DALLAS — The Orlando Magic might get one of their injured players back for their game tonight against the Dallas Mavericks.
Swingman Jonathon Simmons, who missed Orlando’s last game because of back spasms, participated fully in the team’s shootaround this morning at American Airlines Center. Coach Frank Vogel said Simmons’ status will be determined closer to tipoff, but Vogel also said Simmons moved well during the hour-long session.
If Simmons plays, the Magic would benefit if he regains some of the aggressiveness he showed early in the season.
When he was coming off the bench, Simmons had success driving into the lane and generating free-throw attempts. As a reserve, he averaged 4.1 foul shots in 24.9 minutes per game. But since he moved into the starting lineup full-time on Nov. 27, he’s averaged 2.7 free-throw attempts in 33.3 minutes per game.
“It’s a little bit of everything,” Vogel said after Orlando’s shootaround. “I think he was a little worn down. His legs were a little heavy for a stretch there, and it was a combination of things.”
The Mavericks (13-28) have endured almost as rough a season as the Magic (12-28) have endured. But the Mavericks have played better lately, winning five of their last 10 games. Although the Mavs have lost three games in a row — falling at home to the Golden State Warriors, Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks — the Mavs lost those games by only 10 points combined.
The Mavs were outplayed during the first quarters of those three defeats.
“We’ve got to be more alert and more forceful at the beginning of games,” Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said this morning. “A couple of small mistakes that lead to early baskets can get NBA teams going and give them a lot of confidence. We saw it in the Chicago game. We saw it in the New York game certainly. And tonight we’ve got to do better in that area.”
In that sense, Carlisle’s message to his team resembles Vogel’s message to the Magic. In Saturday’s loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Magic hurt themselves with a bunch of self-inflicted wounds, including allowing 5-foot-9 point guard Isaiah Thomas to go untouched as he collected an offensive rebound.
Orlando Magic at Dallas Mavericks
WHERE: American Airlines Center, Dallas. WHEN: 8:30 p.m.
BROADCAST: TV — Fox Sports Florida. RADIO — 580 AM (WDBO). SPANISH BROADCAST — 98.1 FM (WNUE).
THE BUZZ: Forward Harrison Barnes leads Dallas in scoring, averaging 18.7 points per game. Dennis Smith Jr., the Mavs’ rookie point guard, is averaging 13.8 points and 4.5 assists per game. … The Mavs have attempted 32.0 3-pointers per game this season, the fifth-highest average in the NBA. They have made 36.9 percent of their 3-point tries, the league’s ninth-highest percentage.
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