Although he suffered
Magic big man set to start tonight vs. Heat
a scary kneeto-leg collision Wednesday, Orlando Magic center Nikola Vucevic practices fully on Thursday and is expected to start against the Miami Heat tonight.
Although he absorbed a scary knee-to-leg collision Wednesday, Orlando Magic center Nikola Vucevic practiced fully Thursday and is expected to start against the Miami Heat tonight.
“Not much pain,” Vucevic said. “So it should be fine.”
No player on the Magic roster has inflicted more damage on the Heat in recent years than Vucevic.
On Dec. 31, 2012, in his first game against the Heat as a Magic player, Vucevic scored 20 points and collected a franchise-record 29 rebounds.
He’s performed well against Miami on most occasions since then. This season, he’s averaging 18.7 points and 14.3 rebounds per game against the Heat.
Vucevic was hurt late in the Magic’s 101-90 loss to the New York Knicks on Wednesday. A Knick player collided with Vucevic, hitting Vucevic be-
tween his right knee and right quadriceps.
Vucevic crumpled to Amway Center’s parquet court and was subbed out.
“The initial hit was pretty painful,” Vucevic said. “It kind of felt like something sharp just kind of hit me in my knee, but it’s OK.”
Vucevic and fellow Magic center Bismack Biyombo must be effective for the Magic to defeat the Heat. Miami center Hassan Whiteside is capable of dominating a game, and the Magic centers need to limit Whiteside’s offensive rebounds and lob catches as much as possible.
Watson update
Point guard C.J. Watson, who had been sidelined for Orlando’s last three games by a sore right Achilles, practiced on Thursday and looked “really good,” coach Frank
Vogel said. It’s unclear if Watson will be able to play against the Heat.
“We’ll see how he responds [Friday] in terms of his availability,” Vogel said.
Tough game
Vogel’s film review of the loss to the Knicks confirmed his initial impressions.
“I was happy with how we kind of competed on the defensive end,” Vogel said.
“Carmelo [Anthony] got going a little bit early. But in terms of trying to play the style of play that we’re going to play defensively, I thought we did some really good things. We still have a big problem with containing the basketball, which has obviously hurt us ...
“Offensively, we had a bad shooting night and we had a bad passing night. That’s frustrating because
we need to be a great passing team to give ourselves the best chance to make shots.”
Vogel’s team made only 41 percent of its shots and finished with a season-low 11 assists.
“Offensively, I feel like they pressured us and took us out of our spots,” forward Jeff Green said. “They forced us to take bad shots, and I think that’s the result of having 11 assists. So they made us play one-onone.”
The Magic’s ability to contain the basketball will be tested by the Heat — specifically by Goran Dragic, one of the NBA’s speedier point guards. On Oct. 26, the Heat beat the Magic 108-96 as the Heat piled up 74 points in the paint.
Ross seeks consistency
Swingman Terrence
Ross has alternately frustrated himself and tantalized Magic fans in his three games since his trade from the Toronto Raptors.
He made just four of 17 shots in his debut, 10 of 15 shots in his second game and only three of 10 shots against the Knicks.
Being consistently effective should be a goal over the season’s final month and a half.
“It just takes time to find a rhythm, get a routine,” Ross said. “It’ll happen.”
Special night
The Magic have designated tonight’s game as Noche Latina in honor of their Latino fans. Salsa singer Jerry Rivera will perform after the game.
The Magic’s ability to contain the basketball will be tested by the Heat, specifically by Goran Dragic.