Category → News
February 16th, 2012
Thursday’s Magic Word
- John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com: “Were it not for a certain sensation out of New York sweeping the basketball world right now, Orlando Magic power forward Ryan Anderson might be the runaway favorite for the NBA’s Most Improved Player award with the way he’s dramatically boosted his scoring average and become the game’s most impressive 3-point shooter. But since we’re talking about Jeremy Lin – and who isn’t these days after the way he’s taken the NBA by storm – there’s a connection between the New York Knicks’ guard and Anderson. With both hailing from Northern California – Anderson from El Dorado Hills and Lin from Palo Alto – and being born just three months apart, they regularly played against one another in junior circuit leagues and AAU ball. And even though they both led their respective high schools to state titles as high school seniors, Anderson and Lin were told along the way they’d never be very good college players, much less make it to the NBA. So when Anderson and Lin met back when Lin was still a member of the Golden State Warriors, they relived memories of their younger days and how they had defied the odds to get to the NBA.”
- Is there someone on the roster for the Orlando Magic that can surprise like Jeremy Lin?
- Dwight Howard will coach in the 2012 Sprint NBA All-Star Celebrity Game.
- The field for NBA All-Star Slam Dunk has been set.
- Who will win the dunk contest?
- Linsanity may hit Orlando during All-Star Weekend.
- Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: “It’s unclear whether Smith was being serious, but Magic General Manager Otis Smith indicated to the Orlando Sentinel that his team is not considering the 6-foot-6 guard. The Magic could use their midlevel exception of up to $5 million to sign J.R. Smith, but that would have a drawback. The team’s current salary-cap total for this season is $68.7 million, according to HoopsWorld, and the league’s luxury-tax threshold is set at $70.3 million. The Magic would pay an extra dollar for every dollar they are over the threshold at the end of the season.”
- Tom Haberstroh of ESPN Insider with a must-read piece on Howard’s worth as an elite two-way player in the NBA: “Acquiring a two-way talent such as Howard or James is like using a two-for-one deal at the grocery store. Instead of eating up $30 million of cap space by handcuffing a dominant offensive force (say, Anthony) with a dominant defensive force (say, Tyson Chandler), you can pay James or Howard to do both things for you at half the price. Since you can only play five players on the court, having a two-way player to fulfill both jobs (two NBA stars for the price of one!) is among the biggest market inefficiencies a GM can exploit. That’s why every owner was willing to bend over backward and fly to Ohio to make a sales pitch to James. If Howard finishes the season in Orlando, we’ll see GMs do the same for him.”
- The Magic have one of the best transition defenses in the league.
- Kurt Helin of ProBasketballTalk: “This game followed the old axiom “you can’t win a game in the first quarter but you can lose it.” Orlando raced out to a 23-6 lead and never trailed. The Sixers tried, they made some rallies — like when they made push to cut it to nine inside of four minutes. But back-to-back threes by Ryan Anderson and Jason Richardson pushed the lead to 15 and all but sealed it. Anderson finished with a game high 27, Dwight Howard had 17. Lou Williams led Philly with 21. This game was a far cry from the meeting a couple weeks ago where the 76ers held the Magic to 69 points total.”
- Peter Walsh of SLAM ONLINE raves about Ryan Anderson: “Ryan Anderson has been shooting the lights out this season. The third year pro has hit 80 three’s this year, 19 more than anyone else in the league; he is also one of the few (only?) players to hit more three-point field goals than two-point field goals. The guy is an assassin and in my opinion, for what it’s worth, he should have been an All-Star. Last night Anderson continued his hot shooting with 7 three-pointers (on 10 attempts) against one of the best defensive teams in the L.”
- Rodger Bohn of SLAM ONLINE conducts a Q/A with Penny Hardaway.
- Anderson gets an “E” for effort for his performance against the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday, in which he scored 27 points and made seven three-pointers.
- Anderson is proving to be more bang for the buck than Rashard Lewis was for Orlando.
Eddy Rivera is the Editor-in-Chief of Magic Basketball. Follow him on Twitter.
By Eddy Rivera • Posted in News • No Comment
February 15th, 2012
Wednesday’s Magic Word
- Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: “There is only one certainty in the Dwight Howard saga. By the NBA trade deadline on March 15, which is now just one month away, the Orlando Magic front office will have made perhaps the most important personnel decision in franchise history. Little has changed in recent weeks. Howard has kept his trade request on the table, and Magic officials continue to sound content to wait until March 1 to reassess their situation. The front office believes there’s no rush to make a decision — that Howard still would be in high demand if General Manager Otis Smith, CEO Alex Martins and Chairman Dan DeVos decide they must trade the six-time All-Star before the deadline. In the meantime, members of the Magic front office hope that they can convince Howard to stay. They figure that winning games, being around teammates and hearing support from fans cannot hurt. Martins is in contact with Howard almost every day. Even the team’s 85-year-old owner, Rich DeVos, has made his sales pitch to Howard. Among other things, DeVos has told Howard that he might never develop as close a connection with a another city’s fans as Howard currently has in Orlando. The Magic have a reason to feel confident. If they keep him beyond the trade deadline, they will be able to offer him one additional year at higher annual raises than any of the other 29 teams. But even that might not be enough.”
- Shaquille O’Neal: “”Orlando’s come a long way since the ’92 All-Star Game. The nightlife here is fabulous. The real estate has been fabulous. You still have Disney around the corner for you to bring your family. So I think it’s going to be a great event. It’d be good if he could put on a show and get the love and the support from the fans here and win the MVP. Hopefully, he stays, because that arena there is one of the best arenas in the country. If he leaves, it’ll be a travesty.”
- Head coach Doug Collins talks about tonight’s matchup between the Orlando Magic and the Philadelphia 76ers.
- The field for the 2012 Foot Locker Three-Point Contest in Orlando for All-Star Weekend is set.
- Chris Bernucca of SheridanHoops.com tabs Magic-Sixers as “tonight’s best game.”
- Kelly Dwyer of Ball Don’t Lie comments on O’Neal’s recent quotes about Howard: “Howard has made his fair share of missteps in how he’s handled his frustrations with Orlando, but we’re really hoping Shaq ends this silly and transparent batch of sly digs. It was unfortunate that O’Neal couldn’t work out with Orlando, or Los Angeles towards the end, or Miami once Pat Riley tired of him, or the Suns once Phoenix figured out he was a terrible fit, or Cleveland. It’s unfortunate that he’s keeping the same tone even after retirement.”
- Justin Kubatko of Basketball-Reference: “It is with great pleasure that I announce the debut of Basketball-Reference.com’s latest and greatest set of research tools: Play Index+. Play Index+ utilizes over ten years of play-by-play data, allowing the user to sift through and summarize millions of plays with just a few clicks of the mouse.”
- Five trade ideas involving Howard.
- Three more trade scenarios pairing Howard with a second star for Orlando.
- O’Neal’s thoughts on Howard’s future are nothing more than ironic.
- Are the Magic a leading candidate to acquire J.R. Smith?
- Eric Pincus of HOOPSWORLD: “While the Magic already have two shooting guards in Jason Richardson and J.J. Redick, they also have the advantage over most suitors with about $4.9 million of their Mid-Level Exception (MLE) still available. Under the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, a team cannot use their full MLE to climb to $4 million over the luxury tax. Currently the Magic are under; any investment in Smith would put Orlando above the threshold.”
- Will Howard be traded at the deadline? NBA scribes chime in.
- Mark Heisler of SheridanHoops.com: “Still win a lot for team with their issues. In latest, Dwight says he wants ball in crunch time (“Just get on my back. That’s why they call me Superman”). Of course, it would help if Supe made more than 56% of his free throws.”
- Head coach Stan Van Gundy argues against the assertion that Howard has checked out of games this season.
Eddy Rivera is the Editor-in-Chief of Magic Basketball. Follow him on Twitter.
By Eddy Rivera • Posted in News • No Comment
February 14th, 2012
Tuesday’s Magic Word
- Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: “A training camp that practically began with the sudden retirement of their chief executive officer also included a trade request by their franchise player, and the superstar’s long-term future still hasn’t been resolved. And, after a strong start to the season, the team went into a mystifying funk that included two bitter losses to the Boston Celtics. The team seems to be snapping out of it now. The Magic have won six of their last eight games, with the two losses coming in overtime. [...] Monday’s win was a solid, workmanlike performance even though Howard flirted with foul trouble from the middle of the first quarter onward. Five Orlando players in addition to Richardson scored in double figures, including Jameer Nelson, J.J. Redick and Hedo Turkoglu, who chipped in with 14 points apiece. Earl Clark came off the bench to provide one of the most energetic performances of his Magic tenure, scoring eight points, grabbing five rebounds and blocking two shots. The team produced just nine turnovers, five of them by Turkoglu.”
- Dwight Howard and Kevin Love are vying for a rebounding title this season.
- Howard’s comments about wanting the ball in the fourth quarter, after the Orlando Magic had a come-from-behind win against the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday, were ill-timed.
- Howard celebrates “D12 Foundation Day.”
- The Magic put together a collective effort in last night’s win against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
- What should Orlando do with Howard as the trade deadline (March 15) nears? Bradford Doolitte of Basketball Prospectus looks back at history as a precursor: “By not gutting the roster when O’Neal left, the Magic delayed their rebuilding for a few years, but they eventually reached the conclusion that bottoming out was the way to go. Bad luck is the only thing that prevented the Magic from being a power in the early part of the last decade. When that happened, Orlando again went into the toilet, but was able to emerge with another elite franchise building block.”
- A look back at the Magic’s win against the Timberwolves.
- Who’s the best potential teammate for Howard? The answer, after John Hollinger of ESPN crunched the numbers, is Chris Paul: “I’ve long felt that a Chris Paul-Dwight Howard combo would be the league’s most unstoppable pick-and-roll tandem, and now I have some backing for my theory. Howard wouldn’t need to create offense on post isos with a point guard maestro like Paul running things, while Paul’s ability to create shots and avoid turnovers would dramatically offset Howard’s propensity for miscues. Throw in the obvious synergy of Paul’s ability to throw alley-oops and Howard’s talent to convert them, and putting these two together with the Clips would arguably provide an even more spectacular version of the current Lob City spectacle.”
- Kurt Helin of ProBasketballTalK: “The Magic started to pull away in the second quarter as their defense tightened up and Jameer Nelson began to exploit the fact he was being covered by the even-smaller J.J. Barea. Nelson also did a good job of setting up Ryan Anderson, who had 10 points in the first half and 13 for the game. Then the Magic started the third quarter on a 10-1 run and Jason Richardson got hot (13 in the quarter, 17 for the game). Good win for Orlando on a night Dwight Howard is quiet due to foul trouble (11 points).”
- Jason Richardson continues his strong play.
- Zach Harper of HoopSpeak with a Valentines Day gift for Orlando.
- Howard didn’t play particularly well against Minnesota in yesterday’s game.
Eddy Rivera is the Editor-in-Chief of Magic Basketball. Follow him on Twitter.
By Eddy Rivera • Posted in News • No Comment
February 9th, 2012
Thursday’s Magic Word
- Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: “Dwight Howard hears the sales pitch all the time. Team owner Rich DeVos has spoken with Howard to explain why he thinks Howard should remain with the Orlando Magic. Chief Executive Officer Alex Martins talks or texts with Howard almost every day, though not always about Howard’s future. And many of the 18,000 people who pack Amway Center during home games shout at Howard or wave signs or do both. But perhaps few things carry as much weight as the kind of victory that occurred Wednesday night. Fueled by an avalanche of 3-pointers and Howard’s power game near the basket, the Magic beat the Miami Heat 102-89. [...] Howard sounded unswayed and, to be sure, he hasn’t said anything publicly that would indicate he has moved off his trade request. And, remember: The Magic split their regular-season series with the Heat last season, but Howard still decided he wants to move on to a larger market.”
- Dwight Howard is chasing LeBron James when it comes to rings.
- The Orlando Sentinel make their picks for the All-Star reserves in the Eastern and Western Conference. I disagree with the selections of Luol Deng and Tim Duncan, given that there are more deserving players (Joe Johnson in the East, Paul Millsap in the West, among many others) that should be chosen, but the remainder of the two lists are spot-on.
- The Orlando Magic have revenge on their mind against the Atlanta Hawks as the two familiar foes prepare to play each other on Friday.
- Kurt Helin of ProBasketballTalk: “At his age, DeVos is not a guy who wants to start over with anything. That includes trading Howard for picks and young players and rebuilding the Magic. Even in talks of trade other teams have suggested what the Magic want back are veterans so that the team can continue to win. But what the Magic really want is to keep Howard, for him to look around and see the grass is not always s greener and remain with the Magic. Things like a win over the Heat — which the Magic had Wednesday — can help. But in the end if he really wants out, he can get out. He can opt out and bcome a free agent.”
- A look back at the Magic’s win against the Miami Heat.
- Matt Moore of CBSSports.com: “Orlando did not stomp the Heat. But they did throw them up against the lockers, shook their lunch money out, and bloodied their clothes a bit. The Magic essentially had a two step process. Challenge the Heat at mid-range in face-up and passing situations defensively, and hit a metric ton of threes. It’s nothing we haven’t seen from Orlando before, just against a very good team. The occasional lapse to let the Heat back in it, even as good as Miami is, keeps them from an A, but a very solid performance for Orlando and a huge win.”
- Chris Sheridan of SheridanHoops.com: “It is very rare to see the Miami Heat lose. It is even more rare to hear Rich DeVos speak. Both happened last night in Orlando, where the Dwight Howard trade situation again took center stage in what has been a circus of a season for the Magic.”
- Howard elbow-chopped LeBron James in the throat last night.
Eddy Rivera is the Editor-in-Chief of Magic Basketball. Follow him on Twitter.
By Eddy Rivera • Posted in News • No Comment
February 7th, 2012
Tuesday’s Magic Word
- Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel: “Sometimes I think Magic fans fail to realize just what they have in Van Gundy, who is commonly recognized as one of the top three or four coaches in the NBA. I’ll even take it a step farther: When Dwight leaves, Van Gundy will be the Magic’s most valuable asset — more valuable than any single player on their roster. True, this doesn’t speak very highly of the roster, but it does speak highly of Van Gundy’s status in the pecking order of NBA coaches. You want to fire Van Gundy? Go ahead. The Magic might actually be doing him a favor. If it happened, Van Gundy would get the multimillion-dollar buyout remaining on his contract and then would either (A) go make a bunch more money as a colorful and controversial NBA commentator like his brother or (B) get another coaching job offer almost immediately. Believe me, there would be wayward franchises (see Knicks) who actually might fire their current coach just so they could hire Van Gundy.”
- The Orlando Magic are ready to do battle with the Miami Heat.
- Head coach Stan Van Gundy has been resting players on off-days.
- Glen Davis, recently suspended by the Magic, and Van Gundy are on good terms.
- Ryan Anderson is adjusting to life as a starter in the NBA.
- According to the numbers, Anderson is deserving of being named an All-Star reserve this season. However, the odds of that actually happening are low.
- Kurt Helin of ProBasketballTalk recaps Orlando’s loss last night: “The Clippers led by nine in the second half but it was Orlando’s turn to fight back. However, in the overtime Los Angeles secured the lead with a Caron Butler three off a Glen Davis turnover, then next trip down Paul hit a baseline step back rainbow over Howard — how anyone gets that shot off over D-12 is beyond me, let alone a PG. Clippers got a hard-fought win.”
- Chris Paul has advice for Dwight Howard.
- Howard played well against the Los Angeles Clippers in defeat.
- Howard’s big night wasn’t enough against the Clippers.
- Yesterday’s game between Orlando and Los Angeles was a thriller.
- Zach Harper of HoopSpeak: “Dwight is a monster on both ends of the floor, but I still feel the same way about this Orlando team that I have for the past four years. They need to be perimeter-oriented in order to beat teams. Dwight’s presence definitely gives you the old school feel of winning from inside-out and punishing your opponents, but the fact still remains that when this team makes eight or more 3-pointers in a game, they’re 14-4 this season. They need to attack you from the outside to win, and finding the balance between getting his team to keep the big man happy while keeping their offense firing from outside is SVG’s biggest task.”
- Britt Robson of Sports Illustrated: “So why have the Magic fallen from third to 12th in defensive efficiency this season? According to Basketball Value, the biggest culprits are Jameer Nelson, Hedo Turkoglu, Glen Davis and Jason Richardson. Unfortunately, quality help is not on the way. Among Orlando’s top 10 in minutes played, only one, sharpshooting forward Ryan Anderson (who is having a breakout year), is under 26.”
Eddy Rivera is the Editor-in-Chief of Magic Basketball. Follow him on Twitter.
By Eddy Rivera • Posted in News • No Comment
February 3rd, 2012
Friday’s Magic Word
- Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: “The Orlando Magic have suspended power forward Glen Davis for tonight’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers and Saturday’s game against the Indiana Pacers because of what team officials are labeling ‘conduct detrimental to the team.’ Davis had an outburst during the team’s shootaround this morning at Amway Center as the team went through some of the Cavaliers’ plays on the team’s practice court. Davis and coach Stan Van Gundy ultimately got into an argument. Van Gundy would not discuss many of the details of what happened, but Van Gundy and a witness said the disagreement never turned physical. [...] That said, Davis has developed a reputation within the Magic organization as an intensely emotional player. In December, the Magic and Davis agreed to a four-year deal worth about $26 million, and the Magic acquired Davis and swingman Von Wafer in a sign-and-trade deal with the Boston Celtics for power forward Brandon Bass. Davis’ play so far this season has been up and down. At times, he has provided the bone-crunching screens, the hustle plays and the rebounding the team coveted when it acquired him. But at other times, Davis has migrated too far from the basket and attempted jumpers that are out of his range.”
- Ish Smith is looking forward to playing in his first game with the Orlando Magic.
- Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: “The Magic still believe Howard leaves the door open to staying at times, and felt good about the possibility…. until the team lost six of eight games in a recent stretch. The Magic are still banking on the fact that Howard’s ability to make $30 million more in Orlando (bigger raises for a player who re-signs with his own team) plays a major role in his decision.”
- Head coach Stan Van Gundy is complimentary of Kyrie Irving.
- Jason Richardson will play against the Cleveland Cavaliers after sitting out the last two games.
- Should the Magic call Dwight Howard’s bluff of leaving money on the table? Jerry West, a consultant for the Golden State Warriors, thinks so.
- More on Glen Davis’ two-game suspension.
- Jared Dubin of Hardwood Paroxysm: “While the Magic attempt to stave off a Dwight-induced self-destruction, Cleveland is looking to prove that they belong in the playoff conversation in the East. Kyrie Irving is having one of the best rookie seasons in NBA history, Anderson Varejao is off to the best start of his career and the Cavs are winning much more than anyone had any right to expect.”
- Kelly Dwyer of Ball Don’t Lie on Howard’s appearance in the All-Star Game: “By all accounts, he’ll still be with the Magic by the time the All-Star game tips off on Feb. 26. And Magic fans, mindful of the nationally televised audience and their own team’s dodgy future, will no doubt give Howard the biggest standing ovation he’s ever heard as he’s introduced. That’s how fans work. They’ll save the boos and hisses for when Howard eventually leaves the team this summer. And he will leave this team. Which will make the ovation — as a recruiting tool — a needless exercise. Sad.”
- More from Dwyer: “We were in favor of Smith trying to get something, anything, for Howard last fall. But after needlessly re-signing Jason Richardson and Glen Davis to two too-big deals, the Magic have to drag Howard along as long as they can and either hope for that slim chance that he’ll return, or take whatever cap freedom they’ll get with a clean break. This team could get a “clean break” by offering Howard up later this month for all expiring deals, but why waste the income and run of a potential play into May just for what you’re about to get for Howard anyway plus some potential draft picks in the low first round?”
- Davis has been strange this season for the Magic.
Eddy Rivera is the Editor-in-Chief of Magic Basketball. Follow him on Twitter.
By Eddy Rivera • Posted in News • No Comment
February 2nd, 2012
Thursday’s Magic Word
- Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: “Smith, 23, signed with the Magic on Thursday as a free agent and is expected to provide immediate help at point guard. Coach Stan Van Gundy said Smith will “definitely” play Friday night against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Smith is by no means ready, but Van Gundy has little choice. Starting point guard Jameer Nelson will miss the game against the Cavs because of concussion symptoms. Nelson is not expected to play until Monday at the earliest. The Magic released veteran combo guard Larry Hughes after Wednesday night’s win against the Washington Wizards to make room for Smith, a true guard. Van Gundy hopes Smith, 6-foot, 175 pounds, can help the Magic advance the ball up the floor. Teams have been pressuring the ball lately, forcing turnovers and causing the Magic to get into their offense late.”
- More from Robbins: “As tipoff approached Wednesday night, Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said he had no doubt his players would begin their game against the Washington Wizards with plenty of energy. Something concerned him, though. He worried what would happen if the Wizards went on a run. Would the Magic’s fragile confidence shatter? Would everything snowball out of control, just as it had several times within the last week? Would the Magic lose a fifth consecutive game for the first time in Van Gundy’s tenure? The Magic wound up passing the test. But not without a struggle. Fueled by their 3-point shooting, Orlando overcame a turnover-filled first half to beat Washington 109-103 at Amway Center.”
- Jameer Nelson is recovering well from a concussion.
- Head coach Stan Van Gundy is trying to persevere as the Orlando Magic try to snap out of their losing ways. To say it’s been a struggle for Van Gundy is putting it kindly.
- Ish Smith is eager to make an impact with the Magic.
- Tom Ziller of SB Nation states that Dwight Howard is a volatile scorer: “Howard, surprisingly, is right behind ‘Melo. Seeing a big man so high on the list fights conventional wisdom, which is that since big men tend to have higher shooting percentages, their production is more reliable. While Kevin Love, Blake Griffin and LaMarcus Aldridge all seem to bolster that hypothesis with relatively low volatility marks, Howard — a regular near the top of field goal percentage rankings — is a blinking signal of doubt. One possible explanation: Dwight earns so many free throw attempts and shoots them so poorly that if he has a bad day at the stripe, he’s likely to have a bad day in the scoring column. (That the season has been short and that he had a monster scoring game against Golden State could affect things too, though the game didn’t throw his average too far away from expectations.)”
- Orlando is a roster filled with volatile scorers.
- Noam Schiller of Hardwood Paroxysm blames the Magic’s slow descent into irrelevance due to the decline of aging veterans like Jameer Nelson and Jason Richardson: “If you add these two and a half improving youngsters to what used to be a solid array of role players and semi-stars, this should be a far better Magic team than last season. Maybe not Chicago or Miami level, but as close as it gets out East. Of course, that’s contingent on the non-youngsters as well. And that’s where, umm, sad.”
- Recapping Orlando’s win last night.
- Kurt Helin of ProBasketballTalk: “After four straight losses Magic will take the win, even if they let the team with the worst offense in the NBA put up 103 on them. The Magic’s defense was bad (except on John Wall who hit just 1-of-12 shots but did have 10 assists). Their offense was good enough to counter it — Dwight Howard and Ryan Anderson each had 23, J.J. Redick had 21.”
Eddy Rivera is the Editor-in-Chief of Magic Basketball. Follow him on Twitter.
By Eddy Rivera • Posted in News • 10 Comments
February 1st, 2012
Wednesday’s Magic Word
- Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: “Jason Richardson and Jameer Nelson will not play for the Orlando Magic tonight against the Washington Wizards. That’s the word from coach Stan Van Gundy, who spoke to the press moments ago following the Magic’s shootaround. Richardson will sit out his second straight game. Richardson originally suffered what team officials are calling a bone bruise on Jan. 12, missed several games and then returned to the lineup on Jan. 20. But Richardson continues to experience some weakness in the knee, and it’s difficult for him to get the knee loose after he goes to the bench in a game and after halftime. Magic officials don’t want his injury to linger. Nelson suffered two hits to his head on Orlando’s loss Friday night in New Orleans, and he has suffered from concussion-like symptoms since then. His return will be subject to the NBA’s new concussion policy, which was adopted in December and is being overseen by neurologist Jeffrey Kutcher. Van Gundy said Nelson’s symptoms have started to subside and that Nelson appears to be on track to play Monday.
- Head coach Stan Van Gundy is curious to see how the Orlando Magic respond to adversity.
- Chris Broussard of ESPN Insider: “If left up to Howard’s camp, the Magic would have been informed about Howard’s clear desire to leave before the new year. His representatives want him to force his way out of Orlando now. But Howard has kept them at bay. He’s refused to rescind his trade request, but he’s also refused to upgrade it to a trade demand. The Magic view that as hope they can keep him. But it’s more likely Howard doesn’t want to hurt the city’s feelings and turn all of Orlando against him. And as long as Howard leaves even an inkling of doubt about his intentions, he’ll remain on the team.”
- The Magic have slumped offensively as of late. Why?
- Three trade ideas involving Howard and the Chicago Bulls.
- Nate Drexler makes an appearance on TrueHoop TV to talk about Orlando.
- Kurt Helin of ProBasketballTalk: “There is a Howard trade rumor void because the Magic are not looking to move him right now, they are trying to convince him to stay. Which seemed a lot easier a couple of weeks ago when the Magic were playing well. But Orlando has lost four in a row and is playing without energy or execution. Normally this is where a team leader like Howard steps up and holds teammates accountable, but is anyone going to listen to a guy with one foot out the door?”
- After an 11-4 start to the regular season, the Magic are now pretenders.
- What should Orlando do with Howard?
- Mark Heisler of SheridanHoops.com: “At 12-5, press says Dwight should finish season there. At 0-4 since, with Dwight ripping teammates for not handling his situation better, will press say Magic should: a) Trade him now, b) Waive him, or c) Suspend him for season?”
Eddy Rivera is the Editor-in-Chief of Magic Basketball. Follow him on Twitter.
By Eddy Rivera • Posted in News • No Comment
January 31st, 2012
Tuesday’s Magic Word
- Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: “It’s not a new tradition, but some teams’ fans start games standing on their feet, only sitting after the home team scores. Now I realize Magic fans might risk suffering from corns and bunions by the time the cold-shooting Magic find the basket during this slump. But why not pump up the struggling Magic right out of the box Wednesday night against the Wizards? Give them a standing ovation at tip-off. Let loose. Occupy Amway Center. Go crazy. Treat it as a playoff game. The Magic are having troubling summoning energy, so provide some for them in this marathon schedule. Leave the wine bar and get to your seat before tip-off. Act like Duke fans, the Cameron Crazies. Yell, stomp your feet, applaud, razz the Wizards, impact the game. Bring back the wave.”
- General manager Otis Smith doesn’t plan on making any moves right now.
- Andrew Lynch of Hardwood Paroxysm: “Two things here, Orlando. First, the league was a lot more fun when it seemed like you were a good team capable of challenging the Heat and Bulls in the playoffs if everything went your way. I don’t want to overreact to a handful of games, so I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt for now, but knock it off. Immediately. Second, your little quarter-season swoon made it a lot harder to defend the Sixers as a legitimate team (whatever that phrase means; it’s the question people ask all the time). Getting a win against the Magic meant something two weeks ago. Now? Not so much.”
- Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports: “The Magic will never respond to Howard again, and that’s on him. They’re lost in a brutal five-out-of-six-games debacle, and Howard’s public proclamation calling out Magic teammates last week has compounded issues. Despite his inability to separate the get-me-out-of-town Dwight and the I’m-your-leader Dwight, the organization knows one thing for sure: They’re the same guy.”
- What should the Orlando Magic do with Dwight Howard?
- John Hollinger of ESPN Insider proposes the Magic trade Howard to the New Jersey Nets: “Because of Kris Humphries’ involvement it couldn’t be consummated until March 1 and can’t be done on the Trade Machine, but the deal is Dwight Howard, Chris Duhon and Hedo Turkoglu to New Jersey for Brooks, Humphries, Brook Lopez and Mehmet Okur. The Nets could actually get a $3.1 million trade exception for Lopez as well, while the Magic would get one worth $3.2 million for Duhon. In addition, New Jersey can include four first-round picks: Its own picks in 2012, 2014 and 2016, and a pick owed to it by Houston from the Terrence Williams trade. It’s the best way to get Orlando out of its salary-cap mess and give it the pieces to rebuild, and obviously it puts New Jersey in great shape with a Howard-Williams core.”
- The losses are piling up for Orlando.
- Kurt Helin of ProBasketballTalk tries to examine the Magic’s woes: “The bigger problem is leadership — someone needs to step up and hold people accountable in the locker room. But can Howard, with one foot out the door and flirting with other cities, really be that guy? Teammates seemed to have tuned his rants out. Someone else will need to fill that role. Don’t expect a sudden Dwight Howard trade move either. The scenarios are out there, but as we have been saying the feeling around the league is the Magic are not going to trade him this season, but if they do it will be after the All-Star break the last weekend of February.”
- Would the Chicago Bulls be wise in going all-in for Howard?
- A look back at Orlando’s loss against the Philadelphia 76ers.
- Ken Berger of CBSSports.com: “As bad as it looks, I caution you to look at the calendar before you try to pinpoint what has sickened the Magic. Six games in eight nights is no time for a sweeping diagnosis, and it doesn’t get much better from here. On Wednesday, the good news is that the Magic get the Wizards at home. The bad news is, it’s the start of a stretch of five more games in eight nights. Onward they all go, in the dementia-inducing, post-lockout NBA. The only thing we know for sure is that more losses, whatever the culprit, will spawn more Dwight drama, more headlines and the kind of pressure that would splinter any locker room. Given the circumstances, the relentless schedule that is taxing everyone, this long free-agent good-bye has the potential to end even uglier than the last two we’ve endured.”
- The Magic are getting exponentially worse by the week.
- Apparently, Stephen Jackson may be the ticket for a team to trade for (and keep) Howard.
- A Fran Vazquez update.
- Derrick Rose is indifferent with Howard joining the Bulls.
- The trust between Howard and his teammates is gone for the Magic.
- Zach Lowe of The Point Forward: “Here’s how bad the Magic’s offense has been: In four of those eight games, they scored at a per-possession rate lower than the Wizards, the league’s least efficient offensive team. (They managed this in one other game before this stretch — against Chicago on Jan. 6.) In two others of those eight games, they barely edged out Washington’s average scoring rate, according to Hoopdata. Six recent games, six performances on par with the very worst scoring team in the league. But some of those performances were really bad, beyond just Wizards bad. In four of those recent games, the Magic failed to crack 87.5 points per 100 possessions — a barrier that sits a full 12.5 points per 100 possession below the league’s average, and well below the Wizards. Those truly awful performances, including three that are just completely off the scoring map, are where Orlando’s season begins to separate itself from the run-of-the-mill struggles every good team goes through.”
Eddy Rivera is the Editor-in-Chief of Magic Basketball. Follow him on Twitter.
By Eddy Rivera • Posted in News • No Comment
January 30th, 2012
Monday’s Magic Word
- Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: “Something ails the Orlando Magic. Is it fatigue created by a brutal schedule? Or is something deeper at work? Whatever the case, the team looks awful right now. The Magic lost for the fourth time in five games Sunday, falling 106-85 on their home floor to the Indiana Pacers. Even Orlando’s normally placid fans rained boos down on the Magic during the final period, and the crowd had plenty of reasons to feel frustrated. The defense looked uninterested at times. The offense struggled to protect the ball. And, worst of all, the Pacers flat-out outhustled the Magic. [...] His team looks to be in freefall right now. In the last four losses, the Magic were clobbered by 31 points by the Boston Celtics, relinquished a 27-point lead to Boston, were routed by 26 by the hapless New Orleans Hornets and were annihilated by 21 by the Pacers. Tough to believe the Magic held an 11-4 record on Jan. 20.”
- For whatever reason, the Orlando Magic struggle to bring the ball up the court.
- Ryan Anderson agrees with Dwight Howard’s criticisms with regards to players for the Magic playing with a lack of effort when they’re on the floor.
- The Super Bowl is having an affect on Orlando’s ability to travel.
- Kelly Dwyer of Ball Don’t Lie has more on the Magic’s traveling snafu: “The compromise? The Magic will fly from Cincinnati on Sunday. Which sounds about right, until you consider the fact that the same sort of weather issues that would be preventing a flight from placid Florida on Sunday into potentially-snowy Indianapolis are still going to be in place flying from Cincinnati to Indianapolis. Perhaps worse, even. Planes have mechanical hiccups in Orlando just as often as they do in Cincinnati, but it snows way, way more in Cincinnati than it does in Orlando.”
- Orlando is about ready to implode.
- Howard is open to playing for the Chicago Bulls.
- John Hollinger of ESPN Insider: “Yes, we’re evaluating the team after a particularly ugly five-game stretch, and I suspect this is about as badly as the Magic can play. But that doesn’t raise the water level enough to wash away the inescapable conclusion: These Magic, even with Howard, aren’t good enough to contend for anything important. And if that’s the case, it follows that Orlando’s hopes of persuading Howard to stay by fielding a contending team around him are similarly kaput. This has been suspected for some time, of course, but the optimism spawned by those first 15 games left openings for doubt. The last five games have crushed those hopes like a grape, with Howard’s comments questioning his teammates’ effort after the New Orleans debacle providing the hammer.”
- Marc Stein of ESPN.com: “Wasn’t it just one Monday ago that the Magic were actually feeling sneaky good about their chances of making one last run in an East with D-Rose ailing and only six teams above .500? Must feel like a year ago after what SVG aptly described as Orlando’s worst week since he started coaching there in 2007.”
- Kurt Helin of ProBasketballTalk: “As we have talked about before, Howard is stealing a page from the Carmelo Anthony/LeBron James “force a trade out of town playbook.” Part of that is saying you are open to playing anywhere for any team, just being vague and saying that your agent or God or someone else is in charge but not you. Which is a load of crap. If Howard wanted to force his way to Chicago he could (or at least could try), but that city was not on the list presented to the Magic. (Those teams were the Lakers, Mavericks, Nets and later the Clippers were added.)”
- The Magic are freefalling.
- Matt Moore of CBSSports.com thinks Howard is smart to consider the Bulls as his new team: “But Howard would be wise to consider Chicago — both for himself and the franchise he’s likely dumping. A trade with the Bulls would be easiest to facilitate because they have quality veteran players to package in exchange for Howard, which the Magic are said to covet. With a full stock of draft picks, young players and sub-stars like Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah, the Bulls could take on Howard’s salary and one of the Magic’s overpaid contracts. For Chicago, putting Howard next to Rose would be phenomenal — and giving Tom Thibodeau the best defensive player in the league could create the best defense in league history, depending on whether Luol Deng were sent away in such a trade.”
- Orlando is stirring up plenty of drama that’s worthy of reality television.
- A list of teams that Howard would be willing to play for.
- Could Chris Kaman be a player the Magic could trade for to serve as a back-up center?
- Orlando isn’t very good right now and that’s not Howard’s fault.
Eddy Rivera is the Editor-in-Chief of Magic Basketball. Follow him on Twitter.
By Eddy Rivera • Posted in News • No Comment
