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Tonight, the Orlando Magic and Atlanta Hawks enter their preseason contest against each other with distinct agendas. Orlando's won its first five games by an average of 24.2 points, and as a result hasn't had the chance to give its key players extended action. As a result, coach Stan Van Gundy will try to play Vince Carter, Dwight Howard, and Jameer Nelson 30-plus minutes "if possible," Josh Robbins writes. Meanwhile, the Hawks have revenge on their minds after the Magic swept them out of the Conference Semifinals last May by an average margin of 25.3 points. Here's what Hawks center Zaza Pachulia told Michael Cunningham of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on that front:
"You want to set the tone from the beginning," Pachulia said "You want to make them feel like we are not the same team as last year [and] we got better and we are here to work."
The teams' different aims could result in a compelling, competitive game, although the Hawks are playing catch-up as they learn new coach Larry Drew's schemes on both ends of the court, which could give Orlando the upper hand.
| 2010/2011 NBA Preseason | ||
|---|---|---|
 | @ |  |
| 5-0 (2-0 road) Won 5 | 1-3 (0-1 home) Won 1 | |
| October 18th, 2010 | ||
| Philips Arena | ||
| 7:00 PM | ||
| FSN Florida / NBA TV | ||
| Possible Starters | ||
| Jameer Nelson | PG | Mike Bibby |
| Vince Carter | SG | Joe Johnson |
| Quentin Richardson | SF | Marvin Williams |
| Rashard Lewis | PF | Josh Smith |
| Dwight Howard | C | Al Horford |
| 2009/10 Advanced Stats | ||
| 92.0 (18th) | Pace | 90.1 (27th) |
| 111.4 (4th) | ORtg | 111.9 (2nd) |
| 103.3 (3rd) | DRtg | 106.7 (13th) |
| Game Officials | ||
| Derrick Collins | ||
| Tony Brown | ||
| Kevin Scott | ||