Focus now is on traction
Upcoming home-game stretch a time to shine
Amway Center will be a welcome sight for an Orlando Magic team eager to shake off a frustrating stretch of road games.
Starting with Sunday’s matchup against the Charlotte Hornets, the Magic will play seven of their next eight games at home. The one road game in that span will take Orlando down I-4 to face the Toronto Raptors at Amalie Arena in Tampa.
But first the Magic will focus on the Hornets, who are in town
for a back-to-back set on consecutive days. Both games Sunday and Monday will start at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on Fox Sports Florida.
Orlando center Nikola Vucevic said the team is aware of the traction it can gain playing at Amway.
“We have next seven of eight at home, so that’s going to be great,” Vucevic said. “We have a back-to-back with Charlotte, a team that we’re going to be fighting for a playoff spot, so it’s a big opportunity for us if we can win those two games to get back into it.”
The Magic played seven of their past eight games on the road, including five straight. They posted a 1-7 mark in those contests, with three of those losses coming by an average of 5.3 points.
Friday saw the Magic let late leads slip away in regulation and in overtime during a frustrating 120-118 loss to the Indiana Pacers.
Orlando is now just 1-8 since losing point guard Markelle Fultz to a season-ending knee injury, but Vucevic said the team is making progress in getting reorganized without Fultz.
“We definitely made some good strides on both ends of the floor and hopefully we can continue to build on that,” Vucevic said.
The Magic on Wednesday limited the Timberwolves to 45 second-half points, including five over the final 6:33.
After giving up 37 first-quarter points to the Pacers on Friday, the Magic allowed 25, 26 and 20 points over the next three quarters.
“Defensively, I think we started out slow, but as the game progressed I think our defense was pretty good,” forward Aaron Gordon said.
The Magic were hurt by poor free-throw shooting (15 of 24) and the Pacers’ ability to convert 14 turnovers into 25 points.
Orlando will see similar pressure on Sunday. The Hornets rank fourth in the NBA — right behind the Pacers — in steals per game (9.1) and are third in points off turnovers (20.3).
The Hornets allow the third-most 3-point attempts per game (40.6) but hold opponents to the fifth-lowest shooting percentage (34.5%) from behind the arc.
The Magic (7-9) have bettered that mark just twice in their past eight games. They remain last in the NBA in 3-point shooting percentage (32.8%).
Charlotte (6-9) is led by Gordon Hayward (23.1 ppg) and Terry Rozier (19.3 ppg) and utilizes ball-sharing in its offense. The Hornets lead the NBA in assists per game (28.3) and have five players who average at least 2.9 assists per game.
The Hornets, who have lost four straight, are also fourth in the league in fast-break points
per game (16.0).
Injury update
The Magic recently got Evan Fournier back from an injury and reserve guard Michael Carter-Williams (left foot sprain) appears to be close to joining him. While Carter-Williams did not play Friday, his game status was upgraded from out to questionable.
Magic coach Steve Clifford said rookie forward Chuma Okeke, meanwhile, continues to make progress in returning from a bone bruise in his left knee sustained Dec. 31.
Clifford said Friday that Okeke, along with Carter-Williams and Al-Farouq Aminu, had been participating in walkthroughs and the non-contact portions of practice during the team’s road trip. Aminu hasn’t played since November 2019 because of a right knee injury.
“So we’re working as they’re getting better,” Clifford said. “You add a lot of offense and some defense as you go along and I think they’re all guys that pick things up quickly but we want to make sure they’re on top of it so when they do get back they’re ready to go.”
Center Mo Bamba also could be returning. He missed the team’s recent five-game road trip after entering the league’s health and safety protocols for non-team COVID-19 contact tracing but was not listed on Saturday’s 5:30 p.m. injury report.