Hey, say now. The Brooklyn Nets played their third game in four nights and their third game in another city on Wednesday night. It was the last night of the road trip and the night before Thanksgiving. When you put it all together, you’d expect a significant loss to a playoff team, right? INCORRECT. The Nets shocked the NBA again with a dominant win against the Phoenix Suns (127-117). The W’s were Brooklyn’s third in a row and continued their success (6=1) against the Western Conference.

Tonight’s opponent has big plans this year. After a great 2023-2024 season, the Orlando Magic are hoping to win their first playoff series since 2011. They defeated the Chicago Bulls at home on Wednesday night, improving their record to 13-7.

Oh yes, it’s an Emirates Cup game. The Magic are still in the game at 2-0. The Nets, 1-2, are not.

Where can you watch the game?

YES network on TV. WFAN on the radio. Tip after 7:30 p.m. ET.

Injuries

No Cam Thomas, Dayron Sharpe, Bojan Bogdanovic, Jaylen Martin or Noah Clowney and now Dennis Schroder is also out for personal reasons. Cam Johnson, Nic Claxton, Dorian Finney-Smith and Jalen Wilson are all questionable.

Paolo Banchero and Gary Harris are out for Orlando.

The game

Orlando won the first meeting in October.

So what will the Nets do without Schröder tonight? Look for Tyrese Martin to get even more playing time. Martin had the game of his life on Wednesday, posting a career-high 30 points and 3-pointers (eight). The Nets have figured things out even when you wouldn’t have thought possible, so it will be interesting to see what Jordi Fernandez and the guys do tonight.

Three-point shooting decides games more, and that could be the factor that keeps the Nets in this game. The Magic rank last in 3-point shooting at 31%, while the Nets are fourth at 38.8%. Jalen Suggs is supposed to be Orlando’s 3-point ace, but his shot didn’t make it to the party. He’s at 32.1 from deep this season but shot four three-pointers on Wednesday night.

Due to injuries in the middle, the Nets are at the bottom of the league in rebounding. Perhaps the return of Nic Claxton will be a big help, but Clax will be dealing with this back injury for quite some time. When Sharpe returns, probably next week, we’ll see how the Nets manage their lineups and test some things. But until we get to that point, Dorian Finney-Smith will continue to man the middle. DFS played admirably and will face Wendell Carter Jr. and Goga Bitadze in the next two games.

Then there’s this: A Nets win and they’re at .500 for the first time since 4-4. Not good for the tank.

Player to watch: Franz Wagner

I feel like I’ve been participating in a Franz to the All Star Game campaign for about two years. He has gotten better every season in the league and without Banchero he has kept the Magic going. In November, Franz is averaging around 25 points, six rebounds, six assists and two steals per game on 46/33/84 shooting splits. Franz sent JJ ​​Redick into a dire situation after his buzzer-beater destroyed the Los Angeles Lakers, and he is capable of creating his own shot, a skill that will become even more important as we get into the playoffs.

His coach Jamahl Mosley also wants us to focus on what Franz is doing on the other side of the ball:

“If you look at his numbers, he’s in the top five in the entire league in individual defense. His ability to guard multiple positions, his length, his IQ and ability to put players in the right position is huge for what we asked him to do on both sides of the ball.”

The Magic have big goals this spring and Wagner’s continued emergence will help them make some noise in a crowded Eastern Conference.

Jordi Fernandez wants Ben Simmons to be more aggressive and if he does, things are looking good! Simmons had his best game of the year and highest scoring game in two years, going 14/9/8 in 27 minutes. People want Ben to give them something close to that level every night…which isn’t an unreasonable demand. He has all the talent in the world. It’s just a matter of putting it together and playing consistently/aggressively for longer periods of time.

From the safe

Yesterday was the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade and the WNBA Champion New York Liberty were in the house! I’m still thinking about the final game against the Minnesota Lynx, so let’s watch it again!

Parades and freedom. Keep it up.

Read more: SB Nation NBA, Orlando Magic Daily