Orlando Magic Blog

Group Blog talking about the NBA 2009 Eastern Conference Champions. Due to the amazing success of the 2009 playoff run comments are now frequently deleted to kill offensive comments, incoherence, or asininity. Comments can no longer be anonymous and require either a Blogger or OpenID account.

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Magic-killer Bosh to miss tonight's game as TOR visits the Magic

The Magic (38-23, 17-11 home), who have won their last 4 home games, take on TOR (32-26, 14-14 road) tonight at Amway Arena. TOR will be without leading scorer Chris Bosh (22.6 ppg), as he has a swollen knee and will not play this week. Bosh has two of his five career 40+ pt games against the Magic, and is averaging over 33 ppg in his last five games against the Magic. The Raptors have lost two games in a row, both without Bosh, and are coming off a 110-98 road loss to CHA on SUN. Anthony Parker led TOR with 25 pts.

The projected starting lineup for TOR:

G... Jose Calderon (12.5 ppg, 8.7 asts)
G... Anthony Parker (12.0 ppg)
F... Jamario Moon (8.5 ppg, 6.1 rebs)
F... Andrea Bargnani (10.4 ppg)
C... Rasho Nesterovic (4.4 ppg)

Top reserves: T.J. Ford (11.9 ppg, 6.3 asts); Carlos Delfino (9.6 ppg); Jason Kapono (7.8 ppg); Kris Humphries (5.6 ppg); Joey Graham (3.9 ppg); Primoz Brezec (2.1 ppg)

TOR is averaging 100.2 ppg and allowing 96.1 ppg; ORL is averaging 104.3 ppg while allowing 100.4 ppg.

The Magic are 5-2 since the All-Star Break, and one of those losses was an embarrassing loss at the Raptors two weeks ago 127-110, where Bosh scored 40 pts. The Magic won't have to worry about him this time, but still can't get complacent because TOR beat the Magic last season in ORL in a game that Bosh missed. Magic are a 8 1/2 pt favorite against the Raptors (www.pinnaclesports.com).

posted by Mike from Illinois @ 4:45 AM  

2 Comments:

  • At 3:38 PM, Blogger Mike from Illinois said…

    Game day update from today's Sentinel:

    Little-used but still popular second-year guard J.J. Redick is expected to see significant playing time Tuesday night against the Toronto Raptors because of injuries to other Magic guards.

    Starting point guard Jameer Nelson will be back in the lineup after missing Saturday's game against the Knicks because of the flu. Guard Keyon Dooling will not play and guard Keith Bogans is doubtful, after both sat out Tuesday morning's practice at the RDV Sportplex.

    Bogans sustained a strained stomach muscle in Monday's practice. Dooling re-injured his foot in last week's game against Philadelphia and didn't play Saturday against the Knicks.

    The injuries will prompt Coach Stan Van Gundy to alter his guard rotation. Both Nelson and Arroyo will play Tuesday night at point guard, while Redick will become the backup at shooting guard behind Maurice Evans.

     

  • At 4:17 PM, Blogger Mike from Illinois said…

    The Magic should be able to dominate the boards tonight, as the Raptors have been struggling in that area, and without Bosh, the Magic will have that much more of an advantage.

    Hopefully Nelson will snap out of his slump after missing the last game and struggling from the field for several games before that; if he continues to struggle, Arroyo will probably get the majority of playing time tonight.

    Here's hoping Redick takes advantage of his playing time against ther Raptors.

    Even without Bosh, TOR is talented and the Magic will need to remain focused and do a decent job defensively on players like Calderon, Bargnani, Parker, Ford, and Delfino.

    I expect a tough game from the Raptors, but the Magic should be able to come away with a victory tonight.

     

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