Nets vs Magic

The Orlando Magic's homestand continues as they take on the Brooklyn Nets and another juggernaut duo for their defense to handle.

That puts the pressure on another budding young defender in R.J. Hampton. He is quickly building a defensive reputation and the Magic see him as a potential 3-and-D, pace-changing guard at this point. But Carter has found his place in Orlando. He has been a fulcrum as a high-post organizer, a bully on the block, able to hit turnaround fadeaways and post moves or kick it back out. Jalen Suggs got the primary defensive assignment on James Harden in Sunday’s game and did a really good job. He was named a nominee for the Eastern Conference Player of the Week award last week, the second time he has gotten a nomination for the weekly honor. But this will be a test of how much Hampton has gained defensively. He has not missed a beat. The offense did not really tailor to him or emphasize his skills. And then splitting that between him and Kyrie Irving on the road. This is not the Wendell Carter of the Chicago Bulls who was hesitant to shoot and struggled to find his place within the team concept. The Magic defended Joel Embiid and James Harden well all game and they still put up big numbers and paraded to the foul line continuously. They are leaning heavily on Kevin Durant to carry the scoring load. At a certain point, the light flicked on for Wendell Carter. He came to understand just how good he can be and how much his team needs him to be aggressive and look to score.

Orlando, Fla. -- — Kyrie Irving made it two nights in a row with a 60-point scorer in the NBA. A 40-point first half hadn't been seen in almost two decades.

Magic: G Jalen Suggs did not play for the third time in five games after re-injuring his right ankle on Sunday night. Durant scored 53 points in a win against the New York Knicks on Sunday. “That's the true purity of this game, doing it efficiently on both ends of the floor and coming out with a W.” Neither Durant nor Irving played in the loss. Coach Steve Nash said both players might be available Wednesday night against Dallas. ... The Nets won three of four against the Magic this season. He's crafty enough and he's seen every coverage and he knows how to play with a pace. “We’re seeing a lot of talent displayed every night, and this was one of the elite ones.” “There's times he's shooting over two people,” said Magic coach Jamahl Mosley. “You try to double-team him, he's smart enough to know when to go and when not to go. He's fast in transition so you can't speed up and try to deny him. He went on to pass Deron Williams' Nets record of 57 points. Irving shot 20 for 31, including 8 of 12 on 3-pointers, in 35 minutes. Tough ones, with double-teams and triple-teams coming,” he said.

The Brooklyn Nets (36-33) play against the Orlando Magic (52-52) at Amway Center Game Time: 7:00 PM EDT on Tuesday March 15, 2022 Brooklyn Nets 150, ...

– – –6:55 PM Brooklyn Nets@ BrooklynNets –8:13 PM David Hardisty@ clutchfans He has it taped up now.pic.twitter.com/cRhabyvcNF– 7:36 PM Alex Schiffer@ Alex__Schiffer Get behind the scenes in the latest episode of Reel Access. 🎬 –7:59 PM Brooklyn Nets@ BrooklynNets –9:47 PM Law Murray@ LawMurrayTheNU It was a career-high, Nets franchise record, and tied the NBA season-high with Karl-Anthony Towns. Fans in Orlando chanted “Kyrie” at Amway Center.pic.twitter.com/GoFh6jLfj3– 9:31 PM Ajayi Browne@ ajayibrowne It’s pleassure to be a part of it”.#NetsWorld– 9:33 PM Ian Begley@ IanBegley –10:47 PM Dave Early@ DavidEarly But it’s still fine and hasn’t swelled up, so he says he’s all good.#Nets– 10:21 PM Rudy Gobert@ rudygobert27 Get behind the scenes in the latest episode of Reel Access. 🎬 –

It's time to continue our NBA odds series and make a Nets-Magic prediction and pick for Tuesday night's game in Orlando.

The Nets have been the worst team in the NBA at covering the spread. It helps that the Nets will be missing some key players in this matchup. Putting a stop to the Magic isn’t particularly difficult, and the Nets should show that in this game. The Nets are playing against a shorthanded, less talented team. Orlando is currently the worst team in the entire NBA with a 18-51 record. The Nets allow plenty of points per game, but they hold their opponents to a 34% shooting percentage from 3-point range and a 45% shooting percentage overall.

Action Network NBA analyst Joe Dellera hands out his two best bets for Tuesday's NBA slate.

NY, AZ, CO, CT, IA, IL, IN, MI, NJ, PA, TN, VA, WV only. NY, AZ, CO, CT, IA, IL, IN, MI, NJ, PA, TN, VA, WV only. NY, AZ, CO, CT, IA, IL, IN, MI, NJ, PA, TN, VA, WV only. Must be 21+. AZ, CO, IA, IL, IN, LA, MI, NJ, NY, PA, TN, VA, WV, WY only. 21+. New customers only. 21+. New customers only.

Irving scored a career-high 60 points, most in the Nets' NBA history, to lead Brooklyn to a 150-108 victory over the Orlando Magic on Tuesday night. Irving shot ...

Magic: G Jalen Suggs did not play for the third time in five games after re-injuring his right ankle on Sunday night. “That's the true purity of this game, doing it efficiently on both ends of the floor and coming out with a W.” Durant scored 53 points in a win against the New York Knicks on Sunday. Coach Steve Nash said both players might be available Wednesday night against Dallas. ... The Nets won three of four against the Magic this season. He's crafty enough and he's seen every coverage and he knows how to play with a pace. “We’re seeing a lot of talent displayed every night, and this was one of the elite ones.” “There's times he's shooting over two people,” said Magic coach Jamahl Mosley. “You try to double-team him, he's smart enough to know when to go and when not to go. Neither Durant nor Irving played in the loss. Tough ones, with double-teams and triple-teams coming,” he said. He went on to pass Deron Williams' Nets record of 57 points. He's fast in transition so you can't speed up and try to deny him. Irving shot 20 for 31, including 8 of 12 on 3-pointers, in 35 minutes.

And then LeBron James in the 2010s denied various teams a ticket to the Finals.

However, I do see the Magic giving the Nets some hiccups initially but Durant closing the deal out and the Nets winning this 119:108. With the Raptors seizing the seventh spot with each day and the top six teams building a big bridge, a huge boost will be needed from the Nets and as long as both Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant are available, they can accomplish a big winning streak. Orlando has won five of their last nine games and this is one of those rare windows for the Magic where the team has returned a winning record. Meanwhile, Wendell Carter Jr. at the big Forward position has developed into a formidable defender, scorer, and rebounder while Mo Bamba has a lot of promise as a two-way Center. So, how will the Magic approach the next draft building around the solid young core? The Magic has built a solid foundation and with Anthony at one-guard, Suggs at two-guard, Wagner as the wing, Wendell Carter at the Power Forward, and Mo Bamba in the middle, the team features a traditional PG, SG, SF, PF, and C lineup and there is a lot of promise in this unit. The Magic has won just 18 games and has lost 51 of them.