Orlando Magic get their players back, get back to who they are
The Orlando Magic are starting to get some healthy bodies back and they’re starting to get their defense back live from New York it’s locked on Magic you are locked on Magic your daily Orlando Magic podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day And you are indeed locked on Magic today is January 15 2024 my name is Philip Rossman I’m the expert and site editor over at orlandomagic daily.com you follow me on Twitter Philip rore OMD on today’s episode of lockdown magic how the Orlando Magic picked up a huge TN
Over the New York Knicks it started with yes getting some guys back healthy like health is wealth people the magic gets some key players back to their lineup they get their defense back and the Orlando Magic put themselves in a great position to win but needed some late
Game grit to do it we’ll get to all that coming up on today’s episode but before we do that we want to thank you again for making lockdown magic part of your day every day no matter when you listen to us whether it’s first in the morning
Whether it’s right when we upload we truly appreciate you making lockdown magic part of your day every day remember there’s a great lockdown podcast covering every single team in the NBA just search for locked on and the team you’re looking for the lockon podcast Network it’s your team every day
Today’s episode of lock on Magic is brought to you by FanDuel make every moment more right now new customers get $150 in bonus bets guaranteed when you place a five bet visit fanduel.com lockon to get started today we’ve been talking about this for a week and a half now like literally the
Only thing that we’ve been talking about and and one of the things that we’ve been saying is that this team needs to be healthy um look it it it doesn’t take a genius and look like I said after the Magic’s loss to the Nuggets or after Magic’s lost to the Thunder injuries
Aren’t why the magic are necessarily losing but they’re not helping so getting some healthy bodies back getting wendo Carter back having Marquel fultz Joe Engles and Jonathan Isaac all play you’re beginning to see this team kind of look the way they did back in November for the first time in a very
Very long time you’re kind of beginning to see this team play the way we know they’re capable of playing be just dominant in the paint defensively just protecting the rim rebounding getting some turnovers just trying to just grit and gut games out health is everything for the magic health is everything for
This team and it’s something they’ve been missing so yeah getting wend Carter back for the first time since uh Janu since January 3rd since the game in Sacramento first time in five games absolutely huge and he came up big with several Big Shots we’re going to talk
About the late game stuff a little bit later on but coming up with several Big Shots several big stops several you know he only had three rebounds but several big plays in the paint to set everyone else up he just makes everybody else better the same with Mark El fults and I
Know people are still down on his shot and he didn’t shoot the ball great in this game and still looked a little rusty and a little concerning um a little concerning on that front but you can see when he is at full boore when he
Is able to get down hill into the paint you can see how he makes everyone around him better how how this team is put in a better position to win when folz is doing what Foltz does and again late in the game folz came through with big
Shots and big baskets um for this te and big plays not big shots big baskets but big plays to help them win this game it’s Jonathan Isaac being a present on the glass A present in paint it’s Joe Eng Les being able to facilitate and make everyone else better these are
Players these are good players that make everyone’s life easier and you can just look at the box score and see the effect that they had no player off the Magic’s bench had a plus minus of smaller than minus six for whatever you want to say about that stat that tells you something
The magic won those bench minutes pretty deis ly in fact Markel folz was plus 11 Cole Anthony wend Carter was plus4 Cole Anthony plus 18 Jonathan Isaac plus 15 these were huge minutes just having those quality players pack not having to lean on eight guys and and eight guys
That are you know frankly again no offense to some of these players back of the rotation players the magic didn’t quite have their full compliment obviously fron vogner is out right now Mo Vagner didn’t play Anthony black didn’t play they didn’t have their full compliment but they got enough of these
Healthy bodies back to play the kind of defense that we’re used to seeing this team play make no mistake about it as much as we’re all concerned about the offense and the defense slipped what in their absence but wasn’t this the magic before these injuries or during these injuries couldn’t
Survive if couldn’t Sur couldn’t survive because their offense just wasn’t good enough this was a game where they had a defense that could make up for their offensive shortcomings they had a defense that could stand tall even if they weren’t making shots the Nicks overall shoot 39.8% from four 32 and a
Half% from three 13 for 40 uh 15 of 22 from line so didn’t foul a lot forced 10 turnovers for 12 points gave up just 36 points in the paint New York shot 18 for 35 in the paint um Orlando was 26 for 45 they got 52 points in the paint that is
A huge factor for the magic something that’s been slipping over the last couple weeks as they’ve dealt with this injuries the magic didn’t shoot a ton T the threes that’s not their game they’re eight for 29 from three not a great percentage but they were getting
Downhill and into the pain what we saw Monday and we’ll get to some of the late game stuff we’ll get to get to that in a minute what we saw Monday was a magic team getting back to who they are and look for as much as you want to talk
About culture and as much as you want to talk about being able to play the same way no matter who’s in the magic are still building that and still growing that getting these players back players that poo Bano trust that that that everyone trusts like how many times you
Going to watch the magic just look off go go baz open to three-point line open underneath the basket goa’s been great this year but they trust Wendel Carter they trust what he can do and what he can bring this team and that’s why he
Hit the big hook shot at the end of the game that secured this win that made it a five-point lead and helped the magic pull away for the 9894 victory that trust has been built over two years that trust has been built bu with this team
And with this group to put them in this spot and in this position to win basketball games and so it’s no coincidence in my opinion that the magic got healthy they got some bodies back and they started to look like the team that they were in November that they
Went on the road trailed by seven Midway through the fourth quarter and picked up a humongous win not just a little win a humongous win a win with potential playoff consequences the magic now have a two lead with the nck on the Knicks in the season series they cannot lose the
Season series to the Knicks um that’s a big deal um it’s it it was just so good to have those players back and to see them make this kind of an impact that’s what this team needed we could all sense it we could all feel like you know this
Team is trying they’re fighting they’re grinding they’re trying everything they can but they’re missing key pieces they’re missing huge pieces to the puzzle and that’s what they got back that’s what they got back in wend Carter that’s what they got back in Jonathan Isaac that’s what they got back in Joe
Engles guys who just make and Marquel fols guys who just make it easier for everyone else to operate I’ve been I know I’ve been kind of preaching it I I I get the sense from the magic that there was frustration but not panic this is why we knew this day was coming we
Knew that eventually these players would be back and you hope that you know Wendel Carter will be back for the long term you know he kind of said after the game that he suspects that uh that that nend is going to be bugging him for the rest
Of the season but it’s just going to be about whether he can play through it and he’s kind of come to the realization you know not that his pain wasn’t real that he’s going to have to grip through it a little bit so you know there may be some
Sto and starting still with him but uh but again his presence was just so huge for this team getting these players back getting them up to speed seeing them look like themselves wend Carter looked like himself tonight Marquel folz looked like himself tonight seeing those guys look like themselves just makes the
Whole game much that much easier just makes it so much easier for everyone else and that’s what the magic are hoping to get and that’s what the magic are hoping to grow and build as they move on through the rest of the season now this game did come down to clutch
Play and and what we’re seeing is a team in this magic group that relishes these tough games and these tough moments let’s talk about the grid of this magic team in the fourth quarter to close this one out we’re going to get to that coming up here in just a
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So we love to talk about close games we love to to dissect how games are decided even though they’re not always decided late in games but but this game was actually decided late um this game the magic you know had a lot of the same struggles like I painted that last that
First 10 minutes that you know the magic looked great like everyone was back but let’s be real I just told you that the entire bench was plus the entire starters were minus um it was a rough game for a lot of starters on this team
The group of jayen sugs chuma OK Goa baz Caleb Houston poo banero they really struggled and and and struggled in the way that we’ve seen this team struggle over the last couple weeks the offense was just really difficult to generate if the shot if the three-point shots weren’t going down because they they
Settled for a lot of Threes if those threes weren’t going down they were in big trouble and eventually teams just feel like they could outpace that magic team you know the defense is just a little uneven um you know goab baz is really in is starting to become a little
Bit more inconsistent on that end um it it was it was an issue and so this was a close game that was ultimately decided in the final five minutes Orlando trailed by seven with about six minutes six and a half minutes to go and it
Looked like it was going to be a real hard uphill climb it but it similar to the Miami game and similar to that Miami game the bench really stepped up this time it was Cole Anthony he scored 10 of his 15 points uh in the fourth quarter
Made some huge shots to kind of keep Pace with this team and Orlando just made play after play after play after play they they made the big shots that they needed to make and again credit to Jamal Mosley he went back to his starters very very briefly and you know
Things were a little rickety at times and he went and he quickly took out some you know got his reserved players a bit rest got wend Carter got uh marel folz a little bit of a break put those guys in late in the game again this is why they
Had such a huge game and such a huge impact on this game they just made plays uh Marquel Foltz digging out you know Cole Anthony was the one that put the Magic in the lead made a lot of tough shots poo hit a step and jumper and then
Marquel Foltz just made two critical passes again it’s not necessarily about his shooting it’s about his ability to make plays and suck in space for others at times and to squeeze passes to people that’s why he’s valuable to this team he made sorry sorry oh good sorry about
That I’m I’m recording here late at Madison Square Garden um he made some critical passes late in the game to help the magic get over the hump and help the magic close this one out um it it was really impressive to see the first one came getting an offensive
Rebound kicking it out to Pao Pao faked a three took two steps two steps and hit that mid-range jumper that he is just so good at and then the final play with the magic up by three that P shot put him up by three he found Wendell Carter uh on a
Drive Carter was able to go right into a post move get a lefty hook in made it a five-point game with about 30 seconds of play that was your ball game that’s the offense the defense for this magic team just absolutely incredible too and and that’s where the magic you know really
Won this game again this game was really about the magic rediscovering the defense and and the defensive intensity that makes them such a dangerous team and makes them a team that is going to be one to watch here uh watch here the rest of the season they they made these plays over
And over and over again uh and it was really about this grd look Paulo was ticked off after the loss of the loss to Miami um he was ticked off for the shots that he make he he really felt that responsibility and so much of it now is
The magic have options again like the magic don’t have to just lean on Pao and that made him play Freer because late you know he wasn’t playing the greatest game in the world late in the game he had the energy to make shots he had the
Space to make shots in a way that he didn’t against Miami really never had against Oklahoma City he is a clutch player we know this at this point we’ve seen him make two game winning two three game-winning shots already this year the numbers actually suggest he is a very
Clutch player we’re going to dive into that I think when I get back to Orlando later this week this game was about that grit about that will to win and and this team was on a three-game losing streak they’re down seven they could have packed it in that starting group was
Really struggling they could have packed it in and instead they just got down and defended they contested every shot at The Rim Isaiah hartenstein could hit Julius Randall couldn’t hit over Isaac or B Caro or Carter or anyone else they got down they defended yeah they got
Some three-point luck I’m not going to deny that um but they got down made plays when they had to and gutted out this Victory this is this is Magic basketball again like you look at the things that are usual indicators of magic winning points in the paint Magic
Win that 52- 36 three throws M New York actually shoots more free throws than Orlando but didn’t kill them New York was 15 for 22 a lot of free throw misses in this game um magic Win Second Chance magic lost Second Chance points 1513 this was a gritty game this was a tough
Game and the magic had to find their will they had to find their way and they delivered plain and simple they delivered and that is that is what it’s gonna take here um to to be this team to be the team they need to be and make the
Playoffs this is the exact win the magic are going to have to have and have to find and and gut out and and I think we’re all confident that a pao’s going to be able to make shots or Marquel is going to be able to make plays late in
Games like they have the players to get shots late in games when they’re when they’re healthy at least and Fran’s do back potentially Wednesday almost certainly by Friday um you know by everything I am hearing is Wednesday Wednesday is not out of the question and
No one I talk to here says it it’ll be longer than Friday like to be perfectly honest um it’s it’s h frons will be back very soon and we’re going to see this team at full force for the first time in a very long time um it’s it’s not just it’s it’s these
Are the games the magic have to win they have to be gritty defensively they were back to that gave up only 16 points in the fourth quarter like this was an incredible comeback win and this is a win that’s going to pay dividends as we
Get into March and as we get into April I’m gonna get out of here I want to get out of here pretty quickly so we’re gonna go through the final box score we’re GNA get to that coming up here in just a moment but before you do that we want to
But before we do that we want to say a quick word about our friends over at Jace medical um look it is six season everybody’s sick you probably saw me wiping my nose I think that’s more being in the ridiculous cold of of the Northeast um I love it here I love new
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To jal.com and use code locked on to get $20 off your order all right let’s go through the final box scores the Orlando Magic do defeat the New York Knicks 98 to 94 um you know I don’t want to characterize that Pao had a bad game um it was
Definitely an uneven game it was a slow game for everyone 20 points six rebounds nine for 19 shooting he was able to get to his spots you know few turnovers here and there um two of the Magic’s eight turnovers um you know the Knicks did a
Good job denying him the ball making it very tough for him to make make some of the plays that he’s accustomed to making but you know fourth quarter you could see the light kind of come on for him like he lives for those moments and and I think that’s the most important thing
You know we’re going to talk a little bit more about po I think later on in the week when I get back to Orlando um and I can go through the stats um but Pao Pao plays at an elevated level there’s no doubt about it and he lives
For the fourth quarter he made a lot of big shots in this fourth quarter when he was not having a great shooting game he was seven for 177 at one point I think so you know he was really struggling but he stepped up in the big moment and and
I think that’s what the magic can count on from him um only other starter in double figures was chuma OK with 15 points five for seven shooting four for five from Deep really booed the offense in that first quarter those threes were huge he had three of those threes I
Believe in the first quarter um really put the team in a good spot to to to compete in this game and have a real chance to win this win this game you know you’re not running many plays for chuma but when the ball swings him and
He’s able to hit threes he becomes a really valuable player um he was a late addition to the starting lineup uh Anthony black ended up ended up sitting he was a dnp coach’s decision he was originally slated to start but then Jaylen Brunson was out magic decided to
Go with chumo KK to match up a little bit better and proved to be a correct choice in the end um not a lot going on with the rest of the starters though like I said every starter was a negative plus minus in this game Caleb Houston
Seven points one for seven shooting got four four or five free throws got fouled on a three um goab a only three points really really struggled he got Isaiah hartenstein in foul trouble but just over rotating on blocks that’s kind of the big thing for me that I see from him
Um and again just if you watch him play there’s not a lot of trust in what he can do offensively he had a couple nice offensive moves you know he had one really nice offensive move um that that got a basket but the magic are missing
Him on some dump Downs um there’s I think just not a lot of trust in his offensive ability to be perfectly honest um four points for jayen sugs another rough shooting night for him one for eight one for six from beond The Arc uh just looked off and even defensively I
Didn’t think he was particularly strong chasing around uh Duce McBride and or miles McBride um I I didn’t think he was particularly strong kind of keeping him out of the lane and so just a really difficult game for Jaylen I I am curious if he is still feeling um a bit under
The weather Off the Bench that’s where the money was made when wend Carter Jor 17 points 7even for 11 shooting one for three from Deep three rebounds in his return just his presence was just so good he looked freshh he looked eager to play he looked ready to contribute
Offensively defensively he was rotating really really well again the bench won this game a player like Wendell Carter is a reason why the magic won this game displayed an excellent excellent excellent game at the end of the day Cole Anthony 15 points 10 of his 15
Points in the fourth quarter six of 12 shooting four rebounds five assists he loves playing in the garden he loves playing at home he stepped up in in a huge way uh and and made plays when the magic were on thin nice you know the game was in the balance and Cole Anthony
Brought the magic back in and pushed the Knicks a little bit off the edge a little bit uh just a great effort from him uh and then finally Joe Engles six points Mark Al fol six points five rebounds seven assists Joe Engles six points four assists those guys just add
So much calm and presence to this team I really like what they bring and honestly like with the with the potential for fron Vagner to be back back Wednesday I really do think the magic need to think about going back to their original starting lineup you know if I don’t know
If Mark still on a minute restriction Marquel played 2328 in this game Wendel Carter played 1853 blue passes 16 minute restriction Joe Engles was at 2016 um I don’t know if we’re quite I don’t know if he’s quite ready to be completely Unleashed and maybe you’re still managing his minutes a little bit
Um you know maybe you do have to throw Anthony black in there a little bit but I think I’m ready you know watching him play Friday he looked more like himself he looked like he had that bounce and that spring he had another another nice
Dunk in this game um I think I’m ready to say hey let’s change the starting lineup the Caleb Houston chuma okk lineup is just not working let’s let’s get back to a traditional lineup let’s get back to Wendel Carter let’s get back to Marco FZ let’s trust those guys that
They can keep building on a game like this maybe you need to see one more game um you know we’re gonna have a long break coming up next week where the magic don’t play after Monday’s game until Friday um maybe you wait for that um to make some lineup changes but you
Know I think we need to start preparing and getting back to the lineup we all thought we were going to have at the start of the season I think they’re they’re ready to take that on uh Duce McBride miles McBride leads the New York Knicks with 20 points made four of 10
Three-pointers uh Julius Randle scores 15 on five for 18 shooting great job on Julius Randall I thought you know baz Pao Wendell Jonathan Isaac all did a great job they did a really good job contesting him at three-point line you know New York he made a couple threes in
The second in the third quarter that’s how New York kind of rebuilt their lead got it back out to 1011 um but Orlando kind of reeled them back in the New York had that little Spurt of three-point shooting shooting in the third quarter um they won that third quarter 2623 and
Then that was it New York just did not find any threes throughout the game like even Dante D venzo he finished with 15 points was two for eight from three he hit his first three and just like kind of you know thanked thanked the skies
For for being able to hit that shot um OG and and Obi a really nice game 17 points five for 11 shooting with a very Tom Tibido like 4344 they needed him for all that I thought he did a good job especially defending Paulo um the magic
Generally did a good job though I think just kind of keeping guys out of the paint you know just just did a really good job in my opinion just making them work to get in the lane it was very hard for them to do it there were a few
Spurts here and there but just they were very very short windows and the magic were always able to kind of reel them back in and obviously make the big stops that they needed to to get the win New York again shoots only 39.8% from floor
Just 32 and a half% from three they turn the ball over 10 times Orlando wins the paint 5236 and that is all she wrote the Orlando Magic defeat the New York Knicks 98 to to 94 that’s going to do it for me though I want to thank you all again for
Listening to today’s episode of lock on Magic you course find me on Twitter Philip romd subscribe to the podcast and apple podcast your tuned in him Google play Spotify Odyssey and all F podcast to your podcast enable listening advice so lat Something randoom Magic be sure to check out orlandomagic daily.com you
Can of course follow us there on Twitter om Magic daily and be sure to check out my patreon page Orlando magichub at patreon.com orlandomagic HUB and of course thank you all again for your support that’s going to do it for me the next time we see you will’ll be the next
Time I broadcast will be after the Magic’s game against the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday so no new episode Wednesday morning but we will see Wednesday postgame against the Atlanta Hawks to close out this road trip I’ll be back in Orlando Thursday so we’ll talk to you
After th talk to you Thursday night and then we’ll have a new episode Friday after the Magic’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers so that’s our schedule for the week I truly appreciate you all for sticking with me on that live from New York uh this has been Philip Rossman Reich of lockon magic
Until next time we’ll see you all again for another episode of Locked on Magic
The Orlando Magic are inching closer to health. The return of Wendell Carter to the lineup brought with it some much-needed defensive grit and the team gutted out a come-from-behind win over the New York Knicks that looked a lot like their best wins from November.
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