UPDATE: Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner have been ruled out for this evening’s game against the Pacers.
This has all the makings of a very weird basketball game. Let’s set the stage for a moment. The Magic are locked into the seven-seed in the Eastern Conference, so they have nothing to play for on Friday. Meanwhile, the Pacers will be on the second night of a back-to-back set. You can see where I’m going with this — and it’s already begun. On Thursday afternoon, Orlando listed both Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner as questionable. Actually, they listed Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Wendell Carter Jr. as questionable, too.
Obviously there’s too many variables here to make any realistic predictions, but needless to say, you’re going to want to familiarize yourself with some of the lesser names on the Magic’ roster if you have any interest in DFS on Friday. More than likely, this will be a contest where the young guys get to shine.
Tristan Da Silva started 36 games in the early part of 2024-25, averaging 8.9 points and 4.3 rebounds in 27.8 minutes per contest. Former sixth-overall pick Anthony Black is another name to keep in mind. Black logged a team-high 33.3 minutes off the bench in Wednesday’s blowout victory over the Celtics.
