Progress for the Magic of Orlando is evident in a variety of ways, and the team should be in a good frame of mind heading into Tuesday night’s road game against the Charlotte Frelons.
Over the weekend, the Magic eclipsed their 2022-23 win total by picking up their 35th win of the season. Orlando has also won three straight and six of its last seven, including Sunday’s 113-91 loss to visiting Detroit. With Tuesday’s assignment, the Magic will play back-to-back games against two of the NBA’s bottom teams.
This will be the first of three Orlando-Charlotte matchups over a one-month span, with the teams also meeting March 19 in Orlando and April 5 in Charlotte. The Magic begin a three-game road trip on Tuesday that also includes games against the struggling Washington Wizards and the impressive New York Knicks.
Orlando received 16 points in 16 minutes Sunday from guard Markelle Fultz, who came off the bench. Fultz, who started all 60 games he played last season, has played a different role recently.
“He picked up the pace at the right time,” Orlando coach Jamahl Mosley said. “He was able to get under the defense and the guys found him to finish around the basket and he kept coming at them and I thought that was great for him with that unit.”
The Hornets suffered their fourth straight loss with a 111-106 setback Sunday night in Toronto.
Despite this result, the game marked another encouraging outing for rookie Brandon Miller, who recorded his first career double-double with 26 points and 10 rebounds.
Ongoing injury issues have changed the Hornets’ roster. On Sunday, forward Cody Martin and center Nick Richards were out due to illnesses, along with reserve guard Seth Curry.
This put Grant Williams and Vasilije Micic in the starting lineup.
“The combinations on the court will obviously be different because those three guys all played significant minutes,” Charlotte coach Steve Clifford said. “There are going to be challenges with these guys.”
The Hornets were forced to go with small lineups and had to play little-used 6-foot-10 Marques Bolden at center. He has played in just 11 games in four NBA seasons and has eight career rebounds, including none Sunday in eight minutes. This didn’t address one of the Hornets’ biggest needs.
“We need to be able to rebound the ball better,” Clifford said.
The transition defense issues became too great for the Hornets to overcome against the Raptors.
“The lack of a running back on defense in the third quarter was the difference in the game,” Clifford said. “You’re not going to win a lot of NBA games when the other team has 26 fast break points. When you’re giving up that many open 3s and layups in transition, you’re just not going to win.”
The Magic defeated the Hornets 130-117 on November 26 at home. Orlando’s Cole Anthony and Franz Wagner each had 30 points in that game, while Miles Bridges scored 23 points for Charlotte.
The Hornets are likely heading into their eighth straight season without a playoff appearance. The Magic are in the thick of the playoff race, sitting in sixth place in the Eastern Conference entering play on Monday. Orlando last made the playoffs in the 2019-20 season, losing in the first round.
–Field level media
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