ORLANDO -- After completing a two-game preseason stint in Atlanta, the Orlando Magic host the Charlotte Hornets for two consecutive contests to close out their exhibition schedule with the first matchup taking place on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET.
The Magic are looking to build momentum heading into the regular season and will utilize the remaining preseason schedule to develop rhythm and improve execution.
“They’re exhibition games and really the biggest thing is the workout and the execution part,” Magic Head Coach Steve Clifford explained.
Clifford has been pleased with the team’s work ethic and focus over the last two days in response to Orlando’s poor showing in its second matchup against Atlanta. Over that time, the Magic have increased their drill work and engaged in scrimmages both in half-court and full-court settings.
“We need to keep getting better each game and each day, actually, in practice and keep moving forward,” Magic swingman Michael Carter-Williams explained. “Each day we’re getting a little bit better and a little more comfortable with each other. We’re ready to go.”
The Magic’s matchup with the Hornets will mark the first game on the Amway Center floor since March 2 – an exorbitant amount of time as a result of the prior season’s pause due to COVID-19 and subsequent resumption in the NBA bubble.
“It’ll be great,” Magic center Nikola Vucevic said. “We obviously haven’t played there in a long time and obviously it’s unfortunate that we won’t have all the fans that we could usually get there, but it’ll be great to be back. It’s been a really long time since March, so it’ll probably be a little bit weird at first, but it’ll be fun to be back.”
Just as he did with Hawks Head Coach Lloyd Pierce, Clifford touched base with Hornets Head Coach James Borrego earlier this week about plans for the matchup. It’s not uncommon for NBA teams to reach out to one another during the preseason to ensure they’re seeing a variety of defensive looks and getting the most out of the exhibition schedule.
“We’re going to play some zone like we did in Atlanta, more after timeouts or maybe side out of bounds and Charlotte is planning on doing the same thing,” Clifford said. “We actually did some zone offense (in practice on Wednesday). It’s good.”
IN AND OUT: After missing the team’s first two preseason games, Terrence Ross (non-displaced, hairline fracture, first metatarsal, left foot) participated in all aspects of the team’s past two practices and is considered probable to play against Charlotte.
“My wind feels great actually,” Ross said of his conditioning after the team’s practice on Wednesday. “I caught my second wind really early, so I was able to go up and down, run up all over the place and be my old, normal self. I surprisingly feel great right now. I feel right back in the rhythm of things.”
Mo Bamba (post-Covid-19 recovery), Al-Farouq Aminu (right knee rehabilitation), and Jonathan Isaac (left knee rehabilitation) are all listed as out.
The Hornets will be without one of their prized new additions on Thursday. The team announced that Gordon Hayward sustained an avulsion fracture of his fifth metacarpal on his right hand during their preseason game against the Toronto Raptors on Dec. 14. Hayward will miss at least the first game in Orlando and will be listed as day-to-day.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “It’s going to be challenging for sure. Those teams got better. It’s going to be a different approach to how we play those teams. I think for the most part, it’s going to be a grind-it-out type of division for us,” – Ross on the strength of the Southeast Division.
KEY STATS: There was a lot of talk throughout training camp that Markelle Fultz was primed to take another step this season. Through two contests, the Magic’s floor general is averaging 15.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists per contest, while shooting 50 percent from the floor and 60 percent (3-for-5) from 3-point range. Equally as impressive has been his pace of play and command of Orlando’s offense.
FAMILIAR FACES: Dwayne Bacon will go against his former squad for the first time since signing with the Magic as a free agent on Nov. 24. In Orlando's first two preseason games, Bacon, who started at shooting guard in both contests, has posted 11 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.5 steals per game.
"It's been good playing him," Vucevic said of Bacon, who spent the first three seasons of his NBA career in Charlotte. "He can score in many ways. He's a big body, athletic, plays physical and is crafty also."
"He can be really good for us," the Magic center continued. "I know Cliff likes him a lot. When he was in Charlotte, he played well with Cliff. He started some games for them as well. I think he'll be a good addition for us."
RIVALS REPORT: In this edition of our Rivals Report series, I brought in special guest, Hornets Senior Director of Digital Media Matt Rochinski. We’ve known each other longer than either of us would care to admit and when I want to know something about Charlotte, there’s no better person to turn to. Rochinski has been with the team for 15 seasons and was the long-time host of the Hornets.com pregame show. He was kind enough to take the time to answer the following three questions about the team – although since my seven appearances on his award-winning pregame show are an unofficial opposing team guest record, he kind of owed me:
Savage: “The Hornets took the Ball and ran with it on draft night, what have you seen from LaMelo so far and what’s stood out to you in these first two preseason games?”
Rochinski: “In the first preseason game, you could really tell he was focused on getting to the rack, rebounding, working on assists – he didn’t score at all in the first preseason game, but he still made a tremendous impact on the game. I think that’s the type of player he’s going to be. He’s going to impact the game on so many different areas of the court. He came out and grabbed ten rebounds in his first preseason game, that shows this kid has no fear. He’s played in professional settings before. He’s not your typical rookie coming in who might have some tentativeness on the court. He definitely does not have that, and we saw in game two that he can light it up too. When he wants to score and he wants to focus on that part of his game, he definitely has all the tools there to become an offensive threat and light things up in the score column as well.”
Savage: “What do the Hornets want to get out of these next two games in Orlando?”
Rochinski: “I think we’re really trying to establish how we want to play. With so many new additions, coach Borrego has really emphasized wanting to play with pace, wanting to play an up-tempo style of pace with the group that we have. He’s seen through the first two preseason games that it’s worked really effectively in stretches, but I think the big thing in these next two against the Magic is getting some consistency with it. We haven’t played in nine months like a handful of other teams and the first two preseason games kind of showed that. I think it’s time to establish more consistency in how the guys are playing as we get ready to enter the regular season.”
Savage: “Injury aside, what does the addition of Hayward mean to the franchise and what do you think he can bring to the team?”
Rochinski: “Gordon brings with him, not only a veteran presence for us in the locker room that we definitely need with this younger lineup that we have, but he also brings with him not only the leadership, but an All-Star caliber recognition with it as well. He’s a proven winner. He knows what to do. He’s played at the highest level and he’s really going to be relied on to bring that into our locker room. On the court, the guy does a little bit of everything. He’s really a swiss army knife in terms of what he does on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. He can create for others, but also get his own shot. He’s just so skilled offensively at being able to make the right decisions and factors into the positionless basketball that we’re wanting to play with as many guards and as many wings as we have right now. It’s going to be exciting to see what he brings; he's brought that in the first two preseason games so far.”