Nov 24
Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images
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Nikola Vucevic 8-15 FG | 2-2 FT | 1 STL | 13 REB | 18 PTS | -15
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Victor Oladipo 8-15 FG | 5-6 FT | 9 REB | 2 AST | 22 PTS | -18
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Evan Fournier 2-9 FG | 3-4 FT | 1 BLK | 0 REB | 8 PTS | -16
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Dewayne Dedmon 3-7 FG | 0-1 FT | 8 REB | 1 AST | 6 PTS | -15
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Cleveland Cavaliers
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Ed. note: The Magic were bad. The Cavs were good. No other commentary necessary.
Nov 24
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Nov 24
Photo by Fernando Medina/Orlando Magic
Via Orlando Magic press release:
The Orlando Magic will debut the new alternate Pride Jersey home uniforms at the Wednesday, November 26 game when the Magic host the Golden State Warriors, tip off set for 7:00 p.m. The Pride Jersey uniform will serve as the team’s fourth uniform to go along with their home white, road blue and alternate black pinstripe uniforms. The Magic will wear them for select home games during the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons.
The sleeved, adidas Pride Jersey is made out of engineered mesh in Magic silver to represent “steel” – a rigid, unbending and relentless symbol of unity created to invoke a sense of “pride” and an unyielding commitment to competing at the highest level. The uniforms were developed through a collaborative effort between the team, the NBA and adidas.
The Pride Jersey will pay homage to the Magic’s iconic silver-colored stars that have been part of the team’s logo lineage. The silver stars were originally featured prominently as replacements for the letter “a” in both “Orlando” and “Magic” within the team’s first logo in 1989. The silver stars have remained a part of the Magic’s logo throughout the years, including the team’s logo changes in 2000 and 2010.
The new silver adidas Magic Pride Jersey will be available for purchase beginning on Nov. 26 at the Orlando Magic Team Shop presented by adidas and at all retail locations in the Amway Center. Fans can also personalize their Pride Jersey with any name and number of their choice at the main team store (corner of Church St.) and the team store near section 117, on the terrace level. Select styles will be available online at orlandomagicteamshop.com. Fans are also encouraged to upload their “Pride Jersey” photos using the hashtag, #PureMagicPride.
Nov 22
Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images
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Nikola Vucevic 12-24 FG | 9-11 FT | 17 REB | 1 AST | 33 PTS | -8 Magic fans are witnessing a star in the making. Vucevic scored a career-high 33 points (including 12 in the fourth quarter) and did everything he could to counter Chris Bosh, who scored 14 of his 32 points in the final period. Alas, it wasn’t enough, as Bosh got a bit more help in the fourth than Vucevic in the form of Mario Chalmers. |
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Victor Oladipo 5-11 FG | 3-5 FT | 4 REB | 2 AST | 14 PTS | -16 It’s tough to watch Oladipo play sometimes because he takes some hard fouls, as was the case against the Heat. Oladipo’s eagerness to attack the rim was smart, given that Miami’s defense doesn’t offer much rim protection (outside of Chris Andersen, whose noticeably regressing as an interior defender), but that led to several nasty falls for Oladipo. |
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Evan Fournier 5-15 FG | 1-5 3P | 6 REB | 6 AST | 11 PTS | -12 With Tobias Harris nursing a strained right calf (which he suffered during pregame shootaround on Friday before the Magic’s come-from-behind win over the Charlotte Hornets), Fournier slid over to small forward. Not much went right for Fournier offensively, though. He struggled shooting at the rim (4-for-9) and behind the 3-point line (1-for-5), and had a pedestrian night scoring-wise for his (new) standards. |
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Elfrid Payton 4-6 FG | 1-4 FT | 5 STL | 4 AST | 9 PTS | +1 In 23 minutes of playing time, Payton stuffed the box score with a 9 point-3 rebound-4 assist-5 steal stat line. He showed off the floater, which — right now — is the best shot he has in his limited offensive repertoire, and he made a number of spectacular defensive plays. He earned crunch time minutes in the fourth quarter, though it’s puzzling he didn’t play more, given Willie Green’s struggles. |
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Miami Heat
The Heat won this game because Bosh and Chalmers took over in the fourth quarter. They combined to score 24 of Miami’s 31 points in the final period and nearly outscored Orlando by themselves. Bosh, in particular, carpet bombed the Magic’s defense from the perimeter and reminded everyone how good he is. It was an impressive shooting display from a great player. |
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Nov 22
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Nov 22
Photo by Brock Williams-Smith/NBAE via Getty Images
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Nikola Vucevic 6-15 FG | 2-2 FT | 10 REB | 2 AST | 14 PTS | -2 This is the first game of the season where Vucevic clearly got outplayed. That it happened against Al Jefferson, the best low post center in the NBA, is not a bad thing. Vucevic did some good things offensively on the low block, making several right hooks, but Jefferson got the better of him in that department. Which should come as no surprise. |
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Evan Fournier 7-12 FG | 6-9 FT | 1 REB | 1 AST | 21 PTS | -14 Orlando sorely missed Fournier in Wednesday’s loss at home against the Los Angeles Clippers, as he recovered from a sore left heel. For a team that struggles to generate points, Fournier’s scoring ability is much-needed. That was no more evident than versus the Hornets, as Fournier made his return after missing one game and provided his usual spark offensively. |
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Tobias Harris 5-16 FG | 7-8 FT | 2 BLK | 16 REB | 17 PTS | +4 Scoring 17 points on 16 shots isn’t ideal, but give credit to Harris for trying to make things happen on offense at least., especially when the Magic were struggling to score. He was aggressive in attacking the rim, but he couldn’t convert (4-for-10). Instead, he made a living at the free throw line. But perhaps the most eye-popping stat was his 16 rebounds — that’s a lot. |
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Elfrid Payton 7-11 FG | 2-6 FT | 2 REB | 5 AST | 16 PTS | +19 As soon as Payton checked into the game midway through the third quarter, with the Hornets enjoying their largest lead of the game at 70-47, that’s when everything changed for Orlando. He played with energy and effort, even flashing that jumper of his, and helped the Magic come back from a 23-point deficit to win on the road. |
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Charlotte Hornets
A Lance Stephenson layup gave Charlotte a 70-47 lead with 6:41 left in the third quarter. Shortly thereafter, coach Jacque Vaughn subbed in Ben Gordon and Willie Green, which many thought signaled the white flag being waved by the Magic. Instead, Gordon and Green led Orlando on a 58-30 run — including a 41-point fourth quarter — that erased a 23-point deficit and gave the team an improbable comeback victory. |
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Nov 21
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Nov 21
Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images
The Orlando Magic raised eyebrows when they signed Channing Frye to a four-year, $32 million contract during the offseason. The general consensus was that it made very little sense for the Magic, a young team that’s in the middle of an extensive rebuilding process, to splurge in free agency on a 31-year old veteran.
And thus far, Frye’s production has been relatively pedestrian, as he’s averaging just 10.3 points and 5.8 rebounds per game with a 10.9 PER and .609 True Shooting percentage (granted, that last statistic is excellent). A stark contrast from the career-high numbers he put up with the Phoenix Suns last season.
Even with the copious amount of data we have at our disposal in a league that has embraced numbers, it’s nearly impossible to quantify Frye’s value as a player. The Magic have only played 16 percent of an 82-game NBA season. It is possible to contextualize Frye’s performance thus far this season, but there are many, many variables involved.
Basic metrics — which are, but not limited to points, rebounds, assists, and shooting percentages — can measure how well Frye has played in just a short time with the Magic. Comparing figures recorded this season to Frye’s averages from last year, a much larger sample, is a logical way to evaluate performance. However, this judgement is unfair — Frye is in an entirely different situation because the Magic and Suns are separate entities.
Nov 20
Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images
On Monday night, Nikola Vucevic shredded the Pistons’ defense in the Magic’s 107-93 win. He knocked down midrange jump shots, he scored on the block and on putbacks, and most importantly, he was a player the Magic could throw the ball to and expect to get a decent offensive look on a consistent basis. It was arguably Vucevic’s best game of the season so far (right up there with his 27-point, 12-rebound performance against the Nets on November 9).
However, Monday’s win was not an outlier. Vucevic’s diverse offensive skill-set has been the focal point of the Magic’s offense through the first 13 games of the season. In today’s NBA, very few teams have the ability to run their offense through their center. Many teams are perimeter-oriented and rely on wing play to consistently get quality looks on offense. The Magic do depend on perimeter players like Tobias Harris offensively, but Vucevic is at the epicenter.
For the season, Vucevic is averaging 18.8 points, 11.9 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.1 blocks per game with a 20.1 PER and .567 True Shooting percentage — all career-highs (that 4-year, $53 million extension is quickly looking like a bargain). His ability to score in a variety of ways puts a lot of pressure on how opposing teams defend the Magic.
