Second-year guard Jalen Suggs and ahead Franz Wagner will likely be game-time choices for the Orlando Magic’s 6 p.m. Sunday residence sport vs. the Brooklyn Nets, coach Jamahl Mosley stated after Saturday’s apply.
Suggs has missed the earlier 4 video games due to a concussion from the March 16 loss at Phoenix.
He practiced Saturday, with Mosley saying the group is “going to see how he pulls up” earlier than figuring out whether or not he’ll play in opposition to the Nets.
Wagner by accident stepped on Goga Bitadze’s foot and turned his left ankle early within the fourth quarter of Thursday’s residence win over the New York Knicks.
He was later dominated out due to a sprained left ankle. Wagner didn’t apply however went by drills with ability improvement/capturing coach Aubrey McCreary.
Suggs and Wagner each have been listed as questionable on the group’s damage report.
Jay Scrubb, whom the Magic signed to a two-way contract Friday after he spent the season taking part in for the group’s Lakeland G League affiliate, didn’t apply Saturday and received’t be accessible in opposition to the Nets. He was with Lakeland in Des Moines, Iowa, for Saturday’s regular-season finale vs. the Iowa Wolves.
Mosley talked about Scrubb’s scoring means as an space by which he may assist Orlando.
Scrubb is Lakeland’s main scorer, averaging 22.1 factors, 5.8 rebounds and a couple of.2 assists in 27 video games within the G League getting into Saturday.
“He is aware of get within the lane and get into his gaps,” Mosley stated. “He shoots the ball very nicely. He’s achieved an excellent job for Lakeland down there.”
The Nets, who entered Saturday on a five-game dropping streak, are a considerably completely different group in comparison with when the groups final performed one another on Nov. 28 in New York — a 109-102 Brooklyn win.
Kevin Durant, who scored 45 factors in that sport, and Kyrie Irving are not with the Nets after being traded to the Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks, respectively, forward of final month’s commerce deadline.
Mikal Bridges, whom Brooklyn acquired forward of the deadline together with Spencer Dinwiddie, Cam Johnson and Dorian Finney-Smith, has led the Nets in scoring at 25.9 factors because the All-Star break.
The Nets performed the Warmth in Miami on Saturday night time earlier than touring to Orlando for the second night time of the back-to-back.
“There’s a degree of aggression to every a kind of guys,” Mosley stated. “They rating at an excellent clip. They play drive-kick basketball. They play small. Our means [will be important] to ensure we are able to guard our personal man one-on-one however know we've got to assist on the bottom, be there to guard the rim and get out to shooters as a result of they’re positively letting quite a lot of 3s go.”
The Magic (31-43) are on their first successful streak since Feb. 3-5 after beating the Knicks. They haven’t received no less than three consecutive video games since mid-December.
Their wins in opposition to the Knicks and the Washington Wizards on Tuesday featured “clutch” minutes — when the scoring margin is 5 factors or much less with 5 or fewer minutes remaining.
The Magic have grown considerably with their late-game execution.
They’re 15-11 of their final 26 video games that featured clutch conditions after beginning the season 3-12 in clutch video games.
“We’ve been in a number of conditions like that all year long,” guard Cole Anthony stated. “Quite a lot of aggressive video games. We’ve misplaced a bunch; we’ve received a bunch. It’s a matter of simply being there. We’ve actually been in a position to appropriate our errors as we’ve been in these conditions extra.”
This text first appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. Electronic mail Khobi Worth at khprice@orlandosentinel.com or observe him on Twitter at @khobi_price.
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