Posts Tagged → Dwight Howard
Wednesday’s Magic Word
- Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: “Word is that teams have inquired about point guard Chauncey Billups, and nobody on the planet can be surprised. If, or when, Carmelo Anthony goes in a trade, why keep Billups around? The Nuggets will be in official rebuilding mode once Melo walks. The [Orlando] Magic have pieces to land them both. Before the Heat land them by, oh, dealing Chris Bosh. I tweeted this weeks ago. Melo is making $17 million, Billups $13 mil this season. The Magic have a veteran package they can hand over to Denver: shooting guard Vince Carter ($17 mill), center Marcin Gortat ($6 mill) and point guard Jameer Nelson ($7 mill). Is it better than the proposed package New Jersey apparently is offering of draft picks and Derrek Favors? I’d say the Magic’s would-be deal is more proven, no question.”
- Zach McCann of the Orlando Sentinel: “On the Orlando Magic injury front, there’s good news and there’s bad news. We’ll start with the bad news: Jason Williams (foot) and Quentin Richardson (sickness) didn’t practice today. Both are day-to-day, but Q is expected to play Thursday night against Phoenix. J.J. Redick was still sidelined with back spasms, marking the fourth consecutive day he’s been out. He didn’t play in Monday’s game against Memphis because of the injury. The good news? Jameer Nelson (ankle) and Mickael Pietrus (leg) returned to practice. Both players will play Thursday night, barring something unforeseen.”
- Nationally televised games are not kind to the Orlando Magic.
- Evan Dunlap of Orlando Pinstriped Post reveals that the Magic’s use of a traditional lineup has produced some surprisingly good results, so far, in the regular season: “So playing [Brandon] Bass or Gortat at power forward replaces atypically inefficient players with incredibly efficient ones. Bass’ raw shooting percentage of 47.5 doesn’t do him justice, because he’s a volume free-throw shooter with great accuracy. His True Shooting mark of 60.7 percent places him fourth on the team. Gortat, on the other hand, hardly misses from the floor. He leads the team with 65 percent shooting from the field thanks to his soft touch around the rim and the little attention defenses afford him. Add it all up [...] and the Magic’s offense has been 4.85 points per 100 possessions more effective with a traditional power forward in the lineup. But the bigger difference has come at the defensive end.”
- Matt Moore of CBSSports.com: “You’d have thought the Rashard Lewis contract would have bitten them sooner than this, but hey, worse late than never, I suppose. The Magic have one win against a team above .500 and two losses to Miami to and Utah. It’s early yet so they haven’t had many cracks at it, but throw in a loss to the Raptors, and yeesh, not a great start for SVG’s crew. The defense is still excelling, but the offense has fallen off a cliff, thanks in part to Rashard Lewis not being able to hit the broad side of a barn. And yet still, Ryan Anderson gets no minutes. Crying shame, really.”
- Do you believe in Magic? NBA.com writers try to answer that question.
- Dwight Howard is still a flawed player, according to some.
Superman Now Flying Through Amway Center
Photo by Fernando Medina
Via the Orlando Magic:
Thanks to AirTran Airways’ partnerships with the Orlando Magic and Dwight Howard, a life-sized likeness of Superman himself is now flying through the terrace level of the dazzling, new Amway Center.
AirTran, a “Champions of the Community” partner with the Magic, unveiled a suspended, 6-foot-11 likeness of the Orlando’s consensus All-NBA center on Tuesday, November 16. The image is a replica of Howard in full-flight from his famous “Superman” dunk from the 2008 NBA Slam Dunk Contest. The display also incorporates AirTran Business Class seats, allowing fans to take their pictures with the image of Howard flying overhead.
“It’s amazing, it really is,” Howard gushed upon getting his first look at the life-sized image seemingly hanging in the air. “I’ve only seen myself in pictures, but now this is like being up close to Dwight. Wow!”
The AirTran Flight Deck, which is just steps away from the Howard display, is a specially-designed 1,325-square-foot lounge created to give guests a unique experience during Magic home games and other Amway Center events. The Flight Deck resembles the interior of an AirTran Airways’ aircraft complete with Business Class seats, overhead bins above the bar and a digital display scoreboard with the look of an arrivals/departures screen.
“Over the years AirTran has taken an increased role in the community, and being involved with the new Amway Center is ideal,” said Bob Fornaro, the Chairman, President and CEO of AirTran Airways. “We wanted to be associated with one of the best brands in Orlando and that’s the Orlando Magic. And with Dwight, he’s wonderful, he’s great in the community and he’s a star already.”
Tuesday’s Magic Word
- Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: “To paraphrase Brent Musburger, you are looking live at Richie Adubato‘s closet. It’s the biggest one in the roomy house in Heathrow, and it contains more bright, wild colors than a kid’s crayon box. You could probably see the purple smoking jacket and pink tie collection from outer space — without Google Earth. Richie’s doting wife, Carol, is his fashion consultant. She obviously has a flair for the dramatic, given her background as an off-Broadway actress and budding stand-up comedian. A youthful-looking 72, Adubato will tell you he started donning his neon wardrobe to impress players and gain their acceptance at three NBA stops as a head coach (including an interim gig with the [Orlando] Magic) and two jobs with the WNBA. These days, Richie’s on the radio, you see. Or you don’t see. He could wear an entire line from Sears men’s outdoor department and no listeners would be the wiser, even if that plum jacket is louder than a bullhorn. But then Adubato’s very nature is to put technicolor into his job as the Magic’s color analyst, flavored by bold splashes of humor.
- Give Schmitz’s feature on Richie Adubato a read. It’s fantastic.
- J.J. Redick is day-to-day with back spasms.
- Matt Barnes on the Orlando Magic: “When they played [the] Heat, I saw them get blown out because they couldn’t handle the wings. I feel for the guys on the team but it’s definitely a business.”
- Let the record state that the Magic rank second in Defensive Rating this season and even though it’s early, they’re giving up less points per 100 possessions than last year.
- John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com: “Thanks to AirTran Airways’ partnerships with the Orlando Magic and Dwight Howard, a life-sized likeness of Superman himself is now flying through the terrace level of the dazzling, new Amway Center. AirTran, a ‘Champions of the Community’ partner with the Magic, unveiled a suspended, 6-foot-11 likeness of the Orlando’s consensus All-NBA center on Tuesday. The image is a replica of Howard in full-flight from his famous ‘Superman’ dunk from the 2008 NBA Slam Dunk Contest. The display also incorporates AirTran Business Class seats, allowing fans to take their pictures with the image of Howard flying overhead.”
- Evan Dunlap of Orlando Pinstriped Post: “[Redick] has struggled mightily with his shot this season, at 27.1 percent from the field and 12 percent from three-point range. As a result, he owns the worst True Shooting mark (37.5 percent) of any perimeter player with at least 150 minutes this season; league-wide, only stone-handed bigs Reggie Evans (27.1 percent), Darko Milicic (33.8 percent), and Greg Monroe (35.2 percent) are worse.
- Dwight Howard wants to get more friendly with NBA referees.
- Howard gives Brandon Bass a shout-out on his official blog: “Today, I want to give a shout out to my main man, Brandon ‘Black’ Bass. He’s finally getting to play this season and he’s doing a lot of good things off the bench to help us. The thing about Black is that he plays so hard and that’s what we need out of him. When he does that we play really well. We’re really good friends and we hang out a lot together off the court. I know he was frustrated last season when he wasn’t playing, but he’s doing a better job of focusing on his defense and rebounding now.”
- Howard visits the Gatorade Sports Science Institute and there’s video of it.
- Head coach Stan Van Gundy is thoroughly impressed with Mickael Pietrus‘ defense — for now.
- Zach Lowe of The Point Forward on the Magic’s slow start on offense: “The Magic rank just 18th in points per possession after finishing in the top five last season. Your initial instinct might be to dismiss the early drop as the product of a temporary cold-shooting streak. J.J. Redick and Quentin Richardson are both shooting under 30 percent, and Rashard Lewis is barely trumping them at 37 percent. Those numbers will correct themselves soon. Lewis, though, bears watching. He’s 31, and he is coming off the worst season of his career save for his rookie year. His field-goal percentage has declined every year since 2005-06, and his defense this season has looked shakier than ever, regardless of whether Stan Van Gundy has played at him small forward or power forward. About that positional tinkering: I at first chalked it up as a smart move by Van Gundy to make Orlando’s offense less predictable by occasionally shifting Lewis to the 3-spot and integrating both Brandon Bass and Ryan Anderson. But I’m wondering now if it might be Van Gundy’s way of acknowledging that Lewis is not the same player he was two seasons ago. If that’s the case, the foundation of Orlando’s offense might be in jeopardy. This is a team that succeeds in part by surrounding Dwight Howard with long-range shooters, and Lewis’ ability to provide prolific three-point shooting at power forward has been critical to that philosophy. If he can no longer do that reliably, Orlando has more tinkering to do than we thought — unless Anderson can secure consistent playing time and do the job.”
- Kevin Pelton of ESPN Insider breaks down Orlando’s poor three-point shooting.
The New and Improved Brandon Bass
Photo by Marc Serota/Getty Images
There’s been a lot of talk about Dwight Howard‘s improvements on offense and the praise is well-deserved, but there’s another player for the Orlando Magic that has improved this year as well. So far, at least.
His name is Brandon Bass.
Bass received a lot of criticism last season for several reasons.
First, Bass was not a natural fit in the Magic’s 4-out/1-in offensive scheme, given that his game on offense centered around the mid-range jumper. And as efficient as Bass was with his jumpshot, he wasn’t a more potent option offensively than Rashard Lewis or Ryan Anderson because he wasn’t, and still isn’t, a three-point shooter. As such, Bass had to make up for his stunted level of production on offense in another way. Second, and this segues to the next point, Bass’ defense wasn’t very good. Bass made it tough for Van Gundy to utilize him on the floor because Bass would routinely miss rotations, display a lack of awareness with his positioning on the court, and blow pick and roll coverages. There’s more, but that’s a start. Another problem was that Bass was barely above the league-average in total rebound rate. Although Bass had a knack for crashing the offensive glass, that veracity didn’t translate to the other side of the ball. Because of all these factors, Bass didn’t play a lot and that irked a lot of Magic fans that wanted to see him play.
Thing is, the only way that could happen was for Bass to improve on his defending and rebounding responsibilities. Then, and only then, would Bass merit the playing time that he desired. It’s the same thing that J.J. Redick had to deal with a few years ago when he was trying to get off the bench and make an impact.
Van Gundy gave Bass a simple task — improve on defense, rebound the basketball better, and he’ll play more.
Needless to say, Bass has answered the call. Certainly it’s helped, also, that Van Gundy is utilizing Lewis more at the small forward position, which has allowed Bass to get more minutes than he may have gotten last season.
But still, Bass’ improvement defensively is borderline astounding.
That’s not hyperbole.
Recap: Orlando Magic 89, Memphis Grizzlies 72
AP Photo/John Raoux
In a strange game that involved a lot of turnovers (37 of them in total), the Orlando Magic were able to defeat the Memphis Grizzlies by the score of 89-72. For the Magic, it was — easily — their best performance defensively of the regular season. Orlando was led by Dwight Howard, who had 18 points, 14 rebounds, two steals, and two blocks, setting the tone on defense but he wasn’t alone in his efforts. Vince Carter finished with 19 points on eight shots, performing with excellent efficiency on offense and was only unable to do more damage on that end of the floor due to foul trouble. Jameer Nelson‘s stat-line was a bit underwhelming, with 11 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and three steals, but he was a disruptive force throughout the game and played with a high amount of energy.
For Magic fans, this was not an aesthetically pleasing game to watch.
Sneak Preview: Memphis Grizzlies at Orlando Magic
AP Photo/John Raoux
- Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: “Stan Van Gundy already has had a heart-to-heart with Rashard Lewis, so he got to him before the rest of us. [...] If you’re wondering whether Van Gundy would bench Lewis, the answer is no. Not now, anyway. If Stan didn’t sit Vince Carter through a horrid January last season, I don’t think he’ll turn Lewis into a sixth man. Every time media and fans plead for a benching, I always ask: OK, who takes his place? The options at power forward without Lewis are Brandon Bass, Ryan Anderson and Marcin Gortat. Anderson is embedded in Van Gundy’s doghouse. The Magic need Gortat to be on red alert, given [Dwight] Howard‘s relationship with the refs. That leaves Bass, undersized at 6-feet-8. Bass’ pet mid-range jumper is finding the net (49.1 percent.) He’s still better suited roaring off the bench. The decline of Lewis’ numbers has been steady, for a couple reasons. Vince Carter arrived last season to rob some shots, making Lewis the third option behind Carter and Howard. This season, Van Gundy has experimented with big lineups and more post-ups, shuttling Lewis from power forward to small forward. Even Stan agrees this may have affected his routine.”
- Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: “Brandon Bass continues to impress Stan Van Gundy. Even in hotel ballrooms. Really. Saturday morning, the Orlando Magic gathered in a ballroom in their New Jersey hotel for a walkthrough to prepare to face the New Jersey Nets. The Magic had played a game just 12 hours earlier, and yet Van Gundy still saw Bass paying attention to tiny details, wanting to know every assignment and understand every play. Bass kept up that intensity Saturday night, contributing 14 points — and, best of all from Van Gundy’s perspective — eight rebounds in only 21 minutes.”
- Evan Dunlap of Orlando Pinstriped Post: “[J.J.] Redick and Lewis in particular are far too gifted to shoot less than 38 percent on three-pointers over the course of the entire season. But for now, it’s a problem. If we’re pointing out performances from guys who are struggling, it’s only fair to laud the ones making a positive impact. Marcin Gortat has rebounded and defended exceptionally well, and has also made the most of his limited offensive opportunities, making 70 percent of his shots in the early going. Brandon Bass, an afterthought a year ago, worked his way into the rotation with great energy and a better commitment to defense. Though now out of the rotation, Ryan Anderson managed to positively impact the team despite his outside shot not dropping; on a per-minute basis, Anderson ranks second on the team in scoring and third in rebounding.”
- Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal: “The revolving door between the Grizzlies’ bench and the basketball court is spinning fast. Veteran swingman Tony Allen and rookie point guard Greivis Vasquez spun out of nowhere and gave the team a lift last weekend. Just who will dart out of the reserve tank tonight when the Griz play on the road against the Orlando Magic? That’s anyone’s guess. Griz coach Lionel Hollins is still searching to find a collection of bench players he can count on. He contends that his mantra hasn’t changed and he is going to use the first 20 regular-season games to firm up a substitution pattern. Guys will play their way in and out so one game doesn’t necessarily mean anything.”
Recap: Toronto Raptors 110, Orlando Magic 106
AP Photo/Reinhold Matay
“The third quarter was ridiculous professional basketball.”
Head coach Stan Van Gundy uttered those words in his press conference following the Orlando Magic‘s loss to the Utah Jazz on Wednesday, in which they blew an 18-point lead in the third quarter and lost by 10 points. Against the Toronto Raptors, the Magic — no offense to their opponent — played pathetic basketball for four quarters and were defeated by the score of 110-106. By all means, the Raptors deserved to win the game because they played with excellent energy and effort, and performed as if their lives depended on the end result. Toronto was led by DeMar DeRozan, who had a career-high 26 points on 8-of-13 shooting and seven rebounds. Andrea Bargnani finished with 27 points. Sonny Weems was the hero in the game, hitting a go-ahead three-pointer with 7.1 seconds left to put the Raptors up by three points. The Magic tried to tie the ballgame and after calling a timeout for being unable to put the ball in play, Mickael Pietrus‘ inbounds pass on the second try was stolen by Jose Calderon and that was game, set, match.
Friday’s Magic Word
- Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: “Looking to give his players some stability night-in and night-out, Stan Van Gundy has settled on one starting lineup for the foreseeable future. Van Gundy said following his team’s shootaround today that he’ll start Jameer Nelson at point guard, Vince Carter at shooting guard, Quentin Richardson at small forward, Rashard Lewis at power forward and Dwight Howard at center each game, regardless of the matchups opposing teams present. [...] Also, Mickael Pietrus will return to the rotation, while Ryan Anderson is out of the rotation — at least for the time being. Brandon Bass will be the first power forward off the bench. [...] All that said, Lewis will still sometimes shift to small forward during games. Marcin Gortat will sometimes play at power forward, though usually not in the first quarter.”
- Head coach Stan Van Gundy talks about the Toronto Raptors.
- Zach McCann of the Orlando Sentinel on Ryan Anderson’s benching: “The fact that Anderson’s taking the high road on the decision isn’t surprising. Anderson’s one of the nicest and most even-keeled players on the team, and he knows that another opportunity for playing time will most likely arise this season. Rotations rarely stay the same all season, and injuries haven’t hit the frontcourt yet.”
- One person approves Van Gundy’s decision to settle on a rotation.
- Julius Erving talks about the Magic: “They’re one of the elite teams, they’re one of the top eight teams in the league. And there’s times during the season when they’ve had the best record and have been the best team. Top eight in the league, you’ve got creds and now you’ve have a responsibility to service your fans with that new building. With that new building, they need to step up and win games because that’s a beautiful place. They have talent, they got good coaching and they just have to make some breaks for themselves. Don’t rely on luck, you know, prepare yourself and go out and do battle every night.”
- Evan Dunlap of Orlando Pinstriped Post comments on the Amway Center’s technology.
- John Hollinger of ESPN Insider, on the eve of Anderson being demoted in the Orlando Magic’s rotation, thinks he should be playing more: “With Rashard Lewis struggling mightily and the Magic’s small forwards largely ineffective thus far, the obvious solution seems to be handing Anderson the keys to the power forward spot and moving Lewis to the 3 for long stretches. The Magic have started games this way recently but seem reluctant to stick with it, even though Anderson’s career numbers suggest he’ll more than offset any defensive shortcomings with his wicked outside shooting and underrated board work.”
- Tim Povtak of NBA FanHouse: “If Magic center Dwight Howard was looking for sympathy when it comes to his early-season technical foul trouble — stemming from the new, low-tolerance rule — he won’t find any with his own general manager. Old-school GM Otis Smith likes the new rule, which has cracked down on the unsightly and constant complaining about calls by officials.”
- Allen Kim of SLAM ONLINE believes the Magic could use Steve Nash.
Video Analysis: How Not to Beat a Zone Defense
Zone defenses.
Teams in the NBA rarely utilize them because, well, they don’t work very often. This is basketball at its highest level, not high school varsity, so a 2-3 matchup zone isn’t going to last long against the likes of the Los Angeles Lakers and others.
And the last team that people think a zone defense would work against is the Orlando Magic, given their ability to spread the floor and shoot threes with reckless abandon but also have a dominating inside presence in Dwight Howard to balance everything out offensively.
Yet the Utah Jazz last night, with head coach Jerry Sloan admitting that he had ran out of options, used the zone to erase an 18-point deficit in roughly 13 minutes of game time. It also helped that the Jazz began to run their flex offense to perfection, but their defense played a big role in allowing them to comeback and win by 10 points against the Magic.
Note two things: lack of ball movement and dribble penetration.
Want to make it easy on a zone defense? Do those things.
