The Magic are pretty much locked in as the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference; but that doesn’t mean they have nothing to play for.
Sitting two games behind the Atlanta Hawks with three games remaining, and leading the Knicks and Philadelphia by three games, one would assume they finish as the sixth seed, barring a a crazy turn of events. But the Magic need to not only prove to the world they can win without Dwight Howard, but to themselves.
Howard is out for year after surgery to repair a herniated disk in his back. “I think we’ve been operating with the expectation that we wouldn’t have him back,” coach Stan Van Gundy said. “I don’t think this was unexpected.”
Denver, on the other hand, will be going 120% to win this game. They are tied with the Mavericks for the sixth seed, but the Mavericks hold the tiebreaker. However, the Nuggets have three games remaining, and the Mavericks have only one. When asked about how his team would approach the next few games, coach George Karl said: “We are going to try to win all three of them. There won’t be any rest going on here, we are not in that mode. We are into getting better and coming together. It is a young team that will have to learn how to win in the playoffs. On the job training, but it has been done before.”
With a record of 35-28, the Nuggets clinched their ninth straight postseason berth, a franchise record. The Magic, on the other hand, are 36-27, but have gone 3-6 since losing their All-Star center. Howard was averaging 20.6 points a game and a league-best 14.5 rebounds.
Denver is 19-13 at home this season, but has beat Orlando in seven of the past eight matchups in Denver.