Vogel searching for a spark
Orlando Magic coach
employed his 13th different starting lineup of the season Friday night in an attempt to give his team a spark, put more perimeter shooting onto the court and counter New Orleans big men and
Vogel guard burly power forward
into the starting five alongside point guard swingman
and inserted center point and
“We’re going to do something unconventional because who we’re playing is so unconventional,” Vogel said before tipoff.
“We’ve got guys out and we’re looking for some sort of spark and some sort of combination that’s going to help us get back in the win column,” Vogel added later.
Vogel also hoped Augustin and Speights would improve the Magic’s shooting.
Augustin entered Friday as the team’s leader in 3-point shooting, having made 43.4 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc. Speights had struggled this month — making just 11.1 percent of 3-point tries — but he went 6 of 10 from deep to spark a 115-99 victory over the Pelicans on Oct. 30 in New Orleans.
Speights’ big game in late October remained fresh in the Pelicans’ minds.
“We’ve got to get in his airspace, obviously, and close out to him a lot better than we did,” New Orleans coach said.
The Pelicans typically play Cousins and Davis simultaneously at the beginnings and ends of halves, and Vogel planned to downsize the Magic’s lineup when either Cousins or Davis was on the bench. a true professional, a very good decision-maker.” for the foreseeable future.
Vogel said Fournier, Gordon and Isaac are unlikely to play when the Magic face the Wizards tonight. event-level clubs and watched the game from courtside seats.
The Pugh family has endured a difficult time in recent years.
Twice, robbers broke into their apartment on Mercy Drive and stole family mementos.
But on Dec. 5, Habitat for Humanity and the Magic gave Pugh and her daughters a new home in the Butler Preserve neighborhood.
The Pughs were invited to Friday’s game by the team and were told they were the “Family of the Night.”
At halftime, they were brought to midcourt and were inundated with Christmas presents.
The gifts included a $5,000 check from Jewett Orthopaedic; a gift basket and gift card from Tijuana Flats; a $500 gift card from Corkcicle; $500 in restaurant gift cards from Talk of the Town; free products for a year from PepsiCo; free pizza from Papa John’s; and skincare products, cleaning products and multivitamins from Amway.
LaToya Pugh wept tears of joy after the halftime ceremony.