A tall order
Magic will need near-perfect effort to upend Jazz, start upcoming homestand with victory
The Orlando Magic will close out the first half of the NBA season with a threegame homestand, and it will start with arguably their toughest opponent of the season.
The Magic will look to regain some momentum ahead of the All-Star break and beat the team with the best record in the league when they take on the Utah Jazz on Saturday night at Amway Center.
The game tips off at 8 p.m. and will be broadcast on Fox Sports Florida.
Orlando (13-20) is scheduled to face Dallas on Monday and Atlanta on Wednesday to close out the first half of the season. The All-Star break begins March 5.
Injuries have significantly decreased the Magic’s margin for error this season, and that will only be amplified against a Jazz team that went into Friday’s game in Miami amid a 22-2 stretch of basketball.
Any question marks after Utah’s pedestrian 4-4 start have long since been answered. The Jazz (26-6) are good enough to make the NBA Finals.
If the Magic want to start the homestand with a win, they’ll need to play a near-perfect game.
Orlando has fallen into a turnover rut lately and opponents have taken advantage. The Pistons and the Nets combined to score 44 points off turnovers the past two games — both double-digit losses for the Magic.
“These live-ball turnovers are crushing our defense,” Magic coach Steve Clifford said after Thursday’s 129-92 loss at the Nets. “We can’t beat ourselves and we can’t turn the ball over.”
Orlando led Brooklyn 28-24 after the first quarter, but eight second-quarter turnovers led to 11 points as the Nets began to pull away.
The Magic finished with 18 turnovers, leading to 25 points for the Nets.
The Jazz certainly don’t need any help scoring. Utah, which has scored at least 100 points 22 straight games, spaces the floor with shooters and generates offense off pick-and-roll action and ball movement. A lot of the Magic’s defensive attention will be on keeping track of 3-point shooters. Utah has six players who attempt at least four 3s per game.
The Jazz take (42.6) and make (17) more 3-pointers than any team in the league, and their 3-point percentage (39.9) ranks third. They’ve made at least 20 3-pointers 11 times, including an NBA season-best and franchise-record 28 during a 132-110 win last week against Charlotte.
Utah was down 81-70 in the third quarter before roaring back behind its 3-point shooting.
And it’s not just the starters who will test the Magic’s perimeter defense. In the win against Charlotte, Georges Niang finished 7-of-7 from behind the arc as the Jazz reserves made 19 3s.
Orlando watched Brooklyn knock down 20 3s during Thursday’s loss, with the Nets’ bench contributing 10 of those field goals.
While the Jazz have All-Stars in Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, the play of Mike Conley and Jordan Clarkson also have factored heavily into Utah’s success.
Conley is enjoying a season largely free from injuries, and he’s averaging 16.3 points and 5.7 assists.
Conley is making nearly three 3-pointers a game while shooting 42% from behind the arc. More importantly, his ability to get in the paint — he averages 12.1 drives per game — and create for teammates helps fuel the offense.
Clarkson, meanwhile, is making a strong case for the NBA Sixth Man of the Year award.
The reserve guard is the team’s second-leading scorer at 18.3 points per game while shooting 45.7% overall and 38.1% from the 3-point line.
Prior to Friday’s contest in Miami, Clarkson had averaged 21.6 points his past seven games, including a 40-point outing against the 76ers, and has scored in double figures in 27 straight games.
Defensively, Utah limits opponents to 105.9 points a game and is one of the top 3-point defensive teams in the league. Opponents average 10.9 3-pointers per game on 34.7% shooting. Those numbers rank first and third, respectively, in the NBA.
Black history: On Saturday, the Magic will recognize the accomplishments and contributions of African Americans across Central Florida, and Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings will be honored as Clifford’s Social Justice Game Changer as the organization closes out its celebration of Black History Month.
The Magic have been celebrating Black History Month with weekly virtual town halls focused on the team’s approach to diversity and social change as well as activities during their February home games.