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Recap: Atlanta Hawks 88, Orlando Magic 85
Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
The Atlanta Hawks were able to defeat the Orlando Magic by the score of 88-85 to take a commanding 3-1 series lead in the first round of the 2011 NBA Playoffs. The Hawks are one win away from ending the Magic’s season, and exacting revenge from last year’s sweep in the 2010 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals. Four free-throws from Joe Johnson helped seal the deal for Atlanta, as they helped to stave off Orlando from coming back and stealing Game 4 on the road. With 10.5 seconds left in regulation and the Magic trailing by three points, the basketball was put in Hedo Turkoglu‘s hands but he was unable to deliver with a game-tying shot to extend the game into overtime. It was a scenario in which Orlando sorely missed Jason Richardson, given that he’s been able to come through in crunch-time situations time and again. The Hawks were led by a balanced attack, as four players scored in double-figures. Jamal Crawford finished with 25 points and six assists, continuing his onslaught in the series as Atlanta’s sixth man. Johnson had 20 points and nine rebounds. Al Horford chipped in with 14 points, 12 rebounds, and four assists, while Kirk Hinrich contributed with 14 points. Dwight Howard had another dominant game, finishing with 29 points, 17 rebounds, and two blocks but a lack of support from his teammates has been the Magic’s downfall. Gilbert Arenas redeemed himself after poor performances in Games 1 and 2, as well as a no-show in Game 3, by putting up 20 points and five rebounds, giving Orlando a much-needed boost on offense even though it was in vain.
Tuesday’s Magic Word
- Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel: “Dwight Howard is a better defensive center than Bill Russell. That’s right, BILL RUSSELL. And this isn’t me talking because, quite frankly, Bill Russell was before my time although I do remember when I was kid listening to my stepdad and his buddies talking about how Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was a great center, but, by gosh, he was no Bill Russell. In fact, I almost spewed Bud Light out of my nose the other night after the Magic-Nuggets game when Magic color analyst Matt Guokas was talking to play-by-play man David Steele during their post-game wrap-up. That’s when Guokas dropped the bombshell and actually said Howard is a better defensive center than Russell and, therefore, the greatest defensive big man in the history of the game. Is this basketball blasphemy by a homer broadcaster or is it intrepid analysis by an astute observer of the game? If it was anybody else except Guokas, I might call him a hopeless homer, but that’s just not Guokas’ style. He is not a bombastic broadcaster who is disposed to hyperbole. He is a thoughtful, knowledgeable historian of the game who gives honest opinions during Magic telecasts. Not only that, but he played against Russell, played with and against Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and is old enough to remember when George Mikan played for the old Minneapolis Lakers.”
- Jason Richardson talks about defending Joe Johnson.
- Players’ habits don’t change according to head coach Stan Van Gundy.
- Jameer Nelson talks about the improvements needed for the Orlando Magic.
- The Atlanta Hawks have a chance to take a commanding 2-0 lead against the Magic.
- Evan Dunlap of Orlando Pinstriped Post: “To my recollection, a typical Magic post-up for Howard goes a bit like this: a wing player, usually on the left side of the floor, throws an entry pass to Howard, who’s stationed on the left block. The post-entry passer then cuts through the paint to the weak side, finds a spot beyond the arc, and stands still. The three other players stand in place. This alignment puts no pressure on the defense, which has nothing substantial to react to, no tough decisions to make. It seems like it’d be wise for Orlando to at least send a cutter or to the basket, or run a pin-down on the weak side for a shooter, while Howard operates in the post. Get the would-be help defenders moving, force them to make a choice, find the hole, exploit it. Longtime readers of this site know I tend to advocate more motion in Orlando’s offense, either by involving Howard in more pick-and-rolls or by running some off-ball action to free a wing player as outlined above, whenever the team consistently stagnates. As much as I hate to use that talking point so much, I still believe it to be true. I don’t know that Orlando will have much postseason success if it continues to run its offense this way.”
- Matt Moore of CBSSports.com notes an adjustment Orlando needs to make in Game 2 later tonight: “According to Synergy Sports , you know how many pick and roll plays the Magic ran? 31. You know how many wound up in the hands of the roll man? None. Zip, zero, zilch. That makes Dwight Howard’s night more impressive, but it also means a few things. One, if you go back and watch, the Hawks are closing two to three defenders on Howard or whoever the roll man is. Two, that adjustment means that the Magic, had they opted to, would have had an open shooter off the second pass on the pick, drive and kick. But instead, they just launched. Nelson comes off the screen, he kicks out, catch and shoot. Except that they were rushing all those shots. They had the opportunity to spin the ball when the Hawks started to try and recover, but instead just let it fly. The result? Brick city. The Magic are at their best not when they’re just launching threes, but when they’re actually creating stupendously open shots from their ball rotation. That’s how they beat the Celtics and Cavaliers in 2009, and going away from that strategy in 2010 hurt them, as it’s hurting them now. They have experienced, competent passers and shooters on the perimeter. The Magic need to slow down their decision making, not their pace, and work to create the best shot possible. Do that and their perimeter game will finally start to click.”
- Nate Drexler makes an appearance in ESPN.com’s 5-on-5 writer roundup.
- Kelly Dwyer of Ball Don’t Lie chimes in on Dwight Howard winning the Defensive Player of the Year award for the third consecutive time in his career.
- Farewell to former Magic player Jason Williams.
Monday’s Magic Word
- Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: “Dwight Howard now has accomplished something Alonzo Mourning, Dikembe Mutombo and Hakeem Olajuwon never did. The Orlando Magic center won the 2010-11 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award on Monday and became the first player in league history to receive the honor three years in a row. ‘It’s a great accomplishment,’ Howard said. ‘It’s a blessing. It’s an honor. And I just thank God for this opportunity and just for blessing me with the ability to be able to get stops on the defensive end, block shots, rebound, just do a lot of things and also have this award. Three times in a row is history. I never really thought about it like that until I saw the awards, but I just want to keep it going.’ Howard won this year’s award in a landslide. He earned 114 first-place votes out of 120 ballots cast. Boston Celtics power forward Kevin Garnett finished second. Dallas Mavericks center Tyson Chandler placed third.”
- Zach McCann of the Orlando Sentinel: “Atlanta Hawks guard Joe Johnson was a non-factor in last year’s playoff series against the Orlando Magic, shooting 29.8 percent and scoring just 12.8 points per game in the four-game sweep. And now, one year later, he’s the player who hurt the Magic the most in Game 1 by scoring 25 points on 56.3 percent shooting. It’s not like Johnson has evolved as a player in 12 months – his scoring is actually lower this year. And the Hawks are comprised of mostly the same players, so it’s not like he’s getting better looks or less attention from Orlando. So, what’s the difference? The Magic’s primary defender on Johnson last year was Vince Carter, and this year it’s Jason Richardson. Is Carter’s defense that much better than Richardson’s?”
- Do the Orlando Magic have anything to worry about after losing Game 1?
- Dwight Howard achieved a never-before-done feat.
- Mike Prada of SBNation: “Apparently, it is possible for an NBA team to allow a player to score 46 points and be universally praised for it. Dwight Howard ran all over the Atlanta Hawks’ single-coverage, but because nobody else on his team decided to do much of anything, the Hawks came away with a Game 1 victory on the road. Howard and Jameer Nelson scored 73 points; everyone else on the Magic scored 20. Howard and Nelson shot 26-41; everyone else shot 8-34. It was a brilliant strategy by the Hawks to make sure that their horrible teammates had horrible games. Let’s praise them for it! Snark aside, the bottom line is this. Playing Howard straight-up and taking away the three-point shooters is a strategy. Allowing Howard to score 46 points and hope his teammates shoot 8-34 is not. Luckily, the Hawks shot nearly 50 percent from 16-23 feet and made it work. That doesn’t mean it’s a sustainable long-term strategy, but whenever writers are given the chance to question Howard’s worth as a player for being just the 11th player since 1985 to score 45 or more points in a playoff game and lose, they’ll take it.”
- Zach Lowe of The Point Forward: “There’s a reason the Magic ranked third in points allowed per possession and in the top five (per Synergy Sports) in defending pick-and-rolls where the ball-handler finishes the play (first); pick-and-rolls where the roll man finishes (fifth); spot-up chances (fifth) and scoring chances that followed offensive rebounds (first). They managed to do this all without a rotation player any group of league executives would comfortably describe as an above average defender at his position. There’s a reason no team allowed fewer shot attempts at the rim this season. “
- There are skeptics that wonder if the Atlanta Hawks will be able to beat the Magic.
- A great illustration as to the reason Howard won the Defensive Player of the Year award.
- One voter did not have Howard on his ballot for Defensive Player of the Year.
- Steve Aschburner of NBA.com: “The figure on the DPOY trophy, after all, surely is a perimeter guy, squatting down the way Naismith or Wooden would have taught, arms flared out in a defensive stance. Howard, of course, rarely assumes that position; he patrols inside the paint for the Magic, either lurking and banging behind his man, flashing over to give help or licking his chops at the shorties funneled his way by Magic teammates. That’s how he looked at the news conference, looming large, having his guys’ backs.”
- Royce Young of CBSSports.com provides his take on Howard’s impact on defense.
- The Hawks’ win in Game 1 was crazy, but not as crazy as the other first round games.
- M. Haubs of The Painted Area reveals his awards ballot.
- Shannon Booher of SLAM ONLINE marvels at Howard’s Game 1 performance: “Gooooood lawd! As good as he was, that is how bad his teammates (not named Jameer Nelson) were, on offense. And these aren’t playoff newbies. We are talking Hedo [Turkoglu]. Jason Richardson. Gilbert Arenas. The list goes on. Those guys won’t be as bad next game, but Howard probably won’t be as good, either. The Hawks have at least established that they are not going out like they did last year. No brooms here.”
- Kurt Helin of ProBasketballTalk: “Magic fans don’t want to draw the line connecting the dots. You can’t blame them. But the loss to Atlanta seemed to move those dots toward being in a straight line. And if things don’t change Dwight Howard could connect them himself and devastate the Orlando franchise. The starting point is here: every time Dwight Howard rejects talking in any detail about his future free agent plans — he can opt out in the summer of 2012, but rightfully says that is too far away to think about — he falls back on two themes. One, he really likes Orlando and its fans. Secondly, that he wants to win championships. You can be sure that part two outweighs part one. He has said as much.”
Dwight Howard wins 2010-11 KIA NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award
Photo by J. Meric/Getty Images
Via the Orlando Magic:
Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic is the recipient of the 2010-11 Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award, the NBA announced today. Howard becomes the first player to earn the honor three straight seasons; only Dikembe Mutombo and Ben Wallace, with four each, have won the award more times.
The 6-11 center led the league with 66 double-doubles, including six 20-point/20-rebound efforts, while ranking second in rebounds (14.1 rpg) and fourth in blocks (2.38 bpg). With Howard manning the middle, the Magic allowed 93.5 ppg, ranking fourth in that category. The seventh-year veteran reached several historical milestones this season, including:
- On March 1 vs. New York, Howard, at 25 years and 83 days old, became the youngest player in NBA history to amass 7,000 career rebounds, passing Wilt Chamberlain, who was 26 years and 128 days old when he passed the 7,000-rebound plateau.
- He recorded at least 1,000 rebounds and 100 blocked shots for the sixth straight year; since blocked shots were officially tracked in 1973-74, only Moses Malone has done it more (seven seasons).
- He became one of only five players in NBA history since blocked shots became an official statistic in 1973-74 to record at least 6,000 rebounds and 1,000 blocked shots in his first 500 games.
As part of its support of the Defensive Player of the Year Award, Kia Motors America will donate a new Kia Sorento CUV to BETA Center, a private, nonprofit organization with 32 years of experience helping families in the greater Orlando area. Kia Motors will present a brand new Sorento to the charity of choice of each of four 2010-11 season-end award winners as part of the “The Kia NBA Performance Awards.” Following this season, Kia Motors will have donated a total of 16 new vehicles to charitable organizations since its support of the NBA’s prestigious year-end honors began with the 2007-2008 season.
Howard received 585 points, including 114 first-place votes, from a panel of 120 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Boston’s Kevin Garnett finished second with 77 points and Dallas’ Tyson Chandler finished third with 70 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.
MBN Roundtable Discussion: Previewing the 2011 NBA Playoffs for the Orlando Magic
Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images
I gathered writers, the best of the best in the blogosphere, to participate in a roundtable discussion and answer some of the most pertinent questions concerning the Orlando Magic as the 2011 NBA Playoffs are set to begin.
So, without further ado, here are the participants:
Zach Lowe, The Point Forward
Beckley Mason, HoopSpeak
Each individual provided a quick breakdown of the series between the Magic and the Atlanta Hawks, his opinion on the player that is the x-factor for Orlando in the postseason, and more.
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If the Orlando Magic make it past the Atlanta Hawks in the first round, is facing off against the Chicago Bulls (as opposed to the Miami Heat or Boston Celtics) the best chance for them to return to the Eastern Conference Finals for a third consecutive year?
Zach Lowe: No. I don’t see facing the Bulls as any more advantageous to Orlando than facing Boston or Miami. Conventional wisdom has it that the Magic have problems with Boston, but much of that conventional wisdom was based on the presence of Kendrick Perkins and overlooks how competitive games between the two have been. Bottom line: Boston, Miami and Chicago are all excellent teams, and the Magic will have a tough time beating any of them–just as each of those three will have to work to beat Orlando.
Beckley Mason: It’s a better match-up than Miami because LeBron just kills them, but I don’t think the Celtics, as they are playing now, would be worse than the Bulls. I think the idea that Boston could single-cover Dwight [Howard] with Shaq is fairly laughable, but at least he might draw Howard into some fouls. The Bulls on the other hand won’t isolate Noah, and so Howard would seem less susceptible to picking up cheapies against Chicago. In any event, to get past any of the top teams in the East, the Magic wings are going to have to shoot the lights out.
Sneak Preview: Atlanta Hawks at Orlando Magic, Game 1
Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images
- Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: “The Boston Celtics crafted the blueprint for beating the Orlando Magic. Now the Atlanta Hawks will rely on that strategy against the Magic when the teams begin their first-round, best-of-seven playoff series tonight at Amway Center. Cribbing directly from the Celtics’ successful playbook, the Hawks will dispatch a rugged center to guard all-star Dwight Howard one-on-one, a tactic that could allow the rest of Atlanta’s players to closely defend Orlando’s dangerous perimeter shooters. [...] Howard dominated. Orlando sank treys seemingly at will. And the Magic humiliated the Hawks, sweeping them out of the second round by winning four consecutive games by an average of 25.3 points. So, once he was named Atlanta’s head coach, Drew adopted the Boston model. Drew started journeyman Jason Collins at center. He shifted all-star Al Horford from center to power forward and moved Josh Smith from power forward to small forward. Those moves paid huge dividends when the Hawks won three of four games against the Magic during the recently completed regular season. Howard made only 43.1 percent of his shots against the Hawks, his lowest shooting percentage versus any team. And the Magic hit just 22.6 percent of their 3-point tries.”
- Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: “Howard and [Jameer] Nelson seem like an unlikely pair at first blush. Dwight is 6-foot-10, 275 pounds, an Atlanta native and a single father. At 25, he’s four years younger than Nelson. A five-time all-star, he has blossomed from as a skinny teen drafted No. 1 overall out of high school into one of the NBA’s biggest attractions. Jameer is nearly a foot shorter, hailing from hard-scrabble Chester, Pa., married and a father of three. He played four years in college, and has had to prove doubters wrong because of his height. The Magic acquired him after a draft-day trade with Denver. Nelson rewarded their faith by being named to the all-star team in 2008-09. ‘Dwight and I are very fortunate to be here together. We don’t know any other organization,’ Nelson said. ‘I got some gray hair and he’s finally got facial hair. We’re still young. I’m 29 and he’s still a baby.’ They are the last men standing from that 2004 roster. Everything has changed except No. 12 and No. 14. Through various trades and transactions, 71 players under contract with the Magic have come and gone since ’04, including a whopping 16 since the end of the 2009-10 season. Howard and Nelson aren’t only the Magic’s longest-tenured players. They are currently the seventh longest-running NBA tandem on the same team, sharing that distinction with five other sets of teammates.”
- John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com: “Orlando Magic guard J.J. Redick is the active type and one who doesn’t feel right physically if he’s unable to get in a workout or break a sweat on a daily basis. He’s so committed to that routine that Redick even found a way to mix in a weight-lifting workout or two last summer when he was on his honeymoon in Europe. So being unable to do much of anything at all for a three-week period and being out of action with the Magic for more than a month because of a lower abdominal strain was downright torturous for Redick. Once he was cleared to resume rehabilitation, Redick attacked the sessions where his arms and legs were strapped to tension bands, but not being able to play basketball worked tricks on his mind.”
- Michael Cunningham of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “All season Joe Johnson has said he looked forward to the playoffs so the Hawks could “prove everybody wrong.” That’s everybody who witnessed the Hawks’ surrender to the Magic in the playoffs last spring and said the team lacks mental toughness. The group includes critics who saw essentially the same Hawks players return this season and dismissed them as true Eastern Conference contenders. It includes one-time optimists who dismissed the Hawks as they staggered over the final two months of the season. Johnson didn’t say so, but he also could have been talking about himself. He struggled against Orlando for his second consecutive fade in the postseason. Johnson came out of last year’s big NBA free-agent summer with the most expensive contract in the league at $123.7 million, a deal that was roundly criticized. Johnson made his fifth consecutive All-Star game, but had the least productive and efficient of his six seasons with the Hawks. As it turns out, Johnson gets another crack at the Magic in the playoffs, but he said he doesn’t feel a burden to carry the Hawks.
The enigmatic and erratic Orlando Magic
Photo by Kent Smith/NBAE via Getty Images
When it comes to championship contenders in the NBA, there’s five teams that are universally agreed upon — for the most part. Ranking them by their efficiency differentials, they are the Miami Heat (+8.6), Chicago Bulls (+8.1), Los Angeles Lakers (+6.6), San Antonio Spurs (+6.6), and Boston Celtics (+6.2). And since their trades, the Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets get pub too.
Then there’s the Orlando Magic, sandwiched in between those teams with an efficiency differential of +6.6, right between the Lakers and Spurs.
At the start of the regular season, the Magic were widely regarded as a threat to win a title. And when Orlando jumped out to a 15-4 start to the year, they were fulfilling everyone’s expectations. There were no surprises. Then the month of December came and everything fell apart for the Magic in a hurry. Orlando hit a stretch of nine games where they only won once. A lack of energy and effort from the players on a consistent basis, plus the regression of Rashard Lewis and others aided in the Magic’s fall from grace. Scoring, which was supposed to be Orlando’s strength since they finished 4th in offensive efficiency last season, faltered and suddenly the offense became an average unit. General manager Otis Smith attempted to rectify the problem by acquiring Hedo Turkoglu, Jason Richardson, and Gilbert Arenas in two separate trades on December 19. For a time, it looked like Smith’s gamble paid off, as the Magic roared to a nine-game winning streak (tying a franchise record) that could have been longer had the basketball bounced in their favor in games against the New Orleans Hornets and Thunder that each resulted in losses. Nevertheless, it appeared as if Orlando fixed their woes and the chemistry seemingly improved. The acquisitions provided the Magic with the jolt of life they needed, especially offensively. But the honeymoon soon ended, as Orlando regressed to the mean on offense, and Smith was back where he started with the roster, except it can be argued things got worse than better.
For all the scoring that Turkoglu, Richardson, and Arenas were to provide, Smith sacrificed defense, depth, and size to get it. As the Magic began to come down from earth offensively, it soon became clear that they got weaker. Even though Orlando remains third in defensive efficiency, thanks in large part to Dwight Howard and Van Gundy, when the big fella is on the bench, the interior defense has been compromised without the presence of Marcin Gortat. Depth, the Magic’s calling card last year, is nearly gone now that only J.J. Redick and Ryan Anderson can be relied upon to contribute consistently. Free agent signees, Quentin Richardson and Chris Duhon, have done little to help the cause. As for Orlando’s size, with Lewis and Gortat absent, they have gone from big to little. In the league, size is needed to win championships and the Magic had it with Howard and Lewis manning the frontcourt with Gortat, Bass, and Anderson coming off the bench. But the trades reshuffled things, and have put a lot of pressure on players like Howard to stay on the floor and avoid foul trouble. Earl Clark is an intriguing prospect, but he’s not a player that Van Gundy can rely upon and trust at the moment. Sure, it’s true that Mickael Pietrus, Lewis, and Carter are not playing right now due to various injuries but there’s no denying that Orlando isn’t the same team.
It’s been an interesting season for the Magic.
The question is, following the aftermath of everything that’s occurred, whether or not they’re a team that can be taken seriously in the playoffs?
Tuesday’s Magic Word
- Josh Cohen of OrlandoMagic.com: “Ignore the regular season series between the [Orlando] Magic and Hawks because every game they played was inconsequential evidence of what to expect in this rematch of last year’s conference semifinals. The first meeting was before Orlando’s blockbuster trades; the second collision was during the Magic’s stomach virus epidemic, the third was the first game following the deals and the final contest was injury-plagued for the blue and white. While Jason Collins was credited for his willingness to body up on Dwight Howard in the regular season, I expect Superman to flourish and dominate against his counterpart in a seven-game series. I also anticipate Jameer Nelson to thrive against Kirk Hinrich, who the Hawks acquired at the trade deadline from the Wizards. One of the more intriguing matchups will be at the shooting guard spot with Joe Johnson and Jason Richardson – two explosive scorers and primetime players. Some of the most glaring curiosities will be injury related as Atlanta’s Josh Smith recently returned from a sprained knee and it remains unspecified whether Orlando’s J.J. Redick will be back after missing more than a dozen games with a lower abdominal strain.”
- John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com looks back at the top 10 moments for the Orlando Magic in the 2010-2011 NBA regular season. Here’s number one: “A sluggish Magic team given up for dead when it trailed the rival Heat by 18 points at halftime and by as much as 24 points in the second half awoke from its slumber and pulled off a comeback win for the ages. Once down 73-49 early in the third quarter, the Magic used runs of 22-7 (to end the third period) and 18-2 (to start the fourth quarter) – a shocking 40-9 spurt in all – for what very well could be the biggest regular-season victory in franchise history. The 24-point rally just missed equaling the all-time Magic record. Orlando’s comeback from 25 points down on Nov. 8, 1989 in Cleveland is the all-time franchise record. Orlando held LeBron James and Dwyane Wade to just 10 points combined in the second half after the Heat duo had 47 points in the first half. Wade did not have a field goal in the second half and James did not score in the fourth quarter.”
- Dwight Howard likes being the underdog.
- Tas Melas of The Basketball Jones makes his case for Howard and the MVP award.
- Matt Moore of CBSSports.com: “Orlando poneyed up for the new arena critics of small-markets allege the non-top cities never approve. Ownership elected to go above and beyond the cap, deep into the luxury tax. They were smart enough to draft, and develop, a franchise player, acquire a competitive and arguably brilliant head coach, surround the team with competent role players. When the 2009 team failed to get past the last challenge, management did not get complacent, and instead opted for the home-run move you’re supposed to make, according to many. Vince Carter, for all his Vince-Carter-ness, was still a legit star in the summer of 2009. They went for the big move. When that didn’t work out, they once again swung for the fences. You can’t say Otis Smith didn’t try. But here they are. Entering the playoffs as the worst seed they’ve been since 2008, with little to no momentum, and considered nothing more than after-thought in the playoffs. They are a speedbump in the road to the Finals for teams from Miami, Chicago, Boston. They gambled. They lost. And the worst part of all is this season may turn out to be the one that gives Dwight Howard an excuse to leave Orlando; it may be the one reflected on as what turns Howard away; it may be the year Orlando lost their franchise center, again.”
- Offensive rebounds aided the Orlando Magic’s victory against the Philadelphia 76ers.
- Kurt Helin of ProBasketballTalk is skeptical that Jason Collins will make a difference for the Atlanta Hawks in their first round matchup against the Magic in the 2011 NBA Playoffs: “Orlando has dominated this matchup in recent years, but Atlanta is counting on Jason Collins to change that. Sure, that will work.”
- Kevin Pelton of Basketball Prospectus reveals his awards ballot.
- Atlanta and Orlando are two teams searching for respect in different ways.
- Britt Robson of Sports Illustrated: “Based on this regular-season performance, Orlando has to hope Howard remains loyal when he’s eligible to become a free agent after next season. That would enable the Magic — whose salary-cap situation doesn’t look pretty — to go back to square two in rebuilding around the 25-year-old center.”
Recap: Chicago Bulls 102, Orlando Magic 99
AP Photo/John Raoux
BOX SCORE
Taking advantage of the absences of Dwight Howard and Quentin Richardson, the Chicago Bulls were able to defeat the Orlando Magic by the score of 102-99. The Magic, which were short-handed, played with energy and effort consistently throughout the day but it wasn’t enough against the Bulls. With Chicago leading by one point at 98-97, Orlando fouled Taj Gibson with 14.2 seconds left and put him on the free-throw line. Gibson split the free-throws, but Luol Deng was able to retrieve the offensive rebound after the second free-throw came up short. It was a bad bounce for the Magic and the Bulls were able to take advantage, as Derrick Rose made two free throws to extend the lead to four points. On the ensuing possession, Jason Richardson, after tripping on the original out-of-bounds play drawn up by head coach Stan Van Gundy, recovered and made a three-pointer with 2.7 seconds left to cut the deficit to one point. This was only after Ryan Anderson was able to feed Richardson with the basketball on a offensive rebound following a missed three-point shot by Jameer Nelson in the corner. Rose made two more free-throws to give Chicago a three-point lead. On the final possession of the game, Nelson got the ball at the top of the key, pump-faked Rose to get him in the air and create an open look, then put up a three-pointer which he made but it was too late. The Bulls escaped with the win. Three players led the way for Orlando. Anderson, playing in place of Howard, put up a career-high 28 points and 10 rebounds. Richardson finished with 24 points, while Nelson contributed with 17 points, 11 assists, five rebounds, and three steals.
Dwight Howard lacking hype and a rival
Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images
If there is one thing we know about Stan Van Gundy, it’s that he’s a pretty quiet guy, reticent to speak his mind to the media, and wholly above speaking publicly in any way that might ruffle fans’ or players’ feathers. That’s why we can be certain that earlier this week, when he made the following comments, Stan had no sort of ulterior motive or objective in mind:
“There’s no matchup for [Dwight Howard] that creates the excitement,” Van Gundy said. “If you got back to when the centers were king, you have Chamberlain-Russell and people say ‘Wow, that’s a match-up you look forward to.’ Now people look forward to Chris Paul against Derrick Rose.”
What Stan was saying, subtext aside, is that the lack of a nemesis is keeping Dwight Howard’s hype factor down. Well, is he right? There are a couple of different ways to approach this. First, let’s look at a crude measure of the league marquee, the 2011 All-Star rosters. Yao Ming aside, there are only three players who were listed either as centers or forward/centers. One of them was Kevin Love. Another was Al Horford. The third was Pau Gasol, who could be seen as a bona fide A-list big man, but I’m not sure that most people think of his battles in the same way they do LeBron/Kobe or Rose/Paul. The other big man on the list who might qualify is Kevin Garnett, and the popular narrative about the Celtics has been that Kendrick Perkins did the heavy lifting when it came to guarding D12. So, on the face of it, taking as limited a sample as I guess you could, it seems like Stan is right: there are currently no direct match-ups for Dwight that seem worthy of the hype that wing or point guard matchups might garner.
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