Even after being eradicated from postseason competition, the Orlando Magic nonetheless had one thing to play in Thursday’s residence recreation vs. the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Magic entered the matchup 20-20 at residence, vying for his or her first profitable report at Amway Center since 2019-20.
Orlando had an 18-17 residence report throughout the COVID-19 pandemic-shortened season, together with 16-15 at Amway Center after going 2-2 in “home” video games within the league’s bubble at Disney World.
“That was [a] goal coming in from the beginning of the season and it’s been part of everybody’s mindset,” Markelle Fultz stated. “That’s one thing we talked about was having to protect homecourt and giving our fans something to show respect to them. It’s something that we want to continue to do.”
Even with that in thoughts the Magic sat their starters, choosing gamers who haven’t been within the rotation.
“The decision really is that it gives these other guys an opportunity,” coach Jamahl Mosley stated. “Once we were eliminated from that play-in position, you have to look at now what we’ve talked about all year long: How do we help these guys get better? How do we help them grow? How do they get opportunities to play their best basketball at this time of the year?”
Paolo Banchero (again tightness), Wendell Carter Jr. (left hip soreness), Fultz (left knee soreness), Gary Harris (left interior thigh soreness) and Franz Wagner (sprained left ankle) weren’t out there. Neither was Jonathan Isaac (season-ending left interior thigh surgical procedure on March 3).
Jalen Suggs, Caleb Houstan, Chuma Okeke, Bol Bol and Moe Wagner began.
“They’re so deserving of it,” Mosley stated of his reserves. “They’ve worked their tails off all year. They’ve competed with these guys who’ve been in starting lineups. They’ve started at times. It’s an opportunity for them to keep getting better, continue to evaluate and like anybody who puts that uniform on, they’re going to compete.”
Cleveland, which secured the No. 4 seed within the Eastern Conference for the playoffs with the win over Orlando on Tuesday, additionally sat most of its rotation.
Jarrett Allen (groin), Darius Garland (decrease leg contusion), Caris LeVert (knee soreness), Donovan Mitchell (finger sprain), Evan Mobley (relaxation), Isaac Okoro (knee soreness) and Dylan Windler (sprained foot) didn’t play.
This article first appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. Email Khobi Price at [email protected] or comply with him on Twitter at @khobi_price.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com