In his career, Trae Young is averaging 26.7 points per game against the Magic.
The Hawks and Magic have a lot to play for down the stretch, with the seeding for the NBA Play-In Tournament up in the air. Here are five reasons to tune into Tuesday night’s Hawks vs Magic showdown on NBA League Pass.
1. Play-In implications: As it stands, the Magic hold a one-game lead over the Hawks for the 7th seed in the Eastern Conference. The seventh seed is important because it would lock in home-court advantage for the 7 vs. 8 Play-In game. If you need a refresher on the Play-In, here’s everything you need to know about the 2025 SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament.
2. First of two crucial matchups: The schedule makers couldn’t have drawn it up much better. The Hawks and Magic split their first two meetings and are due to square off twice over the final week, with the rematch coming on Sunday, the final day of the regular season. The winner of tonight’s game will have the opportunity to clinch the important head-to-head tiebreaker on Sunday.
3. Avoiding the slide: The seventh seed is the goal for both of these teams, but there are also stakes on the other end of the spectrum. As you can see, the seeding possibilities also include either of these teams falling all the way to the No.10 seed. A late tumble over the last week of the season could be disastrous in that either the Hawks or Magic could find themselves playing in a must-win in the No.9 vs. No.10 game next week. That adds to the intrigue of Tuesday’s matchup.
4. Hawks’ offense vs Magic’s defense: This is a great clash of styles, seeing as the Hawks have the No.6 rated offense since the All-Star break, keyed by none other than Trae Young. The Magic’s defense has been their calling card all season, though, and they rank fourth in defensive rating since the break. At home, the Magic have a defensive rating of 107.7, which also ranks fourth in the league. Whichever team gets the advantage in this particular matchup will have the high ground Tuesday.
5. Banchero’s scoring prowess: The Magic’s offense flows through Banchero, who is sixth in the league in scoring over the last 15 games, averaging 29.3 points per game on 47.5 percent shooting. Atlanta is likely to stick Onyeka Okongwu on Banchero as the primary defender, but we can’t rule out the potential for Defensive Player of the Year candidate Dyson Daniels seeing some possessions against him. That alone is worth tuning in with two young stars battling it out in a high-stakes game.
