After a rough start to the season, the Orlando Magic have been playing well lately, with 6 wins in the last 10 meetings. It is the good results of the last couple of weeks that have allowed this team to at least temporarily return to 8th place in the Eastern Conference standings (12-14). Meanwhile, the Utah Jazz have a positive win/loss ratio and are currently in 6th place in the Western Conference standings, but are not playing as confidently as many experts expected before the season. Of course, it's still early in the season and with the addition of new players, it will take some time to get up to speed. In any case, the Utah Jazz remain one of the most promising teams in the league, and can easily be called the dark horse of the Western Conference.
Orlando Magic
After three consecutive losses (101-110 against the Milwaukee Bucks, 87-96 against the Los Angeles Lakers, 107-130 against the Houston Rockets), the Magic bounced back with a 130-119 road win over the New Orleans Pelicans. Jonathan Isaac recorded a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds, while Montenegro's Nikola Vucevic added 20 points and 9 rebounds. Interestingly, four of the Magic's reserves scored in double digits and the Pelicans suffered their 12th consecutive loss.
Much of the Orlando Magic's success in recent weeks has been thanks to Frenchman Evan Fournier. After a rough start to the season, Fournier has been in good shape and has started to take more initiative. After the temporary injury of the team's nominal leader Nikola Vucevic, Evan Fournier was the man who took the lead and averaged 23.6 points per game in 8 games in December, even with a 50.8% from 3-point range. After only 34% from 3-point range last season, Fournier is shooting 44% this season, which is an impressive improvement in a short period of time.
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It is also worth mentioning that Markelle Fultz, the first rookie of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, who was waived after the first two seasons of the season, is also recovering in the Magic ranks. The third-year player seems to be regaining his confidence and has found a career stop where he is getting playing minutes and showing good results. He is averaging 11.9 points and 6.1 assists in December.
Orlando Magic leaders:
Evan Fournier - 20 points, 2.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. These are the stats of the Frenchman, who is having the best season of his career in the NBA this season. Although the amount of minutes played has not changed compared to previous seasons, Fournier has become much more productive, improved his accuracy and generally become a more important player for the team during his playing time.
Nikola Vucevic - 17.3 points, 11.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists Although Vucevic has had some injury problems this season, his stats remain stable and he is one of the Magic's most important players, who can both play with his back to the basket as well as attack well from long range.
Jonathan Isaac - 13 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game. Although he is not a bright star, he plays his minutes well. The Magic's 2017 Rookie of the Year, who is progressing well, has improved both his shooting and his defensive game, so it's not surprising to see the results. If he continues to progress at this pace, Isaac is a contender to become the Magic's leader.
Utah Jazz
The Utah Jazz beat visiting Golden State 114-106 in their last match on Friday night. Despite trailing by 13 points at one point, the Utah Jazz were able to come back and win the game. Bojan Bogdanovic contributed the most with 32 points, while Donovan Mitchell added 28. Rudy Gobert scored 15 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, while the entire Utah Jazz team was impressive from three-point range, hitting 16 of 38 shots.
Due to an injury to Mike Conley in the off-season, Donovan Mitchell spent most of the game in the point guard position. However, Conley should be back on the court for tonight's game, so Mitchell will return to his preferred position as an offensive defenseman and Mike Conley will take over the point guard role. Although the addition of former Memphis Grizzlies leader and Bojan Bogdanoc to the Utah Jazz this off-season has been mentioned as a move that could help the Jazz reach at least the Western Conference Finals, the point guard has been in a bit of a slump at the beginning of the season. Bogdanovic has fit in well, but Conley is shooting just 36% from the field in 21 games played, one of the worst personal records of his career. In any case, the Jazz offense is much more efficient with Conley on the floor, because even though the shots aren't falling, it's impossible to miss his great court vision and reading of the game.
Utah Jazz leaders:
Donovan Mitchell - 25 pts., 4.7 reb. and 3.7 res. pass. Mitchell is putting up steady numbers, but he also had a rough start to the season due to the changes in the team. Nevertheless, he is the undisputed leader of the team and can be expected to perform well every night.
Bojan Bogdanovic - 20.8 pts., 4.4 rebounds and 2 assists These are solid stats for a forward who only joined the Jazz this offseason. It was hard to imagine that in just a couple of months the Croatian would become one of the most important players in a strong Western Conference team, averaging more than 20 points per game. Bogdanovic looks impressive, and if Mike Conley can step in as the season progresses, this Utah Jazz team will be dangerous for any opponent in the playoffs.
Rudy Gobert - 14.7 pts., 13.7. atk. kam., 1.8 blk. The long-time Jazz point guard has already made a name for himself in the league and is regarded as one of the best defensive centres. He fits in well with the team as he practically doesn't need the ball on offense, but compiles solid stats thanks to his effort and good rebounding.
Forecast
The Orlando Magic had won 5 out of 6, but followed that up with 3 consecutive losses. This team can certainly play some good games, but that winning streak can be partly deceptive, as all 5 wins have come against some of the weakest teams in the league: 2 wins against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Washington Wizards, the Phoenix Suns and the Golden State Warriors. Meanwhile, the Utah Jazz have only lost 3 times at home this season, and with the return of leading scorer Mike Conley, the Utah Jazz are the clear favourites here.
Utah Jazz, -6.5 1.9 kof, betsafe
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