NBA preview: The Orlando Magic tries to improve on the road against the Indiana Pacers
The Magic (8-3) have been cruising this season behind the efforts of their dominant centre Dwight Howard, who’s posting 21.2 points and 11 boards per contest this season. And, although they’ve been hard to beat at home thus far, Orlando will take its act
on the road when they travel to Conseco Fieldhouse to take on the Indiana Pacers (5-5) on Saturday 20 November.
The Magic heads into the contest with a three-game winning streak, but looks to alter its recent output on the road, where they have averaged 20 fewer points per game this season. Although they are 2-1 outside of the Amway Center thus far this year, they don’t
appear to be the same squad that managed 16 double-digit road wins just a season ago.
Still, Orlando has been firing on all cylinders lately, winning their most recent contest over the Phoenix Suns, 105-89. They spread the wealth in the win, as six players finished with 10 or more points. The victory also marked the fifth time this season that
the Magic have bested their opponents by at least 15 points on their home floor.
“I think everybody was going offensively,” forward Rashard Lewis, who finished with 13 points, told reporters after the game. “I mean, we did a great job of putting the game away early, move the ball, had a lot of assists, total team effort. Thought we did
a great job of playing team basketball.”
For all their success at Amway, Orlando seems just as lost on the road. Their average of a meagre 84.0 points per game ranks as the league low. Even in their last two road wins, three and one point victories over the Charlotte Bobcats and New Jersey Nets respectively,
the Magic mustered a combined field goal percentage of just 41.5.
Meanwhile, Indiana knows that if they are going to hold the surging Magic anywhere near their road average, they’ll have to continue to pressure their opponents on the defensive side of the ball. In the Pacers’ most recent clash, they held the Los Angeles Clippers
to just 33 percent shooting en route to a 107-80 win.
“We wanted to do it on the defensive end,” Danny Granger said after the game. The small forward tallied a game-high 22 points, while his defence stifled Clippers shooting guard Eric Gordon, who finished just five for 17 from the floor. “We got it accomplished
on that end and shot the ball pretty well. We knew we really needed this one to get back to .500.”
If the Pacers hope to get above .500 on Saturday, they might look to their centre, Roy Hibbert. The big man has been a force to be reckoned with on the offensive end this season, and is averaging nearly five more points per game this season with 16.5. He is
also providing 10.0 boards, 2.8 blocks, and a surprising 3.2 assists on a nightly basis.
Saturday’s match-up will provide the perfect indication of just how much Hibbert has improved, pitting the centre against Orlando’s Howard, the league’s reigning two-time Defensive Player of the Year.
Prediction: Orlando 102, Indiana 97
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