Game Preview: Orlando Magic vs. San Antonio Spurs
Orlando Magic will be visiting the Spurs at their hometown, AT&T Centre, San Antonio. Both teams are strong contestants of the event as they have already defeated their opponents in their (respective) previous matches. An interesting
match is expected to be witnessed by the home-crowd of the Spurs.
The Spurs will be struggling to maintain their eye-catching reputation, the best start in franchise history that includes a 10-game winning streak.
Preview
Orlando Magic defeated hosts Indiana Pacers in their previous match at Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis in the presence of 14,583 fans, their fourth consecutive victory. Dwight Howard headed Magic with 25 points and 12 rebounds.
Magic guard Jameer Nelson's 3-point play on the ensuing possession gave Orlando the lead for good. Rashard Lewis added 21 points.
Spurs headed Cleveland Cavaliers 116 – 92 at AT&T Centre, San Antonio. Tony Parker led with 19 points, the fifth-straight game he's led in scoring, and rookie Tiago Splitter contributed with 18 points. Manu Ginobili finished with
13 points on 4-of-7 shooting, hit 4-of-5 shots, including a pair of 3-pointers, and added 3-of-4 free throws.
Players to Watch
A re-energized Tony Parker has been a big reason for the Spurs’ incredible performances. After being limited to 56 games last season due to injuries, he's averaging 19.1 points and 7.7 assists in the 2010-11 season. He scored at
least 20 points in five straight games before going 7 of 11 from the field in 28 minutes of the game in the last match.
Beside Parker, other players like Splitter, Jefferson and Ginobili have great capabilities to play the next game for the Spurs in a fantastic manner.
At Magic’s end, Howard continues his dream pace while averaging a double-double. He led the Magic in rebounding for the sixth time in 10 games this season and also stayed out of foul trouble. Howard continues to show marked improvement
at the free-throw line, a stat the big man has fought with throughout his career. After hitting 4 of 8 shots from the stripe Thursday, he has now made 50 percent of his free-throws or better in the last three games.
Apart from Howard, the game at Magic’s end can be headed by Lewis and Nelson.
Quotable Quotes
"We've been a pretty good road team over the years since I've been here, especially since Stan's been here," who converted a go-ahead three-point play with 33 seconds left. "It's hard to go on the road because you don't have the
energy coming from your fans. It's good to win games with your defence and your intensity,” said point-guard Jameer Nelson.
Magic’s coach Stan Van Gundy said, "We have a lot of grind-it-out wins.
"We're not scoring a lot offensively. On the positive side, towards the end of the season, come playoff time, we've got to learn to win those games."
Numbers
Beside all efforts and aging core, San Antonio is second in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with 107.8 points per game. Last season they averaged 101.4 points.
Orlando beat the Spurs 110-84 at home on March 17, 2010.
The Magic are shooting 46.3 percent from the field and the Spurs are forecasted to shoot 46 percent.
The Spurs have the rebounding edge at 41.6 to 39.3.
The Spurs are committing fewer turnovers at 11.9, while on other hand, Magic is making 15.2 turnovers.
Orlando Magic are making 9.8 three-pointers on 42 percent from three point range; meanwhile, the Spurs are making 5.8 three-pointers on 39.2 percent.
Once again, the above mentioned is merely statistical data; the actual match at AT&T Centre will decide the winner of the game. The team with a proper game-plan and hard work will emerge the winner of the encounter.
Tags: