The NBA In-Season Tournament is in full swing as the Orlando Magic and Toronto Raptors represent the East C bracket will face off at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida tonight at 7pm EST, 4pm Pacific. The Magic (1-1) currently sits at the third spot just ahead of the (0-1) Raptors who have the fourth spot in the East C bracket.
The Magic will be without two of their starters guard Markell Fultz and center Wendell Carter Jr., Fultz is missing his sixth straight game with knee tendonitis and Carter Jr. is still recovering from surgery on his third metacarpal which the team will be re-evaluating in the coming days. The Magic will miss Fultz efficiency, he is shooting 48% from the field this season averaging just under 12 pts per game and 4 assists.
The Raptors will be without backups Thaddeus Young and Christian Koloko who both will miss tonight’s game due to illness, and rookie guard Javon Freeman Liberty is still out with an ankle injury. The Raptors main core rotation players will be available tonight and will be looking to get a win to get to .500 in their bracket. Toronto is coming off a big win dropping their season high in points (142) against the Detroit Pistons Sunday.
Orlando has won their last 4 out of 5 games and has been an early season surprise. The Magic currently sits fifth in the Eastern Conference and (2nd) in the southeast division .5 games behind the Miami Heat.
The Raptors have struggled in their last 5 games losing 3 of those games to the top tier Boston Celtics twice and the Milwaukee Bucks. Toronto does have a few signature wins over the Bucks, Mavericks, and Spurs this season who will come in as slight underdogs at +100 on the moneyline and +1.5 (-110) on the spread.
Last season both teams split their season series matchup going 2-2, this season it’s a young man’s game and tonights no different as some of the NBA’s best 25 and under talents will be on the floor tonight in Jalen Suggs, Scottie Barnes, and Paolo Banchero. This game may be seriously underrated on the national relevancy scale, but a win for either team will carry more weight moving forward, and increase their chances on playing in Las Vegas, Nevada for the tournament championship
