, Orlando is still 10th in the league with 20.2 "wide-open" 3-point attempts per game according to NBA.com's tracking stats. That is when the opponent is six or more feet away. The Magic are likely getting some of these shots due to defensive indifference. They make a league-worst 32.4 percent of these shots.
Orlando is 12th in the league with 10.3 corner threes per game. They have the third-worst percentage making 34.4 percent of those shots.
But these numbers are trending down since Franz Wagner's injury. The Magic's 3-point shot quality has decreased.
Since Wagner's injury, the Magic are getting the fifth-fewest of these same shots at 14.4 attempts per game. They have the fifth-fewest corner threes in the league in that same period with 7.8 attempts per game. At least they are making 44.7 percent of those shots now.
Without their two best playmakers, it is easy to expect 3-point shot quality to decrease. The Magic's offense has predictably struggled. But there is still work to do to make the most of their opportunities.
Brooklyn Nets vs. Orlando Magic: Injury Report & Projected Lineups
Brooklyn Nets Injury Report
- Cameron Johnson - PROBABLE (Right Hip Contusion)
- Cam Thomas - PROBABLE (Left Hamstring Strain)
- Bojan Bogdanovic - OUT (Left Foot Injury Recovery)
- Ziaire Williams - OUT (Left Knee Sprain)
- Trendon Watford - OUT (Left Hamstring Strain)
- De'Anthony Melton - OUT (Torn Left ACL)
- Dariq Whitehead - OUT (G-League Assignment)
- Jaylen Martin - OUT (G-League Two-Way)
Orlando Magic Injury Report
- Paolo Banchero - OUT (Return to Competition Conditioning)
- Franz Wagner - OUT (Torn Right Oblique)
- Moe Wagner - OUT (Torn Left ACL)
- Mac McClung - OUT (G-League Two-Way)
Brooklyn | Orlando | |
|---|---|---|
Cam Thomas | PG | Jalen Suggs |
Keon Johnson | SG | Anthony Black |
Dorian Finney-Smith | SF | Kentavious Caldwell-Pope |
Cameron Johnson | PF | Tristan da Silva |
Nic Claxton | C | Goga Bitadze |
Brooklyn Nets vs. Orlando Magic: Prediction
Our Record: 21-12/13-20 ATS
The Orlando Magic and Brooklyn Nets are not the teams the NBA imagined when they scheduled this game for primetime in Europe. Dennis Schröder is on the Golden State Warriors now and Franz Wagner and Moe Wagner are out with injuries.
Even then, these two teams have been two of the worst offensive teams in the league for the last few weeks. Both have gone through some major transitions losing key offensive players in the last few weeks. It has been a struggle.
Not that either team was good offensively before this transition began. This game may be a race to bottom.
And that is where Orlando still has the advantage even with both Cam Thomas and Cameron Johnson expected to return for Brooklyn. That will make the Nets a bit more potent. But the Magic are the better defensive team. That has remained consistent and there is no reason to suspect the Magic will not still be strong defensively against a poor offensive team.
What the game against Brooklyn brings is a margin for error. The Magic can still get punished for their poor play or offensive droughts, but it will not be as severe as it has been for the last week. Orlando cannot loosen their grip. But the team does not have to be operating at peak performance to win.