Paycom Center hosts March Madness college basketball games from Thursday through Saturday, so the reigning champs begin a six-game road trip on Tuesday night against Orlando. 

Jalen Williams remains sidelined for the Thunder, while the Magic will be without Franz Wagner, Jonathan Isaac and potentially Anthony Black. Check out three key matchups that will largely determine the outcome of this contest. 

Orlando is shooting 34.6% from beyond the arc this season, which ranks 25th across the association. It’s not a new issue – the last time the Magic did not finish bottom ten in three-point percentage was 2019. 

Therefore, Oklahoma City needs to wall off driving lanes and funnel shots to Orlando’s shaky perimeter shooters. It excels in this department, as opponents are attempting the third-fewest paint shots per game against the Thunder’s defense while also making paint shots at the lowest rate according to NBA.com. 

Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein and Jaylin Williams are also finally healthy at the same time, so Orlando must contend with the Thunder’s center rotation at full strength. 

Desmond Bane cannot be allowed to launch triples at will, though. He’s shooting 41.5% from deep since Dec. 1 on 5.3 attempts per game. Oklahoma City did an excellent job of containing Bane during its previous matchup against Orlando this season. Bane only scored seven points on seven field goal attempts. 

34.2% of total field goal attempts against the Magic’s defense this season have come from inside the arc but outside the restricted area. In other words, Orlando forces plenty of deep paint and midrange attempts. 

This bodes well for Gilgeous-Alexander because he thrives in these areas. Can the reigning league MVP rebound from a very poor scoring game against Minnesota where he shot 7-of-22 from the field? Mitchell is also capable of scoring in the deep paint and midrange, and he’s also coming off a tough efficiency game versus the Wolves. 

If Gilgeous-Alexander and Mitchell both shoot the basketball efficiently, then it’s unlikely that Orlando’s middling offense manages to keep pace. 

Orlando ranks second in free throw attempt rate this season because it loves to get downhill and attack the basket. Although Oklahoma City’s defense has done a great job of avoiding shooting fouls, it's a very physical unit that could send the Magic to the charity stripe at a high rate if the officials decide to call ticky-tack fouls. Orlando racking up easy points via free throws would raise its margin for error and perhaps overcome its shooting woes.