Archive → March, 2011
Recap: Atlanta Hawks 85, Orlando Magic 82
AP Photo/Rich Addicks
In a first round playoff preview between rivals from the Southeast Division, the Atlanta Hawks were able to defeat the Orlando Magic by the score of 85-82. With the victory, the Hawks win the season series 3-1 — a complete reversal of fortune from the previous season when the Magic had their way against them in the regular season and the postseason. Like Orlando’s game against the New York Knicks, this game went down to the wire. With less than a minute to go in the fourth quarter, Jameer Nelson was able to make a layup in the lane to tie things up at 82. On the ensuing possession, Atlanta ran a 1/2 pick and roll with Kirk Hinrich and Joe Johnson, an excellent play-call by head coach Larry Drew, and Johnson was able to exploit the confusion in pick and roll coverage by Nelson and Jason Richardson, waltzing his way into the paint for a floater. The shot gave the Hawks a two-point lead, but the Magic still had a chance to tie or take the lead depending on preference. Head coach Stan Van Gundy drew up a play during Orlando’s timeout for Nelson, given that he had success throughout the evening in exploiting Atlanta’s perimeter defense off the dribble. The Magic ran a 1/5 pick and roll with Nelson and Dwight Howard, with Nelson attacking the basket and putting up a floater. But Nelson missed the shot and Jason Collins retrieved the rebound for the Hawks. It’s blind luck for Orlando that Collins rebounded the basketball because he was immediately fouled and given that he’s a poor free-throw shooter, the percentages were not in his favor to make both free-throws and ice the game. Collins badly missed the first free-throw, but made the second to give Atlanta a three-point lead with 5.7 seconds left in regulation. Van Gundy called another timeout, drawing up a play for Hedo Turkoglu. Some questioned whether or not the Hawks were going to foul, given that they were up by three points with roughly five seconds left in the fourth quarter. Usually that’s the time to foul, but Atlanta chose not to. Richardson got the ball at the top of the key and almost hesitated, seemingly as if he was waiting for the Hawks to foul but they didn’t. Richardson let a few seconds go by, then passed the basketball to Turkoglu as he was coming around a screen at the three-point line. Turkoglu caught the ball, but missed the shot and the Hawks won. It was poor execution by the Magic and it’s hard to believe they couldn’t have gotten a better look at a three-pointer.
Was trading for Gilbert Arenas a mistake?
Today’s episode of TrueHoop TV covered the topic of worst deals in the NBA this year. The Orlando Magic‘s acquisition of Gilbert Arenas gets mentioned.
Preview: Orlando Magic at Atlanta Hawks
| 7:00 EDT | Sun Sports |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| 47-27 |  |
@ |  |
42-32 |
| Pythagorean Record: 51-23 | Pythagorean Record: 37-37 | |||
| Pace: 91.9 (17th) | Pace: 89.4 (27th) | |||
| Offensive Rating: 107.9 (13th) | Offensive Rating: 106.4 (19th) | |||
| Defensive Rating: 102.0 (3rd) | Defensive Rating: 106.4 (13th) | |||
| Philips Arena | Hawks lead season series 2-1 | ||||
A sign of things to come
Photo by Scott Cunningham/NBAE via Getty Images
Via John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com:
Now, fast forward to this season, and the [Orlando] Magic are an equally driven team as evidenced by the recent five-game winning streak and a gusty overtime effort against New York on Monday even though they were down to just six available players by the final horn.
But the harsh reality for the Magic (47-27) with eight games to play is that they are locked into the Eastern Conference’s fourth seed most likely incapable of moving up or down. Orlando is 4 ½ games back of third-seeded Miami and a comfortable five games ahead of fifth-seeded Atlanta (42-32). Dead ahead is a first-round showdown against the Hawks, Wednesday night’s opponent at Philips Arena.
So unlike last season, there is little for the Magic to push for down the stretch other than personal pride and a desire to hit the playoffs with a hot hand. Hard-driving Magic coach Stan Van Gundy doesn’t find the scenario ideal, but considering the state of the Magic’s injury-riddled roster right now, he said his team will make the best of the final two weeks of the regular season. [...]
The Magic should have [Jameer] Nelson and [Quentin] Richardson back for Wednesday’s game in Atlanta. Both were up and down off the Magic bench most of Monday night, cheering on Orlando’s effort and interacting with Madison Square Garden’s trash talkers in the crowd. Both could have played had the game been a playoff battle.
The case for [J.J.] Redick and [Chris] Duhon is trickier. Redick, Orlando’s best bench player all season, has missed nine games and could be looking at another two weeks of inactivity before returning, Van Gundy hinted. Duhon was unable to squeeze a towel at halftime Monday night and fears he might have suffered ligament damage in his thumb. Further tests should confirm or deny that by Wednesday’s tipoff.
With motivation in short supply down the stretch, the Magic will seek it out wherever they can find it. Wednesday it will come in the form of a first-round playoff preview against the Hawks. The Magic are just 1-2 against the Hawks this season, a direct contrast to last spring when Orlando swept Atlanta in the most lopsided four-game series in playoff history. [...]
As for Wednesday’s game, Howard said it’s never too early to send a message to a team that the Magic will most likely see in the first round of the playoffs.
Say hello to a preview of a first round matchup in the 2011 NBA Playoffs between the Orlando Magic and Atlanta Hawks. Sort of. Even though Quentin Richardson and Jameer Nelson are slated to return from their injuries later tonight, the Magic are still dealing with the absences of J.J. Redick and Chris Duhon. When Orlando is at full-strength, only Redick figures to see minutes in the postseason coming off the bench. As such, the Magic will get a decent idea of how they matchup with the Hawks even though they’re missing their top back-up wing player.
Tuesday’s Magic Word
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Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel; “The mounting odds and the New York Knicks were too much to overcome for the Orlando Magic – or what was left of them. The Magic had only eight players available in the second half, and fell to the struggling Knicks 113-106 Monday night in overtime at Madison Square Garden. They also lost Dwight Howard in the extra period after he fouled out and picked up his 17th technical foul (one more tech and he will be suspended for a game). ‘It was tough after that,’ coach Stan Van Gundy said. Howard protested his sixth foul on an offensive rebound with one minute, 17 seconds left, and Orlando behind 108-106. He angrily flung the ball to the other end of the floor. ‘It was one of those crazy games,’ Magic point guard Chris Duhon. How crazy? Duhon injured his right thumb and was unable to play in the second half, leaving the Magic (47-27) with only one point guard — Gilbert Arenas — and just eight players. Arenas, subbing for Jameer Nelson (sprained knee), made his first start for the Magic and scored just nine points on 2-of-11 shooting.” - Gilbert Arenas had a chance to shine against the New York Knicks, and blew it.
- Britt Robson of Sports Illustrated: “Monday’s loss to the Knicks made it plain that the Magic have glaring depth problems at point guard as well as center. With Jameer Nelson sidelined with a sprained knee, coach Stan Van Gundy went with Gilbert Arenas and Chris Duhon at the point. It’s a strategy that will be akin to playing Russian roulette with Orlando’s season if Van Gundy repeats it in the playoffs. The pair managed to get Dwight Howard enough touches for just two shots in the first half against an opponent that didn’t play a legitimate center the entire night. Right now, it appears that the productive part of Arenas’ career is toast. Along with an inability to set up Howard, he shot 2-of-11, which is actually an improvement on his 1-of-12 performance in his previous game (for the season, he is at 36.4 percent). And in March, Arenas has more turnovers than assists. Turnovers are also a problem for Duhon, who is committing them at an incredibly high rate of 32.7 per 100 plays. Duhon missed the second half against New York with a bruised thumb, leaving Arenas as the only healthy point guard.”
- Matt Moore of CBSSports.com on Dwight Howard’s sixth foul against the Knicks: “You can definitely argue that Howard is being fouled simultaneously by Chauncey Billups. But you can’t argue that that’s not a foul on Howard for shoving Stoudemire in the face, just as you can’t argue that MVP’s should be picking up technicals which can result in suspensions during the stretch run to the playoffs, just as you can’t argue Howard should be surprised at this point by either the officials’ calls or their reaction to his protests over their calls. It wasn’t a phantom foul. Stan Van Gundy and Howard have a legitimate case that Howard doesn’t get the calls he should during the game, but it’s impossible to argue that Howard didn’t commit a foul on this play. A tough break for the Magic on a night full of them.”
- The Magic’s defense faltered last night.
- Head coach Stan Van Gundy is sick and tired of the coverage surrounding the Miami Heat and New York.
- The Knicks won an ugly game yesterday.
- It turns out that points in the paint doesn’t correlate to highly-efficient NBA offenses.
- Dan Devine of Ball Don’t Lie revisits Carmelo Anthony’s tripping antics in overtime: “On the other hand, however, it was clear watching in real-time (and even clearer running the play back now in the clip above) that Carmelo reached out, grabbed [Jason] Richardson‘s leg, then hit the deck after Richardson responded, but the officials only penalized the retaliation. The whistle waved off a Hedo Turkoglu 3-pointer at the other end of the court that would have tied the game with 51.8 seconds left in overtime. Instead, New York was handed the ball with a 3-point lead that they’d never relinquish, as Orlando failed to score another point.”
- Sebastian Pruiti of NBA Playbook: “During their game against the New York Knicks, the Orlando Magic found themselves down three points with about 40 seconds left as they secured the defensive rebound. After some ball movement and scrambling by the defense, the Magic had Amar’e Stoudemire covering Hedo Turkoglu. As Turkoglu tried to take advantage the defense collapsed on him. However, instead of kicking it out, he settled for the contested jumper.”
2011 Orlando Magic single game playoff tickets on sale
Photo by Fernando Medina
Via the Orlando Magic:
Single game tickets for the first round of the 2011 Orlando Magic playoffs will go on sale to the general public Tuesday, April 5 at 10 a.m. Orlando’s playoff schedule will be announced following the conclusion of the regular season.
Tickets are available for purchase:
- Online at www.orlandomagic.com
- At the Amway Center box office (cash, MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Discover)
- At all TicketMaster outlets (cash only)
- By calling 1-800-4NBA-TIX (MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Discover)
Playoff tickets start at $12.
Jason Richardson and Carmelo Anthony go on a trip
Derrick Rose is not the MVP
Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images
Is it a race if it’s already over?
When it comes to the race for the Most Valuable Player award, the answer seems to be yes, given that the support for Derrick Rose — the star point guard for the Chicago Bulls — has swelled in recent weeks to dizzying heights. In some ways, it makes sense. The Bulls are in position to claim the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and win more than 60 games in the regular season. Rose is the unquestioned leader for Chicago and when looking back at history, players like him put themselves in great position to win MVP.
But does Rose deserve the award?
It depends on who you ask.
A majority of the mainstream media have made it clear who their choice is — Rose. This should come as no surprise, given that this is the same contingent that handed Steve Nash back-to-back MVPs in 2005 and 2006, Allen Iverson the MVP award in 2001, and so on and so forth. What do these players have in common? Each of them, including Rose, exceeded a narrative that was bestowed upon them before the season began. Entering this year, Rose wasn’t the favorite to win MVP. Rose wasn’t even on the radar. After his heroics in leading Team USA to gold in the 2010 FIBA World Championships, Durant was seen as the player that would dethrone LeBron James and begin his evolution in becoming the best player in the NBA. Durant was the media’s choice. Unfortunately for Durant, he did not fulfill expectations and he was quickly forgotten in the conversation for MVP.
In a race for MVP that was wide open at the onset, Rose took control because he and the Bulls came out of nowhere in the East. The narrative that was set in stone for Chicago was that they were a year away from becoming a legitimate threat in the Eastern Conference. The Boston Celtics, Miami Heat, and Orlando Magic were going to duke it out for conference supremacy, while the Bulls would play the role of annoying brother and try to cause as much of a ruckus as possible. Of course, things have turned out much differently. Chicago has shattered expectations, with the help of head coach Tom Thibodeau, a smothering defense, and an excellent supporting cast that’s been able to complement Rose’s talents. And it’s not like Rose hasn’t had a great season because he has, given that he’s produced at a high level, particularly in crunch time, and was more than deserving of being named the starting point guard for the East in the 2011 NBA All-Star Game. But it can’t be denied that Rose has benefited from the storyline itself.
Recap: New York Knicks 113, Orlando Magic 106 (OT)
AP Photo/Bill Kostroun
On a night where people could have mistakenly confused the quality of officiating in a regulation NBA game for some of the sketchy refereeing that plagued the 2011 NCAA Tournament in the early rounds, the New York Knicks were able to defeat the Orlando Magic by the score of 113-106 in overtime. The loss snaps a five-game winning streak for the Magic. Normally, refs have little impact in the outcome of a game because, ultimately, it comes down to the players and coaches to come away with a result one way or the other. But it’s hard to ignore shoddy calls made by the officials late in the fourth quarter, as well as overtime, that aided in Orlando’s inability to come away with a victory. More on that later. The Knicks were led by a fantastic performance from Carmelo Anthony, as he finished with 39 points (on 12-of-26 shooting from the field) and 10 rebounds. Anthony’s lack of enthusiasm to play defense is well-documented in the league, but his activity on that end of the floor was fantastic. Anthony put forth an honest effort defensively, and his teammates were quick to follow his lead. Although New York still gave up more than 100 points, the commitment to playing defense was there. The Magic were led by a balanced attack, as five players scored in double-figures. Dwight Howard finished with 29 points and 18 rebounds. Jason Richardson stepped up, especially in crunch-time, and dropped 24 points. Hedo Turkoglu was masterful, once again, with 18 points and four assists. Brandon Bass had 14 points, while Ryan Anderson had 10 points. A big problem for Orlando was that they played short-handed. Not only was Jameer Nelson, J.J. Redick, and Quentin Richardson sidelined with injuries, but Chris Duhon jammed his right thumb and was unable to return after the second quarter, leaving head coach Stan Van Gundy with seven rotation players. Unfortunately for the Magic, that wasn’t the end of the bad news.
