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Bobcats host Orlando Magic, Howard
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Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard, rear, goes up for
a shot in front of Oklahoma City Thunder center Nenad
Krstic, front, during Orlando's 102-74 loss Sunday. (AP
Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
The Charlotte Bobcats will host the reigning Eastern Conference Champion Orlando Magic at 7 p.m. this evening.
The Orlando Magic (5-2) are coming off a 102-74 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder (3-3) on Sunday, while the Bobcats (3-3) lost a tight 93-90 visit to the Chicago Bulls (4-2).
The Magic were without Vince Carter (ankle injury), Ryan Anderson (ankle injury), Rashard Lewis (NBA suspension) and Matt Barnes was participating with flu-like symptoms against the Thunder.
The Magic scored only 30 points in the second half while letting superstar Kevin Durant go for a total of 28 points, five assists and four rebounds.
Despite this uncharacteristic loss, the Magic should be on the rebound when they head to face the Bobcats on Wednesday.
On the rebound – something that did not go Orlando’s way against the Thunder as they were out-rebounded 49-39, even with Dwight Howard who has led the NBA in rebounds the past two seasons.
As one of the most dominate centers in the NBA, Howard earned Defensive Player of the Year last season as head coach Stan VanGundy preached day in and day out that his team must rebound to win games. When his team does not do their job on the boards, the result is a loss for the reigning Eastern Conference Champions that should have been a coast game against Oklahoma City.
Rest assured, Orlando will be ready to play the Bobcats this evening.
The Magic swept the series with the Bobcats last season, 4-0, including a 98-73 win on the last day of the regular season.
Charlotte has made a number of offseason acquisitions since, specifically a new starting center in Tyson Chandler.
Chandler creates little offense for himself, but his defensive presence is a step-up from Emeka Okafor, who Dwight Howard consistently dominated when facing Charlotte.
Chandler, who stands at 7’1, will have more height to match up against the 6’11 Howard, compared to the 6’10 Okafor. Chandler missed the preseason due to injury, so the first few weeks of the regular season have almost acted as his preseason, enabling him to get his feet with assume his role with Charlotte.
Chandler will face his toughest matchup yet against Howard tonight. While trading Okafor for Chandler made sense financially (dumping Okafor’s five-year $72 million deal), Chandler will have the best chance to show if the trade made “basketball” sense against the self-proclaimed, “Superman”.
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