2:35 pm
July 31

Magic v. Nets

Who will WIN this matchup?

Orlando Magic (30-35)

Brooklyn Nets (30-34)

 

Current odds:

Orlando Magic: (-280)

Brooklyn Nets: (+230)

 

• The line for this game is Magic by 7 points.

• The coronavirus pandemic shut down the NBA for 4 1/2 months and no team will look more different when it returns than the Brooklyn Nets, who had three key players opt out while stars Kyrie Irving (shoulder) and Kevin Durant (Achilles) decided not to push for a return in the abbreviated finish to the season. The new-look Nets will try to lock up their spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs when they return on Friday against the Orlando Magic. Spencer Dinwiddie (20.6 points), Taurean Prince (12.1 points) and center DeAndre Jordan (8.3 points, 10 rebounds) all decided to opt out of the remainder of the season due to COVID-19, leaving Caris LeVert (17.7 points) and Joe Harris (13.9) to shoulder the scoring load for a Brooklyn squad that enters the eight-game sprint to the finish in seventh place in the East, six games clear of the ninth-place Washington Wizards. The Nets brought in 40-year-old guard Jamal Crawford, who last played in April 2019, and Tyler Johnson to supplement the backcourt and will rely on several players who spent the bulk of the season in the G League.

• The Magic are “home” in the Orlando bubble but are away from their families just like every other team as they start a half-game behind Brooklyn in the standings. Orlando is getting healthier with the layoff and added forward Jonathan Isaac back into the rotation during the team’s final scrimmage on Monday.

• Monday marked Isaac’s first action since suffering a knee injury on Jan. 1 and he impressed with 13 points in seven minutes. “(Isaac) brings a lot of energy,” Orlando point guard Markelle Fultz told reporters. “It’s hard not to play hard when he’s on the floor because on both ends, he’s running the floor, he’s playing defense. He kind of helped me a lot, just being out there with him and just seeing his energy. It pushed me to go harder.” Isaac averaged 12 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.4 blocks in 32 games before going down and gives the team a rim protector alongside center Nikola Vucevic (19.5 points, 11 boards) on the inside.

• Johnson, who was waived by the Phoenix Suns in February, is becoming a team leader in the backcourt alongside LeVert during scrimmages while Crawford is expected to hold down the sixth man role that he perfected during his 19-year career. “It’s not just on (coach Jacque Vaughn) to get the new guys up to speed,” Harris told reporters. “A lot of it falls on the players and us being able to communicate with them, especially outside of the stuff on the court. Obviously, we have a lot of time to spend together within the bubble. A lot of it is making sure that everybody is on the same page, full understanding of JV’s concepts, philosophy, everything.” Vaughn will get his first extended run as Brooklyn coach after taking over for Kenny Atkinson and going 2-0 before the league was shut down in March.

• Magic F Aaron Gordon (groin) sat out the final scrimmage but returned to practice on Wednesday and is expected to play.

• LeVert averaged 27.4 points in March, including a 51-point outburst at Boston.

• Orlando owns a three-game winning streak in the series after dropping four straight.

7/10
Confidence
StreakSmarter Pick
Orlando Magic