Game Preview and Prediction: San Antonio Spurs at Orlando Magic
LaMarcus Aldridge readies for the matchup against the Magic (Photo via Twitter)
The San Antonio Spurs (5-6) will attempt to get back on the winning track tonight against the Orlando Magic (4-7). The Spurs, who have lost three straight contests, are only 1-3 on the road. The Magic, who have won two of their last three, are 4-3 at home.
This game could be extra interesting considering the rumblings of a DeMar DeRozan to the Magic trade potentially being in the works.
Will Dejounte Murray Play Tonight Against the Orlando Magic?
Dejounte Murray isn’t playing back-to-back games yet after tearing his ACL last season, thus he’ll either have to sit tonight against the Magic or tomorrow night at home versus the Portland Trail Blazers.
Logically, it probably makes sense for Murray to play against the Blazers, especially considering how well he defended Damian Lillard the first time the two teams played this season. However, head coach Gregg Popovich and his team might be too desperate for a win tonight to hurt their chances by sitting their starting point guard.
San Antonio Spurs Starting Lineup
While talk of San Antonio’s starting lineup struggling has been mentioned in the mainstream media recently, Pop hasn’t shown any signs that a change to the starting five is in the cards. As of now, Murray, Bryn Forbes, DeMar DeRozan, LaMarcus Aldridge and Trey Lyles will likely keep starting.
If Pop is going to make a change, it could be to put Rudy Gay in place of Lyles. Another option is elevating Derrick White and sitting either Murray or Forbes, but that is far less likely.
Orlando Magic Starting Lineup
The Magic will start Markelle Fultz, Evan Fournier, Aaron Gordon, Jonathan Isaac and Nikola Vucevic. That’s been the starting lineup for Orlando in their last six games and they’ve shown some signs of improvement during that stretch.
Spurs at Magic – Key Matchup
LaMarcus Aldridge versus Nikola Vucevic is a battle of two 2019 NBA All-Star Game big men. Aldridge held up well last game out against Karl-Anthony Towns and they’ll need him to play well again tonight against Vucevic. The Spurs don’t need Aldridge to dominate but they can’t afford for him to disappear like he has at times early in the season.
Prediction: Spurs at Magic
Orlando is a strong defensive team that struggles to score. San Antonio is a strong offensive team that struggles to defend. If the Spurs can improve their ball-movement and shoot well from three-point land, they have a chance to put more points than expected on the board. As it is, oddsmakers favor the Magic to win by an approximate final score of 107-103. I think it’ll be a higher scoring game than that, with the Spurs pulling out a close one to snap their three-game losing streak.
San Antonio Spurs – 110
Orlando Magic – 108