The Rockets look to end a three-game home losing streak when the Magic and Paolo...
Smith misfired Monday, making just 4 of 14 shots, but has shot far better than he was in the first 11 games of the season, making 43 percent of his shots in December.in pick-and-roll and at the elbow more than in the low post. The pick-and-roll game was one of the few areas offensively that was reliably effective, especially early, against the Spurs on Monday.
The Magic have been susceptible to giving up points to the roller, allowing the third-most in the NBA per possession, though on very few possessions per game. For the Rockets, the pick-and-roll touches helped get Sengun going. He made 8 of 10 shots, scoring 22 points in just 24 minutes Monday, his first 20-point game this month. He has scored more than 13 points in just one of his previous eight games but had 20 in the first meeting with the Magic.The Magic had a nine-game losing streak and losses in 11 of 12 games before the six-game winning streak, all against teams with winning records.
Banchero and Franz Wagner have combined to average 43 points in that stretch, though Wagner is questionable with a sprained ankle. Mo Wagner, who was out of the first meeting with the Rockets, moved into the starting lineup with Wendell Carter Jr. out and added 15.1 points per game on 50.7 percent shooting. Markelle Fultz, also out of the first game against the Rockets, has returned to offer a boost to the starting lineup with Jalen Suggs out.
Though the rotation has changed since the teams played Nov. 7, the Magic still have the largest lineup in the league, with four starters between 6-10 and 7-2. That has worked well lately. The Magic became the fourth team in league history to go from a losing streak of nine games or more to a winning streak of six or more games. But one of those teams was the Rockets last season so that turnaround does not assure anything.
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