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Before Friday's game versus the Detroit Pistons, Frank Vogel agreed that players tend to play harder versus their old teams. It's not hard to imagine the reasons: proving yourself to your old teammates and coaches, showing how you may have been underrated, or even just understanding the tendencies of people they played with for dozens of games.
Tonight, we have it double, with Terrence Ross and Serge Ibaka trying to overcome their old teams as the Magic and Raptors face off in Toronto. The Magic haven't exactly blown the league away since the trade, but there's a sense that they've found a better formula than the one they worked with before, and they may be eager to show Ibaka why he held them back. Ross, of course, spent much longer with Toronto than Ibaka did in Orlando, so the history there runs deeper.
The Magic have had unusual success versus the Raptors this season, winning the last two of their three matchups (all while Kyle Lowry was still playing). It remains to be seen whether the Magic maintain that good matchup with their revamped style of play.
The game tips off at 7:30 PM Eastern in the Air Canada Centre, and you can watch it on Fox Sports Florida, or on the radio at AM 580 Orlando.
Use this thread to discuss your in-game thoughts and comments!
Probable Starters:
Orlando Magic | Toronto Raptors |
Elfrid Payton | Cory Joseph |
Terrence Ross | DeMar DeRozan |
Evan Fournier | P.J. Tucker |
Aaron Gordon | Serge Ibaka |
Nikola Vucevic | Jonas Valanciunas |