<font color=""Navy"">New Jersey Nets (12-12)</font> @ <font color=""Blue"">Orlando Magic (9-13)</font> Wednesday, December 21, 2005 | 7:00 PM | TD Waterhouse Centre TV: Sun Sports | Radio: WDBO | Spanish Radio: AM 1030 WONQ The Orlando Magic will square off against an Eastern Conference foe on Wednesday night as they face the New Jersey Nets. Last season, both Orlando and New Jersey were the front runners for the eigth playoff seed but when the Magic were hit with injuries, the Nets took advantage and snagged the last seed. This year, both teams are playing mediocre basketball and are both in position to make the playoffs if their teams can build some chemistry and click. Tonight will give us a good judgement of where the Magic are as a team. If we can bounce back after our loss to the woeful Raptors and win this game, I would be very proud of our team and it would give us some confidence going into a tough home stand. [DIV=50%]<div align="center"><font color=""Blue"">Orlando Magic Projected Starters</font> (Steve Francis, DeShawn Stevenson, Grant Hill, Dwight Howard, Tony Battie)</div> <font color=""Blue"">Player Stats</font> Steve Francis: 17.2 PPG | 4.9 RPG | 5.8 APG | 1.28 SPG Deshawn Stevenson: 12.5 PPG | 3.5 RPG | 2.1 APG | .461 FG% Grant Hill: 15.3 PPG | 4.7 RPG | 2.7 APG | 1.33 SPG Dwight Howard: 14.7 PPG | 12.9 RPG | 1.5 APG | 1.68 BPG Tony Battie: 6.7 PPG | 5.3 RPG | .5 APG | .451 FG%[/div]<div align="center"><font color=""Navy"">New Jersey Nets Projected Starters</font> (Jason Kidd, Vince Carter, Richard Jefferson, Jason Collins, Nenad Krstic)</div> <font color=""Navy""> Player Stats</font> Jason Kidd: 14.4 PPG | 7.0 RPG | 7.8 APG | 2.04 SPG Vince Carter: 22.8 PPG | 6.0 RPG | 3.8 APG | 1.17 SPG Richard Jefferson: 19.3 PPG | 8.4 RPG | 4.1 APG | .507 FG% Jason Collins: 4.0 PPG | 4.5 RPG | .8 APG | .382 FG% Nenad Krstic: 13.3 PPG | 5.6 RPG | 1.2 APG | 1.08 BPG Key Matchup Steve Francis vs. Jason Kidd These are two of the best point guards in the NBA and they each have the ability to take over a game whether it's with their explosive scoring or accurate passing. Both of these players are top court generals and are the leaders of their respective teams. The performances of these two playmakers could determine the outcome of this game. <font color=""Blue"">Keys to the Game for Orlando</font> * Slow down Vince Carter: He torched the Clippers for 35 points on Tuesday and he could do that same against us. We need to make sure he doesn?t get into a rhythm early because his scoring is a big part of the Nets offense. * Get Dwight Howard the ball inside: The Nets have a depleted front court with Collins and Krstic so the Magic need to work the ball inside to Howard and let him do his thing. He could have a big game tonight as long as he stays out of foul trouble. * Stop the Nets fast break: With the Nets ?big three? of Kidd, Carter and Jefferson they get out and run the fast break effectively. A lot of their points come from their fast break so if we can force them to score from the half court offense we will have a better chance at winning this game. My Prediction The Magic are coming off a loss to the Raptors and have been slumping lately. We have only won 3 out of our last 10 games so I can?t see us coming out with a win in this game against an above average Nets team. I think Jason Kidd, Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson will be to much for us and the Nets will win this game by at least 5 points. 94-89, Nets win.
