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Wednesday night, the Orlando Magic hope to avoid taking an early vacation in their final game before the All-Star Break. Their matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies should be an interesting test of where they stand, given their poor performance in their last game before the 2013 All-Star Break: in it, the Atlanta Hawks cruised to a 108-76 victory. After the game, Magic guard J.J. Redick said, "We got punked."
Before tipoff on Wednesday, Orlando coach Jacque Vaughn discussed the potential for a pre-All-Star letdown.
"I think that you can take our two previous games and see that our focus level has been pretty good," he said. "These are the quote-unquote 'dog days' of January and February before the Break, and I think overall our concentration level has been pretty good. I'm actually looking forward to tonight to see how we respond with a little success."
Orlando has won three straight games overall--including two against the East's and West's best teams, about which victories Tyler Lashbrook wrote more here--and six straight at Amway Center, the site of Wednesday's pre-All-Star finale. Contrast that recent stretch with the fact that Orlando had lost 12 of its previous 13 games before the Atlanta letdown in 2013 and it's easy to see why Vaughn said he doesn't feel "concerned" about faltering against Memphis.
