The Orlando Magic play their first home game in the In-Season Tournament as they battle the Toronto Raptors with a chance to set themselves up for a big game Friday in the finale.In-Season Tournament East Group COrlando Magic There is a lot on the line for the OrlandMagic as they take on the Toronto Raptors in the In-Season Tournament. They have ground to make up with the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets sitting on two wins (the Nets lost to the Celtics already). Orlando has to win out in order to assure the team can advance — and throw the group into chaos. More than that, Orlando has to make up a lot of ground thanks to that 20-point loss to Brooklyn last week. So the Orlando Magic not only have to win, but they need some pretty sizable wins to get back into the mix — the Miami Heat are the current Wild Card leader at 2-0 with a +13 and games against the New York Knicks and Milwaukee Bucks remaining (the Philadelphia 76ers are 2-1 with a +12 and only the Cleveland Cavaliers left).
- The Magic can put themselves in the race with a win. The Raptors are still working to get into it. But after losing to the Celtics, they need to pick up wins now. And they have very little margin for error. Whether that ratchets up the intensity, who is to say? What we do have is a game between two teams that are very talented defensively but struggle a lot offensively. The game is likely going to come down to unforced mistakes and turnovers. The Magic are very good at forcing turnovers and the Raptors have the length to match to match and take advantage of miscues too.
Amway Center has been especially good.
The Orlando Magic have sold out all four of their games at the Amway Center so far — opening night against the Houston Rockets and games against the Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Mavericks and Milwaukee Bucks.
There are some marquee opponents in there, but Orlando is buying into this team. There is no reason to think the fans will not show up and make the In-Season Tournament game a major event (certainly Friday’s game will be a big one).The Magic have acknowledged how much the home crowd lifts them. And the stats back that up. In their home games (including the game in Mexico City), the Magic have a more respectable 114.9 offensive rating and an elite 105.0 defensive rating. Orlando has turned in some big performances at the Amway Center already.
