NBA Match Preview: Detroit Pistons vs Orlando Magic
Meeting for the first time this season, Orlando Magic hosts Detroit Pistons on Tuesday night. With the Magic holding second place in the eastern conference standing, the Pistons are trailing far behind in the standings this season.
Magic have enjoyed a superb run this season with only four losses sporting a 12-4 record for the season so far. Playing two away and two home games last week, Magic finished the week with a 3-1 record losing only their match on
Monday against West Conference toppers, San Antonio Spurs. Failing to make triple digits, Magic lost the match 97-106. However, the rest of the week was a thrilling run for the Magic since they moved to a three game winning streak. Moving into triple digits
in all three matches, Magic enjoyed wins over Miami Heat (104-95) on Wednesday, Cleveland Cavaliers (111-100) on Friday and Washington Wizards (100-99) on Saturday. Going 8-2 at home, Magic is currently averaging 91.8 points per game.
Magic’s victory on Saturday goes to their star centre Dwight Howard. With Howard controlling the glass, the centre player pulled off a clutch rebound and putback to score in the final seconds. Talking about their victory Dwight
said, "I don't think you can steal wins. I think you can just play hard until the end and that is what we did."
With Dwight on their side, the Magic feel confident about their fourth straight win on Tuesday. Magic coach Stan Van Gundy expressed his confidence in Dwight while talking to the press. He said, "I don't think there's anybody
in the NBA playing better basketball than he is. We are only 16 games into the year now, but if you stopped it right now and he isn't the MVP right now, something is seriously wrong."
Given the Pistons record of allowing 44.2 points on the glass per game lately, Dwight might pull off another rebounding effort to carry the Magic to victory.
Looking at the Pistons recent win-loss record, Magic might be in for a swish and win on Tuesday. In their final three meetings of 2009-10, Magic beat the Pistons with Howard averaging 23.7 points and 14.7 boards.
Pistons are having their worst season yet on the road. Scraping a 2-7 record so far on the season, Pistons have lost five of its seven away matches last month. The team has averaged 88.1 points in their losses on the road. Their
last away match was on Wednesday last week when they failed to enter triple digits against the Memphis Grizzlies, losing 84-105.
Their home record recently rose to 4-4 as they added yet another defeat to their results this Sunday. Playing the New York Knicks, the Pistons lost 116-125. Despite the loss, forward Tayshaun Prince and shooting guard Tracy McGrady
gave notable performances in the match against the Knicks. Prince managed to tie the game at 99 at the end of the regulation and then again tied it at 109 in the first extra period. Grady saw extended playing time; since Coach John Kuester believed, he had
what it took to keep up with the Knicks. The former Orlando star himself believes that he is getting better every day and is becoming more and more comfortable and confident on the court.
Should Prince and Grady pull through, the Pistons might be looking at a victory against Magic. However, given the Magic’s winning streak, it seems like a long shot that the Pistons might emerge victorious in tonight’s matchup.
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