Posts Tagged → Marcin Gortat
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.
Marcin Gortat Channels His Inner-Dennis Rodman
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Beginning at the 1:19 mark in the first quarter, Marcin Gortat dives all over the place. Fun.
Sneak Preview: Utah Jazz at Orlando Magic
AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee
- Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: “After the Utah Jazz scored 56 points in the paint in edging the Heat in OT Tuesday night, I would guess Stan Van Gundy will fill out his lineup with either Brandon Bass or Ryan Anderson at power forward and use Marcin Gortat in a Twin Towers-combo with Dwight Howard more tonight. With the Jazz exploiting Miami’s biggest weakness — inside the paint — the Magic are likely braced for more of the same. Even with Howard down on the block. Howard can handle Al Jefferson, who has been starting at center even though he’s undersized. He had a miserable night offensively, missing six of shots against Miami, but Paul Millsap’s career night made up for it.”
- Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: “The Orlando Magic must feel a bit like Samson after a haircut. The team temporarily has lost one of its greatest strengths. Last April, the Magic set an NBA record for 3-pointers made in a single season. But these last two weeks, the team has struggled to hit shots from beyond the arc. [...] The Magic have made just 32.3 percent of their 3-point attempts so far. Although players and coaches believe that’s a statistical aberration, it’s still a stunningly low figure for a team that depends so greatly on its long-distance shooting. Before Tuesday’s games, 22 teams had posted a higher 3-point percentage than Orlando. Another coach might see that as reason for concern, but Stan Van Gundy sees reason for hope. On Tuesday, Van Gundy gathered his players together and told them that they have compiled a 5-1 record because they’ve played strong defense and rebounded well. The Magic entered the day ranked third in field-goal percentage defense and third in rebounds per game. The last thing Van Gundy wants to do is harp too much on the team’s subpar perimeter shooting. He believes that one of the worst things a coach can do with a slumping shooter is get into his head. Perimeter players will continue to have the green light to take open 3s.”
- John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com: “Six games into the season, the Orlando Magic appear to be rolling along with the top winning percentage in the Eastern Conference and the third-greatest margin of victory in five wins. But almost to a man, the Magic (5-1) feel that they have yet to play their best game or hit their full stride because a big weapon in their offensive arsenal has been mostly missing. A season after hitting a NBA record 841 3-pointers, the Magic have mostly missed the mark thus far from behind the 3-point stripe. Whereas the Magic made 10.25 3-pointers a game last season while shooting 37.5 percent, this season they are making just 8.66 a game while shooting only 32.3 percent from behind the stripe. That percentage ranks the Magic 24th in the NBA. It’s a credit to the Magic’s defensive grit and the MVP-caliber play of Dwight Howard inside that they have been able to mostly weather the shooting woes and still win five times in six games. Such was the case again Monday night when Orlando missed on 18 of 22 tries from 3-point range, but was still able to whip Southeast Division rival Atlanta, 93-89. With a team stocked full of good 3-point shooters around Howard, history says the Magic will eventually snap out of their funk. They hope that night comes on Wednesday when they host the Utah Jazz at the Amway Center.”
- Brian T. Smith of The Salt Lake Tribune: “He would not be defeated. And no matter what, he would not go down. For every blow the Jazz took, forward Paul Millsap fired back. By the time Millsap’s flurry was over, he had a career-high 46 points, and the Jazz had pulled out an improbable 116-114 overtime victory over the NBA superpower otherwise known as the Miami Heat on Tuesday night. Asked to describe a win that saw the Jazz rally from a 19-point halftime deficit — Millsap drilled three 3-point shots in 27.2 seconds in the final minute of the fourth quarter — the longtime backup and workaholic long overshadowed by Carlos Boozer first said he was speechless. Then the humble, quiet starting power forward who has suddenly emerged as the team’s premier offensive option in the paint and on the perimeter beamed. Millsap had never scored 46 points in his entire life. Not in youth ball, not in high school, not in college and definitely not in the pros. Top off the outing with the fact that Millsap sent the game into overtime with a tip-in as time expired in regulation, and it was a night that the small-college player who once had to prove that he even belonged in the NBA will never forget.”
Tuesday’s Magic Word
- Zach McCann of the Orlando Sentinel: “No Orlando Magic player has come under more scrutiny this year than Rashard Lewis. While bouncing between small forward and power forward, Lewis is shooting just 29 percent from three-point range and averaging 10.7 points, and he’s only surpassed 13 points in a game once this year. And because of his monstrous contract ($118 million over seven years), he finds himself under constant probing from Magic fans on message boards, blogs, Twitter, Facebook, talk radio and every other form of media fans now have access to voicing their views on. After scoring four points against Atlanta last night, Lewis is trying to stay patient and not worry too much about six-game slump.”
- Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: “Jameer Nelson practiced fully with his Orlando Magic teammates on Tuesday, and it’s increasingly likely that he’ll be able to play Wednesday night against the Utah Jazz despite his sprained left ankle.”
- Evan Dunlap of Orlando Pinstriped Post has more on Jameer Nelson’s possible return.
- Check out Rashard Lewis’ exclusive Nike Hyperdunks. Very nice.
- Dwight Howard posts on his official blog: “I was really happy to see Marcin [Gortat] play the way that he did. He was playing with a lot energy and hustling and I just told him after the game that that’s the kind of energy that we need from him every night. I don’t think people understand how hard it is for a 7-footer like me and Marcin to be on the floor and get to the ground before a little guard gets it. But him doing that got us all pumped up.”
- Kurt Helin of ProBasketballTalk talks about Howard’s growth on offense.
Recap: Orlando Magic 93, Atlanta Hawks 89
AP Photo/John Raoux
In a back-and-forth affair between two familiar foes from the Southeast Division, the Orlando Magic were able to defeat the Atlanta Hawks by the score of 93-89 to push their winning streak to four games. With 15 seconds left in the game, Vince Carter‘s layup in a 2/5 pick and roll with Dwight Howard sealed the deal for the Magic. Even though Carter missed the ensuing free throw after he was fouled, the bucket put Orlando up by four points at 91-87 and that was all she wrote. Leading the way for the Magic was Howard, who had 27 points and 11 rebounds, continuing his onslaught on offense early in the regular season. Carter finished with 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting, an efficient performance that was needed from one-half of the starting backcourt since Jameer Nelson sat out with an ankle injury. And the bench for Orlando stepped up huge due to foul trouble for Carter and Howard, as well as lackluster performances from Chris Duhon, Rashard Lewis, and Ryan Anderson – each of them in the starting lineup.
Kudos to Marcin Gortat, J.J. Redick, and Jason Williams for answering the call with excellent hustle and timely buckets in crunch-time.
Recap: Orlando Magic 128, Minnesota Timberwolves 86
Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images
That was easy.
In a game that was over practically from the start, the Orlando Magic were able to defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves by the score of 128-86. In the process, the Magic were able to set a franchise record by scoring 78 points in the first half. For Orlando, it was a balanced attack as seven players scored in double-figures. And despite playing 23 minutes, Dwight Howard was able to lead the way for the Magic by putting up 18 points, 16 rebounds, and eight blocks. Vince Carter finished with 20 points, seven assists, four rebounds, and two steals. Ryan Anderson, earning his first start of the regular season at power forward, had a strong performance with 19 points and three blocks. Not to be outdone by his positional counterpart, Brandon Bass had 19 points and eight rebounds.
To be frank, there’s not much to say.
The Timberwolves were playing on a back-to-back after losing to the Miami Heat the previous night. Add the fact that Minnesota continues to be a work-in-progress trying to execute the triangle offense in addition to sporting one of the worst defenses in the NBA, and it’s easy to see why this was a blowout victory in Orlando’s favor.
Tuesday’s Magic Word
- Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: “Stan Van Gundy didn’t have any time to relax once he learned about the postponement of Tuesday night’s game against the New York Knicks. Van Gundy had to start preparing for tonight’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. He planned to review T-Wolves video on the plane flight from Newark, N.J., back to Central Florida. Still, Van Gundy doesn’t operate in a vacuum. He already knows that the Timberwolves employ a front line of Michael Beasley, Kevin Love and Darko Milicic, and those players are listed at 6 feet 10 or taller. [...] Love hurt Orlando last season, averaging 15.5 points and 8.5 rebounds in the T-Wolves’ two losses to the Magic. Van Gundy acknowledged that C Marcin Gortat might receive some playing time at power forward.”
- Head coach Stan Van Gundy: “It’s crazy. I’ve never been through it ever — ever — in 26 or 27 years of coaching, going back to college. I had never had a game canceled. And now two in two weeks? It’s crazy.”
- Get to know more about asbestos.
- Zach McCann has an update on the back-up point forward situation.
- John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com: “Rashard Lewis turned on his cell phone following an afternoon nap, saw a text message that the Orlando Magic’s Tuesday night game against the New York Knicks had been cancelled and chuckled, thinking it was some sort of weird joke. After all, it was just 12 days ago that the Magic had their final preseason game against the Miami Heat cancelled because of a slick floor at Tampa’s St. Pete Times Forum. Thinking there’s no way the team would ever have two games cancelled in two weeks time, Lewis though he was being duped.”
- Proposed nickname for the Orlando Magic bench? The Scorceror’s Apprentices.
- Scott Horlbeck of the Dime Magazine thinks the Magic will win the Eastern Conference this year: “Marcin Gortat could be the best back up center in the NBA. He’s long, athletic, and according to Mark Cuban, he’s worth a five-year, $34 million contract. Brandon Bass was born to play in the playoffs. Who doesn’t want a guy with a nonstop motor. Someone who enjoys crashing the boards and playing through contact. Then there’s Superman. The two-time defensive MVP took his talents to Hakeem this summer and enrolled in his prestigious “Post Move Academy.” (Kobe enrolled last offseason and came away with some jewelry.) If Dwight can develop a couple go-to moves down at the block, which we’ve seen so far, he may be the most dominant post player we’ve seen since Shaq. His athleticism, defense prowess and new found offensive skills could make him a nightmare for teams who are small upfront. Combine that with the Magic’s ability to spread the floor and shoot the three, I’m not sure how you would defend them. You double Dwight [Howard], they hit a three, you don’t double Dwight, he dunks on your center. With the Magic’s playoff experience, offensive fire power, and ability to control the paint, I like them to win the East this year.”
