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Season Series: Magic 119, Pacers 115 in Orlando on Oct. 28; Tonight in Indianapolis; Nov. 13 in Orlando; April 11 in Indianapolis
Pace | Off. Rtg. | Def. Rtg. | eFG% | O.Reb.% | TO% | FTR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Orlando | 100.8 | 104.6 | 107.5 | 49.3 | 27.2 | 15.0 | 30.5 |
Indiana | 101.1 | 113.3 | 117.7 | 56.5 | 28.2 | 14.6 | 26.5 |
OMD Prediction
Our Record: 5-3/3-5 ATS
Teams learn a lot about themselves on the road. The first long road trip of the season is usually a measuring stick for a team and its intentions for the year.
What will they do when they only have each other to rely on and they have to fight through fatigue and a lack of practice and court time?
This is what championship teams are made of. And the Orlando Magic knew they would face a road-heavy start to the season. They would get tested immediately.
They did not expect this. They did not expect Paolo Banchero to get injured in the first game of this trip and for the team to have to find itself all over again.
To say the least, the Magic have lost the first four games of this five-game road trip. Orlando has been virtually non-competitive in the three games since Banchero's injury. They are looking to salvage something from this trip, if not an opportunity to gain their footing once again beyond. A five-game homestand waits for them beginning Friday against the New Orleans Pelicans.
The Indiana Pacers are very up and down so far this season.
They followed up the loss to the Orlando Magic last week with an overtime win over the Boston Celtics. They have only one other home game so far this season, an overtime loss for the Philadelphia 76ers' only win.
The Pacers know who they are. They run and play with pace. They score a lot of points, with only one game this season scoring fewer than 110 points.
The Magic have their work cut out for them with the state of their offense at the moment—29th in the league overall. And it is hard to see them keeping up with the Pacers even if they can keep this one closer.
3 Things to Watch
3. It's still about shooting
The Orlando Magic have a major problem right now. They simply cannot score. They had back-to-back games scoring fewer than 90 points and shooting worse than 20 percent from three.
That they missed so many open shots in Monday's loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder was both encouraging and dispiriting.
Orlando made only 5 of 34 3-pointers in the game. According to NBA.com's tracking stats, 17 of those came with the closest defender six or more feet away and the other 17 came with the closest defender 4-6 feet away.
The team got 13 corner threes too, making only one, and continue to lead the league in corner 3-pointers for the season.
After the game, coach Jamahl Mosley praised his team's process of getting these open shots. The Magic got the good looks they needed. They just missed.
Orlando has to make shots before we can talk about anything else.
2. Jalen Suggs, the passer
The period without Paolo Banchero is an opportunity though. It is an opportunity to see players expand their roles and try new things. The Orlando Magic must see players grow and expand their roles to survive.
The Magic will take any positive signs they can get. And this is a good period for a player like Jalen Suggs to increase his aggression and play more of the point guard role.
So one of the positive signs of this period so far is that Suggs has taken over with this, especially with his passing.
Suggs has 15 assists in the last three games. According to NBA.com's tracking stats, Suggs has 13.7 potential assists per game and 13.3 assist points created per game.
That is a big boost from his regular averages too. He is at 11.3 potential assists per game and 12.4 assist points created per game for the year and only 4.8 potential assists per game and 7.1 assist points created per game last year.
That is a big boost and a good sign of how much Suggs has grown. If there is something to good to come of this period, Suggs is looking more like a point guard.
1. Goga Bitadze back in Indiana
The Orlando Magic needed some good injury news wherever they could get it. Monday's return of Goga Bitadze was a welcome one, giving the team a solid rim protector and interior presence. More importantly, some interior depth.
Bitadze scored 11 points and grabbed nine rebounds to anchor the Magic's interior defense. And it was not even a great matchup. With Chet Holmgren and few other centers on the roster, the Oklahoma City Thunder tend to play smaller and quicker which goes against many of Goga Bitadze's more rugged strengths.
Bitadze is a boost for the team because he is a quick leaper who can work around the rim on both sides. And that is necessary with a more traditional center in Myles Turner on the other side -- and a lack of center depth from the Indiana Pacers with Isaiah Jackson and James Wiseman also out (and likely for the season).
Goga Bitadze may be more limited offensively than Wendell Carter. But he gives the team a new dynamic defensively that should help stabilize the team. And his return to Indianapolis should be a big one for him.