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- Tickets: $84-$748+ on StubHub
- Season Series: Tonight in Orlando; Dec. 22 in San Francisco
Orlando Magic vs. Golden State Warriors: Stats and 3 Keys to Watch
Golden State | Orlando | |
|---|---|---|
101.2 | Pace | 100.4 |
113.6 | Off. Rtg. | 114.1 |
111.7 | Def. Rtg. | 112.9 |
54.9 | eFG% | 53.3 |
28.6 | O.Reb.% | 33.0 |
16.4 | TO% | 15.7 |
28.5 | FTR | 37.6 |
3. All eyes on Stephen Curry
Last year, the Golden State Warriors walked into the Kia Center and left a show so stunning that coach Jamahl Mosley could do nothing to explain why his team struggled so much. All he could do was shrug his shoulders and tip his cap to the other star's brilliance.
That is the kind of magic Stephen Curry can bring to any game. He had 56 points and made 12 3-pointers. The Magic had zero answer to try to slow him down.
That happened without Jalen Suggs in the lineup -- he was still trying to come back from a knee injury before he was ruled out for the season. And Jalen Suggs may not be in the lineup for Tuesday's game.
Curry is not slowing down this season even at 37 years old. He is averaging 27.4 points per game and shooting 38.1 percent from three on a league-high 11.2 3-point attempts per game. Curry has three 40-point games, including a pair against the San Antonio Spurs last week.
He had just nine against the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday in a Warriors win. Curry has not had consecutive games with fewer than 10 points since the 2012 season. Curry could be in for another big night.
2. Battle in the paint
The Orlando Magic are a paint team. That is what happens when your shooting is spotty.
You have to find a way to get easy shots. And so the key to the Magic's offense is to get downhill and put pressure on the rim. Their threes need to come from kickouts. Paint touches matter.
Orlando leads the league in free throw rate and the team needs to get 30 free throw attempts as a sign of the team's offensive movement.
The Magic are also 13th in the league with 50.9 points in the paint per game. Orlando is 11th in the league with 27.5 field goal attempts per game in the restricted area. The team shoots just 66.2 percent in the paint.
That is an area the Magic need to continue improving on.
The Golden State Warriors are not a big team. But the team does decently defending the paint, giving up 51.1 points in the paint per game.
Orlando will need to do better defending the paint. Part of the Magic's slip on defense is they give up 52.7 points in the paint per game this season -- it is down to 48.8 points in the paint per game in the last eight games.
The Warriors are not looking to attack the paint. Golden State scores a league-low 36.8 points in the paint per game. The Magic need to be careful about the 3-point line and what paint touches do there. This cannot become a shooting contest.
1. Desmond Bane's turnaround?
The first few weeks of the season were spent worrying about Desmond Bane.
In the first five games, he averaged 17.6 points per game and shot 26.9 percent from three on 5.2 3-point attempts per game. Bane was scoring and attacking well, but not giving the team the three-point push they needed.
In the last nine games, Bane is averaging 15.9 points per game and shooting 34.1 percent on 4.6 3-point attempts per game. The Magic are still working to get his attempts up.
The win over the Portland Trail Blazers was a breakthrough. Since that game, Bane is averaging 22.3 points per game and shooting 34.6 percent on 6.5 attempts per game. Paolo Banchero missing two of those four games and the majority of one other, has put the ball in Bane's hands more. That has helped him find his rhythm.
He has been closer to what the Magic imagined lately. And that is big for this team.
Orlando Magic vs. Golden State Warriors: Injury Report & Projected Lineups
Golden State Warriors Injury Report
- Jonathan Kuminga - OUT (Bilateral Knee Patellar Tendonitis)
- Buddy Hield - PROBABLE (Illness)
- De'Anthony Melton - OUT (Left ACL Surgery)
Orlando Magic Injury Report
- Paolo Banchero - OUT (Left Groin Strain)
- Franz Wagner - AVAILABLE (Face Mask)
- Jalen Suggs - QUESTIONABLE (Sore Right Groin)
- Moe Wagner - OUT (Left Knee Injury Recovery)
- Orlando Robinson - OUT (G-League Two-Way)
- Jamal Cain - AVAILABLE (G-League Two-Way)
- Colin Castleton - OUT (G-League Two-Way)
Projected Starting Lineups
Golden State | Orlando | |
|---|---|---|
Stephen Curry | PG | Anthony Black |
Moses Moody | SG | Desmond Bane |
Will Richard | SF | Franz Wagner |
Jimmy Butler | PF | Tristan da Silva |
Draymond Green | C | Wendell Carter |
Orlando Magic vs. Golden State Warriors: Prediction
Our Record: 6-8/5-9 ATS
The Orlando Magic are playing better. Their defense is rounding into form and starting to bully and outphysical a lot of the teams they are facing.
The Golden State Warriors playing small should be a team the Magic can exert their physicality against. The lane should be open for them to drive with no rim protectors.
This is the classic 3-point shooting vs. paint battle. The only wild card is whether Stephen Curry, Moses Moody or Buddy Hield go off from three. The Magic can defend the ball well and the lack of any true downhill attacker to threaten them should give them some advantage to score.
Would you believe that the Warriors have a worse offense for the season than the Magic?
That might be the difference, even with Curry looming over the entire proceedings. A big game from Curry would bury the Magic. They may not have the ifrepower to counteract that.
If the Magic protect the ball and limit turnovers, make timely shots and stay committed to pressuring the paint, they should give themselves a good chance to win the game. The Magic have found a way to win right now.
With Orlando's defense playing a lot better recently, the energy from the Kia Center should lift them back into the win column.