- Oklahoma City Thunder (36-17, 2nd in the West) @ Orlando Magic (29-24, 6th in the East)
- When: Tuesday, 13 February 2024 at 6:30PM CST
- Where: Kia Center, Orlando, FL
- Offensive Rating – ORL: 112.6 (24th) / OKC: 119.1 (5th)
- Defensive Rating – ORL: 112.6 (4th) / OKC: 112.0 (5th)
- Net Rating – ORL: 0.9 (15th) / OKC: 7.2 (2nd)
The Set-Up
Let’s rewind to last year’s offseason. The schedule comes out and the only nationally televised game for the Thunder is an early season jaunt against the Orlando Magic in OKC. The number 1 pick, Paolo Banchero, versus the number 2 pick, Chet Holmgren. This was back before anyone realized the Thunder were going to do aight that season. It was going to be OKC’s time to shine.
But Chet decided to play in a Seattle pro-am that featured LeBron James. A fastbreak drive by James led to Holmgren planting his foot wrong and suffering a broken foot. Holmgren out for the season and the NBA moved quick to flex that spot to another game. Silly, NBA. But here we are nearly 16 months later and we are replaying that event. Orlando vs. OKC on TNT (this time in Orlando).
This is the 2nd and final meeting of the season between these two team. The Thunder won the first meeting in OKC, 112-100, on Topic: Thunder Fan Night in January.
Betting Info
- Line: OKC -2.5
- O/U: 223.5
Injury Report
OKC
- Bismack Biyombo (Return to Action protocol) – OUT
- Gordon Hayward (calf) – OUT
ORL
- None
Three Big Things
- Franz Wagner – I know that I should probably be worried more about Paolo Banchero. But in their last three wins, Wagner has scored 36, 34, and 38 points. He’s a lot like Jalen Williams in that he can navigate the dribble through multiple screens and score from all three levels. Wagner’s assignment will likely fall on Lu Dort or Jalen Williams, which should make for an interesting match-up.
- Zone-busting – Orlando has some long, physical defenders. They will likely zone a lot tonight, so the Thunder will have to find ways to bust the zone. They will have to make open shots tonight. Guys like Dort, Isaiah Joe, Cason Wallace, and Aaron Wiggins will need to have efficient nights to make the lives of SGA and J-Dub a little easier.
- Dueling strengths and weaknesses – Another game where the strengths of one team (rebounding by Orlando) is the weakness of the other, while the strengths of one team (creating turnovers by OKC) is the weakness of the other. Here’s to OKC’s strength being more impactful than their weakness.