NBA Opening Day Matchups, Preview: Rebuilding Magic Hopes To Start The Season On A High Note Against Pacers, Granger Still Out With Injury
Tonight will be the start of the much-anticipated basketball games as the Orlando Magic faces the Indiana Pacers for a triple-header NBA opening day matchups.
The Pacers who started and finished the previous season strong expects another playoff stint and possibly a finals stint after strengthening their line up even more.
The acquisition of first-round pick Luis Scola will help the Pacers' line-up to get deeper. The team expects more defensive and offensive plays with their deep bench.
"I think when you trade away a future first-round pick and a couple of players like we did, I think it sends the message that it's not a go-for-it year but a go-for-it time for the next couple of years," Indiana coach, Frank Vogel talked about the acquisition of Scola.
Vogel told that expectations from them are higher this season as they finished solid last season and just falling one game from the crowned champions Miami Heat.
"Last year, the expectations were high, but there's not a whole lot different this year - other than that we're bigger and stronger," the 40-year old coach said.
Vogel's team however has one man short in Danny Granger after suffering from a calf injury. Granger was told to sit for now while he nurses his injury and will most likely miss a few games entering the new NBA season.
"It's not terrible," the player who led Indiana in scoring for five seasons said. "I can run up and down the court but when I start jumping, it feels like a knot in my calf where I hurt it. They (the doctors) just said to sit out until I didn't feel it."
The rebuilding Orlando squad however hopes to start on a high-note as they have the presence of the number two overall pick from the draft, Victor Oladipo.
"I have higher expectations of myself, even higher than some people have of me,'' Oladipo said. "I'm just going to play basketball at the end of the day. And I want to win just like everybody else."