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Wednesday’s Magic Word
- Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: “Remember all those lofty goals the [Orlando] Magic always had high on their wish list to start a season? Best regular-season record, playoff seeding, home-court advantage. Well, the mission statement has changed dramatically. It’s not that the Magic won’t want to win every game, but there’s truly a bigger picture to evaluate now in the [Stan] Van Gundy era. Right now, after making two blockbuster trades, they are basically in a training-camp mode, just trying to find some cohesion with four new players. And more could be on the way as Orlando desperately needs another big man. The Magic might not have this thing totally squared away until, oh, the February all-star break.”
- Zach McCann of the Orlando Sentinel: “Between the gun incident, the injuries, the injury faking and everything else that happened in Washington, Gilbert Arenas makes it no secret that he’s happy to no longer be with the Wizards. But it’s not just the off-the-court incidents that make him happy to be part of the Orlando Magic. It’s basketball, too. He’s surrounded by a collection of talent he’s never played with before in the NBA, but it’s even more than that. It’s the way the Magic play.”
- For the most part, Magic fans are energized with the trades that occurred on Saturday.
- Kevin McHale and Chris Webber, analysts on NBA TV, like the new-look Orlando Magic.
- Evan Dunlap of Orlando Pinstriped Post has locker room notes and commentary after the Magic’s loss to the Dallas Mavericks in last night’s game. Check it out.
- Kelly Dwyer of Ball Don’t Lie: “The Orlando Magic clearly need time, space, maybe fewer back-to-backs, and a chance at not playing two pretty good teams before they can get things right again.”
- Hedo Turkoglu gets blocked by the rim on a dunk attempt.
- Eric Freeman and Bethlehem Shoals at NBA FanHouse debate the merits of whether or not it makes sense for Gilbert Arenas to pay tribute to Penny Hardaway by wearing No. 1 on his uniform. An excerpt from Shoals: “I don’t think there’s any risk here of Arenas becoming so great in Orlando that he’s the No. 1 retired — and at one point, that seemed the risk with McGrady. But I agree that this doesn’t really do much to keep Penny’s memory out there in public. When players wear No. 23 because of Jordan, they’re referencing a player who everyone still recalls vividly. There are players entering the league now who don’t know how ridiculous pre-surgery Penny was.”
- Will Arenas honor Hardaway’s number?
- NBA.com writers debate the Magic’s trades. John Schuhmann chimes in: “As someone who picked them to win the championship, I hope they’re better! There’s no clear explanation for why a team that was so good last season was playing so mediocre this year. If the trade invigorates Gilbert and Hedo, the Magic should be improved offensively, and that’s the area where they’ve really fallen off. The defense will likely suffer, but with Dwight [Howard] in the middle and Stan on the bench, they’re still going to be good on that end. So as long as the new guys play well, they will be better overall.”
Navigating through murderer’s row
Photo by Fernando Medina
Two games since the Orlando Magic acquired Gilbert Arenas, Jason Richardson, and Hedo Turkoglu. Two losses.
Losing to the Atlanta Hawks and Dallas Mavericks is nothing the Magic should be ashamed of, considering head coach Stan Van Gundy is trying to integrate three players on the fly in the middle of the regular season. In fact, Van Gundy is referring to the timeframe right now as training camp. But it’s easy to see why the frustration level is rising for Orlando — losses are piling up. After a 15-4 start to the year, a stomach virus, injuries, and trades have contributed to the Magic losing eight of their last nine games. Now Orlando is 16-12 and tied for fifth in the Eastern Conference with the New York Knicks.
Needless to say, no one saw this coming.
And with the Magic still having to face off against the San Antonio Spurs and Boston Celtics in the next four days, it’s safe to say that things are going to get worse before they get better.
Orlando is dealing with a murderer’s row schedule at a bad time. It’s not the worst time because the playoffs aren’t here yet. The Magic do have 54 games to right the ship and rest assured, they’re going to need each and every one of them to figure things out.
What once was a stout defense with Dwight Howard as the anchor is in shambles right now as Orlando waits for reinforcements to arrive and rebuild a frontline that is depleted at the moment. Not only that but the Magic are lacking for great, let alone elite, perimeter defenders with the departure of Mickael Pietrus.
General manager Otis Smith is gambling that Van Gundy and Howard are enough to rebuild a top five defense with Arenas, Richardson, and Turkoglu, along with any other newcomers that may be on their way before the trade deadline. If Turkoglu’s stifling defense on Dirk Nowitzki in last night’s game against the Mavericks is any indication, the gamble may pay off but it remains to be seen what happens in that department.
The offense?
It’s a work in progress, but it’s clear that Orlando is going to be a handful offensively when things are clicking on all cylinders. Turkoglu’s synergy with Howard in the pick and roll remains intact, Richardson — as he gets acclimated in the Magic’s offense — poses a dynamic threat on the perimeter, and then there’s Arenas.
Well, Arenas is the wild card. Let’s put it that way. Arenas’ spirits are high, as he seems to be enjoying his new surroundings. But Smith traded for Arenas to produce, and that’s something he expects from him sooner than later. It’ll take some time, though, for Arenas to not only know the right moments to be aggressive on the offensive side of the ball but also how to effectively play with Howard, the type of dominant center he’s never played with before in his career.
That being said, the playmaking is there, the scoring is there, but the defense has some catching up to do. A lot of catching up to do, actually.
With the upcoming schedule, things aren’t going to be easy.
Tuesday’s Magic Word
- Zach McCann of the Orlando Sentinel: “While ESPN analyst Jeff Van Gundy, the brother of [Orlando] Magic coach Stan Van Gundy, admits he’s still a bit undecided on the Orlando Magic’s recent overhaul, he’s confident about one thing: this new Magic team ain’t winning it all. ‘I still don’t think they’re a candidate to reach the finals,’ Van Gundy said. ‘Clearly, Boston and Miami are better with their old team and with their new team. It’ll be interesting to see how it works out, though.’ Orlando’s acquisition of Gilbert Arenas, Hedo Turkoglu and Jason Richardson was certainly bold and ambitious, he said. But there are too many question marks for him to really get behind this team. Does Hedo Turkoglu have anything left? Does the have enough on the perimeter defensively? And Gilbert Arenas? He’s worthy of his own paragraph.”
- George Diaz of the Orlando Sentinel: “The left ankle sprain to Malik Allen only accelerates the need to swing a deal for a solid backup big man. They Magic are going to get killed in some games because they don’t match-up well size-wise, especially when [Dwight] Howard isn’t around to clean up any mistakes. General Manager Otis Smith was in Atlanta Monday night to watch the game. Maybe he shouldn’t come back until he has signed a 7-footer.”
- Head coach Stan Van Gundy has his work cut out for him to integrate Gilbert Arenas, Jason Richardson, and Hedo Turkoglu seamlessly into the roster for the Orlando Magic.
- The Magic are learning on the fly.
- Orlando has an interest in acquiring Ronny Turiaf from the New York Knicks. Evan Dunlap of Orlando Pinstriped Post explains the appeal: “Turiaf, seven years Battie’s junior, has more upside. His high energy and boundless enthusiasm make him a fan-favorite wherever he goes, but understand he’s more than simply a hustle player: he’s productive, too, converting 59.3 percent of his extremely limited shot attempts–he only uses 9.7 percent of the Knicks’ possessions when on the court–and blocking a shot every 14.7 minutes. Further, he’s an exceptional passer out of the high post and consistently ranks among the league’s best big men in that area.”
- Don’t expect the Knicks to trade Turiaf, however.
- Gilbert Arenas is a new man. Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports has the story: ”Not even a 91-81 loss to the Atlanta Hawks could temper Arenas’ enthusiasm about his trade to the Magic. He leaves behind a franchise in Washington that’s in the throes of a rebuilding project, as well as the memories of a firearms violation that stained his career, not to mention his legal record. In return, he joins a team still intent on challenging for a championship – one that is also run by a general manager whom Arenas considers to be the ‘the only person that actually believed in me.’ ”
- Orlando will need time to figure everything out when it comes to their new acquisitions and current players jelling together. Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated breaks it down: “Orlando needs practice time. Badly. But with four games this week they won’t get much of it and will have to contend with a murderers’ row of games through Christmas. The Magic will host Dallas (Tuesday), San Antonio (Thursday) and Boston (Saturday). Along with Atlanta that’s four talented, cohesive teams Orlando will be up against as they try to incorporate the new players into the system. Each game will undoubtedly draw a lot of attention, but expectations should be ratcheted down; this Magic team will look markedly different than the one playing in March.”
- Dwight Howard is optimistic about the new-look Magic.
- General manager Otis Smith is on the lookout for a back-up center.
- Matt Moore of CBSSports.com: “It should be noted that the Magic didn’t have time for a practice with the new guys before last night’s game. In reality, not even a walk-through. They simply walked out on the floor and tried to play together. When you consider that, it’s a wonder they were even in this game, much less lost by only ten.”
- Four NBA scouts talked to Sam Amick of NBA FanHouse before Orlando played last night and gave their opinions on Arenas, Turkoglu, and Richardson joining the team. Three of them gave the move a thumbs up in terms of whether or not the Magic improved their championship chances, while one didn’t. Here’s what one scout had to say: “The first thing that struck me is how it’s so rare, maybe unprecedented, that you get three guys of that quality in a trade. That’s what’s so earth-shattering about it, is the level of talent — all of whom have some issues. [...] But just the level of talent acquired is what’s so astonishing to me. I think they came out like bandits. I really do.”
- A look at Turkoglu traveling with the basketball.
- Kelly Dwyer of Ball Don’t Lie points out the Magic’s issues in their loss to the Atlanta Hawks: “Jason Richardson had no idea where to go, the screen and roll defense stunk, and Gilbert Arenas shot 2-11.”
Reaction roundup
Looking around the web for reaction to the Orlando Magic’s blockbuster trades.
Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images
- Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: “Actually, the beginning of the end for the [Orlando] Magic as we knew them, came on July 8. That was the night LeBron announced his Decision. That was the night [Otis] Smith knew his team clearly wasn’t good enough to reach the Finals again and, at some point, he needed to try somebody else’s players. That was the night the lights went out in Orlando. If the Celtics’ Big Three set up the Magic for the knockout, the Heat Threesome finished them off. And they still don’t have anybody who can guard James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett in the playoffs, although the trades gave Orlando more scoring and some tougher guys. Saturday it became official: LeBron stole the Magic’s future. You’re a mean one, LeGrinch.”
- Today begins the process for the Orlando Magic to integrate Gilbert Arenas, Jason Richardson, and Hedo Turkoglu. Head coach Stan Van Gundy expects an adjustment period that’ll last a few weeks.
- Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel says that general manager Otis Smith is rolling the dice, with hopes that the Magic can win a championship and keep Dwight Howard around: “We don’t know if these trades will work or not, but what we do know is this: The Magic were not going to win anything by standing pat. This team is 16-10, has lost six of its last seven and is 3-6 against opponents with .500 records or better. It was becoming increasingly evident the Magic could not compete for a championship with a slumping Rashard Lewis and an aging Vince Carter in the lineup. In other words, Smith, even though he won’t say it publicly, is symbolically admitting that some of his past moves were mistakes. Two years ago, after the Magic made the NBA Finals with Turkoglu playing a key role, Smith let Turkoglu walk to bring in Carter. Now he is letting Carter walk to bring in Turkoglu. In addition, everybody knew Smith vastly overpaid when he signed Lewis to an exorbitant $118 million deal four years ago. Now Lewis is averaging just 12.2 points per game and has become an average player with a maximum contract. Smith had to do something to stop the bleeding, and so he rolled the dice. To get rid of Lewis’ bloated contract, Smith was forced to take on the bloated contract of Arenas, an immense talent with immense character issues. [...Who knows whether these deals will work, but Magic fans had better hope so. Otis Smith's job depends on it. More frighteningly, so does Dwight Howard's future in Orlando."
- After a 16-9 start to the regular season before losing to the Philadelphia 76ers short-handed on Saturday, Smith and Van Gundy knew that changes had to be made.
- A Q/A with Arenas.
- Evan Dunlap shares a lengthy analysis on the Magic's blockbuster trades. A choice excerpt: "If shot-creation is the Magic's biggest offensive issue--and that's a defensible position, I believe--then Arenas certainly fixes it; no one's ever accused Arenas of lacking aggression. The issue is refining his ability to get shots off, eliminating the bad ones and maximizing the good ones. The fewer off-balance 20-footers he forces up, the better."
- Quentin Richardson knows a thing or two about trades.
- LeBron James offers his take on Turkoglu's return to the Magic.
- Arenas' legacy is on the line, according to Matt Moore of ProBasketballTalk: "He’s gone from a team that fell under frustration due to his injuries, then turmoil due to his locker room behavior, to a contender. A team with an established hierarchy, a coach that drives the cart, and a real chance to make a run at the East. Well, okay, a slight chance to make a run at the East (the big bad wolf is still running the game). Arenas has a chance to change the narrative of his career from 'the boy who cried ‘Hibachi’ and then faded into a trivia question' to 'the man who brought joy to the Amway Center.' What happens next is up to him."
- Kurt Helin of ProBasketballTalk gets straight to the point: "In the end there are two wild cards that will determine if the Magic are again contenders, if this trade works out for them. One is Turkoglu. He may well come off the bench with Brandon Bass starting next to Howard, but Hedo is going to get his chance. Except, he had chances in Toronto and Phoenix the last two years and blew those. [...] The other wild card is Arenas. He has been injured and just did not look comfortable in Washington, on John Wall’s team. Maybe the new surroundings, a new team with something to really play for, rejuvenates him.”
- Surprisingly enough, Orlando saves some money by acquiring Arenas, Richardson, and Turkoglu and offer themselves enough financial flexibility to keep tinkering the roster if need be.
- John Hollinger of ESPN.com: “As for Arenas, he’ll help the backcourt because he’s better than Chris Duhon and will have his moments as a sixth man, but let’s be realistic here. He isn’t better than Jameer Nelson or Richardson, he’s not anywhere near the player he was five years ago, and his laissez-faire attitude to defense is going to put him at odds with coach Stan Van Gundy. I have similar feeling about Turkoglu. While [Mickael] Pietrus has been awful this year and Turk is likely an improvement, we need to nip this revisionist history about his Orlando years in the bud: Turkoglu wasn’t particularly good in his last season in Orlando, save for a glorious Game 7 in Boston, and he’s unlikely to provide more than a small bench upgrade at a very expensive price. The Carter-Richardson swap at shooting guard looks even on paper, but Richardson’s catch-and-shoot 3-point game is tailor-made for Orlando’s system. He’s another player who doesn’t defend much, however, so Van Gundy will have his hands full getting his three new offensive-minded players to play his kind of defense.”
- J.A. Adande of ESPN.com makes an interesting point: “Another subplot to Saturday’s moves is the way the Magic are now beholden to agent Dan Fegan. Fegan represents Howard and Richardson and has been advising his former client Arenas. Does Fegan want to continue to consolidate power in Orlando and do his best to help Howard succeed there? Or will he take his guys elsewhere, which happened when he had a glut of players in Golden State?”
- How do the new-look Magic matchup with the Miami Heat?
- It’s title or bust for Orlando. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports explains: “The message has been delivered to Magic management in a clear way. Want to keep the indestructible franchise star? Want the league’s best center to re-sign for the long run? As the Magic GM tore apart one of the best teams in the NBA, the words hung over his every machination. To keep Dwight Howard, the mandate’s unmistakable: nothing short of a championship.”
- Ian Thomsen of Sports Illustrated: “We don’t often see a contender attempt to overhaul its roster in midseason. For several years now the Magic have shown a willingness to spend big money in pursuit of a championship for owner Rich DeVos, who is benefiting from the new revenue streams created by this season’s opening of the 18,500-seat Amway Center in downtown Orlando. It was easy to forget about the Magic while the Lakers and Celtics were deepening their benches after Dwyane Wade had recruited LeBron James and Chris Bosh to Miami. But now Orlando has declared its intention to create a three-team race in the East. Let’s see if more reinforcements for the frontline are on the way.”
- Ken Berger of CBSSports.com: “People with knowledge of Howard’s thinking said the superstar is on board with Orlando’s moves, with one saying he’s “a big fan” of the changes. But as he grew restless over the summer about the developments in South Florida, and as the Magic were exposed in recent weeks, Howard privately already was beginning to weigh his options. Like the list of stars he wanted to join him in Orlando, he was forming another list: potential suitors for him. Two teams were on it, according to sources: the Knicks and Lakers.“
- Imagine Dwight Howard bolting for the Los Angeles Lakers. Boy, that would be devastating.
- Smith is a gambling man.
- Arenas is “ecstatic” not only to join the Magic but to be the sixth man.
- If it’s not clear by now, Orlando wants to win a championship — by any means necessary.
- Who are the winners and losers in the trades made by the Magic, Phoenix Suns, and Washington Wizards?
- New teammates, new team, new number, new city. Everything is new for Arenas.
- Kelly Dwyer of Ball Don’t Lie: “Jason Richardson, Hedo Turkoglu and Gilbert Arenas. There’s a lot of offense in that sentence, and the Magic need offense. But it hardly guarantees them championship contender status again. And it certainly shouldn’t have Dwight Howard counting the days until he can sign his next contract extension.”
- Matt Moore of Hardwood Paroxysm says that Van Gundy needs to let Orlando go. As in run: “They have to go full-tilt offensive firepower. Their greatest success was 2009, that has to be the model to some significant degree. Yes, Garnett was absent. No, he won’t be this time. But if you aren’t willing to accept that you’re screwed, which you can’t be, the answer is not to try and fight on their turf, it’s to fight on yours. Instead of trying to adapt for Garnett, you ignore the big husked screaming elephant in the room and you fire, and you fire, and you fire again. And if that’s your approach this is a pretty good deal.”
- Smith earns kudos for shaking the roster up and improving the Magic’s talent pool, but will it be enough to come away with a championship? Bradford Doolittle of Basketball Prospectus says “it could go either way.”
- Neil Paine of Basketball-Reference: “Based on the numbers, one has to conclude (sadly) that the Gilbert Arenas Orlando just acquired is not the same version we saw before his injuries and personal travails. He’s settling for too many jumpers, no longer drawing fouls, no longer avoiding turnovers, no longer scoring efficiently, and consequently he’s not having the same positive impact on his team. As one of my favorite players, I’m rooting for Agent Zero to buck these trends and rediscover his game in Florida — but as it stands now, I’m not sure he can make the kind of difference Orlando is counting on.”
- No matter what, the Magic gave themselves a better chance at winning a title this year.
- Scads of writers at ESPN.com wonder if Smith made one trade too many by acquiring Arenas.
- Eric Freeman from ‘The Works’ at NBA FanHouse: “The Magic pretty much know what they’ll get from Richardson — Arenas is the wild card. In some opinions, that makes this deal a question mark for Orlando, but history suggests that this is the kind of moment in which he excels. Throughout his career, Arenas has been at his best when no one quite knows what to expect from him; he thrives on uncertainty. Now out of Washington and with diminished expecations, perhaps Gil will recapture some of the personality that has made him a must-watch for the past decade. He may not lead the Magic to any titles, but he could act as a trailblazer for a franchise in serious need of a new plan after this weekend’s upheaval. Arenas, for all his eccentricity, has proven several times before that he can be an effective guide in confusing times.”
Orlando Magic acquire Gilbert Arenas
Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images
Via the Orlando Magic:
The Orlando Magic have acquired three-time NBA All-Star guard Gilbert Arenas from the Washington Wizards in exchange for Rashard Lewis, President of Basketball Operations/General Manager Otis Smith announced today.
“Gilbert (Arenas) is a proven All-Star in this league and we’re excited to add him to our team,” said Smith. “He is one of the top scoring guards in the game, he can create scoring chances for his teammates and he is as tough as they come. Rashard (Lewis) was important in helping our franchise get to the next level, and we wish him and his family all the best in the future.”
Orlando Magic acquire Hedo Turkoglu and Jason Richardson
Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images
Via the Orlando Magic:
The Orlando Magic have acquired Jason Richardson, Hedo Turkoglu and Earl Clark from the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Vince Carter, Marcin Gortat, Mickael Pietrus, a 2011 first round draft selection and cash considerations, President of Basketball Operations/General Manager Otis Smith announced today.
“We’re very excited to welcome these three players to our family,” said Smith. “Jason (Richardson) is a tremendous athlete who runs the floor, can shoot the ball and loves to compete. We’re obviously familiar with Hedo (Turkoglu). He is a great shooter and is a player that has flourished in our system. We liked Earl (Clark) in the draft a few years ago, and he will help fortify our frontcourt. Vince (Carter), Marcin (Gortat) and Mickael (Pietrus) did a lot for our organization and we wish them great success in the future.”
Chatter surrounding Gilbert Arenas grows louder
AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
Via Ken Berger of CBSSports.com:
The [Orlando] Magic and Wizards are discussing a blockbuster trade that would send Gilbert Arenas to Orlando, a person with knowledge of the talks confirmed to CBSSports.com Friday.
The person characterized the talks as “serious,” with definite interest on both sides to make the deal happen.
CBSSports.com reported in October that Orlando and Washington discussed an Arenas trade over the summer, but at the time, it was scuttled by financial concerns on the Magic’s part. Orlando has a league-high $94 million payroll, and Arenas — owned $62 million over the next three seasons — is coming off two injury-plagued seasons and a 50-game suspension for bringing firearms to the Wizards’ locker room last season. As previously noted, Magic GM Otis Smith has a strong relationship with Arenas and has always been the most likely executive in the league to take another chance on him.
With news spreading like wild fire that the addition of Gilbert Arenas to the Orlando Magic is imminent, what does it all mean?
It could very well signal the end of an era for the Magic.
For two seasons, Orlando played the role of an elite team and title contender. Yes, the Magic were a disappointment in the 2010 NBA Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics but it doesn’t change the fact that they were two games away from returning to the NBA Finals a year after making an appearance in 2009 when they faced off versus the Los Angeles Lakers. Orlando had their flaws but it took a specific set of circumstances for them to be exploited, and even then they almost overcame those scenarios.
Now?
Unfortunately for the Magic, their rivals in the Eastern Conference — the Miami Heat and Celtics — have improved while they’ve regressed. Head coach Stan Van Gundy has harped on the defense taking a nosedive during Orlando’s road trip to the West Coast recently, but the offense has been struggling. Roughly one-third of the regular season has been completed, yet the Magic rank 14th in offensive efficiency. As such, Orlando’s efficiency differential is +5.8, which is good but not as great as other teams in the NBA.
Hence the Arenas rumors.
The line of thinking for the Magic is that they have to find someone, anyone, that can jumpstart an offense that’s become stagnant. For all the talk about Dwight Howard‘s growth offensively, he’s not getting enough support on the perimeter and it’s forcing general manager Otis Smith to make a change and fix the problem. No, Arenas may not be the best solution for Smith but it’s becoming increasingly clear that he has no choice. Acquiring Carmelo Anthony or Chris Paul aren’t realistic options, which makes Arenas one of the few choices out there.
Is Arenas enough to make a difference for Orlando?
The numbers say probably not but again, the Magic have put themselves in a situation where they have to gamble and go all-in.
If this is the best hand that Smith can muster up, so be it.
It just might mean championship aspirations become nothing more than a pipedream.
Tuesday’s Magic Word
- Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: “The next time the [Orlando] Magic see the Denver Nuggets, Carmelo Anthony will be wearing a New York Knicks uniform — or so the story goes. Could he be wearing a Magic jersey? Or another team’s gear? [...] Anthony faces the Magic tonight and likely won’t be with the Nuggets for the March rematch in Orlando. Or maybe he will. Approach any trade rumor with care. The Magic haven’t been in the rumor mill for ‘Melo’s services. But I’ve talked to their execs, and they aren’t backing away from trying to swing a deal, whether it’s for Melo, Chris Paul, Tayshaun Prince, Gilbert Arenas, Monta Ellis, Fill-In-The-Blank. Sam Smith of the Chicago Bulls’ website just tossed out a trade scenario involving Memphis and Orlando — involving Vince Carter and Brandon Bass and Zach Randolph and O.J. Mayo. Trade talk is bound to pick up because this summer’s players signed as free agents can be dealt starting Wednesday.”
- Head coach Stan Van Gundy jokingly suggests the Denver Nuggets should sit Carmelo Anthony in tonight’s game: “Well, I’m just concerned about his knee injury for the long term, and I really think more rest is what’s needed for him.”
- Brandon Bass will start at power forward against the Nuggets.
- Chauncey Billups may not play against the Orlando Magic later this evening.
- Evan Dunlap of Orlando Pinstriped Post: “The point here is that, from at least one standpoint, the current Magic team that seems like such a letdown to many of its fans is actually right on track with the 2008/09 squad, which is so beloved. Scoring margin isn’t everything, of course. I realize that. But the 2009 team went from “pretty good” to “freaking fantastic” once its three-point shooting corrected itself and the defense took it to antother gear, contending for a championship despite subbing the production of two mediocre point guards (Rafer Alston and Anthony Johnson) for one All-Star one (Jameer Nelson) in mid-February. There’s no reason why the current team can’t make a similar advance as the season goes along.”
- Britt Robson of Sports Illustrated: “A team with the best defender on the planet always merits respect. But with more than one-quarter of the season gone, a trademark of the Magic’s past success, three-point accuracy, is still missing. In the last six games, Orlando hasn’t shot better than 36 percent from behind the arc, and it ranks 17th overall at 35.5 percent. Then there is the team’s recent post-intermission blues: The Magic have outscored their opponents in just one of the past 10 second-half quarters over the last five games. After a relatively light week — at Denver on Tuesday and home against the Sixers on Saturday — the schedule ratchets up with a trip to Atlanta and home games against Dallas, San Antonio and Boston.”
- No more dunk contests for Dwight Howard.
- Zach Lowe of The Point Forward kicks around trade ideas: “The wing is crowded in Orlando, with [Quentin] Richardson, Vince Carter, [J.J.] Redick and Mickael Pietrus all fighting for minutes (and Rashard Lewis getting more time at small forward), and it wouldn’t shock me if the Magic somehow addressed the redundancy.”
- Eric Freeman of Ball Don’t Lie: “Howard’s path from dunk contest fun to retirement is a familiar one for superstars. Players like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Vince Carter stopped participating in dunk contests to focus on being serious. It didn’t work for all of them — VC will always be mostly fondly remembered for his 2000 victory in Oakland — but the best players around trade in dunk contest hardware for championship rings.”
- Chris Tomasson of NBA FanHouse opines on Rashard Lewis’ struggles offensively this year.
Monday’s Magic Word
- Zach McCann of the Orlando Sentinel: “Orlando Magic forward Mickael Pietrus is shooting 39.1 percent from three-point range this season, the second-highest percentage on the team and the best of his career. On a team where myriad players have struggled with deep shooting – J.J. Redick, Rashard Lewis, Quentin Richardson and Vince Carter are all shooting below their career three-point percentages – Pietrus’ consistency from the outside has been much-needed. The problem is, that’s all he’s contributing on offense. An absurd 75.6 percent of his field-goal attempts have been three-pointers this season, and out of 115 field-goal attempts, only nine of those shots have come at the rim.”
- Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: “Yeah, the Magic’s four-game losing streak was hard for fans and not kind to Stan Van Gundy’s blood pressure. But fans better buckle in and brace themselves: The turbulence is far from over. Up ahead next week, and all in succession: Atlanta, Dallas, San Antonio and, on Christmas Day, Boston. The Spurs (20-3), Mavs (19-4) and Celtics (19-4) are the hottest teams in the league. You can look at it two ways, of course: 1) The Magic can continue to stagger or 2) they can regain some traction they lost during this recent slide by beating some of the best. Van Gundy said that this was the team’s toughest stretch of the year, beginning with the West trip. The Magic didn’t respond like he envisioned, and not just because they lost —but it was how they lost.”
- Dwight Howard provides some words of wisdom: “This is a long season. We’re going to have months where we don’t play well, and there’s no needing everybody, especially the captain of the team, after everybody’s yelling and going back and forth, trying to figure out what we need to do. We’ve just got to play. The more you talk, the more everybody’s just talking about what you’ve got to do, all the frustration just continues to build up. We’re gonna have bad games. I don’t think people understand that. You’re never gonna go 82-0. You’re going to have losing streaks. You’re going to have winning streaks. All that stuff is a part of playing in the NBA.”
- Howard has more to say on his official blog: “As the captain of this team, I’ve been looking for ways to get our team out of this little slump. We had a meeting the other night after the Portland lost, but I’ve found that it´s better to do less talking and lead with actions in times like these. I actually talked to a really good player on another team who I consider a mentor and he gave me that advice.“
- I wonder who he is?
- ‘O’ is for Orlando’s offensive woes. Rohan of Hardwood Paroxysm explains: “The primary culprits have actually been an increased tendency to turn the ball over and the slightly lower frequency with which they’ve gotten to the line. So far this year, the Magic have turned the ball over on 15.3% of their possessions, which is the second worst mark in the East and third in the league. And while Jameer Nelson has been turning it over a touch more than we’re used to, the real issue is the ball handling of Chris Duhon. Duhon has turned it over almost once every three possessions; toss in the fact that he’s playing more than 20 minutes a night, and the impact is readily noticeable. Of his 37 turnovers, 26 have come via stolen or bad passes.”
Dwight Howard and technical fouls
AP Photo/Eric Gay
Via Evan Dunlap of Orlando Pinstriped Post:
It’s tough to argue, in other words, that one or more of [Dwight] Howard‘s technicals cost Orlando a game just yet. In the grand scheme of the [Orlando] Magic‘s season so far, the technicals have cost the Magic seven points, or one every three games. That’s all.
The cost to Howard isn’t too great either. Per the league’s penalty schedule, Howard’s had to pay $13,000 in fines for those technicals this season, less than one percent of his $16.6 million NBA salary, which doesn’t account for his multiple endorsements.
I don’t intend to trivialize Howard’s technical foul trouble so far this season. The potential exists for him to blow his stack at a real inopportune time and send Orlando to a loss, or for a suspension to keep him out of action against a tough opponent such as the Boston Celtics or L.A. Lakers. But when considering the other issues the Magic may have to contend with in the 61 games ahead of them, this one doesn’t loom too large.
That point is especially clear given how Howard has improved his behavior lately. He’s picked up only three technicals in his last 414:22 of court time. Moreover, he’s on a streak of 124:43 without a technical, which is very nearly his best of the season.
Dwight Howard and technical fouls. Two things that aren’t mutually exclusive.
