Posts Tagged → Brandon Bass
Second Look: Atlanta Hawks 88, Orlando Magic 84
P(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
- Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: “The Orlando Magic can point to a fortunate 3-point heave by Jamal Crawford as the reason why they lost Game 3 of their playoff series to the Atlanta Hawks 88-84. But as Crawford triumphantly hopped up and down the Philips Arena court, game-in-hand with 5.7 seconds remaining, the Magic only had themselves — and not bad luck — to blame. Jason Richardson lost his cool late. Hedo Turkoglu lost his shooting stroke. For one half, the Magic lost their intensity on the defensive end of the court. And now the team trails the best-of-seven series two games to one. The Magic may confront an additional obstacle when Game 4 arrives Sunday. Richardson could be serving a league-imposed suspension for fighting with Atlanta’s Zaza Pachulia late in Game 3′s fourth quarter. With Atlanta ahead 81-80 with 2:22 remaining, Pachulia fouled [Dwight] Howard hard as Howard shot the ball in the lane. As Howard landed, his right forearm careened into the left side of Pachulia’s face just as Pachulia flung an arm at Howard. Richardson raced into the picture, and as he and Pachulia jawed at each other, Pachulia delivered two or three head butts to Richardson’s forehead. Richardson responded by delivering a slap to Pachulia’s face. Both Richardson and Pachulia were ejected for fighting, and Howard received a technical foul.”
- Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel: “The Orlando Magic are spending money like the New York Yankees, but after yet another loss to the Atlanta Hawks Friday you wonder if they aren’t cooking their books like the New York Mets. Nearly $20 million for Gilbert Arenas, who didn’t even play in Friday night’s 88-84 defeat? Another $10 million for Hedo Turkoglu, who made a triumphant return to Orlando earlier this season but forgot to bring his shooting touch and basketball sense with him? This has to be some sort of Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme, doesn’t it? Somebody please call the Securities and Exchange Commission. Rich DeVos has to be robbing Peter to pay Gilbert, right? The reason we bring this up is because of a recent study conducted by ESPN the Magazine that found the Magic have the fifth-highest salary structure in sports. Let me repeat that: The Magic have the fifth-highest salary structure not in the basketball world but in the entire world. The Magic pay their players an average of $6,367,114 per year, a number only exceeded by Real Madrid and Barcelona of Spain’s premier soccer league, the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Lakers. Hey, you think it’s cheap to build the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference?”
- John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com: “Of all the ways to get floored Friday night in Game 3, the Orlando Magic couldn’t have ever seen a knockout punch quite like this coming. Jamal Crawford’s questionable shot selection was rewarded when his desperation 3-point shot banked off the glass and gave the Atlanta Hawks an 88-84 defeat of the Magic in Friday’s Game 3 at Philips Arena. Down as many as 14 points in the first half, the Magic came all the way back and took an 84-83 lead with 1 minute to play on Brandon Bass’ clutch jumper from the free throw line. But the Hawks scored the final two baskets of the game – a 15-footer from Al Horford with 46 seconds to play and Crawford’s miracle bank shot from 26 feet out to seal the game. The defeat dropped the Magic into a 2-1 hole in the best-of-seven first-round playoff series. Game 4 is Sunday night in Atlanta, and superstar center Dwight Howard vowed afterward that he still has supreme confidence that his Magic can win the series.”
- Evan Dunlap of Orlando Pinstriped Post: “The Hawks built a 14-point lead in the second period, mostly with Howard on the bench, and the Magic never really recovered. An outstanding defensive third period bought them to within four points, and a top-of-the-circle jumper from Brandon Bass gave them a one-point lead with a minute remaining. On Atlanta’s next possession, the Hawks leveraged the Magic’s defense against itself. Stationing Al Horford on the weak side, the Hawks fed Johnson the ball in the right short-corner, anticipating the help-defense attention he’d draw. The ball swung to Horford just inside the arc, and he drilled the shot–with no Orlando player anywhere near him, due to the over-rotating–to give Atlanta the lead for good. With 46 seconds remaining, the Magic had possession, trailed by one, and had a decent chance to get a good shot up in a two-for-one situation. They failed to execute. Hedo Turkoglu ran a high screen-and-roll with Dwight Howard, the Magic’s go-to play when they absolutely need to score. Turkoglu drove to his right toward the baseline, tiptoed along it, and continued dribbling toward the corner; he completely missed Howard, who dove to the rim and could have had a dunk.”
- Michael Cunningham of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “Crawford’s leaning, challenged shot with 5.7 seconds left provided an unlikely ending to Atlanta’s 88-84 victory over the Magic on Friday at Philips Arena. The Hawks lead the best-of-seven series 2-1 with Game 4 on Sunday at home. The Hawks survived to win an intense, physical contest that featured late ejections for Hawks center Zaza Pachulia and Magic guard Jason Richardson. They’ve now won five of seven games against the Magic including the regular season. The lower-seeded Hawks took home-court advantage in the series by winning one of two games in Orlando and kept it with a victory in front of a rowdy, sellout home crowd.”
- Bret LaGree of Hoopinion: “The Atlanta Hawks are only playing consistently well on one end of the floor (and then only when fielding a five-man unit capable of executing the sound defensive game plan) but, even that limited, consistent success marks them superior to an Orlando Magic team that, Dwight Howard (and for one half of six, Jameer Nelson) excepted, has struggled to score and been just susceptible enough to dribble penetration from Jamal Crawford and Joe Johnson that the Atlanta guards have created enough good shots to augment their abilities to make difficult shots and to overcome their own team’s (self-inflicted) defensive lapses. You don’t have to play well to win a playoff series if you make (and let) the other team play worse.”
Recap: Atlanta Hawks 88, Orlando Magic 84
Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
In a crucial Game 3, which can decide a series (the winner goes on to win the series 82.2 percent of the time), the Atlanta Hawks were able to defeat the Orlando Magic by the score of 88-84 to take a 2-1 series lead in the first round of the 2011 NBA Playoffs. The game, and possibly the series, came down to two possessions for the Magic and Hawks that has defined their matchup since the start of the season. With 46.6 seconds left in regulation, Orlando was down a point and needed a basket to take the lead. The play that head coach Stan Van Gundy chose to run was a 3/5 pick and roll with Hedo Turkoglu and Dwight Howard at the top of the key — same play that sealed their Game 2 victory. This time, Atlanta defended it well. Turkoglu penetrated into the lane but didn’t have a clear look at the rim or an angle to pass it to Howard, so he passed it to Brandon Bass but he wasn’t open by any means. So Bass gave the basketball back to Turkoglu. With Al Horford defending him, Turkoglu was in the corner and after a few seconds trying to create space to put up a shot, he took a three-pointer that was contested and missed. Given that there was still time for the Magic to get a better look, it’s ironic that Turkoglu decided to take the difficult route in that scenario. Since returning to Orlando, there have been too many times in which Turkoglu passes up an easy shot in favor of a more difficult one and the same thing happened in that late-game sequence. Well, the Hawks retrieved the rebound and all the Magic needed to do was to get a stop on the ensuing possession for another crack at winning the game. However, with the ball in his hands and the shot clock winding down, Jamal Crawford was matched up against Jameer Nelson. Crawford tried to break Nelson down off the dribble as he always tries to do against his defenders, but no dice. As such, Crawford was forced to put up a contested shot like Turkoglu. However, the difference is that Crawford has a height advantage on Nelson. Even though Nelson closes out on the shot and puts his hands up, Crawford is able to elevate higher. And with luck on Atlanta’s side for most of the series, Crawford banks in the three-pointer that pushes the lead to four points with 5.7 seconds left and ends the game.
Recapping Games 1 and 2 for the Orlando Magic with Synergy
Photo by J. Meric/Getty Images
Before the playoffs started, I previewed Orlando’s first round matchup using data from Synergy Sports Technology. Let’s take a look at the results from the playoff games in Orlando.
Game 1
PPP = Points Per Possession
Orlando offense
As a team, Orlando posted up 25 times, and 24 of the post up chances came from Dwight. The only non-Dwight post up was when Brandon Bass went against Al Horford in the 1st quarter. The Magic averaged 1.24 PPP, and continued their trend of posting up more versus Atlanta than they did against other opponents this year (16.3%).
Orlando was dominant when they isolated on offense. In the regular season, they averaged 0.83 PPP. In Game 1, they increased their mark by 0.6 PPP. Hedo Turkoglu was 2-2 in isolation. He hit a three-pointer over Etan Thomas to give Orlando a 19-17 lead in the first quarter and hit an off balance jumper in the final minutes of the game
Dwight Howard was the third best player in the NBA when he cut to the rim in the regular season. In the opener versus Atlanta he finished his first cut opportunity with a dunk, and on the second chance he drew a foul and shot a pair of free throws.
In the first 82 games, Orlando was the NBA’s best team at scoring with their roll men. In the first game of the playoffs, their roll men never used a possession. However, the ball handler in the pick-and-roll used nearly 1 out of 5 possessions.
Orlando’s spot up game was miserable on Saturday, and their PPP was less than half of their regular season average. The Magic attempted 15 spot-up attempts, and 11 were three-pointers. Gilbert Arenas and Jameer Nelson each made one spot-up three, while Jason Richardson and Hedo Turkoglu were 0-5 combined.
Recap: Orlando Magic 88, Atlanta Hawks 82
Photo by J. Meric/Getty Images
Avenging their home loss in Game 1 on Saturday, the Orlando Magic were able to defeat the Atlanta Hawks by the score of 88-82 to tie the series at 1-1. Defense and the timely contributions of Hedo Turkoglu and Jason Richardson on offense in the fourth quarter, as well as another all-around monster performance from Dwight Howard, were the keys to victory for the Magic. Playing the entire game, Howard finished with 33 points (9-of-12 shooting from the field, 15-of-19 from the free-throw line), 19 rebounds, and two steals. Howard was transcendent on both ends of the floor and there was little the Hawks could do to stop him. Jameer Nelson, battling a migraine throughout the game, contributed with 13 points, eight rebounds, and two steals. Turkoglu and Richardson combined for 18 points on 7-of-28 shooting, but clutch shots from both players down the stretch were able to dispel Atlanta’s comeback attempt. All it took for the role players for Orlando to provide support to Howard for them to come away with the victory.
Sneak Preview: Atlanta Hawks at Orlando Magic, Game 2
AP Photo/John Raoux
- George Diaz of the Orlando Sentinel: “So Dwight Howard is the NBA Defensive Player of the Year. Third year in a row for the big man. Congrats. He became the first player in league history to receive the honor three consecutive years. Howard finished second in the league in rebounds per game (14.1) and fourth in blocked shots per game (2.38), often cleaning up the mess of his teammates in the paint who are inferior defenders. But it is time for an upgrade. Will Howard be named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player when the award is announced shortly? Everybody in the know has the answer. The fix is in, if you will, because everyone is smitten with Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls. The team improved 21 games in victories thanks in large measure to Rose’s leadership. And his ability to ‘break ankles’ driving to the paint is scary. But you could also argue that the [Orlando] Magic could be a lottery team without Dwight, unless you truly think Malik Allen has been wasting his time on the bench and now it’s his turn to shine. Howard will likely be content to be the runnerup, much like the guy in the prom who stands there when the King kisses the Queen. It shouldn’t be that way.”
- Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: “Our stat of the day comes courtesy of the NBA, and if it doesn’t give the Orlando Magic and their fans a sense of urgency, nothing will. Only 14 teams in league history have won a best-of-seven playoff series after falling behind two games to zero. Translation: The Magic would face a daunting uphill climb if they drop Game 2 of their first-round series against the Atlanta Hawks tonight at Amway Center. [...] The perimeter defenders must find a way to slow down Atlanta guards Kirk Hinrich, Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford. Ryan Anderson, Brandon Bass, Jason Richardson and Hedo Turkoglu need to score some points. And everybody, particularly Dwight Howard, needs to take better care of the basketball. It’s a long to-do list.”
- John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com: “Usually immaculately dressed after games in clothes that are both tailored and fashionable, Orlando Magic superstar center Dwight Howard trudged to his postgame interview late Saturday night in a wrinkled shooting shirt. Howard was so mad and so filled with frustration following the Magic’s 103-93 Game 1 loss to the Atlanta Hawks that he didn’t even want to get dressed following the game. How, he wondered, could he have the game of his life with 46 points and 19 rebounds and his Magic still lose to the Hawks? How could an Atlanta team that looked mostly lifeless down the stretch go out in the playoffs and shoot 58 percent through three periods and 51 percent for the game? And how was Howard going to handle having to hear trash talk from Hawks’ forwards Josh Smith and Josh Powell, two childhood friends from his days growing up in Atlanta?”
- Michael Cunningham of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “The Magic were so dominant over the Hawks in the last year’s Eastern Conference semifinals they hardly needed to make any major adjustments from game to game. After Atlanta’s convincing 103-93 victory in Game 1 on Saturday night, Orlando is the one scrambling to figure out a sound plan to guard the Hawks. The difficulty for the Magic is that, for the most part, they did execute their defensive game plan in Game 1. The Hawks foiled it anyway. [...] The Magic prefer opponents to attempt long jump shots because they are the least efficient. It turns out the Hawks are good at making them, though. That’s just one of the strategic problems facing the Magic as they prepare for Game 2 of the best-of-seven series on Tuesday night. It’s a far cry from last spring, when the Magic won Game 1 114-71 and swept four games by an NBA-record of 101 points.”
- Jeff Schultz of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “This first-round match-up between the Hawks and Orlando has been intriguing for two reasons: 1) Atlanta, a significant underdog, won the opener in Orlando; 2) Howard, despite scoring 46 points in the game, seemed frustrated by the Hawks’ aggressive and physical defense inside, led by Jason ‘Sluggo’ Collins. Things boiled over to the point of Howard head-butting Collins while he had his back to him, throwing out his arms as if Collins had pulled him back to cause the contact. But there’s no evidence a pull ever took place, and Collins, briefly knocked dizzy, mused after the game, ‘I’m ready for elbows and arms but I’m not ready for a head butt.’ Collins laughed Monday when told Howard blamed him for the contact.”
Second Look: Atlanta Hawks 103, Orlando Magic 93
Photo by J. Meric/Getty Images
- Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: “The Orlando Magic won’t sweep the Atlanta Hawks out of the playoffs this year. This time, the Magic look like the ones who could be steamrolled. In a dramatic reversal from last postseason, the Hawks dominated the Magic on Saturday, winning Game 1 of their first-round playoff series 103-93 at Amway Center. Only a Herculean night on offense from Dwight Howard and a spectacular third quarter from Jameer Nelson prevented the loss from turning into a rout. Almost nothing worked for Orlando. The Magic didn’t defend. They didn’t protect the basketball. And only Howard and Nelson posed a threat on the offensive end of the court. Howard scored a Magic playoff-record 46 points, while Nelson chipped in 20 of his 27 in the third period. Together, they accounted for 73 of the team’s 93 points. Shooting guard Jason Richardson? Small forward Hedo Turkoglu? They combined for just 10 points. Power forwards Ryan Anderson and Brandon Bass? They didn’t score a point. The Hawks didn’t have that problem. Five players on their roster scored in double figures, led by shooting guard Joe Johnson, who poured in 25 points. After it ended, Howard looked dazed at the postgame press conference that he shared with Nelson. Howard stared blankly at the box score on the table in front of him for almost three consecutive minutes.”
- Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: “As you might suspect, Hawks center Jason Collins and his brother, Jarron, played all the pranks that twins play growing up. Subbing on dates. Posing for one another in classrooms. Impersonating each other on the phone. Jason played a spectacular prank Saturday night on Dwight Howard. He was on the floor for just 18 minutes against him, scored a whopping one point and fouled out with half of the final quarter remaining. Howard tied a franchise playoff record with 46 points in Game 1 — and lost. Collins left the court like a battered pitcher, but he got the W. Nice gag. Are you kidding me? Ok, I now believe in Big Foot, aliens and Jason Collins — whatever mystical mojo that Collins conjures against Howard. He now has beaten Dwight’s team four of the last five times.”
- Zach McCann of the Orlando Sentinel: “The Orlando Magic kept going to Dwight Howard Saturday night, and it’s hard to blame them. He was unstoppable, showing the world his offensive improvement translates to the postseason by scoring a career-high 46 points on 16-of-23 shooting. But for some pesky reason, the Magic don’t seem to play well when Howard goes off. They’re 3-4 when he scores at least 30 points in playoff games, and it’s no coincidence that most of those games featured teams who insisted on single-covering Howard, like the Hawks did during Saturday night’s 103-93 win over the Magic. It’s not complicated why this happens. Howard continues to get his points, but the Magic’s offense doesn’t open up because the defenders are staying glued to the perimeter players. That’s why the Magic shot 27.3 percent from three-point range and everyone except Howard and Jameer Nelson combined to score just 20 points.”
- John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com: “In the days leading up to Saturday’s Game 1 against the Atlanta Hawks, the Orlando Magic installed placards on each player’s dressing stall that featured a picture of the NBA’s Larry O’Brien championship trophy and the word ‘BELIEVE’ in bold, block letters. After the double-whammy that Orlando was hit with on Saturday – getting repeatedly gashed defensively and looking stagnant offensively outside of the play from captains Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson – the Magic likely had a hard time believing their shaky plight so early in these playoffs. Five Atlanta players scored in double figures and the Hawks shockingly shot 73 percent in the second and third quarters to stun the Magic 103-93 at the Amway Center despite a slew of franchise playoff records set by Howard and Nelson.”
- Evan Dunlap of Orlando Pinstriped Post: “It’s tempting, I believe, for Magic fans to panic here. I’m not entirely sure that’s warranted. Yes, the Hawks scored efficiently. I understand that much. But it’s the Hawks’ first truly great offensive performance against the Magic’s typically stout defense since March 22nd, 2008, when Mike Bibby (five three-pointers) helped the Hawks score 112 points in 96 possessions… in an Orlando victory. Indeed, the Hawks went more than three years without cracking 1.1 points per possession against Orlando, and I’m skeptical their jump-shooting core of Johnson, Jamal Crawford, and Josh Smith can continue to hit mostly difficult shots with a high degree of accuracy. But the Magic still have serious issues to work out if they are to rally back and take this series. Apart from the serious scoring imbalance, turnovers continue to plague the team. Their 18 miscues tonight led to 21 Hawks points. Howard will draw criticism for his 8 turnovers, but if anything, Quentin Richardson (2 turnovers in 7 minutes despite hardly ever touching the ball) and [Gilbert] Arenas (3 in 12 minutes) deserve a bit more scrutiny.”
- Michael Cunningham of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “The Hawks flipped the switch. Suddenly guard Joe Johnson looked like a five-time All-Star again. Jamal Crawford found the form that made him last season’s Sixth Man of the Year. Kirk Hinrich showed why the Hawks traded for him in February. And when the Orlando Magic attempted to rally from 18 points down in the fourth quarter, the Hawks responded with the kind of toughness and resolve they had shown only occasionally in the regular season. The Hawks stunned the Magic 103-93 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference playoffs on Saturday night. They nullified Orlando’s home-court advantage in the best-of-seven series that continues here Tuesday. It was a surprising result given the history and circumstances.”
- Bret LaGree of Hoopinion: “A tremendous win for the Atlanta Hawks. Yes, that degree of jump shooting accuracy is unlikely to be sustainable for another game but neither can Dwight Howard (for an entire game) nor Jameer Nelson (for another half) be expected to be so simultaneously tremendous again for the Magic, especially if Larry Drew can resist the temptation to ask Josh Powell and Etan Thomas to defend Howard for a 12-minute stretch of the first half or leave Kirk Hinrich on the bench for a ten-and-a-half minute stretch of the second half so Nelson can enjoy the freedom of being guarded by Jamal Crawford.”
Recap: Atlanta Hawks 103, Orlando Magic 93
Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images
The Atlanta Hawks were able to defeat the Orlando Magic by the score of 103-93 to win Game 1 in the first round of the 2011 NBA Playoffs. In one felt swoop, the Hawks were able to win a postseason game on the road and wrestle home-court advantage away from the Magic. The key for Atlanta was getting production from their starters, excluding Jason Collins, and Jamal Crawford. Five players scored in double-figures for the Hawks, including a team-high 25 points from Joe Johnson on 9-of-16 shooting from the field, and each of them were able to take over the game at different junctures. Orlando’s inability to slow down Atlanta offensively in the second and third quarters proved to be their downfall. The Hawks shot 72.7 percent in those periods and turned the ball over just three times, allowing themselves a chance to score on nearly every possession. Atlanta was able to make a number of jumpshots, many of them on open looks, and that was that. On the flipside, the Hawks’ strategy of allowing Dwight Howard to do whatever he wanted on offense worked, as they were able to contain every player on the Magic’s roster not named Howard and Jameer Nelson — another important factor. It’s the reason that Howard played the best game of his career and Orlando lost. Howard was dominant on both ends of the floor, tying a career-high with 46 points and 19 rebounds. Howard set a playoff franchise record by scoring 31 points in the first half and tied another record (with Tracy McGrady in 2003 against the Detroit Pistons) with the most points scored in a postseason game. It was a phenomenal effort by Howard but overlooked because the Magic were unable to come away with a victory. Nelson was also spectacular, starting off slow with one point in the first half but finishing with 27 points and six rebounds while setting a playoff franchise record by scoring the most points in a quarter with 20 in the third. In a lot of ways, it was a strange game for Orlando because their two best players performed to their maximums but the rest of the team faltered. It was a paradox in some ways.
Interview with Bret LaGree of Hoopinion
Photo by Scott Cunningham/NBAE via Getty Images
One is fun, but twice is nice.
That’s the theme surrounding the series between the Orlando Magic and Atlanta Hawks, as they face off in the playoffs for a second consecutive year.
Last season in the 2010 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals, the Magic swept the Hawks by an average margin of victory of 25 points — the worst four-game sweep in league history. However, the tables turned as Atlanta was able to win the season series against Orlando, losing once in their four head-to-head meetings.
What changed? With head coach Larry Drew making the decision to start Jason Collins at center, that’s allowed the Hawks to defend Dwight Howard one-on-one while also defending the Magic’s shooters on the perimeter. Also, the trickle-down effect of starting Collins at center has allowed Atlanta to play Al Horford at the power forward position and Josh Smith at small forward, which has created mismatches in their favor, given that they’re being defended by the likes of Brandon Bass, Ryan Anderson, and Hedo Turkoglu. Unfortunately for Orlando, Horford is too strong and skilled for either Bass or Anderson, while Smith is too athletic for Turkoglu. On the flipside, Horford is more than capable of defending Bass or Anderson on the perimeter, while Smith has the luxury of being a menace on the weak-side since he isn’t being dragged to the three-point line by Turkoglu as much as he was when Rashard Lewis was matched up against him.
Yes, things are different this time around and even though the Hawks’ efficiency differential is -1.4, which isn’t good, they have the personnel that will challenge the Magic much more than they did last year. It should be an interesting series to watch unfold.
A few days ago, I was able to ask Bret LaGree of Hoopinion a few questions to preview the first round of the 2011 NBA Playoffs between the Orlando Magic and the Atlanta Hawks.
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Given what occurred last season, how might the matchup between the Magic and Hawks be different this time around?
It’s really hard to lose four playoff games by 101 cumulative points. Only been done once! I don’t think either team is as good as they were last season which should make things more competitive even if the difference between the two teams is similar. This assumes it takes one really good team to create an historic margin of victory and, as teams are pulled together closer toward mediocrity they, by their very nature, become more evenly matched even as the quality of basketball declines.
Recap: Orlando Magic 92, Indiana Pacers 74
Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images
With the regular season coming to a close, the Orlando Magic were able to defeat the Indiana Pacers by the score of 92-74. With the win, the Magic finish with a record of 52-30, matching the win-loss total from head coach Stan Van Gundy‘s first season with the franchise in 2008. Orlando was led by a balanced attack, as four players scored in double-figures. Dwight Howard wrapped up an MVP-caliber year with 13 points, 13 rebounds, and four steals in 26 minutes of playing time. Ryan Anderson had 14 points, Hedo Turkoglu had 13 points, and Brandon Bass had 12 points — each of them playing sparingly in preparation for the 2011 NBA Playoffs which begin Saturday. As a result of Danny Granger and Jeff Foster not playing, coupled with the game being meaningless, it’s no surprise that the Magic’s victory felt like nothing more than a preseason game. Both head coaches emptied both benches in the second half and as such, the fans in attendance at the Amway Center or those watching on television were subjected to a brand of basketball that was about as ugly as it gets. Aside from Brandon Rush and Mike Dunleavy Jr., the Pacers struggled to find scoring from any of their players. Roy Hibbert committed five fouls in less than 10 minutes of action. As a team, Indiana shot 30.7 percent from the field. As for Orlando, they committed 28 turnovers. It was clear that the Magic and Pacers wanted to get things over with. The downside for Orlando is that Bass tweaked his left achilles early in the third quarter. Bass is expected to be fine for Game 1 against the Atlanta Hawks.
Dwight Howard and the future ahead
Photo by Fernando Medina
I don’t want to belabor the point, but it might take more than a billboard to keep Dwight Howard in Orlando next season.
This has been a backend conversation all season long, and while most Orlando fans have considered it foolishness that Dwight would ever up and leave Orlando, it’s starting to become evident that the Magic don’t have a lot to barter with.
Look at StayDwight.com, a website and foundation created by Ryan Totka to try to convince Dwight to stay in Orlando. It’s endearing, to be sure.
As the season started winding down and the playoffs loomed in the near distance, Magic fans and writers grew more and more skeptical of the Magic, and more and more in tune with this glaring problem of how to keep Dwight in Orlando.
Now we’re in the playoffs, and after Game 1, things look decidedly worse.
Dwight’s decision after this season remains a touchy one, and everyone, including Ryan Totka, knows it. In a section on his site titled, “Why Stay in Orlando,” Totka talks about the community and the economy, two things that, as seen before, don’t really matter to a competitive basketball player. If I’m Dwight Howard, I want a website that shows me with the use of advanced statistics that I have nothing to worry about in the next ten seasons. I want a breakdown of how a revamped bench and a healthy Gilbert Arenas will change things for the Magic. In other words, Dwight needs to know that if he stays in Orlando the Magic are going to win.
That’s not the message he’s getting right now.
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