Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Read more…

Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Read more…

Photo by J. Meric/Getty Images

Via the Orlando Magic:

Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard, winner of the last three Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year Awards, headlines the NBA All-Defensive First Team, the NBA announced today. Howard totaled 56 points overall, including 27 First Team votes.

Howard earned the 2010-11 Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award, becoming the first player to win the award three straight seasons. He led the league with 66 double-doubles, while ranking second in rebounds (14.1 rpg) and fourth in blocks (2.38 bpg). He recorded at least 1,000 rebounds and 100 blocked shots for the sixth straight year; since blocked shots were officially tracked in 1973-74, only Moses Malone has done it more (seven seasons). With Howard manning the middle, the [Orlando] Magic allowed 93.5 ppg, ranking fourth in that category.

Also selected to the All-Defensive First Team are guard Rajon Rondo of the Boston Celtics (39 points), forward LeBron James of the Miami Heat (38 points), forward Kevin Garnett of the Boston Celtics (33 points) and guard Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers (33 points). Garnett and Bryant each earn All-Defensive First Team honors for the ninth time, tying Michael Jordan and Gary Payton for the most in NBA history.

The NBA All-Defensive Second Team consists of guards Tony Allen of the Memphis Grizzlies and Chris Paul of the New Orleans Hornets, center Tyson Chandler of the Dallas Mavericks, forward Andre Iguodala of the Philadelphia 76ers and forward-center Joakim Noah of the Chicago Bulls.

The voting panel consisted of the NBA’s 30 head coaches, who were asked to select NBA All-Defensive First and Second Teams by position. Coaches were not permitted to vote for players from their own team. Two points were awarded for a First Team vote and one point was awarded for a Second Team vote.

• Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: “J-Rich scored just four and eight points in the first two games, and then was suspended for Game 4 and is averaging just 10.8 points per game in the playoffs. Most importantly, they need [Jason] Richardson to prevent Hawks all-star Joe Johnson from getting the shots he wants and dominating the perimeter. This is just as big a moment for Johnson. He took the money in a wild free-agent derby last summer — re-signing with Atlanta for $100 million — instead of perhaps finding a stronger contender. Now the eyes are on Johnson to justify his deal in either Game 6 or 7. Johnson fizzled in Game 5 in Orlando, held to five points after scoring 20 or more in three of the four previous games. The outcome tonight likely will rest on whomever dominates this match-up.”
• Head coach Stan Van Gundy jokes around about receiving the dreaded “vote of confidence.”
• Josh Smith reacts to an article in the Orlando Sentinel.
• Gilbert Arenas needs to continue his recent stretch of good play.
• Grant Hill talks about what went wrong with his ankle when he signed with the Orlando Magic as a free agent in 2000: “I don’t think anybody really knows I started to have ankle problems at the end of the 1999-2000 season, probably mid-March. I was still able to go out and play. I still played well, but I was getting a lot of treatment. It was certainly bothering me. As we got closer to the end of the season, my ankle was really getting worse. I was missing practice. To the point where we had a nationally televised game against Philadelphia and I just pulled myself. My ankle was just killing me. We get back, we get an MRI. They say it’s a bone bruise. It’s still bothering me. I pull myself in the third quarter. They put me on some heavy medication and we had a long break between Game 1 and Game 2. While I was on this medication I felt great. Obviously it was masking the pain. Went out and played in Game 2 and I felt a pop in the second quarter, continued on in the third quarter and couldn’t go on. When we got back, we found out it was broken.”
• Make sure to check out the remainder of Hill’s explanation. It’s revealing.
• Trey Kerby of The Basketball Jones chimes in on Hill’s story.
• Kelly Dwyer of Ball Don’t Lie: “Nearly every road game of Hill’s final season as a Detroit Piston saw countless writers ask Hill about his plans for the summer of 2000, when Hill himself didn’t know where he was eventually headed, and the whole experience took its toll on a middling Pistons team. So much so that Hill, ever the professional, likely ruined his career in order to avoid of-their-day charges that he was taking it easy in his potential final days as a Piston. Detroit was in the running for a playoff spot deep in the 1999-00 season when Hill came up lame with an ankle injury, and immediately the on-record catcalls wondered aloud as to the severity of the injury, and whether or not it was just the free agent to-be’s way of guarding himself as the big pay day approached in the summertime.”
• Matt Moore of CBSSports.com previews Game 6 between the Magic and Atlanta Hawks: “The Magic really showed they were a better team when the shots were falling in Game 5. That has to put the fear of God into Atlanta. If the Hawks don’t get a break and have the Magic miss a few early ones, Atlanta could come undone. This is a deciding game in this series, and not just because the Magic remain on the edge of elimination. A loss and the Hawks enter full-on meltdown mode. Just like that, a series that looked to be theirs can wind up firmly in Orlando’s grasp.”
• Had Hill been healthy with Orlando, history would have changed.
• What are the odds that Dwight Howard remains with the Magic beyond 2012? Moore thinks Howard should stay: “You want to be an all-time player? You want to win a championship? Be the building block of the franchise. Otis Smith has shown he’s willing to do what it takes to make it happen. Bail and you’re just another attention-seeking bandwagon jumper. It’s his right to leave. Doesn’t mean he should.”
• Do the Magic need to rebuild? Chris Broussard of ESPN Insider makes his case that they do.

Photo by J. Meric/Getty Images

• Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: “Stan Van Gundy reached into his bag of rhetorical tricks Wednesday — all the way back to his seventh-grade phys-ed class. Van Gundy and his classmates were about to do a six-minute run as part of a physical-fitness test, and one of Van Gundy’s friends asked, ‘Coach, how do we pace ourselves in this?’ The P.E. teacher responded, ‘Gentlemen, go out as fast as you can and gradually increase your speed.’ Van Gundy recounted that anecdote as the Orlando Magic prepared to face the Atlanta Hawks in Game 6 Thursday night at Philips Arena. The Magic trail the series three games to two and need to win to stave off elimination. [...] If there’s been any commonality to the Magic’s road losses in this series — aside, that is, from Orlando’s awful shooting and poor perimeter defense — it’s been slow starts by the Magic. In those defeats, the Magic didn’t meet the Hawks’ energy level early on. The result: Orlando never led in the first quarter and never led by more than two points in either of the games. Those poor beginnings spurred the Hawks’ notoriously late-arriving fans and made Philips Arena a tough venue for the Magic.”
• Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: “Whether the Orlando Magic win or lose their first-round series to the Atlanta Hawks, coach Stan Van Gundy and General Manager Otis Smith both will be coming back next season. Magic CEO Bob Vander Weide told the Sentinel on Wednesday that he and owner Rich DeVos‘ family feel comfortable and confident in Van Gundy and Smith. [...] Smith and Van Gundy received contract extensions last summer through the 2012-13 season. The Magic’s struggles against the Hawks, plus their slide to 52 wins this season after two questionable mid-season trades, drew speculation about job security for Van Gundy and Smith — Smith in particular.”
• John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com: “With his Orlando Magic seemingly down on their luck and desperate to somehow save their season, owner Rich DeVos made his way to the locker room to offer up what just might have been the biggest assist of the night. DeVos, one of the richest men in the world, told the Magic players down in the series against the Atlanta Hawks about a time when he could relate to their plight as frustrated and feeling hopeless. With his Amway empire still in its infancy, DeVos told the players of how he unsuccessfully traveled to China three different times in an attempt to grow his fledgling business. Just as he was about to give up, DeVos gave it a go for a fourth time – and this time the results were dramatically different. ‘The fourth time, we got it going and now we have a $5 billion business in China,’ DeVos told the team. The message applied to the Magic because they were down 3-1, but responded Tuesday night to stave off elimination by whipping the Atlanta Hawks 101-76 at the Amway Center. Clearly, the message about perseverance resonated with the Magic. Franchise center Dwight Howard’s eyebrows raised and Chris Duhon audibly muttered the word, ‘Wow!’ when DeVos talked about the powers of simply sticking with a pursuit.”
• Michael Cunningham of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “There’s the history of the NBA playoffs, and there’s the recent chronicles of the Hawks. The former gives the Magic just a 4 percent chance to win their best-of-seven Eastern Conference playoff series against the Hawks after trailing 3-1. The latter is a story of postseason basketball that includes blowout losses, letdowns and series with promising starts followed by excruciating finishes. One bad night in Orlando encapsulated all of that. It’s not just that the Hawks lost Game 5 on Tuesday, it’s that they folded once the Magic surged to a commanding early lead. The nature of the 101-76 defeat is why the Hawks were queried about their state of mind, despite still leading the series 3-2 entering Game 6 on Thursday at Philips Arena.”
• Jeff Schultz of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “This much is true: The Hawks did not lose game five to Orlando by 25 points solely because Johnson made only two of 12 shots, at least when we even noticed he was on the floor. They all stunk. But Johnson didn’t do nearly enough to prevent the loss – or even collective team humiliation – from happening. And yes, he does deserve a greater share of the blame than Josh Smith or Jamal Crawford or anybody else on the roster because more is expected from him. Such are the little inconveniences that come with a $123.7 million contract.”

Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

BOX SCORE

The Atlanta Hawks were able to defeat the Orlando Magic by the score of 88-85 to take a commanding 3-1 series lead in the first round of the 2011 NBA Playoffs. The Hawks are one win away from ending the Magic’s season, and exacting revenge from last year’s sweep in the 2010 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals. Four free-throws from Joe Johnson helped seal the deal for Atlanta, as they helped to stave off Orlando from coming back and stealing Game 4 on the road. With 10.5 seconds left in regulation and the Magic trailing by three points, the basketball was put in Hedo Turkoglu‘s hands but he was unable to deliver with a game-tying shot to extend the game into overtime. It was a scenario in which Orlando sorely missed Jason Richardson, given that he’s been able to come through in crunch-time situations time and again. The Hawks were led by a balanced attack, as four players scored in double-figures. Jamal Crawford finished with 25 points and six assists, continuing his onslaught in the series as Atlanta’s sixth man. Johnson had 20 points and nine rebounds. Al Horford chipped in with 14 points, 12 rebounds, and four assists, while Kirk Hinrich contributed with 14 points. Dwight Howard had another dominant game, finishing with 29 points, 17 rebounds, and two blocks but a lack of support from his teammates has been the Magic’s downfall. Gilbert Arenas redeemed himself after poor performances in Games 1 and 2, as well as a no-show in Game 3, by putting up 20 points and five rebounds, giving Orlando a much-needed boost on offense even though it was in vain.

Read more…

Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images

With the regular season winding down and the postseason just a mere six days away, I figured I’d do what other writers have been doing lately — reveal my awards ballot. I know that I’m not a member of the Pro Basketball Writers Association, which means I do not have a say in who wins which award but I still wanted to engage in this exercise.

Most Valuable Player

With LeBron James teaming up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, coupled with ‘The Decision’ becoming a PR disaster, it’s no surprise that the race for the MVP award was wide-open this season. Voter fatigue was already going to be an issue for James in his quest for a third consecutive MVP, given that not even Michael Jordan accomplished the feat in his career. As such, it was going to take a historical year from James to overcome the many obstacles in his way for him to win the MVP but it didn’t happen. James’ numbers took a small hit across the board, with Wade’s presence being a corollary reason. That allowed a player like Dwight Howard to be his near equal statistically. When looking at their resumes and complete bodies of work, it’s hard not to choose between James or Howard for MVP — there’s no wrong answer between the two them.

Howard gets the nod because of many factors.

The improvements that everyone was waiting for from Howard were fulfilled, as he was able to maintain his efficiency on offense even with a career-high usage rate of 27.2 percent. The sign of a great scorer in the NBA is his ability to be efficient while shouldering a heavy load offensively, and Howard was able to do that this season. And it can’t be understated the type of impact Howard has when he’s not scoring, given that his presence in the low post allows the shooters for the Orlando Magic to enjoy plenty of open looks from the perimeter that wouldn’t come otherwise. Also known as the Shaquille O’Neal effect with Damon Jones as a prime example.

Likewise, Howard is vital to the Magic’s vaunted pick and roll attack that’s anchored by Jameer Nelson and Hedo Turkoglu, with the threat of him being the roll man making it extremely difficult for opposing defenses to aggressively contain the pick and rolls. With a refined post game and a reliable mid-range jumper from 10-15 feet that he’s making at a rate (40.2 percent) better than the league average (39.4 percent), coupled with an underrated ability to pass out of double-teams effectively, Howard has all the tools offensively. It’s only at the free-throw line where Howard continues to struggle.

Critics are quick to point out Howard’s lack of involvement in crunch-time situations but that’s partly due to his teammates not getting him the basketball enough, plus head coach Stan Van Gundy not calling plays for him at times. Sometimes it’s as simple as Orlando needing a three-point shot in the closing seconds of a game. Even then, Howard’s ability to rebound and defend gets overlooked way too many times in discussions of players performing in the clutch.

And when it comes down to it, there’s not another player in the league that can impact a game defensively like Howard. Despite general manager Otis Smith acquiring acquiring Turkoglu, Jason Richardson, and Gilbert Arenas, thus becoming far weaker on defense in theory, the Magic are ranked 3rd in defensive efficiency — better than teams like the Miami Heat — thanks in large part to Howard’s ability to coerce opposing players into shooting jumpshots while limiting their chances at the free-throw line and devouring rebounds. Van Gundy’s schemes are a factor too, but Howard puts it into practice on countless possessions, which is the primary reason that Orlando defends post players better than any other team. Or that Howard is able to slow down a pick and roll, recover to the paint, and provide weak-side defense in one felt swoop. Was it mentioned that the Magic do the best job of limiting field goal attempts at the rim because of Howard’s intimidating presence in the lane? Indeed, Howard is an omnipresent defensive force.

Read more…

• Josh Cohen of OrlandoMagic.com: “Ignore the regular season series between the [Orlando] Magic and Hawks because every game they played was inconsequential evidence of what to expect in this rematch of last year’s conference semifinals. The first meeting was before Orlando’s blockbuster trades; the second collision was during the Magic’s stomach virus epidemic, the third was the first game following the deals and the final contest was injury-plagued for the blue and white. While Jason Collins was credited for his willingness to body up on Dwight Howard in the regular season, I expect Superman to flourish and dominate against his counterpart in a seven-game series. I also anticipate Jameer Nelson to thrive against Kirk Hinrich, who the Hawks acquired at the trade deadline from the Wizards. One of the more intriguing matchups will be at the shooting guard spot with Joe Johnson and Jason Richardson – two explosive scorers and primetime players. Some of the most glaring curiosities will be injury related as Atlanta’s Josh Smith recently returned from a sprained knee and it remains unspecified whether Orlando’s J.J. Redick will be back after missing more than a dozen games with a lower abdominal strain.”
• John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com looks back at the top 10 moments for the Orlando Magic in the 2010-2011 NBA regular season. Here’s number one: “A sluggish Magic team given up for dead when it trailed the rival Heat by 18 points at halftime and by as much as 24 points in the second half awoke from its slumber and pulled off a comeback win for the ages. Once down 73-49 early in the third quarter, the Magic used runs of 22-7 (to end the third period) and 18-2 (to start the fourth quarter) – a shocking 40-9 spurt in all – for what very well could be the biggest regular-season victory in franchise history. The 24-point rally just missed equaling the all-time Magic record. Orlando’s comeback from 25 points down on Nov. 8, 1989 in Cleveland is the all-time franchise record. Orlando held LeBron James and Dwyane Wade to just 10 points combined in the second half after the Heat duo had 47 points in the first half. Wade did not have a field goal in the second half and James did not score in the fourth quarter.”
• Dwight Howard likes being the underdog.
• Tas Melas of The Basketball Jones makes his case for Howard and the MVP award.
• Matt Moore of CBSSports.com: “Orlando poneyed up for the new arena critics of small-markets allege the non-top cities never approve. Ownership elected to go above and beyond the cap, deep into the luxury tax. They were smart enough to draft, and develop, a franchise player, acquire a competitive and arguably brilliant head coach, surround the team with competent role players. When the 2009 team failed to get past the last challenge, management did not get complacent, and instead opted for the home-run move you’re supposed to make, according to many. Vince Carter, for all his Vince-Carter-ness, was still a legit star in the summer of 2009. They went for the big move. When that didn’t work out, they once again swung for the fences. You can’t say Otis Smith didn’t try. But here they are. Entering the playoffs as the worst seed they’ve been since 2008, with little to no momentum, and considered nothing more than after-thought in the playoffs. They are a speedbump in the road to the Finals for teams from Miami, Chicago, Boston. They gambled. They lost. And the worst part of all is this season may turn out to be the one that gives Dwight Howard an excuse to leave Orlando; it may be the one reflected on as what turns Howard away; it may be the year Orlando lost their franchise center, again.”
• Offensive rebounds aided the Orlando Magic’s victory against the Philadelphia 76ers.
• Kurt Helin of ProBasketballTalk is skeptical that Jason Collins will make a difference for the Atlanta Hawks in their first round matchup against the Magic in the 2011 NBA Playoffs: “Orlando has dominated this matchup in recent years, but Atlanta is counting on Jason Collins to change that. Sure, that will work.”
• Kevin Pelton of Basketball Prospectus reveals his awards ballot.
• Atlanta and Orlando are two teams searching for respect in different ways.
• Britt Robson of Sports Illustrated: “Based on this regular-season performance, Orlando has to hope Howard remains loyal when he’s eligible to become a free agent after next season. That would enable the Magic — whose salary-cap situation doesn’t look pretty — to go back to square two in rebuilding around the 25-year-old center.”

Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images

BOX SCORE

Sparked by Dwight Howard‘s return to the starting lineup, the Orlando Magic were able to defeat the Philadelphia 76ers by the score of 95-85 in a game that was more lopsided than the end result indicates. Although the win was meaningless in the sense that the Magic are locked in to the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference, it does give them a chance to finish the regular season at 52-30. That would give Orlando a stretch of four seasons under head coach Stan Van Gundy in which they finished with records of 52-30, 59-23, 59-23, and 52-30 — a symmetrical four-year stretch for those that are into that sort of thing. The Magic were led by a balanced attack, as four players scored in double-figures. Howard finished with a modest stat-line of 19 points, 13 rebounds, four assists, two steals, and three blocks but he got the internet abuzz when he posterized Jrue Holiday in the third quarter on a fastbreak, easily one of the best dunks of the year in the NBA. The transition dunk was triggered after Jason Richardson scooped up a loose ball, zipped it up to Jameer Nelson, and from there it was showtime. Nelson eluded Holiday in the open court, then sprinted down the right side and lobbed the basketball up for Howard. For whatever reason, Holiday tried to intercept the pass but it was too late, as Howard caught the ball and dunked on Holiday with such anger, such fury, such hatred, that the crowd at the Wells Fargo Center awoke and responded with emotions involving disbelief and pleasure. For a split second, Holiday shared a timeless moment with Howard that will live on in infamy. Nelson’s return to the Philadelphia treated him well, as he finished with 19 points, seven assists, and two steals. Ryan Anderson continues to play at a high level, contributing with 18 points, 14 rebounds, and two steals in roughly 22 minutes of action coming off the bench as the sixth man. Richardson chipped in with 12 points, five rebounds, and three steals.

Read more…

• Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: “The Orlando Magic almost never hold a shootaround on the day after a game. If they’re in Orlando and are about to play the second leg of a back-to-back, they’ll hold a walkthrough on their Amway Center practice court a few hours before tipoff. If they’re on the road, they’ll assemble in a hotel ballroom around 11 in the morning and go over the keys to that night’s game. That routine changed today even though the Magic faced the Chicago Bulls in a hard-fought game Sunday afternoon in Orlando. Indeed, the Magic originally weren’t scheduled to shoot-around, but Stan Van Gundy decided to bring his players to the Wells Fargo Center, where they worked for almost 80 minutes. So what gives? It’s all about the playoffs. In an effort to prepare for their first-round series against the Atlanta Hawks, the Magic did more today to fine-tune their offense instead of preparing for tonight’s opponent, the Philadelphia 76ers.”
• Which team poses the biggest threat for the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference?
• J.J. Redick is close to returning for the  Magic.
• Gilbert Arenas may sit out tonight’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers.
• Marc Stein of ESPN.com: “Just because he’s not getting my MVP vote doesn’t mean that I won’t take a quick 20 to hat-tip Dwight Howard for joining Hakeem, Barkley and Moses as the only players in the last 30 seasons to average 23 ppg and 14 rpg.”
• According to Zach Lowe of The Point Forward, Dwight Howard should be the MVP: “I’ve made the case all season, so I won’t belabor it again here. In general terms, Howard has emerged as an elite offensive player, the foundation of Orlando’s offense nearly (but not quite) to the degree that Derrick Rose and LeBron James are to the offenses in Chicago and Miami. His free throw issues and resulting lack of shot attempts in the clutch place him a small notch below the league’s best offensive players, but no one touches him as a defender. No one. That two-way combination, plus his value to an otherwise ho-hum Orlando roster, separates Howard from the field in an award meant to honor an individual’s play over 82 games and not during the final 45 seconds of a game that is happening in the imagination of too many voters.”
• Chris Mannix and Ian Thomsen of Sports Illustrated are unanimous in their vote for Howard as the Defensive Player of the Year. Here’s what Thomsen had to say about Howard’s wizardry on defense: “Howard has the gaudy numbers and every scout will tell you he has an effect on virtually every defensive possession that finishes in or near the paint. But the most impressive part of Howard’s season is that he has carried a stingy Magic D almost single-handedly. He plays next to an undersized power forward (Brandon Bass), and the defensive skills of the wing players in front of him are average at best. This is an award that, barring injury, Howard should win every year.”
• Add John Hollinger of ESPN Insider to the MVP tally, as he also declares Howard as the rightful player for the award: “I explained this in a lengthy column earlier this month, and while my logic has clearly displeased certain factions, it hasn’t changed any of the facts. The most notable one is that the three Florida stars — Howard, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade — were the league’s three best in the league by a fair margin, whether you want to use numbers, the much-beloved eye test or any other standard. Howard has no chance in real life, however. For some reason, the concept that the league’s best player could be on an also-ran team remains an insurmountable hurdle (for reference, see also Kobe Bryant in 2006 and Kevin Garnett in 2005).”
• Life without Howard for the Magic wasn’t easy on Sunday.
• Kurt Helin of ProBasketballTalk: “Dwight Howard will finish the season averaging more than 23 points and 14 rebounds per game. Last person to do that (via ESPN’s Marc Stein): Hakeem Olajuwon. I’d have him higher, but if he’s not in the top three on your MVP ballot, you’re doing it wrong.