Magic can measure progress tonight
A little more than half a year has passed since the Orlando Magic last played a game that counted. In those six-plus months, Magic players have had to live with the realization that they finished the 2012-13 regular season with the NBA’s worst record.
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Magic-Pacers preview. C4 Tough test for Vucevic. C4
They spent their entire offseason trying to improve, attempting to make sure they never go 20-62 again.
Tonight, they’ll start to learn whether their work paid off. They’ll open their 2013-14 regular season on the road against one of the league’s top teams, the physical anddefense-oriented Indiana Pacers.
“It should be fun,” Magic small forward Maurice Harkless said. “It’s going to beagoodmeasuringstick for us. They’re a good team, a great defensive team. It’s just going to give us a chance to go out there and see where we are.”
TheNBA’s schedule-makers did the Magic no favors, beginning Orlando’s season with three games in four nights.
The Pacers embarrassed the Magic the last time they
faced each other. On March 19 at Amway Center, Indiana thumped Orlando 95-73 as the Magic managed to make just 32 percent of their shot attempts.
“A different year,” Magic coach Jacque Vaughn said. “Adifferent team.”
In reality, though, the Magic have largely the same roster they had back in midMarch. That’s by design. Team officials want to allocate as much playing time as possible to their young nucleus of 21-year-old rookie guard Victor Oladipo, 23-year-old center Nik Vucevic, 21-year-old forward Tobias Harris and Harkless, who is 20. Each youngster needs to make strides in the season ahead.
Theopenerwill offer tests for each of them, except for Harris, who won’t play becauseof a sprained left ankle.
Oladipo, who is adjusting to playing point guard, will return to the state where he played college basketball and will face a Pacers team that led the NBA in defensive efficiency last season.
Vucevic will match-up against the Pacers’ 7-foot-2 center, Roy Hibbert.
“It’s a tough challenge,” Vucevic said. “They’reoneof the best front lines in this league. We’ve just got to match their physicality. It’s going to be opening night for both of us, so it’ll be exciting. Everybody’s ready to go and raring to go.”
Harkless could guard the Pacers’ rising star, swingman Paul George.
The Magic are settled at every position except for power forward, where Vaughn will choose among 23-year-olds Kyle O’Quinn and Andrew Nicholson and 30-year-old Jason Maxiell, whowas the team’s top freeagent acquisition over the summer. Vaughn won’t disclose whohe’ll start at power forward against the Pacers, but Maxiell would provide toughness and experience against the Pacers’ rugged power forward, David West.
“Part of the reason that Max is here is to bring a physicality and an aggressiveness to our team, and I think he enjoys that,” Vaughn said.
The Magic will need to harness all of their toughness in the days ahead.
On Wednesday night, less than 24 hours after they’re done with the Pacers, the Magic will face the Minnesota Timberwolves in Minneapolis.
On Friday, the Magic will play their home opener against the New Orleans Pelicans.
But the opener against the Pacers will set a tone that the preseason couldn’t set.
The matchup will gauge how much the Magic have developed since last season.
“That’s a great defensive group, a team that’s built to win now,” Magic shooting guard Arron Afflalo said of the Pacers. “It’ll be a great test for us, and I’m looking forward to it.”