The Week Ahead: Magic Gaming Set for Two Week 6 Matchups

ORLANDO – Magic Gaming will look to get back on track this week with a pair of best-of-three series, the first against Knicks Gaming on Tuesday, June 9 at 7 p.m. and the other against Kings Guard Gaming on Thursday, June 11, also at 7 p.m.

The Magic have lost four in a row. Their most recent defeat came this past Tuesday against NetsGC, despite a couple standout performances. In Game 1 of the series, Brendan “Reizey” Hill scored 40 points and Robert “May” May grabbed 22 rebounds. May was solid again in the second game, posting 14 points and 17 boards in the loss.

While disappointed in the result, the Magic remain confident with their current lineup, which was altered prior to the series against Brooklyn. With Daniel “DT” Tlais currently away from the team for personal reasons, May is playing center, his natural position and the position he played last year with Pistons GT.

“I thought May was great. He came out early and set the tone. I think he really actually had Choc (Josh Humphries) pretty uncomfortable right away,” Magic Gaming Head Coach Jonah Edwards said. “That’s the silver lining from this week’s loss, is that May looked great and it’s something to build around in the future.”

Another reason for the Magic to be confident is how well they’ve been playing in scrimmages, especially since the lineup change. Their chemistry has been on point in those exhibition contests, which the Magic hope will start to translate in the games that count in the standings.

“We know that we could be a good team. We know that the team in practice has not necessarily translated and I hate to sit here and make excuses because no matter what at the end of the day we have to own our losses and it’s on us to bridge this gap,” Edwards said. “The real shining light here is we’ve been really close in every single loss so far. We’re 1-4 and that’s terrible and we’re well aware that’s not who we are and not what we want to be. We know that we’re simply one, two, three possessions away from potentially sitting here being 5-0 and it being a completely different narrative.”

The Knicks (4-4) are coming off an impressive series victory over Gen. G on Friday. Christopher “Duck” Charles, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 NBA 2K League Draft, was dominant in his matchup against another elite point guard, fellow rookie Dhwan “ShiftyKaii” White. New York’s floor general tallied 53 points in Game 1, 23 points and nine assists in Game 2 and 25 and 11 in Game 3.

Another one of the Knicks’ top players, Malik “OriginalMalik” Hobson, was terrific in the third and decisive game, erupting for 29 points on 10-of-16 shooting overall and 7-of-13 from 3-point range.

“He’s just a really dominant scorer,” Magic Gaming shooting guard/small forward Alex “Profusion” Snowden said. “You can’t let him take an open shot because he will most likely make it. You can’t let him get to the rim. He’s just a very, very dominant scorer. That’s definitely his strength.”

The Kings (5-2), meanwhile, have also been playing well lately. They knocked off Blazer5 Gaming on Wednesday night in a series that went the distance. Playing against the team he played with in Season One, Connor “Dat Boy Shotz” Rodrigues had 10 points and 13 rebounds in Game 1, 15 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists in Game 2 and then recorded a triple-double in Game 3 with 11 points, 18 rebounds and 10 assists in Game 3.

Matchup to Watch vs. New York: Last year’s Rookie of the Year, Reizey, will go head-to-head against an early candidate for the award this year, Duck. Both players are capable of filling up the stat sheet, as they’ve done throughout remote gameplay so far.

It will be important for the Magic to prevent Duck from getting into a rhythm beyond the arc. In the two games New York won against Gen. G, he went a combined 4-of-6 from downtown. In the game they lost, he didn’t take a single 3-pointer.

Matchup to Watch vs. Sacramento: Kings Guard Gaming’s X-factor this season has been NBA 2K League veteran Waseem “Seemo” Talbert, formerly known as BallLikeSeem. Against the Blazers, the sharpshooter scored 15 points in Game 1, 10 in Game 2 and nine in Game 3.

It will be key for Daniel “djbama” Burge to stay connected to him on defense, if that indeed turns out to be his defensive assignment, and hit his own shots on the other end. Burge, Orlando’s fourth round draft pick in 2020, has been solid in limited time so far this season.

Edwards is very familiar with Seemo having coached him in Dallas during the league’s inaugural season.

How to Watch: Both matchups will be broadcasted on the NBA 2K League’s Twitch (@NBA2kLeague) and YouTube (@NBA2kLeague) channels.