Posts Tagged → Atlanta Hawks
What Did We Learn About the Orlando Magic?
Photo by Kent Smith/NBAE via Getty Images
As seen on ESPN’s Daily Dime.
With a 99-90 victory against the Charlotte Bobcats in Game 4 on Monday night, the Orlando Magic put the finishing touches on their first four-game sweep in franchise history that can best be described in one word: strange.
Strange because the Magic were able to defeat Charlotte in four straight games despite limited contributions from their franchise player and two-time Defensive Player of the Year, Dwight Howard. Normally, Howard is the best player on the floor for Orlando, but not in this series. The Bobcats did an excellent job of using their abundance of big men, which included the likes of Tyson Chandler, Nazr Mohammed and Theo Ratliff, to nudge, poke and prod Howard relentlessly. The strategy worked, as Howard played roughly 26 minutes per game and didn’t record a single double-double against Charlotte despite posting gaudy block totals in limited playing time. It was a frustrating week or so for Howard, but he’ll have time to regroup and redeem himself in the Eastern Conference semifinals against either the Atlanta Hawks or the Milwaukee Bucks.
So what did we learn about the Magic from this sweep?
- Vince Carter is snapping out of his funk. Maybe. It’s no secret that Carter has struggled in the playoffs so far, but after a slow start in Game 4, Carter heated up in the second half by getting involved in a steady diet of pick-and-rolls and making a variety of plays on offense for the Magic. Against the Bobcats, Carter found the most success in the pick-and-roll because it invited him to be aggressive and attack the basket, something he needs to do more of as the postseason progresses.
- Jameer Nelson is playing like an All-Star. In Games 1 and 3, where Nelson had two 32-point performances, showed him at his best. Nelson was excellent on offense, being über-aggressive and shooting with great efficiency (.647 true shooting percentage). If Nelson can continue playing at a high level, watch out.
- Rashard Lewis and Mickael Pietrus are in playoff form. Lewis and Pietrus have taken their games up a notch and have already proven that they are more than willing to step up in crunch time and hit big shots, just like in last year’s playoffs. It’ll be interesting to see if that trend continues.
Recap: Orlando Magic 99, Charlotte Bobcats 90
Photo by Kent Smith/NBAE via Getty Images
Get your brooms out. The Orlando Magic were able to defeat the Charlotte Bobcats by the score of 99-90, sweeping the series and advancing to the 2010 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals to await either the Atlanta Hawks or the Milwaukee Bucks. The Magic are the first team in the playoffs to advance to the second round. Also, the sweep marks the first time Orlando accomplished the feat since 1996, when Shaquille O’Neal and Penny Hardaway were teammates, and it’s also the franchise’s first four-game sweep. The Magic were led by a balanced attack, with five players scoring in double-figures. Vince Carter played relatively well, scoring 21 points and carrying Orlando in the second half while Dwight Howard was sitting on the bench — again — with foul trouble. Tyrus Thomas led the way for the Bobcats, with 21 points and nine rebounds. Charlotte finishes their year having yet to win a postseason game in franchise history.
Sneak Preview: Charlotte Bobcats at Orlando Magic, Game 2
Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images
- Tania Ganguli of the Orlando Sentinel: “After a long film session and before practice began on Tuesday at the Orlando Sports Complex, Bobcats coach Larry Brown gathered his team in a huddle. “Yesterday, Orlando took the day off,” Brown said. “That’s how seriously they’re taking us.” As the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference, Charlotte Bobcats know their places as underdogs against the Orlando Magic. The Bobcats trail the best of seven series 0-1 heading into Wednesday’s game. Heading into Game 2, Charlotte has overcome its pre-playoff nerves and isn’t giving the Magic, or its players, any kind of star treatment.”
- Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: “It shouldn’t surprise anyone that [Stan] Van Gundy has a long list of areas he wants his players to improve on for Game 2 tonight. He wants the Magic to do a better job moving the ball out of its pick-and-roll game. He wants his team to be prepared for the Bobcats to trap more often. Oh, yeah, he also wants to get [Dwight] Howard and [Vince] Carter more involved in the offense. “We certainly need to get the ball to Dwight more, play more effectively out of his double-teams and we need to be able to get the ball to Vince in better spots,” Van Gundy said. “And we need Vince to have a better night, there’s no question about that.” Carter, who made four of 19 shots in Game 1, exuded calmness after Tuesday’s practice, just like he did during his horrid January shooting slump.”
- Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: “Howard recalled that it was after the 2007-08 season when he sat down with [Patrick] Ewing, a Hall of Famer, to evaluate his play. Ewing told him, given his freakish athletic ability, that there was no reason he shouldn’t lead in blocks. “He said he was upset that I didn’t have the award and that I needed to do a better job to get that award,” Howard said. Van Gundy said weeks ago that Howard should have been a shoe-on for the award. “He really doesn’t have a weakness,” he said. Van Gundy said that Howard’s prowess in blocking shots and rebounding is obvious. But he’s just as impressed with some things that often go unnoticed, such as Howard’s innate ability to read defenses, play pick-and-rolls and cover for teammates.”
- Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer: “Tuesday, Howard was named NBA Defensive Player of the Year in a landslide media vote. (Wallace was third, behind Atlanta’s Josh Smith). Howard led the league this season in rebounds, blocks and field-goal percentage. But perhaps the Bobcats were too conscious of Howard in their approach to Game 1. The Bobcats held Howard to five points, more than 13 below his season average. But in doing so, they sold out their perimeter defense, giving up 39 points at the 3-point line. The coaches instructed the centers to hang back with Howard, rather than jump out at the guards as they normally would in pick-and-rolls. That allowed Orlando’s Jameer Nelson to score 32 points.”
- Scott Fowler of the Charlotte Observer: “Carter had a horrible Game 1 in this series – shooting 4-for-19 and fouling out. Those sorts of numbers would have meant a sure loss for the Toronto and New Jersey teams Carter starred on for his first 11 NBA seasons, but Orlando is so deep that the Magic won anyway. Indeed, Carter struggled for much of the first half of the regular season because he couldn’t figure out where he fit on this loaded Magic team. “He’s always played where he was ‘ the guy,’” Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said of Carter. “And with us, he knew there were other people around. It seemed like early in the year he was caught between forcing the issue too much – still trying to be ‘ the guy’ – or saying, ‘Wow, I’m not the guy’ and then becoming passive.” Carter found his place starting in February, Van Gundy said. He averages 16.6 points per game – second to Dwight Howard but a career low for Carter – and developed a good balance between passing and shooting. Carter, 33, regressed against the Bobcats in the series’ first game, however.”
Orlando’s Dwight Howard Wins 2009-10 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award Presented By Kia Motors
Photo by Doug Benc/Getty Images
Via the Orlando Magic:
Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic is the recipient of the 2009-10 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award presented by Kia Motors, the NBA announced today, marking the second straight season the All-Star has earned the honor.
The 6-11 center became the first player to lead the league in rebounding and blocks (1973-74 was the first season blocks were kept as an official statistic) in consecutive seasons, averaging 13.2 rebounds and 2.78 blocks. Howard also paced the league in field goal percentage (.612), becoming the first player to lead the NBA in all three of those categories since the NBA started keeping blocked shots. He also became only the fifth player in NBA history to lead the league in rebounding for at least three consecutive seasons.Howard recorded an NBA-high 64 double-doubles, including three 20-point/20-rebound efforts. [...]
Howard received 576 points, including 110 first-place votes, from a panel of 122 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Atlanta’s Josh Smith finished second with 136 points and Charlotte’s Gerald Wallace finished third with 113 points. Players were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote received.
UPDATE: Click here to view head coach Stan Van Gundy chime in on Dwight Howard and here to watch the press conference.
Interview with Ben Q. Rock of Orlando Pinstriped Post
Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images
Ben Q. Rock is a man that needs no introduction, at least to Magic fans that frequent the blogosphere, but deserves one. Rock covers the Magic at Orlando Pinstriped Post, my former stomping grounds for over a year, and has done excellent work for the past three years. For instance, Rock has been doing a great job of previewing the first round series between the Orlando Magic and the Charlotte Bobcats the last few days. I highly suggest reading what Rock has written, so far, as it’s about informative as it gets.
Rock promised, when I left OPP, that he’d collaborate with me from time to time so here we are.
A few days ago, I was able to ask Rock a few questions concerning some of the major storylines surrounding the Magic with the 2010 NBA Playoffs starting on Saturday.
_______
I’ve always been of the opinion that Jameer Nelson is the x-factor for the Orlando Magic. When he goes, so go the Magic. But certainly the same thing could be said about Vince Carter, given his talents and what he’s proven to be capable of in a Magic uniform. So, between Nelson or Carter, who must produce and take his game to another level for Orlando to win a championship?
Well, I mean, both Vince [Carter] and Jameer [Nelson] are important, and I’m not sure there’s one who’s more key to Orlando’s title chances than any other. I suppose you could say that Vince is going to end more possessions and thus will have more responsibilities, and thus he’ll have more chances to affect the Magic’s playoffs. Thing is, I feel like he’s more consistent. He’s going to get his 15-to-18 points per night, as he’s done for the last few months. Whereas Jameer’s been more up-and-down.
Given the choice, most opponents would rather limit Carter and take their chances with Nelson firing away, so Jameer has to answer the call there. To me, the biggest thing for Jameer is to cut the one-on-one play. Get into the teeth of the defense, kick the ball out. He has to take enough of those 18-footers in pick-and-roll situations, but he can’t keep settling for them. Vince has to avoid that as well, but you and I both know that Carter’s much more likely to put his head down and draw contact than Nelson is.
So now I’ve talked myself into believing Nelson is more crucial. Fair enough, but it’s not a huge margin.
What makes this discussion easier is that J.J. Redick and Jason Williams have been so reliable off the bench. I trust them more than I did, say, last year’s version of J.J., or Anthony Johnson. If Vince and Jameer don’t have it some nights, I’d be comfortable counting on their backups if I were Stan Van Gundy.
The Awards Ballot
Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images
With the regular season winding down and the postseason just a mere six days away, I figured I’d do what other writers have been doing lately — reveal my awards ballot. I know that I’m not a member of the Pro Basketball Writers Association, which means I do not have a say in who wins which award but I still wanted to engage in this exercise.
Most Valuable Player
| adj. +/- | net +/- | stat. +/- | PER | WARP | Win Shares/48 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kevin Durant | +17.58 | +17.3 | +7.40 | 26.0 | 16.5 | .237 |
| LeBron James | +17.39 | +14.6 | +14.13 | 31.1 | 25.3 | .301 |
| Dwyane Wade | +17.00 | +16.0 | +10.77 | 27.9 | 19.8 | .224 |
| Dwight Howard | +19.36 | +9.0 | +7.22 | 24.0 | 18.6 | .222 |
This is what transcendence looks like.
It may be common knowledge to some but it still needs to be stated because it might not be obvious to others, this is LeBron James’ award to lose for the foreseeable future. And like it or not, James is approaching Michael Jordan’s level of dominance when strictly looking at on-court performance. NBA titles notwithstanding, there’s no denying it anymore. What’s scary is that James can still improve, particularly on offense where his shot selection betrays him sometimes. The idea that ‘James’ and ‘improvement’ can be in the same sentence is, somewhat, ridiculous, when you consider the fact that he is already the best player in the world … but it’s true. At this point, the only way James doesn’t win the MVP award every year for the next few years is if voters get bored and choose someone else, he regresses, or he gets hurt. That’s it. It’s possible but highly unlikely that a player, whether it’s Kevin Durant or whoever else, can produce at a similar output to James assuming he maintains his current production. Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade were very close last year but not close enough. All in all, James may not be universally liked but it would be foolish not to appreciate his greatness, at the very least.
There’s a reason why he’s called “King James.”
Thursday’s Magic Word
- Tania Ganguli of the Orlando Sentinel: “Magic General Manager Otis Smith can see both sides of the discussion about whether or not NBA players should dedicate so much of their summers to playing for their countries. He understands the struggle of players with limited free time. Mostly, he supports it because playing for your country is an honor. His star, Magic center Dwight Howard, re-affirmed his commitment to play in the World Championships with Team USA this summer. But Smith acknowledges his might be a situational perspective. ‘I guarantee you’ll get a different answer from a general manager that has an abundance of European players,’ Smith said.”
- Good news. Dwight Howard’s AAU team is doing well. The DH Warriors are 7-1 and won their last game on a buzzer-beating half-court shot by Matt Clark.
- Sean Deveney of The Baseline chooses Josh Smith over Howard on his ballot for Defensive Player of the Year and explains why: “Howard is a dominant defender and fearsome in the lane, and it’s likely he will win this award. But the reason Smith edges him on my ballot is that his athleticism allows him to get out and defend the perimeter, and is one of the chief reasons the Hawks are able to use their switch-everything approach to pick-and-rolls.”
- Jason Williams is a player that doesn’t get his shot blocked very much.
- Kevin Pelton of Basketball Prospectus chimes in on a team’s ability to win close games: ”There are, generally speaking, two schools of thought on close games: That they reveal a team’s true ability and that they are decided by luck. My research on the subject last year for Basketball Prospectus offered a middle ground, suggesting that good teams win close games more often than bad teams, but that the element of randomness mitigates the talent gap.” In the Magic’s case, they perform worse than expected in close games. Red flag?
- Vince Carter, according to Dime Magazine, is one of the most hated players in the NBA: ”Hated by the entire city of Toronto and possibly all of Canada. Critics get on him for settling for jump shots, even though every other high-flyer before or after Vince has been encouraged to adjust their game eventually and take more jumpers. Call him soft, call him lazy, but then he drops 40 or gives you a game-winner and your point becomes moot.”
- Tracy McGrady wants to be back in Orlando. Ditto with Mike Miller.
- Ben Q. Rock of Orlando Pinstriped Post talks about the possibility of either McGrady or Miller re-joining the Magic during the off-season: “Obviously, there are downsides. Miller’s had trouble staying healthy, and though he’s still a deadeye shooter–he’s posted a True Shooting percentage of better than 58.8 in each of the last 6 seasons, and he’s second among swingmen (minimum: 30 minutes per game) at 60.8% this season–he’s spent each of the last 3 years trying to re-invent himself as a point forward, and has thus passed up numerous open shot attempts. Also, his lateral mobility is more-or-less gone, which makes him a defensive liability. McGrady has his own set of red flags, as he’s recovering from microfracture knee surgery and still trying to figure out how to play without the benefit of the all-world athleticism that helped him win back-to-back scoring titles in 2002/03 and 2003/04. Oh, and the way he sulked his way out of Orlando after that disastrous 21-61 season has made him Public Enemy No. 1 in the eyes of most Magic fans. Owner Rich DeVos, who’d be footing the luxury-tax bill once again next year, might be loathe to pay the man who publicly trashed his franchise after demanding–and being granted–a trade. So they’re likely not going to be the Magic’s top options this summer [...]”
- Paul Forrester of Sports Illustrated isn’t impressed with Matt Barnes‘ poise.
Orlando Magic are Southeast Division Champions for a Third Straight Year
Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images
Via John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com:
The Southeast Division all theirs and the Atlanta Hawks and Boston Celtics no longer a concern in the standings, the Orlando Magic now have their sights set on trying to catch the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Magic clinched their third consecutive Southeast Division title Tuesday night when the Hawks lost to the Charlotte Bobcats. It also guarantees that the Magic (54-23) will enter the playoffs as the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.
If the playoffs started today, the Magic would face the seventh-seeded Charlotte Bobcats (41-36). The Michael Jordan-owned Bobcats are two games back of Miami (43-34) for sixth and three games ahead of Toronto (38-39) in eighth. The Magic are 3-1 against Charlotte this season.
Another division title is nice and the Orlando Magic should be commended for becoming Southeast Division champions for a third straight year, especially with the Atlanta Hawks on their heels for the majority of the regular season. But it can’t be understated how important it was for the Magic to enter the postseason with the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference so that they didn’t have to run the gauntlet, meaning not having home-court advantage against either the Cleveland Cavaliers or the Boston Celtics in a seven-game series, for a second consecutive season in hopes of making a return trip to the NBA Finals.
Additionally, the fact that it’s looking more and more like the Charlotte Bobcats — not the Miami Heat — will be Orlando’s likely first round opponent, the bracket is shaping up nicely for the Magic. Now, the Bobcats will be a challenge but the Heat would have been a nightmare. Especially with Dwyane Wade presenting himself as the ultimate wildcard, a player that can win a series by himself. So, barring something weird happening, Orlando dodges a bullet there.
One last thing to look out for in the East is the race for the No. 3 seed between the Hawks and the Celtics. The Magic are a combined 6-2 against Atlanta and Boston, but there’s no doubt that Orlando has a preference between the two teams. And that’s the Hawks, a team that doesn’t matchup well with the Magic. In contrast, for all their consternation, the Celtics still pose as a threat.
Nevertheless, it should be interesting to see how things pan out before the playoffs start.
Possible Clinching Scenario Tonight
Photo by Scott Cunningham/NBAE via Getty Images
Via the Orlando Magic:
Orlando’s “magic number” to clinch the Southeast Division title is 1 … which means an Orlando win OR an Atlanta loss will give the Magic their third straight division title. It will also secure the #2 seed in the Eastern Conference during the upcoming 2010 NBA Playoffs.
Second Look: Orlando Magic 97, Dallas Mavericks 82
Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images
- Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: “If you doubted their confidence as a contender, consider this: The Orlando Magic have at least thought about the idea of passing the L.A. Lakers in the standings in order to grab home-court advantage …should they face the defending champs again for the NBA title. That would also mean that the Magic already have thought about beating rivals Cleveland, Boston and Atlanta to get there. ”We have mentioned it,” Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said, when asked if his team has kept track of the Lakers, who are 54-21.”
- John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com: “After his Magic resoundingly smashed the surging Dallas Mavericks to the tune of 97-82, [Jameer] Nelson reminded everyone surrounding his locker after the game that Orlando is still very much a championship contender and center Dwight Howard absolutely, positively should be in the MVP race. [...] ’We know how good of a basketball team that we are. I’m not being cocky, but we know we can beat any team in this league when we play our style of basketball,’ Nelson said. [...] ‘I know I’m biased because he’s on my team and I might be criticized for it, but I really think Dwight should be the MVP, too,’ Nelson said of Howard, who had 17 points, 20 rebounds and five blocked shots. ‘The things he does go so far beyond just Defensive Player of the Year. He controls the paint, rebounds, blocks shots and scores. All of the rest of those MVP (candidates), they just score the basketball and don’t rebound and defend like Dwight does.’ ”
- Randy Galloway of the Star-Telegram: “On the offensive end, the Mavs seemed intimidated, particularly by Dwight Howard super-manning in the middle, plus, as advertised, it was a Magic rain storm of 3′s (a whopping 14-of-24). A question for Rick Carlisle. Coach, was that great D by them, or was that bad offensive execution by you? ’Probably both,’ he said. ‘That is a good defensive team. They are going to make it hard. We had Dirk [Nowitzki] going for a while, but once they locked in on him, things changed.’ Of course, Carlisle made his most telling comment in leading off his postgame media session: ‘The thing that killed us was the 3s. We made a real effort to run them off the line. But they hit those shots they were missing last time [in February, when the Mavs won by 10 in Orlando].’ ”
- Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News: “ It’s a bad sign in the NBA when the other team has twice as many 3-pointers as the number of assists you have. It was one of many bad signs for the Mavericks on Thursday night. They had problems at both ends of the floor, as playoff basketball arrived early and they weren’t quite ready for it. The Orlando Magic took charge in the third quarter and clocked the Mavericks, 97-82, at American Airlines Center. [...] While the Mavericks looked tired at times, it’s hard to pinpoint the back-to-back as the problem. They were 11-7 on the second night of back-to-backs before Thursday.
- Jeff Caplan of ESPNDallas.com: “The Mavericks are in a fight for the No. 2 seed in the West, but they’re hardly taking care of their home in the process. Clearly leg-weary from Wednesday’s night’s overtime struggle at Memphis, the Mavs were blown out by the well-rested Orlando Magic, 97-82. Still, with so much on the line, the Mavs were disappointingly sluggish on their home floor and fell to 3-3 at home since reeling off eight in a row during their 13-game win streak. They’ve had the awful blowout against the Knicks, a late collapse against the Celtics and now this double-digit loss that wasn’t close since Orlando extended its seven-point halftime lead to 10 and then as many as 18 in the third quarter.”
- Ben Q. Rock of Orlando Pinstriped Post: “If nothing else, this game is a lesson in the law of averages. The first time these teams played, the Magic missed 21 of their 25 three-pointers and got just 6 points on 3-of-19 shooting from their bench. The odds that Dallas would limit the league’s fifth-best three-point-shooting team like that twice in one season were slim, and it showed. Within the first 2:07 of the second quarter, [Mickael] Pietrus hit a pair of triples to match the reserves’ output from the last game. But he didn’t stop there, scoring 9 more points the rest of the quarter with some aggressive, mostly in-control drives to the basket. Perhaps playing against his good friend Rodrigue Beaubois at the NBA level for the first time inspired him. Perhaps playing in the American Airlines Center, which he’s lit up before, worked to his advantage. Perhaps the week off and new pair of sneakers helped. The reason isn’t as important as the result, in this case. The Magic needed offense early, and Pietrus provided it.”
- Rob Mahoney of The Two Man Game: “It was just a matter of time before Orlando’s defense came around. Dwight Howard (18 points, 20 rebounds, five blocks) is one of the league’s most influential defensive forces, and every block (and even goaltend) made the Mavs more and more nervous around the basket. Shawn Marion and Brendan Haywood passed up looks at the rim due to Howard’s very presence, and many more Mavs faked themselves out of a rhythm as they approached the basket. There are certain award races this season that have discussions or arguments involved. Defensive Player of the Year is not one of them. No player in the league has a more profound impact on the defensive end, and that’s just as obvious in what he does do (block shots, get mad rebounds, show aggressively on screens) as what he doesn’t (deter opponents from coming in the lane, alter shot selection).”
