Posts Tagged → Dallas Mavericks
April 15th, 2010
Orlando’s Van Gundy Named NBA Eastern Conference Coach of the Month
Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images
Via the Orlando Magic:
The Orlando Magic’s Stan Van Gundy [was] named the NBA Eastern [Conference Coach] of the Month, respectively, for games played in April.
Van Gundy led Orlando to an NBA-best 7-1 (.875) record in April, including wins over Cleveland and Dallas. Orlando outscored its opponents by over 12 ppg in April, while shooting .517 from the field. Orlando secured the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference and finished the season with the NBA’s second-best overall record – the Magic’s 59 wins trailed only the Cavaliers’ 61.
By Eddy Rivera • Posted in Press Releases • 2 Comments
April 15th, 2010
Second Look: Orlando Magic 125, Philadelphia 76ers 111
Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images
- Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: “Cameras flashed throughout the game as the sell-out crowd sensed the historic closing after the postseason. The club will begin play in October in the new Amway Center. Jameer Nelson led the Magic with 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting against the 76ers and Vince Carter added 17, going 4-of-5 from 3-point territory. Dwight Howard scored 15 points and grabbed 12 rebounds and Matt Barnes had 12 points as Orlando shot a sizzling 59.8 percent. Orlando broke an NBA single-season record for most 3-pointers made, with 841, passing the 837 by the 2005-06 Phoenix Suns. ”Sometimes, all anybody cares about is the playoffs and we know what that’s all about,” [Stan] Van Gundy said. “But what these guys have done for six-and-a- half months it has been a very professional group of people.” Magic players, to a man, say they are ready to make a run at a title.”
- John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com: “Just for old time sake Wednesday night, fans inside the sold-out Amway Arena broke out the wave one last time for a regular-season game. And fittingly enough, the Orlando Magic followed suit with a style that has worked wonders for them all season long. Three-pointers from practically every corner of the 21-year-old Amway Arena put the Magic in the NBA record books, and heavy doses of Vince Carter and Jameer Nelson on the outside and Dwight Howard on the inside helped Orlando throttle Philadelphia 125-111 and win for the 59th time this season.”
- Ben Q. Rock of Orlando Pinstriped Post: “Yes, the regular season wound to a close tonight with the successes listed above. But I don’t think coach Stan Van Gundy can be happy with the way his team closed the season on the defensive end of the floor. We like to have fun with Van Gundy when he burns timeouts in seemingly silly situations, but when Marreese Speights cut right down the center of the lane and threw down a nasty, one-handed slam early in the fourth period to cut Orlando’s lead to 23 points, Van Gundy was 100% right to call timeout immediately to try to wake his team up defensively. In the 82nd game, defensive breakdowns like that just shouldn’t happen. And that is, to me, the Magic’s biggest concern heading into the playoffs. While the team’s playing great ball for the most part, the defensive slippage here is too great to ignore. Since beating the Mavericks in Dallas two weeks ago, the Magic have allowed opponents to score 110.3 points per 100 possessions, which is much higher than league average, and much much higher than Orlando’s usual standard.”
- Kate Fagan of The Philadelphia Inquirer: “On Wednesday night, almost six months after being tossed around by Orlando in the season opener, the Sixers bowed out of the 2009-10 season with a 125-111 loss to the Magic. In the season opener Oct. 28, Orlando won, 120-106. The Sixers finished the season 27-55; Orlando finished 59-23 and headed for the playoffs as the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. The Magic, who looked as if they were playing an exhibition game, a tune-up for the playoffs, led by as many as 28 points and ran their plays with clever smiles as if they knew the Sixers would trail a double screen or collapse to the middle on penetration. All over the court, guys in white jerseys were open.”
- Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News: “The snowball started to roll on that squelching day in late October in Orlando. It mercifully ended last night in the last game to be played at Amway after 21 seasons, as a new, state-of-the-art arena will be ready next season. The Magic closed out the last regular season at the old arena in style. The Sixers again allowed the Magic to basically conduct a shooting practice – for the fourth time this season – as Orlando shot 59.8 percent from the floor (49-for-82). They also made 11 of 25 from three-point range, finishing their four wins against the Sixers shooting 58-for-108 (53.7 percent) from beyond the arc. That has been a problem all year for the team, an inability to correct shortcomings. [Eddie] Jordan often perplexed his players with his substitution patterns, and that led to confusion, frustration and, well, bad basketball.”
By Eddy Rivera • Posted in Second Look • No Comment
April 5th, 2010
Monday’s Magic Word
- Tania Ganguli of the Orlando Sentinel: “After a string of very public arguments with, among others, coach Stan Van Gundy over playing time and a random fan in San Antonio, it seemed only a matter of time before Matt Barnes’ temper impacted a game. Van Gundy said he hoped Barnes would take his ejection from Sunday’s game as a “wake up call.” Barnes was contrite and apologized to his teammates. “Apology accepted,” Vince Carter said, smiling. The truth is, his teammates don’t want him to change.”
- Henry Abbott of TrueHoop: “[...] there’s sure to be more excitement in the season’s final week-and-a-half. The conference’s top three teams, after all the tie-breakers, are the Lakers, Mavericks and Nuggets, and they’re doing their best to keep things interesting. Over their last 10 games, they have combined to create a tepid 16-14 record. (And even the Lakers, who are a cinch for first in the West with 22 losses, are still fighting for homecourt advantage in the Finals against Orlando, which has 23 losses. Every team is still trying.)
- Ben Q. Rock of Orlando Pinstriped Post comments on the relationship between the Orlando Magic and the referees: ”Orlando’s playing well, but has been chirping about foul calls a lot more lately. Though the Magic responded after Barnes’ ejection yesterday, there’s also the chance that they could let their anger get the best of them in another pressure-packed situation, which could indeed hurt them in the playoffs, especially on the road. That might explain why Van Gundy is a bit concerned, particularly with Barnes. Then again, maybe playing so emotionally is a good thing, as it prevents the team from coasting, which in turn could explain why Barnes’ teammates don’t want him to change.”
- Dwight Howard looks back at the Magic’s ‘steel cage match’ with the Memphis Grizzlies in last night’s game: “That Barnes-Thabeet cage match went pretty well for us. Matt got kicked out of the cage and sent to the locker room, but at the end of the night we won the Royal Rumble. The Big Show (me) didn’t get a T. Ric Flair (Vince Carter) got a T. And Hulk Hogan (Matt) got kicked out of the steel cage match. Matt apologized to us after the game, but we all understood where he was coming from because we don’t take too much of anything personally on this team. We actually enjoyed that little pushing match and it fired us up.”
By Eddy Rivera • Posted in News • No Comment
April 2nd, 2010
Video Highlights: Dwight Howard and Mickael Pietrus
Dwight Howard is well on his way to winning the Defensive Player of the Year Award for a second consecutive season and there’s no doubt that he is, arguably, the best defender in the NBA. But more people are starting to take notice of Howard’s improvements on offense and last night against the Dallas Mavericks, he put his new-and-improved post moves on display once again.
As for Mickael Pietrus, it sure didn’t take him too long to get back into rhythm after missing two games with a left ankle injury.
April 2nd, 2010
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).”
By Eddy Rivera • Posted in Second Look • No Comment
April 2nd, 2010
Recap: Orlando Magic 97, Dallas Mavericks 82
Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images
The Orlando Magic, healthy and rested, were able to defeat the Dallas Mavericks by the score of 97-82 in front of a nationally-televised audience. Coming off an overtime win against the Memphis Grizzlies on the road the evening before, it seemed like the Mavericks were a step slow against the Magic. Especially when you consider the fact that Orlando played on three days rest. Dirk Nowitzki, with 24 points and six rebounds, was the only starter for Dallas that played with any sort of energy (J.J. Barea and Jason Terry performed admirably off the bench). For the Magic, Vince Carter and Mickael Pietrus returned from their minor injuries and performed well. Pietrus played a great game off the bench, in particular, with a season-high 24 points on eight shots. Efficient. Dwight Howard was splendid, also, dominating on both ends of the floor and finishing with 17 points, 20 rebounds, and five blocks. For Howard, that’s the ninth time in the regular season in which he’s grabbed 20 or more rebounds in a game.
By Eddy Rivera • Posted in Recaps • No Comment
April 1st, 2010
Sneak Preview: Orlando Magic at Dallas Mavericks
Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images
- Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: “During last June’s NBA Finals, ESPN analyst Jon Barry noted that [Dwight] Howard often looked ‘mechanical’ on offense and lacked a go-to move. But Barry feels differently now. He thinks that Howard has made ‘tremendous strides.’ ‘It’s reactionary game,’ Barry explained. ‘So you have to make moves according to what your defense does. I just think he’s got a better feel for that. With his repertoire, he seems to have everything. I’ve seen right-hand hooks, left-hand hooks. I’ve even seen a face-up jump shot for the first time, although it’s used sparingly. Ask Tim Duncan how that’s worked for him over the last 15 years. As a post player, especially with the athleticism that he presents, it can open up so many doors for him. He will be absolutely unstoppable if he can make a face-up jump shot to force guys to come out on him.’ “
- Tim McMahon of ESPNDallas.com: “The Mavs’ MVP has taught us that lesson many times over the years, snapping out of a shooting funk to dominate down the stretch of a Dallas win. His performance in the final few minutes of regulation in Wednesday’s win over the Grizzlies ranks as one of his most impressive performances in that category. Midway through the fourth quarter, Nowitzki had clanked his way to a 3-of-16 shooting performance. Then he hit five in a row to fuel the Mavs’ double-digit rally. [...] Four of those buckets came during a 10-point flurry in the final 3:08, almost singlehandedly forcing overtime in a game Dallas seemed destined to lose. Dirk displayed an array of weapons during that scoring spree, starting it with a strong dropstep after catching the ball on the block, following that with a couple of catch-and-shoot 3s and capping it with one of those wild, contested fadeaways he knocks down at a ridiculously high rate.”
- Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News: “The Mavericks pulled out their 50th victory of the season Wednesday night, and if it wasn’t the definition of stealing a game, it wasn’t far from it. Dirk Nowitzki, whose era is defined by 50-win seasons, fittingly knocked in a 15-foot jumper and four free throws late in overtime that secured a 106-102 stress test over the Memphis Grizzlies at FedEx Forum. It pushed the Mavericks’ record to 50-25, their 10th consecutive season with at least 50 wins. Only three other NBA franchises have had such a run of regular-season success: the Lakers (1980-91), the Celtics (1959-68) and the Spurs (2000-2009).”
- Rob Mahoney of The Two Man Game: “When Jason Terry missed five games while recovering from surgery to repair his orbital bone, plenty of his offensive opportunities went to Rodrigue Beaubois (who was plugged into the rotation using Terry’s suddenly available minutes) and Shawn Marion. Both performed brilliantly on offense given the extra shot attempts, but when JET returned to the lineup, I naturally assumed that the offense would revert to its usual balance. That would theoretically include Marion sliding back into his usual role as a primary defender and purely supplemental scorer, relying almost entirely on transition opportunities and backdoor cuts for his scoring possessions. Not quite so. While Marion’s FGAs have dipped since his notably high 16.2 in the five games without Terry, he’s settled in at 12.6 attempts for the 14 games in March. He’s also shooting his highest percentage from the field (56.8%) and averaging his highest monthly scoring average (15.6 PPG) excluding his three-game October.”
- Mike Fisher of DallasBasketball.com: “10X50. How rare is this? You’ve got to be Magic’s Lakers or Russell’s Celtics or Duncan’s Spurs to be in this class. Immodestly I note that I understood it two years ago. Understanding it all along and especially at this moment? Two of the architects, Mark Cuban and Donnie Nelson. […] ‘It’s rare air,’ Mavs GM Donnie Nelson told DallasBasketball.com at the DB.com Watching Party at Star Power in Addison. ‘It’s not the ultimate goal. But it’s an important step to the ultimate goal – and we’ve stepped in that right direction 10 straight times.’ ”
By Eddy Rivera • Posted in Sneak Preview • No Comment
March 31st, 2010
Wednesday’s Magic Word
- Adonal Foyle gives the Magic State of the Union address: “I’m here to report that with respect to the Orlando Magic team, the state of our union is strong. The team has been performing at an absolutely wonderful pace – obviously demonstrated by our victories. And the emergence of Vince [Carter] as the force we knew him to be has definitely started to pay dividends – he’s obviously much more aggressive going to the basket. These games gave him an opportunity to demonstrate why he is here and emerge as one of the best players these last few months.”
- Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: “Barring any unforeseen setbacks, the Orlando Magic should have their full roster available to play Thursday night against the Dallas Mavericks in Dallas. Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said Vince Carter (sprained right big toe), Mickael Pietrus (sprained left ankle) and (sprained right thumb) and everybody else on the roster practiced today at RDV Sportsplex.”
- Want to see video of Dwight Howard‘s impersonation of Charles Barkley? Click here.
- Trey Kerby of Ball Don’t Lie conducts an interview with Howard, asking him a variety of questions that range from serious to silly. When asked if the team finally being healthy for an extended period of time has been the main reason why the Orlando Magic have been playing well lately, Howard answers: “I think that’s one thing that’s gotten us to the level that we’re at today, but another thing is that all the work we’ve put in in the offseason, and all the things we do every day in practice to get better finally started to show up. We’re big believers in hard work, and how hard work can overshadow anything. We understand that. We work extremely hard in practice to get better, and I think that’s why we’re playing at the level we’ve been playing at as of late. We understood that early in the season we were going to have a lot of ups and downs because we have a new team and we all have to get used to playing with each other, and just playing with guys like Vince Carter, Brandon Bass, and Matt Barnes. It’s a new situation for our whole team, so we really just have to learn how to play together, and we’re gelling at the right time. And I’m happy. I don’t think we’ve reached our peak yet, but I think we’re on our way to being that team we’ve all hoped for.”
- Mark Milner of Hardwood Paroxysm thinks that Howard deserves a few votes for MVP, even though LeBron James will undoubtedly win the award for a second consecutive year.
- Head coach Stan Van Gundy stated yesterday that the MVP “is just an offensive award.” Pat McManamon of NBA FanHouse disagrees.
- Jonathan Abrams of Off the Dribble looks back at general manager Otis Smith‘s decision not to re-sign Hedo Turkoglu during the off-season.
- By the way, Turkoglu is now coming off the bench for the Toronto Raptors.
- A little over a week ago, Foyle told George Diaz of the Orlando Sentinel that he’d like to be a general manager in the NBA after he retires from playing basketball. Eric Freeman of The Baseline is surprised.
- John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com writes about Howard’s day on the job at Champs Sports at The Florida Mall.
By Eddy Rivera • Posted in Analysis • No Comment
March 30th, 2010
Tuesday’s Magic Word
- Tania Ganguli of the Orlando Sentinel: Vince Carter sat out Tuesday’s Orlando Magic practice with a sprained right big toe. He remains listed as day-to-day and Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said he doesn’t know whether Carter will be available to play on Thursday against the Dallas Mavericks. [...] Carter is aiming to be back by Thursday. He was shooting after practice at RDV Sportsplex, but couldn’t wear his normal basketball shoes. Carter had on some low-tops and said those shoes and sandals are about all he can wear without causing his toe additional pain.
- Ben Q. Rock of Orlando Pinstriped Post chimes in on Hedo Turkoglu’s malaise with the Toronto Raptors: ”As someone whose email box occasionally contains tips about Turk’s party habits, I can’t say that his nightlife surprises me. But the poor attitude? The mailing-in of a season? Doesn’t seem like Turk to me. I’m happy that he had a productive career with Orlando, and utterly disappointed that he seems content to play out the string on a bloated contract for a middling team that can’t do much to improve due to, in part, Turk’s monster deal. I’m not faulting the guy for cashing in–that’d be hypocritical, frankly–but dude really ought to try harder.”
- Dikembe Mutombo thinks that Dwight Howard can be the Defensive Player of the Year, every year, until he gets old. Lofty praise from one of the best defenders in NBA history.
- For championship contenders, it’s good to be balanced. Bradford Doolittle of Basketball Prospectus explains: “How do we define balanced? Since this is a jumping-off point for a navel-gazing exercise, let’s keep it simple. Using my post-ABA/NBA merger database of 870 teams through the end of last season, let’s divide teams whose league ranks in offense and defense are less than seven places apart. Why seven? Making that the dividing line gives us 425 balanced teams and 445 unbalanced. That’s as close to an even split as we’re going to get. Let’s look at some characteristics of these two groups. As a general rule, teams that are less balanced have won more in the regular season, but the balanced squads have done better in the playoffs. In the regular season, if a team has that big of a gap between its offense and defense, it means that they probably were competent at least one or the other. However, a good number of the teams we’re defining as “balanced” may simply have sucked at both ends of the court. With more regular season success, the unbalanced teams have accounted for more playoff spots. But with the “suck at both” teams filtered out, the balanced teams have won more titles.”
- It appears that Mickael Pietrus, who has been recovering from an ankle injury, will be ready to play on Thursday against the Dallas Mavericks.
- Rashard Lewis, a former SuperSonics player, wants to participate in Ray Allen’s charity game in Seattle that’s currently in the works and would take place in the summer.
- There’s a lot of things that Howard excels in, like his ability to impersonate Charles Barkley. Tim Povtak of NBA FanHouse transcribes some of Howard’s “rants” as Barkley. Lost in the shuffle, though, is head coach Stan Van Gundy’s thoughts on the MVP award: “It is just an offensive award. People who vote just don’t factor in defense, rebounding and how effective Dwight is defensively. I think it’s unfortunate. If the criteria was how many possessions are you affecting at both ends, if that’s what people thought about, then Dwight would be at the top of the league.”
- Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel conducts a light-hearted interview with Van Gundy, asking him a variety of questions that don’t pertain to basketball.
By Eddy Rivera • Posted in News • No Comment
March 29th, 2010
Monday’s Magic Word
- Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: “Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said after Sunday’s game that he didn’t expect Mickael Pietrus or Vince Carter to be out too long with injuries. The Magic’s next game is Thursday in Dallas, and Carter might be able to return from a sprained right toe he sustained in Sunday’s win against Denver. The team said that x-rays revealed no serious damage. Joel Glass, the Magic’s vice president of communications, said Monday that Carter is day-to-day.”
- Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel states that the Orlando Magic played some of their best basketball in the month of March: “The Magic displayed the feisty swagger of a contender in March. Van Gundy was relentless as usual. [Matt] Barnes agitated Kobe Bryant in a nationally televised win. Carter howled after hitting some big shots. [Dwight] Howard floored Derrick Rose again. He kept collecting technical fouls and wondering out loud why the Magic are overlooked. Confidence has spread through a team that carries a sizeable chip on their shoulders.”
- Ben Q. Rock of Orlando Pinstriped Post wonders how much J.J. Redick is worth?
- Looks like things have soured with Hedo Turkoglu in Toronto. Kelly Dwyer of Ball Don’t Lie doesn’t mince words when he explains why the Raptors made a mistake by signing Turkoglu to a long-term contract that doesn’t expire until 2014. Yikes.
- News flash. Redick can still shoot.
- Are divisions in the NBA relevant anymore? Henry Abbott of TrueHoop attempts to answer the question: ”[...] through it all — do you care? How much bragging can you do if your team wins its division? Are Denver and Utah locked in a contest for a better playoff spot, or a division crown? I could be wrong, but I put it to you that division crown means almost nothing, and if you ignore it entirely, you miss almost nothing.”
- Tom Haberstroh of Hoopdata explains how the Magic excel on defense: “[...] As opposed to the steal-centric Celtics who own the second highest opponent turnover rate, the Magic alter shots (lowest opp. eFG%), don’t allow offensive rebounds (lowest opp. rebound rate), and keep their opponents away from the charity stripe (seventh lowest free throw rate). While it helps to have Dwight Howard on the floor, this is a collective effort.”
By Eddy Rivera • Posted in News • No Comment
