Game 61: Magic vs. Rockets GameThread

Who: Houston Rockets (15-43) at Orlando Magic (13-47)
When: Friday, February 25th, 7:00 PM EST
Where: Amway Center, Orlando, FL
TV: Bally Sports Florida
Line: Orlando -3.5, O/U: 235.0
Injuries: Houston - Garuba (OUT, wrist); Orlando - Bol (OUT, foot), Fultz (OUT, knee), Isaac (OUT, knee), M. Wagner (OUT, rib)

Pregame Quotes from Coach

“This morning, we were doing a couple of defensive drills, and he stepped on a foot. But he’s going to, he’s testing it out right now. He’ll be a game-time decision, seeing how he feels as we go. He’s still got his normal shooting slot, so he’ll test it out right now.” ~ Coach Mosley said of RJ Hampton, who was supposed to return tonight from a knee injury, but is now a game-time decision after rolling his ankle during morning shoot-around (UPDATE: Hampton will play).

“That is a great question. Honestly, the reality of it is (with Mo) because he shoots the ball so well from the perimeter, a lot of teams are doing a good job of switching. And so, it takes away a little bit from his effectiveness getting to his shot. That’s on us, and myself, to get him space in areas where he’s comfortable knocking shots down, finding the mismatch, and moving him around the court a little more. He recognizes it, our guards are doing a good job trying to find him at times, but (other teams) are doing a great job closing out on him. So, we’ll continue to just move him around and find space offensively, and get those early rim runs – as well as those early shots in space.” ~ Mosley on Mo Bamba’s role in the team’s offensive scheme moving forward.

“I think what it is, is we continue to focus on our staples. The things that we’re going to continue to do daily. We talk about how hard we’re going to work to get better, guys improving in small areas, the small successes. Our guys are understanding exactly what we need to do defensively. And then offensively, just how do we continue to find our rhythm and continuity among one another. I think that’s the thing that we’re looking forward to. And the guys’ spirit within that is going to stay the same.” ~ Mosley on what he wants his team to focus on through the remainder of the season.

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