Back on the road. The Brooklyn Nets ended the home portion of their 2024 schedule with a loss to the San Antonio Spurs. The Nets begin a three-game road trip tonight that will take them into the new year.

The opponent today is overwhelmed with injuries but is still fighting. If we look at the Orlando Magic’s injury report, we’ll see a lot of star power there. They took on the New York Knicks on Friday night and lost steam after halftime as the Knicks won comfortably.

Where can you watch the game?

YES network on TV. WFAN on the radio. Day’s affair, so let’s start after 3:00 pm ET

Injuries

Bojan Bogdanovic, Trendon Watford and Ziaire Williams are out. Ben Simmons missed Friday’s game as the second half of a back-to-back game. He should be back today. The same goes for Cam Johnson, who missed the game with a hip injury. AND…Cam Thomas is listed as probable after missing 13 straight times.

Franz Wagner, Mo Wagner and Paolo Banchero are out.

The game

Orlando won games one, two and three. This is the last meeting between the two teams this season.

The NBA season is long and every club is tested. You’ll learn something about yourself along the way and hope the lessons lead you to a successful future. At Orlando Magic DailyPhilip Rossman-Reich wrote about the team’s resilience, saying:

The Magic have a lot of players behind and are feeling the pressure that comes with it. They feel the margin of error when they make mistakes.

But they also see the determination they have to overcome it. They realize how their effort and intensity make up for much of what they lack. They see how their defense can still win and give them a chance if they stick with it.

These games will serve as a valuable lesson for the group heading into the postseason.

Orlando’s forecourt was devastated by injuries, but Goga Bitadze kept the situation under control as best he could. He has grabbed at least nine rebounds in nine straight games and has tried to anchor the Magic’s interior. Nic Claxton will try to make things difficult for Bitadze inside and capitalize on close shots on offense. They need him to hit those three foot lines if they want Orlando to give them respect from within.

The return of Cam Johnson should open up the offense. CJ is taking on new challenges on offense and the results are starting to show. Lucas went into detail about this on Friday, and you should check it out! Even in a season where the future takes center stage, there’s a lot to watch and observe in the present.

Player to Watch: Jalen Suggs

If you can’t use options one and two on offense, those shots have to go somewhere. For the magic, they went to Suggs. Since December 8th, he has averaged 21 points on 42/30/88 shooting passes. It’s a lot of hard work for Suggs, and after halftime Friday he was just 3-for-6 from the field (excluding three-pointers) after going 7-for-14 with four three-pointers. That’s a lot to ask of Suggs, but it’s what he has to do until reinforcements arrive.

Cam Thomas is back and we’ll see how many minutes he plays tonight. Hamstring injuries are always difficult and you never know if you’ll be back to normal until you’re out there. The Nets have historically been conservative when it comes to players returning from injury. Therefore, it would be surprising if he played a lot of minutes. At least the Nets are getting a guard who can create his own shot and gives Cam Johnson another good scorer alongside him. The big number for him and the Nets. When CT went down, Brooklyn had the eighth-best offense in the NBA. Since? You are 29.

From the safe

It was announced on Friday afternoon that broadcaster Greg Gumbel had died at the age of 78. Let’s go back to 1997 and relive two of his best NBA performances alongside his icons Bill Walton and Steve “Snapper” Jones!

Read more: Orlando Magic Daily and SB Nation NBA