There’s a good chance the Atlanta Hawks and Orlando Magic are going to be muscling with each other for playoff position over the final eight weeks of the season.
That makes head-to-head matchups, like the one scheduled for Thursday in Atlanta, even more important.
The teams are neck-and-neck in the Eastern Conference race. Orlando (27-29) is in seventh place and holds a half-game lead over Atlanta (26-29). Both are chasing Detroit (29-26) to reach No. 6 and avoid the play-in tournament.
Atlanta went on the road and beat Orlando 112-106 on Feb. 10 in their first of four meetings. They will play again twice in April in the final week of the season, including the year-ender in Atlanta.
The Orlando players sounded excited about returning to practice on Monday after the All-Star break.
“Guys were moving around, loud talking,” Paolo Banchero said. “It was good energy.”
Banchero averages 22.5 points, 7.1 rebounds and 5.0 assists in 22 games. He has scored 30-plus points in six games and went for 31 against the Hawks in the first meeting.
“I feel good,” Banchero said. “The break was really good to me. Got some good work in, relaxed. Everyone else had a good break as well, so everyone is fresh and rejuvenated.”
Franz Wagner has led or shared the team scoring lead 27 times and averages 25.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.4 steals in 36 games. He scored 37 against Atlanta on Feb. 10.
“It was good to get away a little bit and just relax — the mind and the body,” Wagner said. “… I thought it was a good first day back, played a little bit. It was good to get back to it.”
Hawks coach Quin Snyder wanted his players to go home and rest during the break. Trae Young (23.7 points, league-leading 11.5 assists) played in the All-Star Game and first-round draft pick Zaccharie Risacher (11.4 points) participated in the Rising Stars Game, but the remainder of the players took a few days off.
Snyder was upbeat about the team, which has won three of four since the trade deadline. Newcomers Georges Niang, Caris LeVert and Terance Mann have all made contributions since joining the club. LeVert is averaging 15.7 points and 7.0 rebounds, Niang is averaging 15.0 points and Mann is averaging 5.7 points in three games with the club.
“This team, we had three new players and two guys that were playing with College Park (in the G League),” Snyder said. “That’s five of our nine guys in rotation that basically have been here for a week or two. I’m pleased with how they competed together, how connected they are.”
The Hawks hope to have veteran Clint Capela available after missing the last eight games with a lower back issue. Atlanta will be without key reserves Larry Nance Jr. (knee) and Vit Krejci (back) who were injured within minutes of each other in the last game against Orlando.
Orlando hopes to have Jonathan Isaac available. The key reserve missed the final game before the break with lower back tightness. Jalen Suggs (quad) has missed 19 of the last 20 games and is still limited to non-contact work in practice.
–Field Level Media
