Game night preview
ORLANDO MAGIC vs. DETROIT PISTONS
Wednesday, Feb. 17. 7:00 p.m.
Amway Arena
Orlando, FL
With the All-Star break now behind them, the Orlando Magic (36-18, 20-5 home) will tip off the second half of their push for the
postseason on Wednesday when they host the rival Detroit Pistons (19-33, 6-18 road) for the final time this season at 7 p.m. ET. After dropping their first matchup in Detroit this season, the Magic have rattled off two straight victories against the Pistons. In their last meeting on Jan. 31, superstar center Dwight Howard erupted for 16 points, 15 rebounds and five blocked shots to help Orlando earn a 91-86 road win and secure Magic Head Coach Stan Van Gundy's place in the All-Star Game. The Magic will need another superb performance out of Howard if they hope to notch a victory against an opponent that always brings a high level of intensity and finds a way to give them trouble. "That is how they play," Van Gundy said about Detroit. "They play very, very hard." While Orlando is looking to build upon on the first half of its season, the Pistons are attempting to put their pre-All-Star performance behind them. Perennial playoff-contender Detroit finds itself with the fourth-worst record in the Eastern Conference.| Team | Record | Standings | PF | PA | Road/Home | Streak | L10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit | 19-33 | 4th Central / 12th East | 92.0 | 96.4 | Road 6-18 | Won 1 | 4-6 |
| Orlando | 36-18 | 1st Southeast / 2nd East | 101.2 | 95.9 | Home 20-5 | Lost 1 | 7-3 |
Here is the complete preview from Yahoo! Sports.
The Magic are 12 point favorites.
Also, check out this interview by John Denton of the Magic's official web site with Magic GM Otis Smith.
posted by Mike from Illinois @ 12:27 AM
3 Comments:
At 4:20 AM,
Mike from Illinois said…
Back to basketball now for the Magic after the All-Star Break. Hopefully the players enjoyed the time off (except for D12 who was in the All-Star Game), nagging injuries have healed, and they will be ready for the final 28 games. The number two seed in the East is indeed a realistic possibility.
The Pistons will pose a tough game for the Magic tonight, as they always do, no matter their record. The Pistons will be healthy for the first time this year in facing the Magic, and they were very impressive in their rout of Minnesota Tuesday.
The Magic should find a way to win, though, as they are clearly the better team and are playing at home.
Vince Carter has averaged over 22 points a game this month; and he should be feeling pretty good now with the 5 days off from the break.
At 2:04 PM,
Big Figure said…
Yea with so much time off everybody should be ready to go,hopefully we'll be sharp even if the jumpers arent falling. VC needs to stay aggressive and we need to continue to play through dwight,if we do that at some point we will take detroit out of what they want to do offensively because our defense is so much better when we score.
At 5:14 PM,
Mike from Illinois said…
Nice question-and-answer session by John Denton with Otis Smith.
Judging from Smith's comments, there won't be any last-minute activity by the Magic before the trading deadline, which is probably a good thing; no need to mess with the team chemistry now with everyone finally getting healthy and getting used to playing together.
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