Posts Tagged → Otis Smith
Gilbert Arenas at a glance
Photo by Fernando Medina
The hardest thing about watching Gilbert Arenas play basketball right now is not that he is performing at about 25 percent of his statistical capacity. It isn’t even that he’s getting paid close to 18 million a year to average eight points and four assists per game. It’s that he looks entirely disenchanted doing it.
Just the thought that a guy who averaged close to 30 points a game and led his team to the playoffs five years ago could possibly be performing at such an abysmal clip is enough to make anyone see Arenas as disappointing. Even for the most optimistic of Magic fans, Arenas represents something of an enigma.
It’s a considerable drop in production, even from his stats with Washington in what was already shaping up to be a sub-standard season with the Wizards. I spent some time watching Gilbert footage provided by Synergy Sports Technology and noted a few things off the bat. For one, he doesn’t play a whole lot of defense. Not on the ball, not off from the ball, and certainly not in transition. The knee-jerk reaction is to blame it on the injury. It’s obvious that he has not recovered yet, and is playing somewhere close to 50 percent of his physical capacity.
But something bigger is at work here. Arenas is seemingly out of it. He plays like the game is no longer fun. There are times that he looks like a dad in his late 30s being dragged by his family through Disney World. There is a glaze in his eye that just reeks of “why can’t I just get a 12 pack and watch some TV?”
Thursday’s Magic Word
- Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: “All 13 players on the Magic roster attended the team meeting. Point guard Jameer Nelson, who was not the subject of any trade rumors, was asked if it would be a relief if no one was traded before the deadline arrived. ‘It probably would be a relief for a lot of guys,’ Nelson said. ‘I mean, you see crazy things happen in this league. Guys get traded and not even know about it. So nothing surprises me. Hopefully, I’ll be here at 3:01.’ Nelson was half-joking, of course, but he is indeed still with the [Orlando] Magic. Orlando’s most obvious roster need still is at center, where the team has relied on power forwards Brandon Bass and Ryan Anderson to serve as Dwight Howard‘s backups. The Magic have been linked in news reports to 6-foot-11 veteran Troy Murphy, who has been traded to the Golden State Warriors and most likely will receive a buyout from Golden State. But there’s no guarantee that Murphy would sign with the Magic, even though he and [Otis] Smith go back to their days with the Warriors back in the early 2000s.”
- Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: “Howard and the Magic have to feel like they are standing outside a great party without an invitation. When somebody like Williams — a member of Howard’s 2012 free-agent draft class — is dealt by Utah this early, it’s another option that could elude the Magic. Williams still needs to sign an extension with New Jersey. Paul could be the lone ’12 free-agent star left for Howard to recruit, though. Derrick Rose is a lock to re-sign with his hometown Chicago Bulls. Howard was shocked that Williams was dealt. More shocking was that Smith conceded he was caught off guard by the trade and did not make an offer. Williams was disgruntled long before Jerry Sloan quit the Jazz. Howard sounded disgruntled Wednesday night, one of those nights he can circle as evidence the Magic aren’t matching him, stride for stride.”
- Dwight Howard is not happy right now.
- John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com: “A day after superstar center Dwight Howard said the Orlando Magic had done enough talking and needed to do more executing, the team didn’t practice so that it could have a team-wide discussion about everything that ills it. Basically, there was plenty of talking by coaches and players. It will be determined if actions back up those words to avoid another disastrous loss like the one the Magic suffered Wednesday night to the woeful Sacramento Kings.”
- More on Howard’s unhappiness with his teammates.
- Zach Lowe of The Point Forward: “Over All-Star weekend in Los Angeles, Dwight Howard told me – rather emphatically — that the Magic did not have to make any trades in order to win the title. Last night, after a shocking Sacramento win in Orlando, Howard called out unnamed teammates for failing to play hard.”
- Eric Freeman of Ball Don’t Lie speaks the truth about Howard’s frustration.
- Kurt Helin of ProBasketballTalk isn’t a believer in the Magic’s talent pool: “Howard is wrong about something though — he thinks this team has the talent to win an NBA title if they just played hard. No, they really don’t. They are good, but not elite. Stan Van Gundy uses Hedo Turkoglu better than any coach in the league, he puts him in good positions as a pick-and-roll ball handler, but Turkoglu is average. Gilbert Arenas is average at best. Those are two guys the Magic gave up a lot for, two guys with massive contracts that limit what the Magic can do for years to come, and they are not guys who make your team elite.”
- Howard shares his thoughts: “I´m not singling or calling anybody out, but as a team if we don´t play hard then we are going to lose every night. If guys don´t want to play then they need to sit down. We just can´t have guys out there not playing hard. We´re professional athletes and this is what we do for a living. If we can´t get out there and go hard for two hours, then we shouldn´t be playing.”
- Matt Moore of CBSSports.com: “The timing is particularly poor for the Magic, as Howard, a free agent in 2012, watched Deron Williams be sent to New Jersey and Carmelo Anthony win in his debut in New York. Even though the Magic are the better team of those three, it’s another step in the direction of the door, providing Howard another excuse for leaving the Magic high and dry. Howard did everything he should and could last night to help the Magic win. It wasn’t enough.”
Recap: Sacramento Kings 111, Orlando Magic 105
AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack
Kicking off life after the All-Star break, the Sacramento Kings were able to defeat the Orlando Magic by the score of 111-105. Despite not having Tyreke Evans due to an injury and newly-acquired Marcus Thornton still in the process of making his debut with the Kings after being dealt for Carl Landry, while playing a road game on a back-to-back, the visitors won. A team with a record of 14-40 entering the night and, on paper, having no business winning a game against — supposedly — one of the better teams in the NBA, well, did just that. Win. Right now, the Magic should be embarrassed because even though anything can happen on a given night in the league, these are the games they’re supposed to come away victorious. It’s as simple as that, yet Orlando is incapable of doing the right things to win games and make chase to the Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference for the No. 3 seed. If the Magic’s victory against the Los Angeles Lakers was the best of the season, this loss is the worst. Sacramento was led by a balanced attack, as five players scored in double-figures. But the two players that sparked the win for the Kings were Beno Udrih and Jermaine Taylor (former University of Central Florida star). Urdih played superbly, finishing with 18 points, 10 assists, and three steals. Taylor played well in front of his hometown, chipping in with 21 points and five rebounds. As for Orlando, Dwight Howard did his job and finished with 31 points, 17 rebounds, two steals, and two blocks. Even though players like Hedo Turkoglu played well statistically (19 points on 7-of-10 shooting with eight assists and two steals), Howard was the only player for the Magic that gave a crap on both ends of the floor.
“Inside the Magic: Coaching Staff” premieres tonight on Fox Sports Florida
Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images
Via Fox Sports Florida:
“Inside the Magic: Coaching Staff” premieres Wednesday, February 23, at 10:00pm immediately following the Kings @ Magic game on FOX Sports Florida.
CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO SNEAK PEEK
The fifth 2010-11 episode of “Inside the Magic” profiles the six men who comprise the Orlando Magic coaching staff. Fans will get an inside look at an Orlando Magic practice as the team and coaches prepare for a game.
Viewers will see exclusive conversations with Orlando Magic president of basketball operations & general manager Otis Smith, head coach Stan Van Gundy and assistant coaches Bob Beyer, Steve Clifford, Patrick Ewing and Brendan Malone. The staff will share their championship philosophy and detail their individual journeys to Orlando.
Dwight Howard, J.J. Redick and Hedo Turkoglu give fans additional perspective on the team’s coaches in candid interviews. Additionally, Michael Malone, Brendan Malone’s son and current New Orleans Hornets assistant coach, will offer insight into his father’s coaching style.
“Inside the Magic: Coaching Staff” is hosted by Megan Clementi.
Monday’s Magic Word
- Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: “Funny, I don’t recall Stern coming to Carmelo’s defense. In fact, deep inside, part of him has to love this ‘Melo-to-Knicks and ‘Melo-to-Nets media scrum. Keeps the NBA in the news, you know. Didn’t Stern and his fellow owners create a landscape inwhich ‘Melo is using to his advantage? Doesn’t he really want to play in New York where he can team up with Amare Stoudemire to form yet another super team? It’s all the rage, Mr. Stern. And isn’t this a landscape inwhich Stern and his fellow owners are trying to change with a possible NFL-type franchise tag place on superstars, such as ‘Melo? Instead, why didn’t Stern say that he hopes Poor Dwight Howard plays forever in Orlando like he did when the LeBron talk heated up and it would be ridiculous for him to leave a new arena?”
- Dwight Howard wouldn’t mind playing with Kobe Bryant.
- Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: “Howard has said that he’s ‘retired for life’ from the dunk contest. But the temptation to compete again might be too much for the Orlando Magic superstar to resist if the owners and players avoid a protracted lockout and All-Star Weekend is held as scheduled Feb. 24-26, 2012, at Orlando’s Amway Center. A dunk contest that features both Howard and the Los Angeles Clippers’ Blake Griffin would be the most widely anticipated dunk contest since Michael Jordan and Dominique Wilkins faced-off against each other in 1988.”
- Howard is focused on winning a championship with the Orlando Magic.
- It appears that Troy Murphy may soon become the newest member of the Magic.
- Howard had fun at All-Star weekend: “Well, I’m back in sunny Orlando after a tiring, but good time in LA for the All-Star Game. I went out there with the goal of having fun and that’s just what I did. The whole weekend is for the fans and I went out there with you guys in mind. Again, I want to thank each and every one of you who voted for me. I’m so blessed to have your support.”
- Howard gets graded for his performance in the 2011 NBA All-Star Game.
- Ian Thomsen of Sports Illustrated: “They need size, and Murphy would be an excellent fit because he is a rebounder whose three-point shooting would replicate the contributions of Rashard Lewis. But after completing a pair of big trades in December, GM Otis Smith has been insisting that the Magic need to worry less about adding more pieces and focus more on galvanizing their existing resources.”
- The Basketball Jones ask Howard a random question.
- John Krolik of ProBasketballTalk: “Howard played 21 minutes on Sunday, but you’d be hard-pressed to remember any of them. Howard showed little interest in playing offense or defense, didn’t block a single shot, and half of his four field goal attempts were from beyond the arc. That’s not what you want to see from Dwight Howard.”
Thursday’s Magic Word
- Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: “Here’s Dwight Howard’s chance to win MVP. His best chance. Why? Because he can lead a Magic comeback in the stretch run — and don’t we love comeback stories? I mean, there’s really not an overwhelming MVP favorite to date. Let’s review: LeBron James, obviously. But then sometimes you might lean to his sidekick in Miami, Dwyane Wade. They might split the judges’ voting. There’s Kevin Durant, the Oklahoma City scoring machine. Doesn’t feel as if young KD has quite acquired that MVP gold card yet. There’s Derrick Rose, who has taken a super star leap to lead the Bulls to the East’s third-best record. Hasn’t quite earned his full-bird stripes. Lakers star Kobe Bryant has been great at times, and other times looked human. Do Dallas’ Dirk Nowitzki and Denver’s Carmelo Anthony move the MVP meter? The Celtics’ Big Four cancel each other out in the team concept, as do the Spurs’ Big Three. None of their names really are on the tip of your tongue for MVP, which is maybe why their teams are so good.”
- J.J. Redick gets crossed over — cue laughter now.
- Don’t expect the Orlando Magic to make a move at the trade deadline.
- Bill Simmons of ESPN.com: “[Ryan Anderson] submitted a rock-solid impersonation of 2009 Rashard Lewis (sans any steroid masking agents) after Orlando’s big December shakeup. He’s made at least one 3 in his past 29 games (42 percent shooting), 13 ppg and 6 rpg playing just 25 minutes a night. He’s the darling of the statistical community right now — if we bring him to Dorkapalooza next month, there might be a per-minute riot.”
- Dwight Howard is a black hole on offense to some degree.
- Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated: “The Magic have become a game of Mad Libs. Any report that reads “Orlando called (insert team name) to express interest in (insert power forward/center)” is probably true. GM Otis Smith has come up empty so far in search of a backup big man to replace Marcin Gortat. That Smith has tried to dampen expectations means he is not optimistic about landing one before the deadline. Orlando’s best hope may be for the Nets to negotiate a buyout with Murphy, whose most likely destination would be Orlando, according to a source. “
- Rashard Lewis gets love from Magic fans and former teammates during last night’s game.
- Howard is a TV star, not just an All-Star. Andrew Unterberger of The Basketball Jones explains: “Many NBA stars bring many diverse talents to the table when it comes to their advertising work, but chances are, only The Beast From the Far East is going to encourage spontaneous sing-alongs among viewers. Dwight may or may not be able to actually play the piano, but he can certainly improvise song lyrics mixing hoops braggadocio and commercial plot contrivances (“Getting quick to the rim game after game / Taking planes to Aruba with Slim, it’s never lame”) with the best of them — and sound damn good doing it, too. There’s even enough legitimate chemistry between D-12 and Ken “The Hangover wasn’t even that funny and that was like ten movies ago” Jeong to make the latter tolerable for possibly the last-ever time. Resurrecting Gilbert Arenas’s career in the second half of this season would likely be a lesser accomplishment.”
Remembering Rashard Lewis, Part I
Photo by Elsa/Getty Images
Rashard Lewis, now a member of the Washington Wizards, didn’t play against the Orlando Magic on Wednesday due to a sore right knee. It’s a shame because, given that the Wizards have exhausted their two road games against the Magic this season, that means Lewis won’t be returning to the Amway Center as a visitor until next season. And that means Lewis will have to wait until he can receive a proper standing ovation from the fans in Orlando — something that he deserves more than any other Magic player in recent years because, it can be argued, that he is the reason they became an elite team and championship contender.
Contract notwithstanding, Lewis defined the Orlando teams of recent years because he was the player that was asked to spread the floor for Dwight Howard and be the primary scorer from the perimeter. As a stretch four, Lewis was a matchup problem for nearly every team in the NBA because not many power forwards are accustomed to defending someone that shoots proficiently from three-point range and makes their living far away from the basket. Lewis’ transition from small forward, when he was with the Seattle SuperSonics, to power forward was a seamless one and created a unique identity for the Magic.
Although Lewis struggled in the 2010 NBA Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics and his production offensively fell off a cliff this year, Lewis’ legacy — if that’s the proper word to use — will forever be etched in the 2009 Eastern Conference Finals and in the minds of Cleveland Cavaliers fans for eternity. That’s where Lewis embodied everything that general manager Otis Smith saw in him when he brought him in as a free agent during the offseason in 2008. Lewis was a nightmare for the Cavaliers in that series and the memories he had will live on. For Orlando, Game 1 was where it all started for Lewis. That’s Lewis’ legend in a nutshell.
Let’s go back in time.
A steady descent for the Orlando Magic
Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images
It was January 9.
The Orlando Magic just got done beating the Dallas Mavericks the night before to extend their winning streak to nine games — tying a franchise record. The Magic’s record was 25-12, third in the Eastern Conference, and they were within striking distance of the Miami Heat (trailed by 3.5 games) for the No. 2 seed. It looked like general manager Otis Smith struck gold with two blockbuster trades that brought Gilbert Arenas, Hedo Turkoglu, and Jason Richardson into the fray.
All was well.
The playmaking that was needed? Turkoglu took care of that.
The offensive firepower on the perimeter that was lacking? Arenas, Turkoglu, and Richardson brought the ammunition.
Unfortunately for Orlando, their nine-game winning streak — looking back on it now — was fool’s gold. That 22-point win over the San Antonio Spurs? The Spurs were playing on a back-to-back and head coach Gregg Popovich waved the white flag early in the third quarter, knowing the outcome was decided. That eight-point win over the Boston Celtics? Rajon Rondo, someone that has given the Magic plenty of problems in the past, didn’t play due to sprained left ankle (Kendrick Perkins was out, as well). That 10-point win over the Mavericks? Dirk Nowitzki sat out of the game with a sprained right knee. Orlando’s lone other win against a winning team in that timeframe came against the New York Knicks, a squad that is merely average and capable of beating beaten on any given night. Especially by the Magic.
Granted, Orlando has had some close losses too.
Losing by three to the New Orleans Hornets in overtime. Losing by a point to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Losing by three to the Celtics. Losing by nine points to the Chicago Bulls. Losing by four points to the Miami Heat. These aren’t bad losses, per se, but they’re not wins either.
For the Magic, close enough isn’t good enough. Not for a franchise that’s been considered part of the elite in the NBA since 2009 when they made their run to the Finals. And since Orlando’s winning streak, they’re 9-8 in their last 17 games and looking less like a championship contender.
It’s spurred writers from around the blogosphere to ask if the Magic are done?
Monday’s Magic Word
- John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com: “Delighted to be off losing teams and vaulted into the chase for a championship, Hedo Turkoglu and Gilbert Arenas initially played well in the afterglow of the Orlando Magic’s blockbuster trades back on Dec. 18. But in the weeks since, that glow has faded, the NBA’s dog days have hit and the two centerpiece players in the Magic’s midseason makeover have struggled mightily. That was never more evident than Sunday in Boston when Turkoglu and Arenas endured forgettable afternoons in Orlando’s 91-80 loss to the Celtics. Turkoglu missed nine of his 10 shots, while Arenas didn’t make any of his seven shots and went scoreless for the first time in his career since 2004. And when the frustrating Boston loss was over, Arenas not only racked his brain as to when the last time he played without scoring, but as to why all of his work in practice isn’t translating over to games.”
- Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: “Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said that injured starting power forward Brandon Bass, who missed his third consecutive game Sunday because of a severely sprained left ankle, is making strides in his recovery. The club said that Bass still might be out until after the Feb. 17-19 NBA all-star break. Van Gundy said that the swelling in Bass’ ankle has decreased considerably. Bass, who was injured Jan. 31 against the Memphis Grizzlies, has been back in Orlando performing non-weight-bearing exercises in a swimming pool.”
- The Orlando Magic, simply put, are a team in disarray.
- Bradford Doolittle of Basketball Prospectus recaps the Magic’s loss yesterday.
- Dwight Howard was Jekyll and Hyde against the Boston Celtics.
- Is there a hitch in Howard’s free-throw shooting form?
- Marc Stein of ESPN.com: “The Magic were a wobbly 16-9 when they swung their big trades … and they’ve slumped to 16-11 since. They’re so out of sorts that Dwight, for the first time since December 2006, hasn’t blocked a shot for three games.”
- Howard is keeping the faith that the Magic can turn things around: “I look at the Packers in the Super Bowl and I know it can be done. Green Bay wasn´t great all the time during the season, but they got hot at the right time and crushed folks in the playoffs. Aaron Rodgers got it going and those dudes followed him, so I´m keeping the faith and hoping that I can do the same thing here with the Magic. We know we have so much talent on this team, but for us it´s about being more consistent on a night-to-night basis and bringing it defensively. We´ve struggled getting stops defensively and too often when our offense is struggling we let it affect our defense. We have to be tougher mentally and not let that happen.”
- Ken Berger of CBSSports.com: “Howard evidently is willing to be patient. A free agent in 2012 along with the Hornets’ Chris Paul, Howard has yet to form a strong opinion one way or the other, according to a person with knowledge of his thinking. Stay or go? To paraphrase LeBron, what should he do? If he does leave, Howard has his eyes on two teams — the Lakers and Knicks — as the big-market destinations where he’ll chase down his championships and marketing opportunities if things don’t work out in the Sunshine State. The Nets, who are supposed to be in Brooklyn by then, also are in the mix, the person said. So the Magic are on the clock — the way the Cavs were with LeBron and the Raptors with Chris Bosh, and the way the bill has come due for the Nuggets and Carmelo Anthony. But if you ask Magic GM Otis Smith — and I did — there isn’t some knee-jerk plan to deal with Howard’s future. Smith has been planning for the next year and a half for the past seven years.”
- Gilbert Arenas’ inability to produce in cold weather is not a hoax.
- Is Orlando still an elite team and championship contender?
- Zach Lowe of The Point Forward: “There are so many questions, and Van Gundy is still trying to answer them to find the right mix and the right sets on offense. The Magic will have only 25 games or so to work this out before Bass’ return. That’s not an ideal situation; the Cavaliers last season lamented how little time they had to prepare for the playoffs with their core lineup, and though Shaquille O’Neal’s late-season injury made that situation more troubling that Orlando’s current state, the fact remains that more preparation time is better.”
- Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports doesn’t mince words about Arenas’ struggles.
Getting a grip on the Magic’s future
Photo by Fernando Medina
If I pay a whole lot of attention to what’s been said and written recently, joining the MBN community right now is sort of like moving into a mansion that was just built on an active fault line. That is, the features are fantastic–there’s an MVP candidate playing out of his mind, a perennial fifty-win team still coached by one of the league’s best, nightly entertaining performances by Gilbert and the Stretch Fours–but everybody is treading lightly, anxious about the disaster that might be on its way. Everything happening right now is in the shadow of Dwight’s free agency, the latest addition to a litany of plagues that will descend upon us all and end the world in 2012. The sky will rain blood, locusts will descend upon fields, and ESPN will run constant speculative pieces punning on Superman. Every time Gilbert bricks a pull-up or Otis Smith says something short-sighted, the summer of 2012 looms as the unspoken consequence, that time when the franchise will be called upon to pay the price for its mistakes or reap its successes. And it’s still fifteen months away.
Last week’s trade deadline, of course, is a huge reason for the anxiety. As the story goes, this is the time of year where Dwight gets to watch other A-list talents shape their own futures while he’s wondering aloud whether he should be tweeting about his teammates’ hustle. For the most part, free agency for the past year has been an arms race in the East, and the thinking is that Howard must look around and see Carlos Boozer getting open looks from Derrick Rose drives, or hear that Amar’e loves New York’s “1, 1A punch,” all while wondering if there is going to be anybody left to help form his own Justice League in Orlando. To a large extent, this is totally understandable. Gone are the diluted early 00s where Allen Iverson could drag a team to the Finals. Ours is an era flush with real talent, where great teams have multiple weapons and more than one A-list player. Eddy demonstrated this just a few days ago here at MBN, illustrating the extent to which the rest of the East elite has real star production at multiple and complementary positions. Of course, it can’t be said that the Magic can match their competition in marquee names, and it seems like management may be losing its grip on ever changing that.
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