Posts Tagged → J.J. Redick
Recap: New York Knicks 113, Orlando Magic 106 (OT)
AP Photo/Bill Kostroun
On a night where people could have mistakenly confused the quality of officiating in a regulation NBA game for some of the sketchy refereeing that plagued the 2011 NCAA Tournament in the early rounds, the New York Knicks were able to defeat the Orlando Magic by the score of 113-106 in overtime. The loss snaps a five-game winning streak for the Magic. Normally, refs have little impact in the outcome of a game because, ultimately, it comes down to the players and coaches to come away with a result one way or the other. But it’s hard to ignore shoddy calls made by the officials late in the fourth quarter, as well as overtime, that aided in Orlando’s inability to come away with a victory. More on that later. The Knicks were led by a fantastic performance from Carmelo Anthony, as he finished with 39 points (on 12-of-26 shooting from the field) and 10 rebounds. Anthony’s lack of enthusiasm to play defense is well-documented in the league, but his activity on that end of the floor was fantastic. Anthony put forth an honest effort defensively, and his teammates were quick to follow his lead. Although New York still gave up more than 100 points, the commitment to playing defense was there. The Magic were led by a balanced attack, as five players scored in double-figures. Dwight Howard finished with 29 points and 18 rebounds. Jason Richardson stepped up, especially in crunch-time, and dropped 24 points. Hedo Turkoglu was masterful, once again, with 18 points and four assists. Brandon Bass had 14 points, while Ryan Anderson had 10 points. A big problem for Orlando was that they played short-handed. Not only was Jameer Nelson, J.J. Redick, and Quentin Richardson sidelined with injuries, but Chris Duhon jammed his right thumb and was unable to return after the second quarter, leaving head coach Stan Van Gundy with seven rotation players. Unfortunately for the Magic, that wasn’t the end of the bad news.
Linking the NCAA Tournament and NBA together, Part III
Photo by Flickr/mcdonaldsallamericangames
In Part I, we discussed the idea of teams drafting winners. Part II looked at the teams who drafted winners, and how the players performed in the NBA.
Part III will explore two different one-and-done scenarios, and the NCAA Tournament history of players on top NBA teams. We will also see the “good ol’ days” are aptly named.
One-and-done and one-and-done
Before the NBA outlawed entering the draft right after high school, many players made the leap from prep-to-pro. The only March Madness footage you’ll see of Dwight Howard and LeBron James is during their McDonald’s commercial. We won’t hear highlights of Gus Johnson screaming “rise and fire!” before Kobe Bryant nailed a game winner. It’s sad these players were never part of March Madness. Fortunately, the restrictions on draft eligibility have led some NBA stars to the Big Dance.
The NBA’s leading scorer, Kevin Durant, steered Texas to the tournament in 2007, but that was about it. The Longhorns beat New Mexico State in round one, and lost their next game. In the 2008 Final Four, Derrick Rose and Memphis toppled the UCLA Bruins, who featured Kevin Love and Russell Westbrook. Rose came close to a title, but his team lost a late lead two days later in the championship game. Highlight machine Blake Griffin reached the Elite Eight in his final collegiate season before falling to North Carolina.
Other NBA greats went to college before the restrictions were in place, but they didn’t cut down the nets either. Dwyane Wade led the Marquette Golden Eagles to the 2003 Final Four, but was knocked out by Kansas. Tim Duncan reached the Elite Eight at Wake Forest, but Chris Paul never made it past the Sweet 16 as a Demon Deacon. Shaquille O’Neal, one of the most intimidating players of all time, met kryptonite in three straight NCAA Tournaments and never advanced past the second round.
Failing to stand on stage with Jim Nantz wasn’t the end of the world for these guys. Tim Duncan and Shaquille O’Neal both boast four NBA rings and will be remembered as two of the best players ever. Dwyane Wade won a ring with Miami, and Kevin Durant and Derrick Rose are positioning themselves for some jewelry.
The basic structure of the tournament is the simplest explanation for these all-time greats never winning an NCAA championship. The one-and-done format essentially caters to underdogs, as the randomness of single elimination allows many inferior teams to advance. Sustaining tremendous performance throughout a series is much more difficult and is a major reason the best NBA teams usually meet in June.
Monday’s Magic Word
- Zach McCann of the Orlando Sentinel: “Gilbert Arenas’ left knee is technically healthy, but the effects of his prior injuries are still affecting him every day. Occasionally the arthritis in his knee makes it feel tight, which limits his quickness and jumping ability. And recently he’s been bothered by tightness in his left calf, a condition related to muscles that were weakened while suffering from his previous knee troubles. The most frustrating part, he says, is the unpredictability of the injuries. On Friday, for instance, he participated in shootaround and felt OK until the knee tightened up in the early afternoon. When he warmed up before the Orlando Magic’s game against the Nuggets, he knew he couldn’t play, not even if it was a playoff game. The same thing happened on March 1 against the New York Knicks. Arenas, who seems baffled by his knee troubles, has come up with a number of hypotheses for his injuries, including the weather. Now, he has a new one — too much sitting down.”
- Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: “Priority No. 1 for the Orlando Magic tonight against the Cleveland Cavaliers? Cut down on all those turnovers. The Magic have averaged 16.8 turnovers per game this month alone, resulting directly in 18.1 points for their opponents. (See chart below.) That has to change for Orlando to have a long playoff run.”
- J.J. Redick‘s injury has caused a trickle-down effect for the Orlando Magic.
- Expect the Magic to involve Dwight Howard on offense in new ways.
- The iPad has become a hit with nearly all the players for Orlando: “Guard Gilbert Arenas plays the game Angry Birds on his iPad. Arenas, a huge fan of the TV show 24, watches episodes of Jack Bauer’s exploits. [...] After wins on the road, center Dwight Howard occasionally has positioned an iPad in his locker and played hip-hop music. The tablet connects the Magic to each other in other ways, too. Power forward Ryan Anderson, [Chris] Duhon, shooting guard J.J. Redick and Director of Player Development Adonal Foyle have downloaded an app to their individual iPads called Words With Friends. Words With Friends is a knockoff of the board game Scrabble, and it arguably has become the second-most popular competitive outlet among Magic players — trailing, perhaps, only the sport of basketball itself.”
- Gilbert Arenas is questionable for tonight’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
- Evan Dunlap of Orlando Pinstriped Post profiles the Magic’s “Monday malaise.”
- Marc Stein of ESPN.com: “The good folks at Elias, who keep track of everything, inform us that Jameer’s triple at the horn to beat Denver was the season’s 15th buzzer-beater and the third from 3 (Tyreke and Durant had the others).”
- Kurt Helin of ProBasketballTalk says Orlando is treading water right now.
- Zach Lowe of The Point Forward: “In the Ryan Anderson vs. Brandon Bass debate that roils among Orlando fans, I find myself always on the Anderson side, even if the debate is a bit of a false one because both figure to get minutes. Anderson is typecast as a three-point shooter, but he has long been a good offensive rebounder skilled at slithering along the baseline to get inside position and generally fighting hard and smart to get the Magic an extra possession or two. He’s also become better at posting up smaller guys when a pick-and-roll draws a switch. He doesn’t have Bass’ athleticism, but to my eyes, he’s a better positional defender, less likely to jump at a pump fake or turn his head at a bad time.”
Dwight Howard named winner of 2010-11 Rich & Helen DeVos Community Enrichment Award for fifth time
AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli
Via the Orlando Magic:
The Orlando Magic’s Dwight Howard was named the 2010-2011 winner of the Rich & Helen DeVos Community Enrichment Award (CEA) Saturday night at the 21st Annual OMYF Black Tie & Tennies Gala Presented by FAIRWINDS Credit Union held at the Amway Center. This marks the fifth time and fourth consecutive year Howard has won the award (2004-05, 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11). Other finalists for the award included Ryan Anderson, Chris Duhon and J.J. Redick.
Each year at the Gala, the Orlando Magic Youth Foundation (OMYF) honors a player who has dedicated his efforts off the court for the purpose of enhancing others’ lives. An anonymous panel of external representatives selects the player. In addition to receiving the award, the player is granted $50,000 from the Richard and Helen DeVos Foundation to donate to the charity of his choice.
Howard has consistently volunteered his time off the court and to the Central Florida community supporting the initiatives of the Magic’s community relations department, the Orlando Magic Youth Foundation and the NBA. Highlights of his community involvement for the 2010-11 season include:
- Through his D12 Foundation, presented checks totaling $70,000 to four local non-profit organizations as part of his “Gifts from the Heart” Valentine’s day caravan. He also made visits to each organization throughout the day.
- For the second consecutive year, as part of his 2010 CEA Award donated $25,000 to the BETA Center to support the newly developed “Dwight Howard Learning Center” at BETA. Howard also visited the residents at the house. The learning center is a newly designed program that incorporates innovative activities to empower teen moms to achieve academic and vocational success.
- Donated $25,000 of his 2010 CEA Award money to “Blessings in a Backpack” to provide children from Lake Como Elementary with a nutritious meal on the weekends. Howard also made a visit to Lake Como to help “stuff” the backpacks with food for the students.
- Donated and distributed Thanksgiving meals to over 125 families complete with a turkey and all the trimmings.
- Provided 100 youth from the Boys & Girls Club of Central Florida with gift cards and took them on a shopping spree over the holidays.
- Provided 1,900 coats over the holidays to youth from five local non-profit organizations. Took 100 of those youth on a coat shopping spree.
- Active with the Make a Wish program, fulfilling wishes for youth throughout the season before several Magic home games.
- Active with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, serving as an ambassador to assist in their fundraising efforts and meeting with patients from the hospital.
- Participated in the NBA’s Basketball Without Borders program in India and South Africa. The program focuses on education, grassroots basketball development and HIV/AIDS education and advocacy.
- Donated gifts and met with families for the Magic holiday party with underprivileged children and their families.
- Participated in two internal autograph sessions, which helps support Central Florida non-profit organizations by raising money through silent auctions.
- While in Los Angeles for All-Star weekend 2011 participated in a KaBoom! playground build as part of NBA Cares service projects.
Friday’s Magic Word
- Zach McCann of the Orlando Sentinel: “In the absence of J.J. Redick — who’s missed four games and counting with a lower abdomen injury — the Orlando Magic have adjusted their lineup by giving Redick’s minutes to Gilbert Arenas and leaving the backup point guard minutes to Chris Duhon. Stan Van Gundy explained his decision Friday to play Duhon rotation minutes rather than keeping Arenas at point guard and giving Redick’s minutes to Quentin Richardson or Earl Clark. One, Van Gundy wants Arenas comfortable playing at either guard spot. The Magic had all but abandoned the experiment of playing Arenas at shooting guard in the second half of the season, but Redick’s injury has resurrected that project. If Arenas can gain any efficiency at that spot — which, to be honest, he hasn’t — it’d give the Magic the option of playing Arenas and Jameer Nelson at the same time, potentially adding another dynamic to a sometimes-stagnant offense team.”
- Head coach Stan Van Gundy has high praise for the Denver Nuggets.
- J.J. Redick will continue to sit out of games until he’s fully healthy.
- John Schuhmann of NBA.com takes a look at which teams in the NBA have the best benches. The Orlando Magic do not make the list, even though a bevy of other contenders make appearances.
- Ian Thomsen of Sports Illustrated on the race for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference: “The race for No. 1 could be decided April 7, when Boston (which holds a 2-1 lead in the season series) visits Chicago. Some will argue that the older Celtics can’t afford the more difficult postseason schedule, but they have a history of flouting that logic — last year they won on the road against Cleveland and Orlando and came within five minutes of upsetting the Lakers on their home floor in Game 7 of the finals. Home-court advantage may be more important to the Bulls because Rose has never won a playoff series and will be dealing with an entirely new level of intensive opposition with each successive round. The Celtics know they can win on the road, while this Bulls team has yet to win a series under any circumstances.”
- Given that the Magic are in line for the No. 4 seed in the East, keep an eye on the race for the top seed.
- Marc Stein of ESPN.com: “The focus here is fully on Florida, despite the fact (A) GM Otis Smith should really be under far more pressure in Orlando than Stan Van Gundy after making the Gilbert Arenas trade so many of us deemed unnecessary in addition to the Vince Carter-for-Hedo Turkoglu swap and (B) Stan Van Gundy would instantly become one of the hottest commodities on the coaching market even if the Magic can’t get out of the first round and Van Gundy is ousted.”
- Chad Ford of ESPN Insider breaks down Jason Richardson‘s future: “His numbers no longer pop out at you, especially since the Suns traded him to Orlando, but Richardson continues to play well. He is a big threat from behind the arc and still has some bounce in those 30-year-old legs. The Magic have incurred a massive payroll, so unless they win a title this season it’s unlikely they’ll be willing to pay Richardson to stay around.”
Orlando Magic guard J.J. Redick, Bank of America, Merrill Lynch and SIFMA Foundation celebrate youth financial literacy with the Slam Dunk for Financial Education Program
Via the Orlando Magic: 
Orlando Magic guard J.J. Redick, Bank of America, Merrill Lynch and the SIFMA Foundation will recognize the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Florida winners of the Slam Dunk for Financial Education program tonight during the Orlando Magic versus Denver Nuggets game. The youth will be treated to game tickets, a pregame warm-up viewing, an awards ceremony and an on-court halftime presentation for the First Place team.
The innovative Slam Dunk for Financial Education program kicked off on February 14 at the Parramore Boys & Girls Club in Orlando with a visit by basketball great J.J. Redick initiating nearly 60 youth and 20 Bank of America Merrill Lynch associate volunteers in the SIFMA Foundation’s Stock Market Game™ competition. The Stock Market Game, which is widely used by 600,000 students each year, introduces youngsters to the financial markets as they learn math, economics and the importance of long-term saving and investing. As a part of the program, teams of 3-5 participants work together to invest a hypothetical $100,000 in real stocks, bonds and mutual funds, learning cooperation, communication and leadership as they manage their portfolios.
Bank of America and Merrill Lynch associate volunteers brought the content to life for Slam Dunk’s youth participants during the 10-week program, coaching and supporting the youth teams at each of the three selected Boys & Girls Club sites – the Parramore, Universal Orlando Foundation and Walt Disney World Branches. Redick offered his star power to the program, encouraging participants to develop life skills through this experience, including how to set goals and work towards them, how to be a team player and most of all, to always plan for the future.
Wednesday’s Magic Word
- Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: “[Dwight] Howard was in a good mood, joining Jameer Nelson in heckling Brandon Bass about his pants size even after Monday night’s loss in L.A., which seemingly should have hurt a little more. Howard summoned rookie Daniel Orton to carry his jacket, headphones and tote bag to the bus as is his right as a veteran. The Magic didn’t look or sound like a team with a care in the world, much less in the East postseason race. If they’re concerned, they don’t show it. They’ll let the worry lines occupy coach Stan Van Gundy‘s face. One thing that’s clear to me about the Magic: They aren’t taking much stock in these regular-season results. They are veterans, some who have been to the ’09 Finals, and this 82-game stuff to them is a formality, practically a nuisance. I think players realize the season hasn’t gone as planned, that Otis Smith’s trades don’t figure to run down the Celtics, Bulls and Heat. They’ve fallen short of expectations, so their focus already has shifted to the playoffs and the repairs they can make there to stun their doubters. The Magic know they probably are stuck with the No. 4 seed and simply need to catch fire. Their maddening inconsistency? The turnovers and defensive lapses? The rebounding woes? Run along, naysayers. We’ll get that all straightened out in the playoffs. Hard to buy what the Magic are selling, isn’t it?”
- George Diaz of the Orlando Sentinel: “[Otis] Smith has handicapped the Magic for years because he believed in [Gilbert] Arenas when no one else did. It’s an admirable thing to do as a compassionate human being. It’s a horrible thing to do from a business standpoint. The Magic and Arenas appear to be stuck with each other. It will be this city’s burden to have to watch and wince.”
- Tracy McGrady didn’t always try hard in practice. Is that necessarily bad?
- Head coach Stan Van Gundy warns the Orlando Magic about the Milwaukee Bucks.
- J.J. Redick will not play in tonight’s game against the Bucks.
- John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com: “All jokes aside, Howard has been attempting to look into the future quite a bit these days what with the playoffs beginning in almost a month. At 42-26 with 14 regular-season games left before the postseason free-for-all begins, Howard is attempting to project positives where some only see darkness. His Magic are most likely locked into the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference, and unlike some Howard doesn’t see that as being the end of the world. [...] If the playoffs started today, the Magic would open in the first round against an Atlanta team that it has dominated much of the past three seasons and swept last spring in the most lopsided postseason series in history. Win that, and the Magic could be in position to face Chicago, a blossoming team that has yet to prove itself in the playoffs. Meanwhile, the East’s other two top teams, Boston and Miami, could be forced to beat up on one another in the other side of the playoff bracket.”
- I think it’s foolish to underestimate the Chicago Bulls “lack of playoff experience.”
- Kelly Dwyer of Ball Don’t Lie has more on McGrady’s practice habits: “Here’s the part where we tell you that McGrady really is a sweet, intelligent, and thoughtful guy. And here’s the part where we remind you that, holy crap, he averaged 32 points, a combined 12 rebounds/assists, and just 2.6 turnovers in 2002-03 with the Orlando Magic. And here’s where we remind that though McGrady never made it out of the first round as an active player, there wasn’t one time in that first-round losing streak where I thought McGrady’s squad lost to an inferior opponent.
- Kurt Helin of ProBasketballTalk: “The middle of the East looks pretty set. Look for another Orlando vs. Atlanta playoff series, although this time in the first round as the four and five seeds (the Magic swept that series last year).”
- Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports: “Van Gundy tried to make sense of 593 foul calls without so much as a flagrant foul on Dwight Howard. And after speaking the truest words of the season – saying that Stern doesn’t allow dissenting opinions in the NBA, that free speech is a scarce commodity on league issues – the commissioner reacted in a most predictable, childish way on state-run NBA radio. After refusing to confront Van Gundy directly and promising to take the matter to Magic ownership, Stern sounded like a power-drunk small-town mayor saying ‘… We won’t be hearing from him for the rest of the season.’ ”
Monday’s Magic Word
- Zach McCann of the Orlando Sentinel: “Marcin Gortat spent years with the Orlando Magic backing up superstar center Dwight Howard, a relationship that benefited the both of them. Gortat learned and improved while playing with the NBA’s best center every day in practice, and Howard was fortunate to have a hungry and competitive backup, someone who worked hard and pushed Howard during workouts. These days, though, with Gortat now playing for the Phoenix Suns, it appears their personal relationship is non-existent. During the Magic’s 111-88 victory of the Suns on Sunday afternoon, Gortat and Howard never even acknowledged each other. ‘We didn’t say to each other one word,’ Gortat told SBNation.com. ‘We didn’t shake our hands, we didn’t talk to each other, we didn’t say anything. And that’s fine; at the end of the day he’s on a different team, I’m on a different team, and I’m a grown-ass man. I don’t need him any more.’ ”
- Evan Dunlap of Orlando Pinstriped Post previews tonight’s game. Here’s Dunlap’s take on Gilbert Arenas: “Despite his poor individual numbers — his turnovers are higher than they ought to be, as he’s having to acclimate to a new offense and to playing the point almost exclusively — the Magic have played pretty well with him on the floor, based on the on/off data available at basketball-value. It’s an issue of fit: he most often appears at the point with [J.J.] Redick at the other guard spot and Ryan Anderson and Dwight Howard up front. He and Redick can run the break, Anderson and Howard give him two good pick-and-pop (or, in Howard’s case, roll) partners. That’s a tough group to defend.”
- Sebastian Pruiti of NBA Playbook shows that the Orlando Magic’s adjustments defensively against the Phoenix Suns’ pick and roll attack fueled their blowout victory: “In the first half against the Orlando Magic, the Phoenix Suns had success running the pick and roll with Aaron Brooks as the ball handler. In the 14 possessions where Brooks was the ball handler in the 1st half, the Suns scored 25 points, good for a [points per possession] of 1.78. The Suns’ success was due to a creative pick and roll strategy and the Magic’s defensive strategy when it came to defending straight ball screens. After halftime, the Magic came out and made some key adjustments and really shut down the Suns’ pick and roll offense. In the 7 possessions in the third quarter (Brooks didn’t play in the 4th) where Aaron Brooks ran the pick and roll, the Suns only scored 3 points, good for a [points per possession] of 0.43.”
- Marc Stein of ESPN.com: “Not what the Magic bargained for: Arenas has taken 659 shots in 2010-11 … and is shooting 37.5 percent. Only three other players are sub-40 percent with at least 600 FGA: Brandon Jennings, Trevor Ariza, John Salmons.”
- Dwight Howard can still dunk on opposing defenders when he wants to.
- Kurt Helin of ProBasketballTalk: “They are your four seed in the East, almost certainly. The question is, do they want to match up with in the second round: the Celtics, Bulls or Heat?”
Sneak Preview: Orlando Magic at Los Angeles Lakers
Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images
- Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: “Hey, who else to give out medical advice but Grant Hill? Hill, who told the Sentinel he plans on playing until he is 40, warned Magic SG J.J. Redick to be wary of his lower abdominal injury. Hill sustained a sports hernia or athletic sports pubalgia, when he played in Orlando. He tore abdominal muscles off his pubic bone. Battling a strained lower abdomen, Redick missed his second consecutive game Sunday, sitting out against Hill’s Phoenix Suns. Redick said he was feeling better. [...] Redick will not play tonight against the Lakers in Los Angeles. He said he had not undergone an MRI, and was non-committal when asked if he would get one. Hills’ teammate, star PG Steve Nash, missed the game, also experiencing similar lower abdomen pain. Coach Stan Van Gundy said he hoped that Redick might be back to face the Bucks in Milwaukee on Wednesday night, the conclusion of the trip. Redick initially injured himself last Friday during the team’s shootaround in San Francisco.”
- Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times: “Kobe Bryant didn’t practice Sunday and he didn’t talk to the media, declining even to give an update on his injured left ankle or his playing status for Monday night’s game. So it was left up to Lakers Coach Phil Jackson to clarify matters, saying only that Bryant would be a game-time decision for the contest against the Orlando Magic at Staples Center. ‘We hope he’ll be able to play,’ Jackson said. After a light practice Sunday, Jackson said he hadn’t seen or talked to Bryant about his injury, but he expected his guard to get treatment. Minutes after Jackson left his media session, Bryant was heard talking with Lakers trainer Gary Vitti. If Bryant doesn’t play Monday night, he would have five days to rest his ankle, because the Lakers don’t play again until Friday night, when they play host to the Minnesota Timberwolves.”
- T.J. Simers of the Los Angeles Times: “Dinner with Phil Jackson here, a huge mistake for the big guy because I know now he’s capable of giving more than one-word answers. It’s Friday night at a highly recommended Mexican restaurant, 16 regular-season games remaining in the career of the greatest all-time NBA coach, and we’re talking Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. It begins with a question that has nothing to do with either superstar: Is there a chance he might regret retiring while the Lakers remain capable of winning again? ‘I hope I have no regrets about coming back this year. When I saw how Kobe was struggling physically last year, Fish [Derek Fisher] was getting older,” and then he stops himself and brings the conversation back to Bryant. ‘Kobe was really hurt; people don’t give him enough credit. He’s a remarkable person, remarkable.’ ‘Do you like him?’ I ask. ‘It’s not about liking him,’ he says. ‘It’s about admiring his courage. There’s only one individual I know that’s like that, and that’s Michael Jordan. Kobe has patterned himself after Michael, and there are a lot of identical things there, but it’s one thing to hope to be like him, it’s another thing to be like him.’ ”
- Brian Kamenetzky of ESPN Los Angeles: “The Los Angeles Lakers received a scare Saturday night in Dallas, when Kobe Bryant landed awkwardly on his left ankle with 1:52 remaining in the third quarter, re-aggravating an injury suffered two games prior in Atlanta and sending him limping to the locker room for evaluation. He returned in the fourth quarter, but the injury, which he called a sprain, put his availability for Monday’s game against the Orlando Magic at Staples Center in question. Sunday’s practice provided no answers, as Bryant didn’t speak with reporters after arriving at the team’s training facility for treatment. He will be re-evaluated Monday. In the meantime, his status remains the same. [...] Bryant, averaging a team-high 25 points along with 4.8 assists and 5.2 rebounds, has played in all 67 of his team’s games this year. The Lakers have three days off following their date with the Magic before facing Minnesota at home Friday night. Jackson indicated the break wouldn’t influence any decision about Bryant’s availability Monday night.”
What do The Strokes and Jameer Nelson have in common?
Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
A few weeks ago I read a headline that all but sent me running through my neighborhood chanting, “they’re back!” The Strokes were releasing a new single, the first music from them since 2005. I first heard about them in 2002 while I was at prom and a buddy popped in their debut record “Is This It.” From there I was hooked, and spent the better half of the next few years selling my soul to Julian Casablancas, trying to argue they were one of the best five bands of all time.
After that monumental album, The Strokes dropped a pair of marginal records that left a bittersweet taste in the mouths of fans and critics. Yes, it was decent music, and yes there were good moments, but it was not a complete package. It wasn’t that perfect record that came out of nowhere in 2001.
I bet Stan Van Gundy has fond memories of the Jameer Nelson of 2009. Granted, Nelson only played 42 games that season, but his output was the best in his career. It’s been hard for Magic fans to figure out why he can’t replicate the magic of those 42 games for more than a game or two at a time.
What is clear, though, is that SVG not only remembers, but also demands the type of play he thinks Nelson is capable of. That kind of play is what we saw last week at Sacramento and Golden State. Nelson posted 24 and 26 points in those games. And a few weeks back he dropped 26 against New York. But there are too many marginal “games between the games” where Jameer underperforms, like in Portland a week ago where he had two points in 21 minutes and shot 14 percent from the field. That was not the case in 2009.
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