A nine-game stretch of the season that began 16 days ago with the Warriors hoping to gain momentum ends Monday with them hoping to salvage a winning record.
And they’ll be facing an Orlando team that quietly has become a nemesis. After posting 11 consecutive wins over the Magic through December 2018, the Warriors have lost six of the last 11 meetings despite Orlando posting only one winning season.
The Warriors (24-24) have spent most of the season dancing on and around the .500 line and would hop above it with a win over the Magic (24-26). Coverage on NBC Sports Bay Area begins at 6 p.m., with the tipoff at Chase Center scheduled for shortly after 7:00 p.m.
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Standing before Golden State are two imposing young forwards: 6-foot-10, 250-pound Paolo Banchero, who is 22, and 6-foot-10, 230-pound Franz Wagner, who is 23. Their size and talent pose a daunting challenge for the undersize Warriors.
This game calls for Draymond Green, and he’s expected to play. Golden State’s defensive ace missed the last seven games with a left calf strain but has participated in scrimmages and is listed as probable.
Green’s “welcome back” comes in the form of Banchero, who is four inches taller and 15 pounds heavier. Andrew Wiggins lines up as the primary defender against Wagner, who has a similar size advantage.
Selected eighth overall in the 2021 NBA Draft – one pick after the Warriors chose Jonathan Kuminga – Wagner signed a $224 million extension last summer that makes him a franchise cornerstone. He leads Orlando in scoring, averaging 25.1 points per game, on 45.9-percent shooting from the field. Since returning 12 days ago after missing 20 games with a torn oblique, he is averaging 28.4 points per game.
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Banchero, however, projects to be the Magic’s centerpiece. Selected first overall in 2022, he is the youngest player in franchise history with a 50-point game and second-youngest player ever, behind LeBron James in 2005, with a 50-point, 10-rebound, five-assist game. In 11 games since recovering from a torn oblique, he is averaging 20 points and 7.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game.
The best approach for Green and Wiggins to gain an edge is if the Warriors rely on their superior overall speed. Orlando is 29th in pace partly because Banchero and Wagner, neither of whom is fast, maximize their size advantage in the halfcourt.
If the Warriors can win the battle of forwards, they have a reasonable chance to close out this stretch with a 5-4 record and go on the road one game above .500.