The Raptors’ five-game losing streak against the Hornets pales in comparison to the suffering they’ve given the Orlando Magic. Ten games, three years. That’s the current losing streak the Magic hold against the Raptors. The last time the Magic beat the Raptors, Dwight Howard was in uniform.
These days Orlando has little to play for. They’ve been out of the playoff race for a while now and the focus is set on player development. All things considered, the Magic are well on pace in their rebuild with a promising young core of Oladipo, Payton, and Vucevic, and a bunch of acquired draft picks in the upcoming NBA draft.
Despite playing for nothing, the Magic are playing some of their best basketball of the season. They’ve won three in a row, including an impressive two-point win over the Bulls in Chicago which gives a boost to the Raptors in that hunt for the third seed.
“There’s no playoff but we’re trying to treat every game like a playoff game,” Oladipo said. “There’s teams that we’re playing that are playoff seeds, but we’re trying to get better too.”
Nikola Vucevic – we always knew he was good, but in the past month or so he’s playing out his mind. In the month of April, Vucevic averaged 23.8 points and 10.5 rebounds. That’s 10 more points than his season-average. During the three-game winning-streak Vucevic is shooting a scorching 63.8%. Last Friday against the Wolves he went 18/25 from the field for 37 points, and his 17 rebounds that night weren’t bad either.
Among East centers, Vucevic lies 2nd in rebounding, 1st in scoring, 5th in field goal percentage, 4th in assists, and 2nd in double-doubles. His one knock is his defense – particularly his rim protection. His rim FG% allowed according to Nylon Calculus is 53.9%
It’s an easy assumption to make that Vucevic will be an all-star one day. It’s always interesting to see the Jonas / Nikola match-up. Valanciunas matches up well against Vucevic and can score on him down-low, this is something I’d like to see run often in this game – get the ball to Jonas in deep-post position.
The Orlando Magic – like the Hornets – don’t spread the floor much. Neither Oladipo or Payton – although they’re making strides – aren’t very good three-point shooters, but they have tremendous ability in dribbling, passing, and slashing. Can the Raptors continue their defensive success for the second-straight game? Gerald Henderson was a tough match-up because he’s a really good fundamental player who can post you up in the mid-range. The Oladipo/Payton match-up is trickier, they won’t post you up, but they’ll blow by you pretty easily if you’re not quick enough (looking at you, Vasquez).
To sum it all up, these are the two things we’ll be looking out for tonight:
- Can Valanciunas take advantage of Vucevic down-low while keeping him at bay on the boards?
- Perimeter defense. The Magic are really good at getting into the paint, it all lies on Vasquez / Ross / DeRozan / Lou / JJ to prevent those blow-bys.
Game notes:
- Kyle Lowry is questionable. It all depends on how he feels this morning. If he plays, don’t expect him to log his normal minutes as Dwane Casey will be looking to ease him back into form in time for the post-season.
- Amir Johnson is ruled out with a sprained right ankle.
- The Magic will be playing without Willie Green and Devyn Marble; while Luke Ridnour is questionable.
Tip-off is at 7 PM EST.
