The Orlando Magic can move one step closer to .500 tonight. They?ll face the Washington Wizards, one of the league?s most hapless teams.
WHERE: Amway Center.
TV: Fox Sports Florida. RADIO: 96.5 FM (WDBO), 580 AM (WDBO). SPANISH BROADCAST ? ElOrlandoMagic.com.
Records
Wizards: 3-19
Magic: 11-13
Projected Wizards starters
PG Jordan Crawford (6-4/195)
SG Bradley Beal (6-5/207)
SF Martell Webster (6-7/235)
PF Chris Singleton (6-9/225)
C Emeka Okafor (6-10/250)
Projected Magic starters
PG Jameer Nelson (6-0/190)
SG Arron Afflalo (6-5/215)
SF Maurice Harkless (6-8/210)
PF Glen Davis (6-9/289)
C Nik Vucevic (7-0/240)
Injuries
? For Washington, point guard John Wall (left knee), forward Trevor Booker (right knee), forward Trevor Ariza (left calf) and point guard A.J. Price (right hand) won?t play.
? For Orlando, small forward Hedo Turkoglu (broken hand) and power forward Al Harrington (knee) won?t play.
Referees
Danny Crawford
Curtis Blair
Derrick Collins
Reasons to watch
? The Magic are just two games below .500, and a win tonight would give them a chance Friday to even their record at 13-13.
? Davis, J.J. Redick and Vucevic played well in Monday?s win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. Can they maintain their momentum?
The last time
On April 10, the Wizards beat the Magic 93-85 in Washington. Wizards forward Kevin Seraphin scored 24 points, collected 13 rebounds and blocked four shots as the Magic played without injured Dwight Howard.
Wizards scouting report
This was supposed to be the season the Wizards made a playoff push, but they?re struggling more than anyone anticipated. Washington has lost six of its last seven games, including Tuesday night?s 100-95 overtime loss to the Atlanta Hawks in D.C. . . . Crawford notched a triple-double in that loss, with 27 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists. . . . Beal, the former Florida Gators standout and the third overall pick in June?s draft, is averaging 12.5 points per game. But he?s made just 35.8 percent of his shots. . . . The Wizards don?t have much quality size aside from Nen?, the gritty 6-foot-11 big man, who makes contributions that don?t show up on the box score. . . . The Wizards just can?t seem to get their offense going. They rank last in the NBA in offensive rating, averaging 93.2 points per 100 possessions. For comparison?s sake, the Magic are 28th in that category, averaging 97.6 points per 100 possessions.
Key matchup
Okafor vs. Vucevic. The Magic?s center has recorded three straight double-doubles, and if he can extend that streak tonight, it would give Orlando a significant boost.
Did you know?
The Magic have beaten the Wizards in nine of the teams? last 10 games.
The bottom line
This is a game the Magic should win, especially since the Wizards will be playing in the second game of an away-to-home back-to-back following an overtime loss.
Josh Robbins covers the Orlando Magic and the NBA for the Orlando Sentinel. You can reach him via e-mail at jbrobbins@tribune.com and connect with him on Facebook at facebook.com/JoshuaBRobbins. Follow him on Twitter at @JoshuaBRobbins.
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