Magic at Grizzlies
The Memphis Grizzlies look to rebound from two straight poor performances when the struggling Orlando Magic visit on Monday. The Magic, who have dropped five straight, could be a welcome sight after the Grizzlies lost by 20 to the Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State beat them by 26. “We need to go out there and take an attitude of competing our tails off and letting the chips fall where they may,” Memphis coach Dave Joerger told reporters, “and not worrying about anything on the periphery.”
Memphis is battling a growing injury list and has fallen to the bottom five in the league in scoring (93.2) while Orlando is 0-4 on its six-game road trip. The Magic play their 10th game in 17 days after dropping a 98-88 decision at Houston on Sunday, shooting only 34.4 percent. Orlando has been outrebounded 161-108 combined without center Nikola Vucevic, who has missed the last three games with an ankle injury.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBATV, FSN Florida (Orlando)
ABOUT THE MAGIC (6-14): Coach Jacque Vaughn said he liked his team’s effort in the fourth quarter Sunday as it battled back within striking distance, but they missed too many open shots. Although power forward Glen Davis scored 18 against Houston, the Magic miss the inside presence of the 7-0 Vucevic to open things up more for leading scorer Arron Afflalo (22.1) and others. Rookie guard Victor Oladipo looks to rebound after a 2-of-11 shooting performance that produced eight points in his 10th straight start.
ABOUT THE GRIZZLIES (9-10): Memphis shot under 38 percent from the field the last two contests and made only 5 of its 23 tries from 3-point range. Center Marc Gasol, averaging 16 points, has been lost indefinitely with a knee sprain and starter Tony Allen (hip contusion) is day-to-day while Quincy Poindexter (foot) and Ed Davis (ankle) could miss the Orlando game. The Grizzlies do have two of their three leading scorers – Mike Conley (17.8) and Zach Randolph (15.7) – to lean on as they try to turn it around.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Grizzlies have had a different leading scorer in the last eight contests.
2. The Magic are 2-9 in back-to-backs this season -- 1-4 in the second game.
3. Memphis has a better record on the road (5-3) than at home (4-7).