Vogel mum on starting five
Maybe he’s just trying to keep powerhouse Golden State guessing, but Magic coach wouldn’t commit to starting the same lineup against the Warriors today that he used Friday night against Milwaukee.
Asked after Saturday’s practice about the lineup, Vogel said, with a smile, “We’ll talk about the starting lineup tomorrow.”
Facing the Warriors is a matchup nightmare for most teams. Injuries at the shooting-guard position have left Orlando particularly vulnerable against Warriors All-Star
Losing (sore heel)
and back-up
(dislocated thumb) puts the Magic at a disadvantage. Veteran combo guard 6-feet-2, got his first start of the season at shooting guard in the win against the Bucks.
Watson scored 5 points on 2-of-8 shooting and added two assists in 31 minutes. But he either had to defend or rookie not a dynamo like Thompson.
Vogel could start 6-8 second-year small forward
against the 6-7 Thompson.
Perhaps another option could be to go small against Golden State’s revered backcourt of Thompson and point guard
and start two point guards. The Magic could start with
with the 6-4 Payton covering Thompson and the 6-foot Augustin defending the smallish Curry. Small forward
started out games covering when Durant played for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Power forward
new this season to Orlando, likely will defend
The only position in which the Magic seemingly have an advantage is at center. (13.7 points, 9.9 rebounds per game) squares off against (5.6 points, 6.1 rebounds).
With Fournier and Meeks sidelined, the Magic are expected to call up SG 6-feet-7, from their NBA Developmental League affiliate, the Erie BayHawks.
Brown ranked No. 8 in the D-League in scoring, averaging 21.6 points per game. He also was averaging 5.1 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 16 games for the BayHawks.
Brown, 24, was drafted in the second round out of Stanford by the Los Angeles Lakers in 2015. He played in 29 games and made 11 starts, averaging 4.0 points and 2.4 rebounds per game.
He was waived by the Lakers this preseason and signed by the New Orleans Pelicans in early December. The Pelicans waived him after nine games.
The Warriors were delayed in arriving to Orlando because of inclement weather Friday night in Houston.
They remained overnight in Houston after beating the Rockets 125-108 and arrived Saturday afternoon around 3:30 p.m.
Houston has recently experienced heavy flash flooding, shutting down entire highways.
The delay forced the Warriors to cancel practice in Orlando. Judging from their league-best 37-6 record, they should be OK missing a workout.
The Warriors broke open their game against
and the Rockets in the third quarter, outscoring them 37-22. Durant led all scorers with 32 points and Curry added 24 with five 3-pointers.
SF Gordon emerged from the dressing room after practice Saturday with a large, bulky wrapping under his shirt near his right shoulder.
Gordon said he was fine and laughed off the odd look during an on-camera interview.
Asked what the problem was, Gordon cracked, “It’s January.”