NBA League Pass featured game: Warriors take on Magic (7 ET)

The Golden State Warriors (31-27) kick off a five-game road trip in Orlando as they face off against the Magic (29-31) on Thursday night at 7 PM ET, available to watch on League Pass.

The Warriors aim for the 2-0 season series after holding off the Magic for a 104-99 victory back on Feb. 3.

Here are five things to know before tip-off:

Warriors stepping up on both ends: Golden State has leveled up since acquiring Jimmy Butler III at the trade deadline, putting together a 6-1 record with Butler in the lineup. Their offensive rating of 121.4 is a stark improvement from their season-long rating of 112.9. The Warriors own the best defensive rating (104.4) over this seven-game stretch, rank second in net rating (17.0) and first in assist percentage (73.4). The sample size is small, but the numbers tell a convincing story that this team is ready to compete out West.Brandin Podziemski’s impact: Podziemski is starting to heat up for the Warriors after a slow start to the 2024-25 campaign. The second-year guard earned a spot in the starting lineup on Feb. 5 against Utah and responded with a career-high 29 points in 40 minutes. The 22-year-old has earned starts in his last  nine outings, averaging 15.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.6 steals in 31.5 minutes over that span.Moses Moody getting opportunities: Moody’s playing time has shot up over the last couple months. With Andrew Wiggins now in South Beach, Moody has stepped into a larger and more consistent role for  coach Steve Kerr. In nine games in February, the fourth-year guard is putting up 13.4 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists while shooting 37.5% from 3-point range in 27.9 minutes. In his previous outing against the Magic, he went for 17 points on six-for-nine shooting while going three-for-five from deep.Orlando’s offense struggling: The Magic have been plagued hard by injuries this season, forcing several of their top players to miss significant time. Jalen Suggs has only played in three games since Jan. 1, and he been out since suffering a quadriceps injury on Jan. 25. Orlando’s offense has struggled because of it. Over their last 19 games, the Magic are 6-13 and rank 29th in offensive rating (104.2) and scoring (101.9).Franz Wagner’s stellar season: Despite the injuries for Orlando, including a torn oblique that cost Wagner 20 games, the German big man is having an incredible individual season. He’s averaging career-highs in points (24.9), rebounds (5.7), assists (4.9), steals (1.4) and minutes (33.1), and his nearly 25 ppg ranks 16th across the NBA.