Posts Tagged → Miami Heat
Thursday’s Magic Word
- Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: “Stan Van Gundy sent a message to Brandon Bass before the Orlando Magic started training camp. The coach told Bass that his playing time would be determined by how well he rebounds and plays defense. Message received, loud and clear. Perhaps no Magic player has improved from last season to this one as much as Bass. His rebounding numbers have soared. His defense has become more reliable. And, not coincidentally, his playing time also has increased. [...] Bass could play a significant role when the Magic play the Toronto Raptors on Friday night at Amway Center. Van Gundy has been disappointed lately with power forward Ryan Anderson, and Anderson’s difficulties might open the door for Bass to play more in the days and weeks ahead. Bass played a career-high 36 minutes, 37 seconds in Orlando’s loss to the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night. All that playing time stemmed from Anderson’s struggles and a need to match Bass against bruising Utah power forward Paul Millsap. But it also reflected Van Gundy’s increased confidence in Bass.”
- A.J. Pierzynski is a fan of the Orlando Magic: “I think they’re awesome. I think they have a chance to win everything. Everyone’s talking about the [Miami] Heat and I’ve already been on national radio, national t.v saying the Magic are going to beat the Heat in the end. I think as long as Vince Carter is healthy, Dwight Howard has improved his game and Jameer Nelson stays healthy, I like their chances.”
- Vince Carter’s restaurant, aptly named Vince Carter’s, is getting rave reviews.
- Zach McCann of the Orlando Sentinel: “Did the Orlando Magic abandon the inside game Wednesday night? Dwight Howard attempted zero field goals in the fourth quarter and rarely touched the ball. The Jazz were playing a zone defense – making it difficult to pass Howard the ball in a traditional post situation – but the Magic were unable to get Howard involved in any way, shape or form. Howard’s made huge strides this summer on the offensive end, and the Magic need to utilize that offensive aptitude in the fourth quarter. In Wednesday’s loss to the Jazz, they didn’t.”
- The statistical revolution in the NBA continues to gain a foothold.
- Tom Ziller of NBA FanHouse on Dwight Howard’s MVP candicacy: “Speaking of elite big men: Dwight’s still the first name that rolls off the tongue. Howard has exploded on offense, taking more shots and free throws than ever while still hitting a great clip on the former and a completely mediocre clip on the latter. He’s blocking a league-best 8.1 percent of opponent shots when on the floor, and if he played 36 minutes a game (to which he has come close in recent years, despite being at 30.7 this season), he’d be averaging 27/13/3. An absolute beast. Also, he’s still 24 years old.”
- Sebastian Pruiti of NBA Playbook eloquently breaks down the Utah Jazz’s zone defense, and shows how the Magic couldn’t execute offensively against it.
- Who’s the better shooter in the NCAA history? J.J. Redick or Salim Stoudamire?
- Speaking about Redick, he’s been underperforming this season.
Second Look: Utah Jazz 104, Orlando Magic 94
AP Photo/John Raoux
- Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: “What upset Stan Van Gundy most is that he had seen it all before. Once again, his team stopped defending after it built a big lead. Once again, his team turned the ball over in bunches. Once again, his team missed lots of free throws. This time, it spelled disaster. An 18-point lead late in the third quarter slipped away, and the Orlando Magic lost 104-94 to the Utah Jazz, who are quickly becoming the comeback kings of the NBA. [...] And also a loss that left Van Gundy puzzled. Just four days earlier, Orlando built an 18-point lead against the Charlotte Bobcats and almost lost. How could the veteran Magic roster fail to learn from that experience? Indeed, what occurred Wednesday night — before a sellout crowd at Amway Center, no less — seemed all too familiar. The Magic turned the ball over 21 times. They missed 11 of their 25 free-throw attempts. They allowed an opponent to shoot 50 percent from the field. Not exactly a championship-caliber performance, was it?”
- Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: “Just hours after Stan Van Gundy had finally decided on a starting lineup — really, truly, he meant it this time — it went kaboom. It started ticking after only a minute and a half, and before you knew it, bits and pieces of the Ryan Anderson plan were all over the floor. Later, and with plenty of warning, so were the rest of the Magic. Van Gundy might be fiddling around too much with the lineup, but he was right about one thing: Despite the debris from the decision to name Anderson the starting power forward, the Magic still forged an 18-point lead against Utah on Wednesday night. When it was over, the Jazz had claimed another Florida victim, coming back to beat the Magic 24 hours after coming back to stun the Miami Heat. Afterward, Van Gundy conceded he might need to go back in his laboratory and start over.”
- Zach McCann of the Orlando Sentinel: “The zone defense is a rarely used tactic in the NBA, and it’s especially rare to see it against a sharp-shooting team like the Orlando Magic. But on Wednesday night, a second-half switch to a zone defensive scheme powered the Utah Jazz to a 104-90 win in Orlando. The Jazz were out of ideas after trailing by as much as 18, and toward the end of the third quarter they mixed things up defensively by going away from man-to-man. [...] The Jazz ended the third quarter on an 9-0 run, cutting a hefty Magic lead to nine. Utah remained in zone defense in the fourth quarter, and the results were negative for Orlando: Howard scored just one point and the Magic made 26.3 percent of their shots in the quarter. The Jazz clicked on offense and outscored the Magic 39-20 in the period.”
- John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com: “The Magic were forced to deal with a painful lesson on Wednesday night when they squandered an 18-point lead following one turnover after another and having no answer defensively for Williams and Al Jefferson. The result – a 104-94 loss to the surging Jazz – was one that Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy dubbed as “disturbing.” The Magic (5-2) saw their four-game winning streak come to an end and they suffered the first-ever loss at the dazzling new Amway Center when they made several uncharacteristic plays late in the second half. Orlando led by 18 points with 96 seconds left in the third period, but came unglued with three straight turnovers and couldn’t slow down Utah (5-3) in a 39-point fourth quarter. Williams scored 17 of his 30 points in the final period.”
- Evan Dunlap of Orlando Pinstriped Post: “The starting lineup, an issue which Van Gundy seemed to have solved earlier in the day, when he announced Quentin Richardson would start at small forward against smaller teams, and Ryan Anderson at power forward against bigger teams, is suddenly in flux again; Brian Schmitz covered this topic in exceptional depth for the Orlando Sentinel. For the second time in four outings, he benched Anderson in the first quarter and did not play him again. Brandon Bass got the call in Anderson’s place. In the first 90 seconds, Anderson let Millsap establish deep post position and yielded a layup, and also committed two turnovers. Sloan shrewdly cross-matched small forward Andrei Kirilenko, giving him the Anderson assignment, and the 10-year vet used his long arms to poke the ball away from Anderson twice. Van Gundy said he didn’t like Anderson’s “approach” at the start of games. It seems to me–and I don’t know this for sure, it’s only speculation–that Anderson will not see the starting lineup for quite a while.”
- Brian T. Smith of The Salt Lake Tribune: “It was the hard burn in Deron Williams’ eyes. The sight of a Jazz bench jumping skyward with raised fists, bared teeth and smiling faces. And the image of a cast of reserves racing out along the hardwood to bump chests and slap hands, congratulating their teammates as Utah accomplished the improbable once again. All captured the spirit of a team that is quickly becoming defined by its collective heart and strong will. And they represented the fierce fight of a Jazz team that rallied from an 18-point late-third quarter deficit to defeat the Orlando Magic 104-94 on Wednesday night at Amway Center. [...] Utah’s self belief is blooming. The Jazz have now knocked off the Heat and Magic — two of the premier contenders in a top-heavy Eastern Conference — during back-to-back nights on the road, delivering each team its first home defeat. Factor in a double overtime victory over the Los Angeles Clippers last Friday — featuring an 18-point rally and a last-second game winner by Williams — and a Utah team that just a week ago was searching for its early-season identity has suddenly begun to find one.”
Recap: Utah Jazz 104, Orlando Magic 94
AP Photo/John Raoux
A night after the Utah Jazz pulled off an improbable comeback against the Miami Heat to win in overtime, it was the same song but difference dance versus the Orlando Magic in front of a nationally televised audience. The Jazz, trailing by as much as 18 points in the second half, utilized a zone defense for more than a quarter and were able to overcome a double-digit deficit to beat the Magic by the score of 104-94. Utah was led by Deron Williams, who had 30 points, 14 assists, and five rebounds. Paul Millsap finished with 23 points, five rebounds, and two steals while Al Jefferson contributed with 21 points and eight rebounds. Orlando was led by a balanced attack, as five players scored in double-figures. That being said, Jameer Nelson and Vince Carter made the biggest impacts. Nelson had 19 points, five rebounds, seven assists, and two steals. Carter chipped in with 20 points. Ryan Anderson started the game for the Magic at power forward but after a few turnovers in the first quarter, he turned over the reigns to Brandon Bass who played a majority of the minutes at power forward the rest of the way.
So what happened?
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.”
Thursday’s Magic Word
- Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: “The [Orlando] Magic haven’t taken part in a competitive game since camp began, all their games lopsided one way or the other, speaking of the Miami Heat. [...] Strangely, [Otis] Smith said he could see it coming, given the Magic were on a back-to-back, had rolled through the preseason and were the Heat’s guest on an emotional opening night. [...] After the Magic were trounced in Miami, I wrote that they will not be fine, not at playoff time against Miami or Boston. I believed before the game that this team — this season or next — needs to trade for more star power to beat the Heat and Celtics. More than a few e-mailers agreed. Writers and fans are one thing. Then there’s coach Stan Van Gundy. Van Gundy said after the loss to the Heat that his team does not have a player who can routinely create his own shot. It was not a new observation from Stan, just a recent reminder. Smith told me Stan’s comment didn’t bother him. He didn’t totally disagree with the analysis, either.”
- Head coach Stan Van Gundy was pleased with the ball movement in last night’s game.
- Dwight Howard likes to send blocks out-of-bounds, unlike Bill Russell.
- Trey Kerby of The Basketball Jones has more on Howard’s ‘philosophy’: “We’ve all heard the stories about how Bill Russell would block shots. He’d do his best to get a hand on every shot he could. When he did, he’d try to tip it to a teammate or himself in order to start a fast break. Those shot-blocking techniques are just a part of the huge legacy that Russell built as one of the NBA’s most prominent winners. The guy was so unselfish that even his blocks were part of a team concept. Dwight Howard goes about blocking shots in a very similar manner, except for the exact opposite. Dwight’s content to toss a weak shot attempt in to the stands, even if that means the other team still gets the ball back. That’s his way of not showboating.”
- Kurt Helin of ProBasketballTalk chimes in on Howard’s decision to play in the 2012 Summer Olympics: “I guess we’re doing this now. It’s not like we are 19 months and basically two full NBA seasons away from the USA Basketball camps where the team for the London Olympics will be chosen. We’re asking now who wants to go.”
- Jack Jensen of Dime Magazine with a must-read article on Howard: “With so many expectations and the weight of an entire fan base and team counting on Dwight each game to produce, Orlando can only hope the pressure to succeed doesn’t wear on their young star. He does have a mean streak – any one of his flailing elbow’s victims will agree – but maybe Dwight really is too nice to get it done by himself. Maybe Superman 2.0 needs a dominant Justice League co-pilot to lead him through the playoffs and into the Promised Land. Shaq had Kobe and Dwyane. Garnett had Pierce. Duncan had Parker. Orlando has … balance. The Magic have surrounded Dwight with arguably the best collection of all-around talent in the League, but a consistently dominant go-to star has yet to emerge. Hedo Turkoglu looked like he might have become that guy during Orlando’s 2009 run to the Finals, but he bolted out of Central Florida that summer, and 33-year-old Vince Carter is coming off the worst season of his career. Still, Howard whole-heartedly believes he can lead Orlando’s current squad to a ring, despite the growing concern that he often downplays his toughness. Is Dwight too forgiving to get it done riding solo? It’s something that he’s ready to put firmly to rest once and for all.”
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.”
Does Vince Carter Still Have His Mojo?
Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images
Via Evan Dunlap of Orlando Pinstriped Post:
In this morning’s Orlando Sentinel, columnist George Diaz expressed a sentiment I know a lot of Orlando Magic fans share: the team is fatally flawed against teams like the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat, which can single-cover Dwight Howard in the low post with a minimum of fuss. [...]
What the Magic do have is [Vince] Carter, who was coming off a season in which he averaged 20.8 points, 5.1 boards, and 4.7 assists–All-Star-caliber production, to be honest–when they acquired him in 2009. And, rather significantly, he got a plurality of his offense that year in isolation–that is, in one-on-one–situations, at 21.3 percent. But that season, with the New Jersey Nets, may indeed represent his final campaign of such sustained productivity. To call Carter’s first campaign with Orlando “uneven” is to be charitable, although he at least impressed me with his performance from February to April. And, when called upon, he did show flashes of his former self in getting big baskets at key junctures, even outside that timeframe. [...]
Carter played 13 games last season against the Celtics, Lakers, Charlotte Bobcats, and Milwaukee Bucks, who, along with the Magic, ranked in the top five in Defensive Efficiency last year. Against those teams, Carter averaged 19.5 points per game on a reasonably efficient–given the competition–54.3 percent True Shooting mark, crossing the 20-point barrier 8 times. Further, he was roughly as aggressive in those games as he was on the year, earning 0.294 free-throw attempts per field-goal attempt against the defensive elite, versus a 0.301 ratio overall. I know the playoffs left most everyone with a sour opinion of Carter, but it’s hard to refute the idea that he didn’t bring it against tough competition last year.
Good stuff in response to Diaz’s article. Worth the read.
The Clock is Ticking for the Orlando Magic
Photo by Marc Serota/Getty Images
Via George Diaz of the Orlando Sentinel:
The Orlando Magic are going to win a bunch of games this season.
My guesstimate is that the bar starts at 50 and shoots up from there. Expect lots of good times in the fabulously-plush Amway Center.
But the celebratory spirit may come crashing down in the playoff crunch, when the creampuffs disappear and the Magic are forced-fed peas and broccoli.
The Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics are not yummy-yummy for the Magic. Perhaps it’s a bit premature to make that call so early in the season. It was just a few days ago that NBA Commissioner David Stern was in town commemorating the start of the season in a new arena and the Magic were carving up the Washington Wizards.
But some things never change.
The Magic don’t have any players who can break down a defense by going one-on-one, unless Vince Carter steps into a Hot Tub Time Machine and it’s 1997 all over again.
Without one, they won’t have a prayer of beating the Celtics or the Heat in a playoff series. [...]
It is not too early in the season to break out the gloom-and-doom scenario. Listen to Stan Van Gundy‘s analysis, breaking down his team’s strengths and weaknesses, after Friday’s loss.
“Against a good defensive team we have trouble a little bit,” he said. “We don’t have — and this isn’t to put down anybody in our locker room — but we don’t have the great one-on-one players. We don’t have Wade and James and Paul Pierce and Kobe Bryant.”
What they do have are bad matchups against the Heat and the Celtics. And matchups are what this league is all about.
And so here we are.
Two games into the regular season, and all the goodwill that’s been built up with the Orlando Magic has been wiped away.
That being said, it’s fair to question whether or not the Magic have the roster to usurp the Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference. When head coach Stan Van Gundy readily admits that Orlando doesn’t have a great individual scorer, that speaks volumes. It really does. It makes people wonder whether or not general manager Otis Smith will pull the trigger on someone like Carmelo Anthony, a player that’s readily available on the open market and is the type of shot creator the Magic desperately need right now. Still, it’s too early to speculate on that possibility because there’s too many variables involved.
Now is not the time for hasty action.
Orlando had a bad game against a rival. At the very least, the Magic deserve the opportunity to right the wrongs and fix the problem internally. That being said, if this continues to be a problem with the Heat and Celtics in the next few months, let alone the Los Angeles Lakers, then the organization for Orlando is going to have to take a hard, long look at themselves. Ownership has invested millions of dollars in allowing the Magic to compete for a championship but if the roster isn’t calibrated to beat the teams ahead of them, changes need to be made.
Or else the money spent is a waste.
Before the February 24 trade deadline, Orlando faces off against Miami and Boston a total of five times. If the Magic can prove that they can beat the Heat and Celtics in a manner that’s sustainable for a seven-game series in the playoffs, great.
If not, Magic fans will be clamoring for a trade.
The clock is ticking.
Monday’s Magic Word
- Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: “The loss to the Miami Heat, as embarrassing and as complete as it was, will provide one beneficial by-product for the Orlando Magic. It will allow the players to measure their character less than a week into the 2010-11 regular season. How do they recover from a loss to a rival? How quickly do they make needed changes to their offense? How do they approach a grueling week of games? Those questions will be answered when the Magic play the New York Knicks at 7:30 Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden. [...] Responding well to defeats has been a hallmark of the Stan Van Gundy era in Orlando. The Magic have compiled a 57-19 record after losing the previous game during his tenure as head coach.”
- Zach McCann of the Orlando Sentinel: “Brandon Bass has been the first player off the bench in the Orlando Magic’s first two games, giving the appearance that Bass had beaten out Ryan Anderson for the backup power forward position. But that’s not the case. “Not at all,” Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. In fact, Anderson almost played instead of Bass in the first half of the season opener. Van Gundy said that if Yi Jianlian had been on the floor when the Magic did their substitutions in the first quarter, Anderson – not Bass – would have played the backup minutes at power forward. Against the Heat, Van Gundy thought Bass would be a better matchup against Chris Bosh, although he admitted Anderson did a nice job on Bosh in the second half. The two player’s position battle is far from over. There’s no clear-cut backup power forward at this point, and it doesn’t appear if the situation will shake itself out anytime soon. For now, the team will continue to play the matchups.”
- Hey, at least Marcin Gortat is an honest person.
- The Magic have been working on passing and screening (in pick and rolls) lately.
- Dwight Howard dressed up for Halloween.
- More from Robbins on Howard’s leadership: “Howard’s growth as a vocal leader could pay dividends for Orlando. For all of their talent and depth, the Magic in recent years seem to have lacked players who could snap the roster out of a funk with impassioned words. The maturation of their all-star center might have changed the overall dynamic. Howard attempted to spur on his teammates on at least three different occasions during and after the Magic’s 96-70 loss to the Miami Heat on Friday night. He spoke loudly in a team huddle on the sideline after the Heat opened the third quarter on a 9-0 run. He tried to inspire his teammates in the visitors’ locker room shortly after the final buzzer. And during his postgame press availability, he said the Magic “got shell-shocked” when they faced adversity.”
- John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com: “Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said that his team watched film of the Miami loss for more than an hour on Sunday morning. Van Gundy wanted to show the team the many instances when it could have set screens better, made more on-target passes and swung the ball from side to side quicker. While he said losing in the manner in which his did was never a good thing, he hoped the lopsided score and embarrassment would cause his team to take heed of the areas in which it needs to improve. [...] In the minutes after Friday’s loss, Van Gundy admitted that the Miami loss felt similar to the defeat to Boston in the Eastern Conference Finals last spring. Not in the magnitude of the game, but with the manner in which the Magic lost. When Miami’s defense took away the Magic first and second options offensively, Orlando didn’t work hard enough to get good shots with extra passes, better screens and poise. With a starting lineup of all-stars and the NBA’s deepest bench, the Magic can often score with ease against bad and middle-of-the-road teams. But against the best defenses there has to be a more determined commitment to doing the little things, Van Gundy said.”
- Evan Dunlap of Orlando Pinstriped Post chats with Quentin Richardson about positionality.
- Howard is not a fan of his dunk rating on NBA Jam.
- Sebastian Pruiti of NBA Playbook breaks down the Magic’s loss to the Heat.
- According to Casey Mack of Dime Magazine, Howard needs an archenemy.
