• Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: “It wouldn’t be shocking at all if the New York Knicks — the Magic’s opponent tonight — make a play for Dwight Howard next season, perhaps offering either Amar’e Stoudemire or Carmelo Anthony at trade deadline for the all-star center. Howard can become a free agent after next season, and the Magic will be nervously waiting for the NBA’s most dominant big man to make a decision. If they don’t want to wait and risk losing him without compensation, the Magic could listen to trade offers for Howard next season. It’s when they have some leverage. Teams in the NBA will be falling all over themselves in attempts to pry Howard away from Orlando — at the trade deadline and, obviously. next summer if, or when, he’s free. The Knicks are desperate for a center. You don’t think they’d part with either Anthony or Stoudemire for Howard? Stoudemire has had to play the role of the Knicks’ big man this season, and it has worn him down.”
• Head coach Stan Van Gundy is complimentary of a fellow coach.
• John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com: “The Orlando Magic are a wacky collection of characters and off-center personalities as evidenced by their recent vow to not shave their facial hair until after their playoff run is complete (hopefully in the NBA Finals, of course). But head coach Stan Van Gundy pointed out something recently about a couple of the Magic players that is a true rarity in NBA locker rooms. According to Van Gundy, Ryan Anderson is much better than even the power forward thinks he is and the coach is constantly harping on him use his talent to attack. Then, there’s the case of reserve point guard Chris Duhon, who has taken care of the ball and defended the way the Magic have hoped, but for whatever reason he’s shown a reluctance to shoot the ball. It’s gotten so bad at times that it’s been like the Magic are playing four on five offensively because of Duhon’s unwillingness to pull the trigger on shots. Begging a player to shoot more and not less? Again, a true rarity in the sometimes egomaniacal NBA world.”
• Players for the Orlando Magic state their individual goals.
• Vince Carter is not the same player that he was with the Magic. Evan Dunlap of Orlando Pinstriped Post explains: “While it unfolds, the whole scene is surreal to me as I watch from the comfort of my couch. Less than two years ago, the Magic acquired Carter and Ryan Anderson for next to nothing (the expiring contracts of Rafer Alston and Tony Battie, plus the youthful Courtney Lee) in a critically acclaimed move designed to put them over the top in the championship hunt. Now, following a midseason trade and a rocky adjustment period, he’s coming off the bench for a lottery team, and even then only to loiter on the weak side and wait for a kickout.”
• Marc Stein of ESPN.com: “This probably speaks more to the ongoing Boston funk and Miami’s recent 5-6 stretch against .500-or-better teams, but Orlando actually has the East’s second-best record since the All-Star break … at a modest 11-5.”
• M. Haubs of The Painted Area argues that Dwight Howard does more to help the Magic win games than Derrick Rose does for the Chicago Bulls: “Derrick Rose is a great player who has had an outstanding season. He is the best player on the best team in the Eastern Conference. He has been the driving offensive force in pulling out wins in the fourth quarter on several occasions. The Bulls offense as a whole has been excellent when he’s been on the floor. But Derrick Rose has been one of several key factors – defense (and the coaching behind it), Rose, rebounding, bench – in the Bulls’ surprising success this season. He has not been the single primary factor. [...] I was fully ready to swing to the Rose MVP camp following his performance late in the game on Saturday. However, after digging into the evidence, I feel more strongly than ever that Derrick Rose does not deserve to be the 2010-11 NBA MVP, though I have little doubt at this point that he will win the award. I’m going to withhold judgment on my mythical ballot as a whole for another couple weeks.”
• Kurt Helin of ProBasketballTalk: “Five straight wins and the best center in the game, solid four seed, but nobody mentions them among the contenders in the East. You’ll see more Gilbert Arenas this week, which may not be best for then Magic.”

• Zach McCann of the Orlando Sentinel: “The Orlando Magic know they got a steal when they acquired Ryan Anderson from the New Jersey Nets in the Vince Carter trade back in 2009. Incorrectly labeled a throw-in as part of that deal, Anderson has blossomed into a reliable player for the Magic and the most relevant person involved in the trade (Carter’s wasting away in Phoenix, Lee’s a reserve on a mediocre Houston team, Alston’s out of the league, Battie barely plays in Philadelphia). But just how good is Ryan Anderson? And how good can he be? Some metrics show him as one of the better — or at least most efficient — offensive power forwards in the NBA. A more proficient scorer, at least in his role, than Chris Bosh. A better rebounder than Amar’e Stoudemire. A better jump-shooter than Pau Gasol and Kevin Love. Anderson, 22, is certainly making the most of his minutes, which have at times been sparse. He’s obviously not as good as some of the players he’s compared to below, but his potential and efficiency are apparent.”
• Dwight Howard will try to avoid technical fouls from now on.
• Jason Richardson is sick, but will play against the Sacramento Kings.
• Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: “The Kings have been fighting the local politicos to get a new arena built for years — and no dice. Commissioner David Stern couldn’t even use his mighty clout to make it happen. Sound familiar? Orlando and Magic fans could have been in the same sinking boat that Kings fans are in. But they pushed through a deal to give birth to the Amway Center just in time, weeks before a recession would have likely derailed the plans again. And who knows what would have happened next.”
• Gilbert Arenas can’t feel his face at times.
• Kurt Helin of ProBasketballTalk likes Howard as the MVP right now: “What do I look for in my MVP? A player who efficiently pushes himself to a new level and pulls his team to new heights with him. Howard has been very efficient this season and has pushed himself to new levels. I’ll also argue he is pulling the most out of this Magic roster (a roster that is likely to let him down in the playoffs, but that’s another topic). The Magic may be a disappointment, but that is not on Howard. His offensive usage percentage is at his career high but his shooting percentages have not seriously dipped. To me, right now, this is the guy.”
• Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports: “For Howard, there has been just one fleeting benefit to his technical issues: He’s been subjected to fewer questions about whether he’ll leave the Magic when he has the opportunity to become a free agent in the summer of 2012. For a franchise that was scarred for years by Shaq’s decision to leave Orlando for the Los Angeles Lakers, Howard’s future will remain a topic of concern until he either signs a contract extension with the Magic after the league negotiates a new labor agreement – or he leaves.”
• Howard is a legitimate MVP candidate.

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.

Read more…

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?

Read more…

• Zach McCann of the Orlando Sentinel: “Orlando Magic guard Gilbert Arenas has been struggling lately, and part of that’s because of coach Stan Van Gundy, says, uh, Van Gundy. ‘The biggest thing that he’s struggling with right now is me,’ Van Gundy said. ‘I don’t think that’s necessarily an easy adjustment for anybody, but for a point guard, I think it’s tough. When Rafer [Alston] came in midseason [in 2008-09], he had played for me before. And, so, he knew I was an [expletive], and he was used to it. I only say that half-jokingly. He knew what it was going to be like.’ Arenas admitted he feels a bit uncomfortable with his adjustment to Orlando, especially as expectations have been heightened with time. When Arenas first joined the Magic in mid-December, he was playing freely and without much pressure of being pulled. Now, after a little bit of time, Van Gundy expects more from Arenas and has given him a shorter hook.”
• Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: “Well, the Magic finally christened new Amway Center with its first memorable moment Wednesday night, and quite fittingly. Just like their $480 million palace, the moment arrived stunningly oversized, unconventional and with an impossible degree of difficulty. Making three-point shots to beat the Philadelphia 76ers wasn’t good enough for the Magic; they upgraded to four-pointers. Twice. Getting an arena built was a near miracle, so it made perfect sense that this signature comeback defied all odds, logic and lousy basketball.”
• General manager Otis Smith talks about Gilbert Arenas’ adjustment period.
• Ryan Anderson — a different stretch four from what the Orlando Magic have been used to.
• Arenas talks about, who else, Arenas.
• Anderson is as confident as ever.
• Evan Dunlap of Orlando Pinstriped Post: “Arenas appeared to have turned a corner three weeks ago, when he authored three consecutive efficient, double-digit scoring performances, combining for 43 points on 17-of-36 shooting, with 8 three-pointers. In the eight games since, however, he’s shot 20-of-61 (32.8 percent) from the floor, and 7-of-26 (26.9 percent) from three-point range. The slump extends beyond merely his shooting. In the same eight games, Arenas has tallied 22 assists to 14 turnovers, which simply isn’t acceptable for a backup point guard, even in an offense like Orlando’s, which doesn’t result in many assists.”
• What does the future hold for Jason Williams?
• Eric Freeman of Ball Don’t Lie is wondering why Smith decided to call out the Boston Celtics: “The Magic and Celtics have a rivalry, I suppose, if only because the Magic think they have a rivalry with every good team in the NBA. But the Magic haven’t exactly owned the matchup – Boston has come out on top in important situations, including in last season’s conference finals. Sure, Orlando won in 2009, but that Celtics team was without Kevin Garnett. Clearly, the Celtics are the more feared team around the NBA. Plus, they’ve proven they do what’s necessary to win. If that’s not tough, I don’t know what is. The question here is why Otis Smith would ever decide to pick a fight with a team that probably doesn’t even need extra motivation to beat the Magic.”
• A look at one of the Magic’s magical four-point plays against the Philadelphia 76ers.
• Britt Robson of Sports Illustrated gives Orlando a B+ at the midway point of the regular season: “GM Otis Smith should be applauded for having the nerve and instincts to make wholesale changes to a team seemingly destined to take a step backward. Those who clamor for Gilbert Arenas to take time away from Jameer Nelson miss the point: The trade with Washington was perhaps most beneficial for avoiding the awkward scenario of eventually having to bench Rashard Lewis and his enormous contract. As for the deal with Phoenix, I was apparently wrong to doubt the instant rejuvenation of Hedo Turkoglu, but maintain that the real upgrade is swapping out Vince Carter, who shrinks from the occasion, for Jason Richardson, who was part of Golden State’s historic upset of Dallas in the 2007 playoffs and was frequently unstoppable in helping Phoenix get to the conference finals last season. But for all he’s done, shame on Smith if he can’t unearth a quality backup center for Dwight Howard before the spring.”
• According to SI writers, Dwight Howard is the favorite to win Defensive Player of the Year.
• Video evidence of Hedo Turkoglu dunking a basketball. Twice.
• The probability of the Magic being the best team in the NBA is 4.8 percent.
• A look at Orlando’s peaks and valleys as a franchise.

• Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: “The next time the [Orlando] Magic see the Denver Nuggets, Carmelo Anthony will be wearing a New York Knicks uniform — or so the story goes. Could he be wearing a Magic jersey? Or another team’s gear? [...] Anthony faces the Magic tonight and likely won’t be with the Nuggets for the March rematch in Orlando. Or maybe he will. Approach any trade rumor with care. The Magic haven’t been in the rumor mill for ‘Melo’s services. But I’ve talked to their execs, and they aren’t backing away from trying to swing a deal, whether it’s for Melo, Chris Paul, Tayshaun Prince, Gilbert Arenas, Monta Ellis, Fill-In-The-Blank. Sam Smith of the Chicago Bulls’ website just tossed out a trade scenario involving Memphis and Orlando — involving Vince Carter and Brandon Bass and Zach Randolph and O.J. Mayo. Trade talk is bound to pick up because this summer’s players signed as free agents can be dealt starting Wednesday.”
• Head coach Stan Van Gundy jokingly suggests the Denver Nuggets should sit Carmelo Anthony in tonight’s game: “Well, I’m just concerned about his knee injury for the long term, and I really think more rest is what’s needed for him.”
• Brandon Bass will start at power forward against the Nuggets.
• Chauncey Billups may not play against the Orlando Magic later this evening.
• Evan Dunlap of Orlando Pinstriped Post: “The point here is that, from at least one standpoint, the current Magic team that seems like such a letdown to many of its fans is actually right on track with the 2008/09 squad, which is so beloved. Scoring margin isn’t everything, of course. I realize that. But the 2009 team went from “pretty good” to “freaking fantastic” once its three-point shooting corrected itself and the defense took it to antother gear, contending for a championship despite subbing the production of two mediocre point guards (Rafer Alston and Anthony Johnson) for one All-Star one (Jameer Nelson) in mid-February. There’s no reason why the current team can’t make a similar advance as the season goes along.”
• Britt Robson of Sports Illustrated: “A team with the best defender on the planet always merits respect. But with more than one-quarter of the season gone, a trademark of the Magic’s past success, three-point accuracy, is still missing. In the last six games, Orlando hasn’t shot better than 36 percent from behind the arc, and it ranks 17th overall at 35.5 percent. Then there is the team’s recent post-intermission blues: The Magic have outscored their opponents in just one of the past 10 second-half quarters over the last five games. After a relatively light week — at Denver on Tuesday and home against the Sixers on Saturday — the schedule ratchets up with a trip to Atlanta and home games against Dallas, San Antonio and Boston.”
• No more dunk contests for Dwight Howard.
• Zach Lowe of The Point Forward kicks around trade ideas: “The wing is crowded in Orlando, with [Quentin] Richardson, Vince Carter, [J.J.] Redick and Mickael Pietrus all fighting for minutes (and Rashard Lewis getting more time at small forward), and it wouldn’t shock me if the Magic somehow addressed the redundancy.”
• Eric Freeman of Ball Don’t Lie: “Howard’s path from dunk contest fun to retirement is a familiar one for superstars. Players like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Vince Carter stopped participating in dunk contests to focus on being serious. It didn’t work for all of them — VC will always be mostly fondly remembered for his 2000 victory in Oakland — but the best players around trade in dunk contest hardware for championship rings.”
• Chris Tomasson of NBA FanHouse opines on Rashard Lewis’ struggles offensively this year.

• Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: “You don’t have to watch hours of game tape or pore over pages of statistics to produce a scouting report on Jameer Nelson. The book on the diminutive Orlando Magic co-captain is simple: He’s a scoring point guard who looks for his own shot as often as he looks to pass. Wednesday night didn’t change that perception, but it showed that Nelson can help the Magic even when his own shot doesn’t fall. Nelson bedeviled the Dallas Mavericks by dishing out 10 assists in the 101-76 exhibition victory. [...] Nelson, who made just one of his eight shot attempts, impacted the game immediately. Six of his assists came in the game’s first six minutes. He fed Quentin Richardson for a 3-pointer for Orlando’s first basket. Twice, his passes set Dwight Howard up for easy dunks. His ability to drive — and force defenses to account for his shot — helped lead to a pair of treys from Vince Carter and a midrange jumper from Rashard Lewis.”
• More from Robbins: “The Magic waived Robinson after their 101-76 win Wednesday night over the Dallas Mavericks. The team already has an abundance of wing players, and with Quentin Richardson, Mickael Pietrus, Vince Carter and J.J. Redick in the fold, the team didn’t need to keep the small forward out of UConn. With the team well into luxury tax territory, finances might have played a role in the decision. Robinson signed a non-guaranteed contract worth $473,604, but the dollar-for-dollar tax meant the team would have had to pay another $473,604 if Robinson had stuck with the team and his contract became guaranteed.”
• Vince Carter needs to continue to be aggressive.
• Head coach Rick Carlisle is impressed with the Orlando Magic.
• Right now, the Magic are hitting on all cylinders.
• Ben Q. Rock of Orlando Pinstriped Post: “We may not have seen the last of Robinson in a Magic uniform, however, though this much is purely speculation on my part. A new NBA D-League rule stipulates that the last three players cut from NBA training-camp rosters prior to the D-League Draft on November 1st will be allocated to that NBA team’s D-League affiliate. This rule means that Robinson’s D-League rights will belong to the New Mexico Thunderbirds, the Magic’s affiliate.”
• According to Scott Carefoot of The Basketball Jones, Orlando is the best team in the NBA that no one is talking about: “Orlando started out slow this preseason with single-digit wins over Houston and Indiana, but then they kicked into high gear with a 54-point win over the Hornets, a 13-point win over the Bobcats, a 38-point win over the Bulls, a 29-point win over the Hawks, and last night’s 25-point win over the Mavericks. Those are monster wins over quality competition. This raises that question: What the hell is going on down in Orlando? Defense is happening, my friends. The Magic are shooting 49.8 percent from the field after seven preseason games while they’ve held their opponents to 35 percent shooting. Thirty-five percent! That’s like playing against an entire team of Rafer Alstons every game! It’s common knowledge that two-time Defensive Player of the Year Dwight Howard is the backbone of the team that finished third in Defensive Rating (points allowed per 100 possessions) last season and first in that category the season before. But this season, it looks like the entire team has bought in to the importance of playing hard on D. Yes, even Vince Carter.?
• Want to hear Dwight Howard sing?
• Check out USA Today’s excellent infographic about the Amway Center.
• Mike Prada of SB Nation: “The watchability issue with Howard is that you always find yourself wishing his post moves were more defined. It’s unfair to say he has no post moves, because it’s much harder to be a post player in 2010 than 1995, but good teams certainly figured out how to limit his impact. Since we all love great post players, it’s frustrating. If his offseason work with Hakeem Olajuwon pays off in any way, it eliminates the most frustrating thing about watching the Magic.”
• The Magic are not in the business to trade anyone on the roster right now.
• John Schuhmann of NBA.com: “Orlando has been incredibly dominant in the preseason, winning its seven games by an average of 25 points. Using a standard statistical formula for expected wins, Orlando’s preseason point differential translates to 81-1 record over an 82-game season. So which game will they lose? OK. So the Magic probably won’t break the ’95-96 Bulls’ record of 72 wins. But Orlando’s dominant preseason is a reminder that they were statistically the best team last season, outscoring their opponents by 9.3 points per 100 possessions (Cleveland ranked second at +7.3). The playoffs were — and are — a different story, but this team is primed to be a regular-season juggernaut again.”
• Rashard Lewis thinks that Howard has a good chance to win the MVP award this season.
• Zach Lowe of The Point Forward: “The easy choice for the deepest team, and the Magic should be deep — their payroll is hovering around $95 million, right there with the Lakers for the league’s highest salary. The Magic have 11 legit rotation players, and one of Stan Van Gundy‘s biggest challenges will be sorting out minutes between a quality of group of forwards while deciding how often he wants to play Rashard Lewis at small forward. With Brandon Bass giving Orlando quality preseason minutes, it looks as if all 11 guys have bought into the system.”
• Many NBA scouts think it’ll be the Miami Heat and the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals.
• Britt Robson of Sports Illustrated says Orlando is nothing “more than a fabulous regular-season team.” Okay, so we’re going to base that comment off ONE playoff series last season against a team that matched up extremely well with the Magic?
• Should the Magic trade for Gilbert Arenas? Ric Bucher of ESPN Insider thinks so: “I don’t know if Arenas can be the difference-maker. But I do know the Magic need to make a move and take their best shot at a title right now. If Arenas shows he’s the ol’ Gil in a couple of months, then the market opens up more and maybe they don’t get him, because the Wizards assuredly would prefer to move him out West. And then the Magic are toast as far as title hopes this year. Let’s face it, Vince for Hedo (and Courtney Lee) turned out to be a bad deal. They needed Carter to be Vinsane and he just played like one of the guys.”
• Please read the Gilbert Arenas conundrum.

Fernando Medina/NBA/Orlandomagic.com

Via the Orlando Magic:

The Orlando Magic have exercised their fourth-year team option on forward Ryan Anderson, President of Basketball Operations/General Manager Otis Smith announced today. Per team policy, terms of the deal are not disclosed. Anderson is now under contract through the 2011-12 season.

Anderson (#33, 6’10”, 240, 5/6/88) played in 63 games last season for the Magic, averaging 7.7 ppg. and 3.2 rpg. in 14.5 minpg., while shooting .370 (78-211) from three-point range. He started in six outings, averaging 15.0 ppg. and 5.0 rpg. in 25.6 minpg. during that span. Anderson also appeared in nine playoff games, averaging 2.6 ppg. and 3.4 rpg. in 9.9 minpg.

Originally selected in the first round (21st overall) of the 2008 NBA Draft by New Jersey, Anderson was acquired by the Magic from the Nets, along with Vince Carter, in exchange for Rafer Alston, Tony Battie and Courtney Lee on June 25, 2009. He has played in 129 career NBA regular season games with New Jersey and Orlando, averaging 7.6 ppg. and 4.0 rpg. in 17.2 minpg, while shooting .368 (147-400) from three-point range.

Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

Fact or Fiction presents both sides of key issues the Orlando Magic will face in the upcoming season.

Marcin Gortat, Vince Carter, and Brandon Bass will all finish this season in a Magic uniform.

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Fact
It can be argued, even if it’s — admittedly — not the strongest argument, that the Orlando Magic are better off keeping the roster as is. Remember, the Magic were first in efficiency differential (+9.25) during the regular season last year and they bring back the same group of guys, sans Matt Barnes after he signed with the Los Angeles Lakers as a free agent. The only new faces that will be in the rotation, for the time being, are Quentin Richardson and Chris Duhon. Plus, given that Richardson will likely be an upgrade from Barnes, especially on offense, and Duhon is projected to have a good season as Jameer Nelson‘s back-up, it’s safe to say that Orlando shouldn’t miss a beat. Why make a trade just for the sake of making a trade?

In the grand scheme of things, the Magic are still one of the best teams in the NBA as currently constructed. It might be in the best interest of general manager Otis Smith to leave the roster alone and let the players try again.

It’s called a second chance.

Vince Carter and Brandon Bass will get the benefit of playing in head coach Stan Van Gundy‘s system for another season. In Carter’s case, the hope is that he can develop more synergy with Dwight Howard in pick and rolls but it’s a wait-and-see approach. As for Marcin Gortat, there is the expectation is that he’ll bounce back from a sub-par year and play with more energy, as well as cut down on the turnovers — two minor issues that plagued him in 2010.

And at the end of the day, Howard must take his game to the next level if Orlando wants to win a title with their current outfit of players.

Even if the Magic were to acquire someone by trading Gortat and/or Carter and/or Bass, Howard has to open Pandora’s box on offense or else it’s a moot point.

The pressure isn’t on Gortat, Carter, or Bass to produce, which means that they may stick around even if they fail to contribute by their standards.

Read more…

• George Diaz of the Orlando Sentinel: “Prepped by the [Orlando] Magic PR staff not to react angrily when approached for comment before tipoff Friday, [Dwight] Howard didn’t say a disparaging word. But later in the night, after the Magic were eliminated, he asked a reporter for the whereabouts of Borges. Howard couldn’t locate him, but the unfiltered conversation would have been, um, animated. Given a few days to mull things over and contemplate a season of unfulfilled goals, Howard is taking the road less travelled. Only 24, he has come to understand that life is difficult, and it’s impossible to focus with all the clanging cymbals in his head. On a more simplistic level, Howard is going with the “sticks and stones may hurt my bones but names will never hurt me” approach to the antagonists.”
• Today, Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel continues his player evaluations — Adonal Foyle, Marcin Gortat, Anthony Johnson, and Mickael Pietrus.
• The Orlando Magic meet the Wu-Tang Clan name generator.
• Ben Q. Rock of Orlando Pinstriped Post looks back at the respective seasons of Brandon Bass and Vince Carter.
• SLAM ONLINE shares video of the 1995 Roundball Classic, which featured Carter and other then-high schoolers like Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. Take a look.
• Dwight Howard: “I want to thank all of the Magic fans out there for the love that they showed us this season. It used to be that we’d go into arenas on the road and we’d never see Magic jerseys on the fans. Jameer [Nelson] and I vowed to one another a few years back that we were going to make Magic basketball more popular. I feel like we’ve done that, but we still need that championship! We’re not bringing that ‘chip home and I’m sure fans are as disappointed right now as I am. I like to think that things happen for a reason, and I think we’ll learn from this. It will take me most of the summer to get over this loss. I know the sun will come up tomorrow and life will be just fine. After some time, hopefully I can get my mind off us not getting back to The Finals and not winning that title. I just need some time right now.”
• Lang Whitaker of SLAM ONLINE looks back at NBA Finals in years past and shares his notes with everyone. Some of the anecdotes are memorable, like this one: “The Magic then replaced the Lakers at the hastily assembled podiums surrounding the court. Jameer Nelson and Rafer Alston were nearly side by side, though Rafer had a microphone and Jameer didn’t, so Skip was basically talking over Jameer. Meanwhile, supplanted back-up point guard Anthony Johnson was sitting alone on the scorer’s table at halfcourt, methodically working his way through a bag of sunflower seeds, a habit he said was a remnant of his baseball career in high school. [...] I sat with AJ for the entire Magic media availability and watched him patiently explain over and over again to a rotating crop of reporters that yes, he’d like to be playing right now, but it was Stan Van Gundy’s decision and AJ was not going to ’cause a ruckus’ at this point in the season. He did a nice job deflecting pretty much every question, though it was kind of amusing to see AJ fish for an inoffensive answer when Marc Berman asked him, ‘Do you believe in the saying, If it ain’t broke don’t fix it?’ ”
• Zach Harper of Hardwood Paroxysm on Matt Barnes: “He’s a sub-par offensive player and an above average defensive player. He’s an agitator on the court and in there to stir things up a bit. He’s basically the Bam Margera of the NBA. There’s not a lot of discernible talent and it’s hard to figure out how he keeps getting on TV. And yet there he is, breaking stuff for no reason and messing with his fat uncle that has the crazy eyes that don’t point in the same direction. Well, he just opted out of his contract after the Magic were eliminated from the playoffs by the hands of the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals. Perhaps, you remember the Magic’s run in the playoffs this year. It was the same set of post-season games in which J.J. Redick completely outplayed his teammate and damn near made him obsolete. Perhaps you’re asking yourself why a struggling basketball player would try to get himself a pay raise after a bad run of basketball. Isn’t that the anti-Croshere move?”
• Matt Moore of Hardwood Paroxysm chimes in on Ryan Anderson and the lack of minutes he got in the 2010 NBA Playoffs: “Anderson’s production has been there. He’s a terrific asset, and he looks like the piece New Jersey shouldn’t have surrendered. That he’s now trapped three deep on Orlando is a shame. He’s capable of so much more, and if the Magic don’t want to use him, that’s fine, but let’s go see what he can do elsewhere. Trapping him long term in Orlando is a waste of his potential. If you’re not going to use him anyway, go get a Collins brother or someone else equally useless. Don’t pen up the kid that can shoot.”
• John Hollinger of ESPN Insider ranks all 66 teams that have played for the Larry O’Brien trophy. The 2009 Magic are ranked ahead of the 1995 Magic, for those that are curious: “Orlando won 59 games and beat two 60-win teams to make the Finals, so the Magic weren’t chopped liver. On the other hand, they tied a record with 11 playoff losses and their playoff scoring margin was in the bottom 15 among Finalists. Magic fans will be pleased to learn, however, that this team ranks ahead of the team’s other Finals entry, which starred the since-departed and now-despised Shaquille O’Neal.”