ORLANDO -- From bad to worse to completely incomprehensible, the Orlando Magic headed into Thursday night’s game with just one healthy point guard on their roster and just minutes into the contest were left with none.
Less than 24 hours later, the injury-riddled Magic will once again take the floor shorthanded and do their best to match the stellar effort they put forth a night earlier when they face the Sacramento Kings at 10 p.m. ET on Friday.
“In terms of effort, couldn’t be prouder of them and I’m not like that,” Magic Head Coach Steve Clifford explained. “Our guys competed hard the whole game.”
It’s unclear whether the Magic will have a true floor general on hand when they go head-to-head with the red-hot Kings, winners of seven of their last nine games. Frank Mason III left the team’s matchup with the Warriors due to a right groin strain and was unable to return. Cole Anthony is still dealing with pain in his right shoulder after straining it against the Trail Blazers on Tuesday. Michael Carter-Williams (sprained left foot) is inching closer to a return, and even if he’s able to go, will be challenged from a conditioning perspective after missing Orlando’s last 19 games.
“Probably the biggest difference in the game (against the Warriors) was they picked up in the second half full court,” Clifford said. “And without a true point guard (it’s tough). The guys that handled (the ball) did a good job but it’s just different, it’s harder.”
Without a true point guard available, turnovers were costly for the Magic down the stretch in that 111-105 loss to the Warriors. Despite the overwhelming adversity, Orlando led by 11 points in the third quarter and five in the fourth. However, nine second-half turnovers, including seven in the final frame, proved to be too costly for the Magic to overcome.
Expect the Kings to be equally aggressive on Orlando’s ballhandlers, especially if the team is once again without a natural point guard.
“I just want to win, that’s all I want to do,” said James Ennis III, who’s eclipsed double figures in scoring in four out of the Magic’s last five games. “Whatever it takes to win, I’m going to lay it out there and give it my all for forty-eight minutes.”
Fatigue will also certainly be a factor against Sacramento as Orlando’s valiant effort in Golden State came at a cost. With just eight healthy players active, the Magic were forced to play five of them over 35 minutes, including rookie Chuma Okeke, who in his fifth game back from a bone bruise in his left knee, notched a career high in minutes played (35:03).
“Stay on top of my treatment, get in the cold tub, we’ve just got to stay ready,” said Okeke of how he’ll prepare for extended minutes against the Kings. “Get a lot of rest, get as much rest as we can since it’s a back-to-back. Mainly, just get treatment, get rested up, and come in (against Sacramento) and play hard again.”
QUOTE TO NOTE: “I want to make sure we understand, this has not been attitude driven now. This has been, and I don’t make excuses, our biggest problem has been the injuries. I wouldn’t say we’ve been in this big rut; we’ve been undermanned. We’ve been underdogs in every game we’ve played, I believe. I wouldn’t view it that way. … It hasn't been just Markelle (Fultz) being out; it’s been, they’ve all been out. So, it hasn’t been that we had one injury and been playing with everybody else. (Against the Warriors), we played with one starter. So, that’s been the biggest problem. And, actually, we’ve gotten better in some things. We have to get better. We’re undermanned, and it’s going to be like that the majority of the year, and we’re going to have to find ways to get better and win.” – Clifford on his team’s effort and energy while facing injuries in recent weeks.
KEY STAT: Rookie Tyrese Haliburton is having a sensational start to his inaugural campaign. Along with being named the Western Conference Rookie of the Month for games played in December and January, the No. 12 overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft is ranked fourth among all rookies in scoring (12.0 points per game), tied for 10th in rebounds (3.6), second in assists (5.3), second in steals (1.2), sixth in field goal percentage (49.5 percent), and third in three-point field goal percentage (45.5 percent).
INJURY UPDATE: Presumably, Al-Farouq Aminu (injury management), Anthony, Carter-Williams, Evan Fournier (back spasms), and Mason will all be listed as questionable against the Kings, while Aaron Gordon (left ankle sprain), Markelle Fultz (torn ACL, left knee), and Jonathan Isaac (left knee rehabilitation) will be out. Karim Mane (G League/two-way) is not available.
For the Kings, Da’Quan Jeffries (left ankle sprain) is questionable, while Jahmi'us Ramsey and Robert Woodard II are on G League assignment.
RIVALS REPORT: In this edition of our Rivals Report series, we’re joined by Sacramento Kings sideline reporter and analyst Kayte Christensen-Hunter, who covers the team for NBC Sports California. She was generous enough to take the time and provide her insight on the Kings.
Savage: “The Kings have been extremely impressive over the last nine games, winning seven of them, what’s stood out to you over that stretch?”
Christensen-Hunter: “To see what’s changed over this last stretch, you have to go back to the first three weeks of January, basically, where the Kings defense had reached historical lows, through NBA numbers, not just franchise numbers. They were just giving up a ton of points, couldn’t guard anyone, and I think they were averaging at one point almost one-hundred-and-thirty-two points given up a night. So, they had the game against New York that started this stretch, but then the two Memphis games were postponed, and they had five days. They were able to get into the gym and really practice. Since then, their defense has completely turned around. I think that had a lot to do with it, but also when you look overall at the play of a lot of people, De’Aaron Fox, obviously, Tyrese Haliburton. But Harrison Barnes has been having a career year (and) so is Richaun Holmes. And then, Buddy Hield, whose scoring numbers are not what we’re used to seeing, he’s having the best year of his career because he’s actually starting to impact the game in multiple ways. You see (head coach) Luke Walton, sometimes (he’ll play) Buddy Hield the most minutes of anyone on the floor, which when you rewind to last season where he was kind of relegated to the bench, and there were games where he wouldn’t even be put in, in the fourth quarter because he was a defensive liability. Now, he has kind of the whole trust of Luke Walton. As you know, Luke Walton was new here last year. That season when it ended with COVID, they were on a tear. They were playing their best basketball of the season and then the pandemic happened. So, I think what it is, when you look at the whole umbrella of things, it’s taken a little bit of time for Luke Walton to implement his system and get guys to buy in and that’s been the difference. People have bought in, they understand their roles, they understand the system, and the changes to the offense, the defense, everything. I think it’s just been time, the culmination of all these things and time that’s led to this stretch that they’re on right now.”
Savage: “Magic fans will get their first look at Tyrese Haliburton, what have you seen from him throughout his rookie campaign?”
Christensen-Hunter: “It’s shocking, actually. I’ve never seen a rookie that plays like a five, six, seven-year vet. He’s so calm and so poised. And he absolutely dominates in big moments. He’s not afraid to take the big shot. It doesn’t matter. Against Denver when the Kings beat them here at home, for the third win over them, he hit a crazy bucket right at the buzzer of the second quarter, which really factored into things down the stretch. He just doesn’t give up on plays. He makes the right decisions. He can score, he can get his, but he’s tremendous in terms of distributing and seeing the floor. I’ve been just pleasantly shocked by how good he is with very little experience. He had that one year at Iowa State and then he got hurt early in his second season. He’s impressive.”
Savage: “As you look at De’Aaron Fox’s season, just how impressed are you with his continued growth and what have you seen from him this season?”
Christensen-Hunter: “I think that signing that contract in the offseason and having that weight of kind of a max contract and franchise player, he’s elevated his game in a way because he knows that it’s important for him to live up to it and to prove that he deserves it. His three-point shot, I was breaking down his numbers before our last game, because he’s scoring in the paint at a ridiculous clip. In the win over the Clippers, he had twenty-four of the team’s sixty-six paint points. And when I was looking and comparing it to last season, the percentage of his overall points this year in the paint is lower than last year. The difference is, he had like forty-three threes prior to last game where last year I think he had fifty-three all season. His three-point shot, and even just his mid-range shot, his jumper in the lane, it’s become something that you have to guard, and you have to respect it. He has just elevated himself. To me, it’s so crazy because you can’t quantify this, but watching him through this stretch, he’s realized that he can get whatever he wants, whenever he wants on the floor. To see him taking those chances and really pushing defenses and still being able to get whatever he wants is an evolution. Against the Clippers the other day, Kawhi (Leonard) scored with (approximately) just under sixty seconds left in the game and it was definitely still up for grabs. And then, Kawhi came down the floor and waved off De’Aaron’s defender and was like ‘I’m going to guard him on this possession.’ And then, De’Aaron blew by him like his feet were nailed to the ground, and the defense had to come and rotate at the basket, and then, Richaun Holmes got an open dunk that pretty much sealed the game. So, that’s kind of the difference to me, that everyone is trying to figure out how to stop him whether it’s trapping on pick-and-rolls, he’s still able to split defenders and get to the rim. He’s just able to get whatever he wants, whenever he wants. He, I think, realizes that now.”
https://www.nba.com/magic/orlando-magic-sacramento-kings-game-preview-story-20210212
2021-02-12 16:47:53Z
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