SB Nation - Pat Garrity

3QC Roundtable Discussion: Previewing the 2009-2010 Season for the Orlando Magic

erivera7 — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:01:03 -0000

"Runnin' mad games as if your name was Scott Skiles." - A Tribe Called Quest

After months of trading for players, signing free-agents, and playing pre-season games, the NBA is officially underway tonight for several teams. The Orlando Magic are not one of them, which is bad and good. Bad, because people have to wait one more day. Good, because it allows Third Quarter Collapse to fit in one more preview before the Magic begin its quest to return to the NBA Finals this year (and win it all).

As has been my custom in the past, I was able to corral some of the brightest minds around the internet and in the APBRmetrics community to provide their thoughts on Orlando this year. For regular 3QC readers, you'll recognize the names fairly quickly:

Bradford Doolitte, Basketball Prospectus

Neil Paine, Basketball-Reference

Ryan J. Parker, Basketball Geek

Kevin Pelton, Basketball Prospectus

Each individual provided his opinion on the Magic's busy off-season, ascertained which Eastern Conference rival matches up the best with Orlando, and more.

Recently, the NBA released it's annual GM survey and only 7.1% believe the Orlando Magic will win the Eastern Conference. Likewise, Ian Thomsen of Sports Illustrated polled a half-dozen scouts and all of them agreed that the Magic were the consensus #3 team in the East. Even Orlando was ranked #8 by Sporting News in a power ranking a couple weeks ago. In your time covering the NBA, have you ever seen a team receive less respect after reaching the Finals just a few months ago? To what you would attribute it to?

Neil Paine: I don't know, it seemed like the East's representative was constantly being slept on after losing the Finals at the beginning of the 2000s, too -- Philly, New Jersey, etc. I think the general feeling (and I can't say it's totally wrong, to be honest) is that Orlando caught lightning in a bottle last spring, and that the burden of proof is on them to show that it wasn't a one-year thing. Boston obviously has proven themselves two years ago, and they very nearly beat Orlando even without Garnett, so it's easy to see them ranking ahead of the Magic. Cleveland is better on paper and they have the best player in the game -- but that was true last year and Orlando still won, so their ranking above the Magic is harder to justify. Maybe it's the Shaq addition, maybe it's (undeserved) disrespect for Vince Carter, exactly why I can't say. The stats obviously say to go with Cleveland, but you'd think the sportswriters would go with the team that won last year.

Ryan J. Parker: Historical preseason rankings aren't really relevant here. The reality is that there are other good teams in the East that are getting more respect. People like the Magic, they just like Cleveland and Boston more. I personally see Cleveland as the team to beat, with Boston and Orlando behind them. Simply getting to the Finals shouldn't give the Magic a sense of entitlement. It's probably better that way, since SVG doesn't have to worry about the guys getting big heads. They get to play the disrespect card, however useful that may be.

Kevin Pelton: Well, the 1998-99 Chicago Bulls (who were a little before my time actively covering the NBA) and the 2004-05 L.A. Lakers come to mind. Now, a team that brought back the majority of its roster and arguably improved its talent? No, certainly not. I think a lot of it is that people never completely bought into Orlando's playoff run. The win over the Celtics can be written off as due to Kevin Garnett's injury (never mind Jameer Nelson's injury), while the Cleveland series could be viewed as something of a fluke. The other factor, which you guys have discussed from all angles, is this surprising notion that going from Hedo Turkoglu to Vince Carter is a huge negative for the Magic.

Bradford Doolittle: A lot of it comes from the belief that the Celtics would have beaten them had Kevin Garnett would be healthy. Now Garnett is back the Celtics have added Rasheed Wallace. As for Cleveland -- the Cavaliers did win 66 games last season and it was an upset when the Magic knocked them out last spring. I wouldn't take it as a lack of respect. The league is really top heavy right now and I think everyone agrees the Magic are part of the upper crust. Also playing into this, I believe, is that Jameer Nelson's importance to the Magic is underrated. It's amazing that they made the Finals without him and were competitive in the Finals even with Nelson playing at about 60 percent of his capacity.

More after the jump.

Out of all the moves general manager Otis Smith and the Magic made in the off-season, which one did you like the most and why?

NP: I liked the headline move, the Vince Carter pickup. He gets a lot of flak from the press for not being what they wanted him to be (he isn't the next Michael Jordan, and he never was), and it's true that he quit on the Raps a few years ago, but I can see him being an important piece on a winning team like the Magic because of his ability to both create off the dribble and shoot from long-range. He's also an underrated defender, which will fit in very well with Van Gundy and the Magic. All in all, I think he's a terrific fit and hands down one of the off-season's best pickups.

RP: The addition of Vince will be interesting to see, but I believe that managing to keep Gortat and add Bass helps to give the team depth that any real championship contender needs.

KP: I think it is tough to pick out one specific move because they were all interconnected. For example, if the Magic would have lost Courtney Lee as part of the Carter trade and failed to replace him, that initial deal would have been much worse. Therefore, getting Matt Barnes is not only useful in and of itself but also as it fits in with the Carter trade. That said, if I'm picking just one move, it's not only getting Carter for expiring contracts and Lee but adding Ryan Anderson as something of a throw-in with that deal. Already, demanding Anderson is looking genius.

BD: It's awesome that he was able to pry Ryan Anderson away from New Jersey in the V.C. deal. I really like Anderson's game and he'll be able to replace many of the things that they got from Turkoglu. I saw where Dwight Howard is now referring to him as 'Pat Garrity' which is funny, but Anderson's a more well-rounded player than Garrity.

Isn't Stan Van Gundy due for a Coach of the Year award? Could this be the season when he finally gets recognition for the work he's been doing in Orlando?

NP: You definitely could make a case that he deserved it last year, even before outmatching Mike Brown as a tactician in the Conference Finals. The way he turned Orlando into a legitimately great defensive team, with that personnel -- I know Howard is a complete beast and would anchor any D to an above-average ranking, but think about the rest of his lineup: Rashard Lewis at the 4? Turkoglu manning up on the perimeter? On the best defensive team in the league? That, to me, has been one of the best coaching performances of the past few years.

RP: After taking a quick look at last year's voting, I see SVG placed 3rd. Only one coach can win the award, so it's not likely he gets it, but it seems like he is being recognized in some form, even if he doesn't have the hardware to show off.

KP: I definitely think Van Gundy should have won a year ago. Like his team as a whole, he seems to have a hard time convincing the national media that he is a world-class coach. If the Magic challenges for first place in the Eastern Conference during the regular season, it will be hard to deny Van Gundy this year.

BD: SVG deserves the award someday, but not until Jerry Sloan gets one.

Between the Boston Celtics and the Cleveland Cavaliers, which team presents more problems for the Magic when looking at possible playoff matchups?

NP: It's still Boston just in terms of individual matchups; if healthy, they've got more than enough talent at all the right places to take Orlando out. Cleveland's the wild card, though -- we know Orlando manhandled them inside w/ Howard and destroyed them on the pick-n-roll last year, and I'm not even close to being sold on this idea that Shaq cures the first problem. Moon and Parker, though, those guys were terrific additions because they can defend the wing as well as anybody Cleveland had. Besides, James is so good that he could have carried Cleveland to a win if his teammates had made just a few more shots.

RP: Cleveland.

KP: I would say the Celtics right now. I think both teams made moves that allow them to better match up with Rashard Lewis and his ability to stretch the floor. Boston can put a healthy Kevin Garnett at the four as well as Rasheed Wallace, which is a massive upgrade on the minutes Brian Scalabrine played in the series a year ago. The Cavaliers had the problem of trying to find a fifth guy to put on the floor because they had a hard time playing two bigs together against Lewis. Depending on the situation with Delonte West, Cleveland could have two strong options this year in Jamario Moon and Anthony Parker, as well as potentially a healthy Leon Powe by playing time. That said, I still think Dwight Howard can present more problems for the Cavaliers than the Celtics. While Shaquille O'Neal can handle Howard in the post in a way Anderson Varejao was unable to last spring, the Magic will be content to play pick-and-roll basketball against O'Neal. That should mean a steady stream of easy jumpers for Nelson, who is more than capable of knocking them down.

BD: If the Celtics are fully healthy, they have an answer for everything that the Magic can throw at them, especially now that Wallace is on board to help pound on Dwight.

What are the chances Orlando wins a title this year? What is your official prediction for the team?

NP: The Southeast is going to be a cakewalk again, so pencil them in for at least 50 wins, and I think they'll be right there in the end, playing a major role in the Conference Semis or even the Conference Finals again. That said, I don't know if they can take care of both Boston and Cleveland if those teams are at 100%. Barring some kind of injury problems, the Magic are going to be the 3 seed again, they're going to have to go through the Celtics and the Cavs, and I don't think they'll take care of both in the same postseason for a 2nd straight year. The East hasn't sent the same team to the Finals in back-to-back years since Detroit in '05, and I think when the dust settles, we'll see that streak continue in 2010.

KP: Our official preseason SCHOENE projections, released Monday, have Orlando as co-favorites in the East and in the entire league with Cleveland. They give the Magic a whopping 36-percent chance of finishing the regular season with the NBA's best record. That's not quite the same as winning the championship, so I'd put the odds at about one in four. Subjectively, I'm taking Orlando to win it all. West's status troubles me, and I think the Magic matches up better this year with the Lakers or whoever might come out of the other conference.

BD: Given the ultra-competitiveness of the top of the NBA right now, I'd put Orlando sixth the overall league pecking order, with maybe a seven to 10 percent shot at a title. My subjective pick is 52 wins and a six-game loss to Cleveland in the East semifinals.

I like to thank Mr. Doolittle, Mr. Paine, Mr. Parker, and Mr. Pelton for answering my questions.

Create A Caption #34 Winner

erivera7 — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 01:23:41 -0000

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Well, 72 hours have passed and we have a winner in Third Quarter Collapse's thirty-fourth "create a caption" competition.

Here is the winning caption:

Vince: Look at how mad he [Ryan Anderson] gets when you call him Pat Garrity.

3QC member bandrewg08 is the winner in the competition, garnering 52% of the votes. Honorable mention to the other captions, which were all outstanding submissions.

We'll do this again soon! For those that participated, thanks. If you didn't win the contest this time around, you'll have another crack at garnering precious glory later this week, on Friday. Stay tuned.

Create A Caption #34: Round 2

erivera7 — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 23:54:07 -0000

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Round 1, completed.

Round 2, started.

After two days of submissions, these are the captions that made the cut. The submissions will be listed by number of "recs/votes" in descending order, starting with the leader.

Please vote in the poll for the caption you like the most.

Thanks.

Pietrus sings the national anthem.

by UNFNOLE, 8 recs

Vince: Look at how mad he [Ryan Anderson] gets when you call him Pat Garrity.

by bandrewg08, 7 recs

They can't even outplay our bench!

by JayPar16, 7 recs

Rashard took banned body building substances? Then why does he still look like a toothpick.

by NC Magic Fan, 6 recs

Rules:

I'm sure everyone here is familiar with a "create a caption" competition, but in case someone here doesn't know what this type of contest is .. basically a picture is provided and you, the reader, attempt to come up with a quick sentence describing what's occurring in the photo. The line can be funny, stupid, witty, etc.

I'll be a judge but I like to have another collective voice determining the winner, that way there's a bit of a consensus among the community. What I prefer for everyone here to do is this .. if you like the caption a fellow member has come up with, "recommend" it. That will be 'your vote', in essence. If you don't know how to "recommend" a comment, go to the comment you like, click on 'actions', then click on 'rec'. You can "recommend" multiple captions/comments, if you want.

So for a quick recap ..

- Write a quick sentence describing what's occurring in the photo.

- If you like a caption/comment that's been written, "recommend" it.

- After you "recommend" a caption/comment, write something (like +1, for example) to indicate you like the sentence a 3QC member has written.

- The contest will last four days, so whichever caption/comment gets the most recommendations, wins. In case of a tie, I'll determine the winner. [NEW]

- There will be two rounds in the competition. In the first round (Friday/Saturday), submissions are made and votes are tallied. At the end of the second day, the submissions that garnered four or more "recs/votes" will advance. In the final round (Sunday/Monday), votes are tallied for the eligible submissions. [NEW]

- Winner will be announced Monday afternoon or evening. [NEW]

- The contest is subject to change.

Let the contest begin!

Poll

Choose the author which made the best caption.

UNFNOLE

29 votes

bandrewg08

74 votes

JayPar16

26 votes

NC Magic Fan

12 votes

141 votes | Poll has closed

What's Up, Ryan?

erivera7 — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 12:15:17 -0000

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So far in exhibition play, Ryan Anderson has turned heads in Orlando with his excellent play on offense and starting to make Magic fans recognize that he wasn't just a "throw-in" in the trade that brought him and Vince Carter from the New Jersey Nets during the off-season. Anderson can play, as his statistics in pre-season action after four games poignantly prove - sporting an effective field goal percentage of 62.5%, buoyed mostly by the fact Ryan has shot 50% from beyond the arc (14-28). Because Anderson has played so well offensively, Dwight Howard has stated to me - twice - that he sees him as the "new Pat Garrity", given that they are both deadly perimeter shooters who can spread the floor at the power forward position.

However, is that a fair comparison to make?

The numbers of Kevin Pelton's SCHOENE player projection system and the eyes of David Thorpe would disagree, but what do some of the other statistics say?

There's an answer.

I decided to take a look at Pat's best season as a pro in the NBA and compare his stats to what Ryan was able to produce as a rookie for the Nets this past season.

As you can see in the table above, Garrity's career-year isn't better than Anderson's first year in the Association. Although there are similarities in the per-minute data and the shooting efficiencies of both players, Ryan rates as the slightly superior player because of his ability to rebound much better than his counterpart. Safe to say, Anderson's 'floor' as a player is big Pat but his 'ceiling' is much higher.

What other differences are there? The main one, on offense, is the fact that Garrity was strictly a perimeter shooter and Ryan is not. Anderson can do so much more offensively - he can drive to the basket, he can post up, and more. In essence, Ryan has a more complete offensive repertoire than Pat. Now, people at the Amway Arena haven't seen this "entire package" much when Anderson has been on the floor because more than half of his field goal attempts have been three-pointers. But rest assured, the ability is there, as Ryan put his post-game game on display during the 2009 Orlando Pro Summer League a few months ago. As for everything else, Anderson is more athletic and defensively, has more ability on that side of the ball.

So, what exactly is a fair comparison for Ryan Anderson right now?

How about a poor man's Andrea Bargnani? Not a perfect comparison, of course, but for all the hype, money, and talent Bargnani brings to the table for the Toronto Raptors as the first pick in the 2006 NBA Draft, there isn't much of a discernible difference between him and Anderson when you look at the numbers (and that's Andrea's third season in the NBA). Now granted, Bargnani had a strong second-half last year but it doesn't ignore the fact that him and Ryan have similar offensive skill-sets, for the most part. There's a stark difference, though, between the two individuals when it comes to defending, rebounding, etc (the latter is better). Likewise, John Hollinger projects Anderson to have a higher PER than Bargnani in the upcoming season, though playing time does factor into the projections. Even in that case, it's hard to ignore how the players compared last year.

	Ryan Anderson	Andrea Bargnani
Games Played	66	78
Minutes Played	19.9	31.4
1 year adj. plus/minus	+3.20	-9.26
net plus/minus	+3.5	-6.5
statistical plus/minus	-0.04	-0.88
PER	13.6	14.6
WARP	1.9	1.6
Win Shares	2.4	3.9

There are a number of players in the league who one can compare Anderson to, but with all due respect to Howard, Pat Garrity isn't one of them. Ryan is superior.

And when you factor in Stan Van Gundy's ability to maximize potential and talent, as long as Anderson remains with Orlando, who knows how good he can become.

Practice Report: Stan Van Gundy Wants to See Fewer Turnovers, Dwight Howard Wants to Gain Respect for the City of Orlando, and More

erivera7 — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 20:20:52 -0000

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After two games away from the City Beautiful early in the week, Orlando Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy has been satisfied with the effort on defense, which was something he felt needed to improve if the team was going to succeed on the defensive side of the ball. The new task for the players? Taking care of the ball, as turnovers have plagued the Magic during the pre-season. Even though Orlando is 5-0 in exhibition play, Van Gundy made it clear that taking care of the ball is important.

I was able to speak with Stan, Vince Carter, and Dwight Howard* amongst the media after practice was over in the early afternoon. Here's what they had to say:

Stan Van Gundy:

With five games under your belt, do you have an idea now of who your starters are going to be?

Well, I know I'm going to start Vince, Jameer, and Dwight. From there, I really don't know at the other two spots right now.

How much do you like the offensive mismatches that Rashard brings at the three?

He can post. I think his matchup is actually a bigger problem for most teams when he's at the four than at the three. We can get him in the post when he's at the three, you have to get him in the post more, but I'm not sure if he creates a bigger matchup problem there than he does at the four. I guess it all depends on who you're playing, too.

Are the turnovers a matter of familiarity?

Not really, I think right now part of it is fatigue and you get tired and you're not as solid. A lot of it is just fundamental mistakes, jumping up in the air to pass, one-handed passing, one-handed catches. Very basic things, these guys have played basketball their whole lives so it's not a matter of who you're playing with. Who you're playing with doesn't matter if you're throwing the ball to the guy on the other team. I mean, it doesn't really matter so yeah, it's just fundamental things and a lot more concentration and a big problem right now is that we have too many guys turning the ball over. As I said to them [the players], we don't really have a low-turnover guy right now. That's the problem, I mean, you can live with the guys who are going to have the ball in their hands a lot making some mistakes as long as it's not out of range.

Right now, Dwight's turnovers are way above normal for him. I mean, he's got to get his [turnovers] down. Vince too, he's got to get his [turnovers] down. Our point guards haven't been that bad, but the other problem is what we've had in the past that's saved us is while some of our key guys have been turning the ball over a lot, we had a lot of guys out on the floor that rarely, if ever, turned the ball over and right now, we don't have anybody like that. Everybody is turning the ball over so we need to find some guys that can compliment those guys that run the offense, make open shots, and don't turn the ball over a lot and we don't have that right now.

With the game against the New Orleans Hornets, was that an example of how potent the offense can be?

Well, I mean, anybody ... when you're shooting 19 for 30 from three, I mean, even in that game, we had 23 turnovers. I would not say that our offense played anywhere near as well as it can but shooting covers a lot of mistakes. As I told them today [the players], you can't count on shooting the ball like that every night. I will say, though, we're one of the few teams in the league that has the capability of doing that. I mean, that can come at any given night for us. It bailed us out of 23 turnovers the other night, but again and I say this to them all the time in trying to understand how you win, the other thing was that the Hornets shot 38%. That's the part [defense] that sort of always gets overlooked with us, because we're making so many threes but we held them to 38%, that was really a key to the game,

In the first five games of the pre-season, how has the defense progressed from the beginning of pre-season to now?

I think we played harder in the two games on the road this past week than we did in the first three games. I thought we made a better effort. I thought we had a little more concentration on our gameplan so I thought it was a good step forward. We're still not even near where we need to be, defensively, but I thought we made very good progress on those two games on the trip.

More after the jump.

*Dwight Howard with a powerful quote about the Orlando Magic.

Vince Carter:

Stan's talked about turnovers being a matter of fundamentals. What are your thoughts on that?

I don't have any thoughts, it's a true story. It's true, he's right. I think sometimes you have to go back to basics. You tend to do things, you can make plays but when the turnovers start to get higher than the number that we want, then it's time to go back to basics and I think that's what he [Van Gundy] is trying to pull out of us.

With five games finished in the pre-season, how eager are you to start the regular season?

Getting to this point, you're always ready to get the season started. You kind of get tired of games not counting, but at the same time, I mean, like coach [Stan Van Gundy] said, it feels like we still have a ways to go to be the team we want to be so it's just patience, we have to have now, and the big picture now is getting better to hopefully continue to play and be the last team standing so days like this, games, pre-season games, ugly wins, they all count and we have to make them count.

Dwight Howard:

For the returning players, how has the demeanor changed from last year to this year in terms of trying to win a championship?

It hasn't changed. Everybody wants the same goal so we know what it takes and the guys who have been in the situation where ... going to the championship, for some people, it's like once-in-a-lifetime so we got to take advantage of it and practice every situation for it.

Do you take pride in doing your part in helping the franchise get back to its glory years in the mid-90's, back when Shaq and Penny were around?

Well, we're not the glory team. It's a brand-new team and I don't think people should expect us to be like that team, we're a totally different team and I think we represent ourselves in a different way than they did and I don't want to be looked at as the second glory team. We do our own thing. We get out there and play the same way every day, every practice, and we do a lot for our community, trying to make Orlando a better place so we're not looking back to go to the glory days. Those days were way back when, we want to do more than those guys did so we have a big goal, a big task, but I think the biggest thing we can do here is get some respect for our city and make people understand that it's not just about Disney World, Universal Studios, and Wet 'n Wild, and theme parks, there's a basketball team who goes out there every night and gives 110%.

How encouraging has Ryan Anderson's play been, given that before he arrived, not many Orlando Magic fans knew much about him?

Well, that's fine. Not a lot of people in Orlando knew who Courtney Lee was but they found out. I like Ryan, he's a perfect fit for us. I call him the new Pat Garrity, I think they play the same, similar styles, and I think Ryan will be an important part of this team once he gets into his mind that coach [Stan Van Gundy] wants me to shoot every time I'm open. When he has that mindset that I'm going to shoot the ball, he makes it, but when he thinks about it too much and changes his shot, turns the ball over just like anybody. For coach, the thing is, when we're open, shoot the ball instead of forcing it. We shouldn't have to work for shots.

Odds and Ends:

In my opinion, it's looking more and more like Rashard is going to remain the starting power forward, as Orlando Magic head coach Van Gundy stated to me that he feels Lewis is much better suited at the four on offense (which makes sense). Likewise, given that it'll take time for Rashard to get re-adjusted to playing the three on defense and he's become a net positive for the squad, defensively, as a power forward (he feels more comfortable there, understandably), it doesn't seem logical for him to start at small forward. Rashard will definitely see minutes at the three, but it's unlikely that he starts there. But who knows, anything can happen when Lewis returns to suspension.

Side note: As Tania Ganguli reports, Rashard Lewis will not start the remainder of the pre-season.

Post-Game Media Availability: Bench Players Stand Out

erivera7 — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 08:16:47 -0000

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The Orlando Magic may have won the basketball matchup in the box score against the Miami Heat last night and at times the action wasn't pretty to watch, but there's no denying that the team showed flashes of its potential with the new group of players continuing to jell as a collective. There were plenty of moments in which the Magic were clicking on the floor, within the madness of poor shooting (39.7% from the field) and sloppy play (22 turnovers). Head coach Stan Van Gundy, after the game, readily admitted that Orlando is nowhere where it needs to be as a team, but the progress is certainly there. With each pre-season game, the squad looks to mold itself into a cohesive unit, bit by bit. It's a process, but it's one that's occurring.

First, the players - I was able to chat with Ryan Anderson one-on-one after the game, as well as speak with Vince Carter and Dwight Howard amongst the media.

Here's what they had to say:

Ryan Anderson:

How would you rate your performance tonight?

I think there a lot of things I need to work on, there's a lot of things I'm adjusting to still and it's my first game back so I think, defensively, there's a lot of things I need to work on, offensively, I need to work on getting in the flow of the game. I just need to focus on more screen & rolls, just finding my open shots. I think later on in the game, I kind of found my rhythm, found open gaps, and that's what's going to be there really with Vince and Dwight obviously down low.

Offensively, do you feel like you let the game come to you during the second half, once you were getting into a groove like you said?

Yeah, I mean, that's what really happens when you get through past those first few minutes of the game, you do feel the nerves, but once those first plays go through basically, you start feeling comfortable, you find your role, you just focus more on your game so it comes easier as the game goes on.

If you don't start, do you believe you can help the team pack a punch off the bench?

Oh yeah, I mean, I think this team compliments my style of play. Dwight on the inside, four shooters on the outside. It's tough to guard, it's really tough to guard and because so many guys are going to be sagging down on Dwight, it's going to create open shots for everybody along the perimeter so I mean, I think that for myself, I think I'll definitely be competing in the rotation. Whether or not ... Brandon is a heck of a player, too, whether or not he's a three-point shooter, it doesn't really matter. The guy busts his butt and he does what he needs to do. He's a strong player, like I said before, so I mean, we have so many weapons, so many options so yeah, I'm obviously going to compete for my minutes, I'm not going to be handed anything so I'm going to fight and when I get in the game, just do what I do, just shoot the ball and rebound.

Offensively, it really seemed like you made a concerted effort to drive into the lane, initiate some contact, and get some free-throws out of it. Is that something that most people don't know about? Because it seems when they see you, they see you strictly as a perimeter shooter.

I think ... a lot of people think I'm just a shooter, that's not really my game. I'm a physical player, I have a knack for the ball, I try to get offensive rebounds. I may not be the greatest finisher. I really need to work on my full jumper but besides that, I think that my driving game is something that people don't really know a ton about because I don't do it a ton but I'm getting more and more comfortable as I'm playing, with driving the ball, and I think I might surprise some people and they think I'm just going to spot up and shoot it a ton

More after the jump.

Vince Carter:

It seemed like, tonight, you were making a more concerted effort to attack the basket. Was that by design?

Yeah, just couldn't make a darn layup but that's just what he [Stan Van Gundy] keeps telling me, be aggressive, be aggressive, be aggressive, so that's been my mentality. He doesn't want me to back down from a shot so if anything, just play my game, and my game is just trying to get to the basket for years and years and I'll continue to do it.

Ryan finally had his first game. How do you think he played?

I think he played well. Being around Ryan, you can see in his face that he was excited. I was happy for him, I was happy for him to come out and play like he did tonight and do a lot of good things so he's really helping himself in the process.

I know that he always seems to get overlooked in the trade that brought yourself and him over.

He's definitely an asset to this team, especially with the first 10 games with Rashard out. He brings ... he can really stretch the floor, you have to respect him, he rebounds the ball, he's just relentless and I'm happy for him. He's in a great situation. I think he brings a different look to our team, outside of what Brandon does, so we have a lot of weapons.

I know there was an example where you went up for a shot, but then you gave it to Gortat in the paint.

Yeah, March was open, he was kind of looking, but he wasn't looking and expecting me to shoot it and that's just the mentality where a guy pulling up is pretty much going to shoot it but he'll understand that so I just have to find a happy medium. If here's a shot that he wants me to take it, then I should take it, and I felt that he was open so that's the beauty of pre-season so maybe in a game situation, when we need that shot, I'll take that shot.

So basically, it's a matter of chemistry and getting a feel for each other?

Yeah, yeah, definitely.

Dwight Howard:

As a team, you had 16 block shots tonight. Was it just one of those nights where everybody seemed to get a hand on the ball?

I think that everybody is really trying to concentrate on defense. That's the great thing about the team and we got to have it going into the season. If we can get 16 blocks from everybody, I think that'll be great, and so is the level of concentration that we have on the defensive end.

Is that just a matter of you leading the way, bringing that defensive intensity, and everybody following suit?

I think it's both. When they see the leader playing defense and being aggressive, everybody falls in line.

What are your thoughts on Ryan Anderson's performance tonight?

I think he did well. That's what we got him for, to shoot threes, be a hard-nosed defender, and he did a great job tonight so I hope he can keep it up. It's only pre-season and he got his feet wet, I think he did a good job.

Do you see a little similarities between his game and Rashard Lewis' game?

Oh, I really think ... I call him the new Pat Garrity. He plays just like him, he shoots just like him, he's hard-nosed, he battles in the paint, and he can drive and pitch so I say he's the new-school Pat Garrity.

Odds and Ends:

While the Orlando Magic and Miami Heat were playing, I decided to jot some notes down each quarter and keep track of some of the good (and bad) things I saw from courtside from the men in blue.

FIRST QUARTER -

Dwight Howard stood out defensively, blocking two shots and playing good help-side defense when the opportunity presented itself.
Vince Carter got in foul trouble early so J.J. Redick had to come into the game a little bit earlier than expected, but he had a positive impact on the court - had a few nice passes to Howard and Marcin Gortat, as well as nail a three off a pass from Jameer Nelson.
Ryan Anderson checked in for Brandon Bass and the first thing that stood out to me was his willingness to put the ball on the floor and drive to the basket. Two separate instances, Anderson did just that.

SECOND QUARTER -

Carter played well in this frame, driving it to the basket, pushing the ball up the court, and making some nice passes to Matt Barnes (for a three) and Bass. Vince has been getting open looks from beyond the arc and hasn't been making them, but I expect that to change as the pre-season progresses and he gets into a better rhythm during games.
Mickael Pietrus was feeling it from the perimeter, quickly. The corner three is his favorite spot on the court and he made two of them from that spot.
Jameer Nelson did a good job of breaking down his defender off the dribble, penetrating into the lane, and dishing it off to his teammates (two separate occasions, to Dwight and Brandon). Nelson does his most damage when he's wreaking havoc in the lane and forcing the defense to collapse, thus allowing Magic players to get easy buckets around the paint or open looks around the perimeter.

THIRD QUARTER -

Howard, again, dominated on the defensive end, blocking shots, and playing good help-side defense. Sometimes, I wonder why opposing players (Quentin Richardson, in this instance) bother penetrating into the lane after Dwight has already blocked a few attempts in emphatic fashion earlier in the game.
Barnes had a good quarter, making a pretty pass to Bass, who proceeded to dunk it ... made a corner three after doing a good job of trapping a Heat (with Nelson) ball handler crossing half-court ... played power forward briefly.

FOURTH QUARTER -

Redick played well, making jumpers off the dribble or on the catch; he had an excellent ball fake to throw off two Miami players which prompted ooh's and aah's from the Orlando crowd, but couldn't make the three.

Discussing Vince Carter, Ryan Anderson, and the Orlando Magic with Dave D'Alessandro of The Star-Ledger

Ben Q Rock — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:30:13 -0000

More photos » by Bill Kostroun - AP

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A few days after the Orlando Magic acquired Vince Carter and Ryan Anderson from the New Jersey Nets in exchange for Rafer Alston, Tony Battie, and Courtney Lee, I contacted Dave D'Alessandro to discuss the trade. Dave, who covers the Nets for The Star-Ledger, is regarded as one of the best local beat writers in the business. He was kind enough to answer some questions of mine via email.

Third Quarter Collapse: The two main concerns in Orlando about the trade both pertain to Vince Carter. In your estimation, can he competently fill the role Hedo Turkoglu had for the Magic as a secondary offensive facilitator/primary perimeter scoring threat? And is there any chance he'll quit on the Magic the way he did on the Raptors a few years ago? (I think this point is vastly overstated, largely because no one from the Nets organization will say anything negative about him).

Dave D'Alessandro: Last thing first: Whether you think he "quit" on the Raptors is irrelevant, because a new team and challenge is likely to invigorate even the most melancholic of players--and Vince doesn't hide the fact that he was fed up in Toronto. Can happen to anybody, when the coach benches you in fourth quarters, as Sam Mitchell did throughout Nov/Dec of 2004. And he's long since rebuilt his image as a professional of the highest order. As for part A: He won't play like Hedo, because he's not really like Hedo, other than the fact that they both are adept at screen/roll so they can run the mismatch (PG) into the post. But he's never had the opportunity that Hedo has had -- specifically with regard to playing alongside quality bigs. Think about it: Until Brook Lopez came along last year, the best big man Vince ever got to play with was a 34-year-old Antonio Davis. Being teamed with Dwight will not only give him a new lease on life, it will probably extend his career. Both have the skills to run the point, but Hedo is not in Carter's class as a scorer.

After the jump, Dave's thoughts on the Magic's prior efforts to acquire Carter, the Eastern Conference arms race, Ryan Anderson's potential, and more.

3QC: Otis Smith has not made a secret of his admiration of Carter. What, if anything, can you tell us about prior negotiations between the Nets and Magic regarding Carter? And what held those up?

D'Alessandro: Actually, I'd say Otis's admiration of Carter a very well-kept secret, because tagging him as "fool's gold" wasn't exactly a compliment. He uttered that famous phrase in Feb. of '07, when the Nets and Magic were discussing a deal sending Carter to Orlando. The Nets weren't sure they wanted to commit to VC long-term -- he was to be a free agent that summer -- so they thought they'd try to find a team that would bundle some useful young pieces. When they summoned the chutzpah to ask for Hedo, Darko and J.J., Smith unwisely scoffed publicly, "I wouldn't give up a 21-year-old big man for a 30-year-old guard. I don't think I'd give up on Darko that fast. I don't know that I'd give up on J.J. (Redick) that fast, or give up on Turk (Hedo Turkoglu). I'm not going to take a step back and fall for what I call fool's gold. It shines and it glitters, but it just doesn't stick or pass the test." In an admiring way, I guess.

3QC: Based on the timing of the deal, some pundits have speculated that the Magic only did it as a response to the Cleveland Cavaliers' acquiring Shaquille O'Neal. As I understand it, negotiations for Carter began before the Shaq trade, so it would seem as though it was a proactive, not reactive, move. Then again, based on Smith's comments about Courtney Lee being a sticking point in the trade, the truth could be that the O'Neal trade convinced Smith to take the plunge with Carter. Which assessment is most accurate?

D'Alessandro: Not sure if it matters, Ben. Even if you're a defending conference champ, if you're not moving forward and upgrading your roster wherever you can -- and that involves paying the price of doing business -- you're falling behind. How comfortable can any team be in the East, where five different teams have reached the show in five years? Even the Lakers know this, which is why Artest replaces Ariza and they go into every summer thinking not about back-to-backs, but Dynasty. And Demoral.

3QC: What are your thoughts on Ryan Anderson, in general? Does he have a bright future in this league?

D'Alessandro: Ryan: Great kid, quick study, well-bred, slight sense of entitlement, bright future, and his 3-point percentage should soar being the second pass out of those Dwight doubles in the post. Think a tougher, more determined, more versatile Pat Garrity, just not quite as pure. Remember, though, he's only 21. Once he learns team defense, and improves his lateral quickness, you'll have a player.

3QC: Finally, is there anything else we should know about either player? Certain good and bad habits? Anything we might be surprised to learn?

D'Alessandro: Kind of hard to summarize the 10 (mostly illustrious) seasons of Carter's career, other than to note that he has -- with very few slips -- brought honor and class and unmatched pyrotechnics to the league that values all three. OK, maybe you don't know this: Of all the superstars you might encounter in this ego-driven business, you might not meet another guy who is more accessible, approachable, affable, and agreeable. Some say that part of his personality lacks the competitiveness or edge he needs to be one of the greats. To which I say: I don't care. To be great in this league, you have to have two things: Consistency, and the ability to do it late. I'd put Vince in the "pretty damn good" category, and a likely Hall of Famer for helping save the league in the post-Jordan age. But I also admire him for not chasing an image, or trying to live up to the expectations, or seeing himself only through the eyes of others. He's very comfortable in his own skin, and for someone of his accomplishments, that's the best measure of the man.

Thanks once again to Dave for his time and consideration in answering our questions. Check out his Nets coverage for The Star-Ledger here.

Nellie Knows NBA Draft: The Warriors and Mavericks Years

Atma Brother ONE — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 20:38:41 -0000

What can I say? I'm a real sucka for NBA Draft history. My friend and fellow Dubs fanatic Adam Lauridsen has researched and put together a thought-provoking piece Nelson on Draft Day: An Appreciation over on Fast Break, which examines the 14 drafts Don Nelson has been the head honcho in the front office of the Golden State Warriors and Dallas Mavericks. Unlike Chris Mullin's spotty draft history, it's hard to argue with Nellie's draft and scouting acumen. This is one sharp and shrewd hoops mind.

Nellie and Lucky know NBA Draft. via farm2.static.flickr.com

Make the jump for some foto fun and player highlights.

1988 #5 pick Mitch Richmond (SG) [Basketball-Reference.com]

It's the rock! via www.beckett.com

14 year NBA career
21.0 career ppg
1988-1989 NBA Rookie of the Year: 22ppg, 5.9 rpg, 4.2 apg. 1 steal
6 time NBA All-Star
5 time All-NBA Team

1989 #14 pick Tim Hardaway (PG) [Basketball-Reference.com]

Killer Crossover. Killer Rookie. via www.checkoutmycards.com

13 year NBA career
Career: 17.7 ppg, 8.2 apg, 1.6 stl
1989-1990 All NBA Rookie 1st Team
5 time NBA All-Star
5 time All-NBA Team

1990 #11 pick Tyrone Hill (PF) [Basketball-Reference.com]

Mini Manute? via www.checkoutmycards.com

14 year NBA career
Career: 9.4 ppg and 8.6 rpg
14th highest career total rebounding percentage in league history
Named to 1995 NBA All-Star Team

1991

#16 pick Chris Gatling (PF/C) [Basketball-Reference.com]

Who can forget good ol' Gatty? via www.beckett.com

11 year NBA career
Led league in field goal percentage/ effective field goal percentage in 1994-1995 and finished 2nd and 3rd respectively in 1995-1996
Named to 1997 NBA All-Star Team

#17 pick Victor Alexander (C/PF) [Basketball-Reference.com]

RARE. via farm4.static.flickr.com

5 year NBA career
Averaged double digits scoring twice for the Warriors

#25 pick Shaun Vandiver

A different type of European pick. via media.rockymountainnews.com

Never played in league- see Wikipedia
BUST

1992 #24 pick Latrell Sprewell (SG/SF) [Basketball-Reference.com]

Little did we know he'd have so much trouble feeding his family. via www.checkoutmycards.com

13 year NBA career
Career: 18.3 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 4.0 apg
1992-1993 All NBA Rookie 2nd Team
1993-1994 All NBA Defensive 2nd Team
4 time NBA All-Star
1993-1994 All-NBA 1st Team
1996-1996 5th in lead points per game at 24.2

1993 #1 pick Chris Webber (PF/C) (via trade for Anfernee Hardaway) [Basketball-Reference.com]

I remember ripping Fantasy Junkie off for one of these back in the day! via www.checkoutmycards.com

15 year NBA career
Career: 20.7 ppg, 9.8 rpg, 4.2 apg, 1.4 blk, 1.4 stl
1993-1994 Rookie of the Year: 17.5 ppg, 9.1 rpg, 3.6 apg, 2.2 blk (career high), 1.2 stl
Led league in rebounding at 13.0 rpg in 1998-1999
5 time NBA All-Star
5 time All-NBA Team

1994 #16 pick Clifford Rozier [Basketball-Reference.com]

He sure did make it easier for CWebb to play power forward... on the Bullets, Wizards, Kings, and Sixers. via www.checkoutmycards.com

4 year NBA career
BUST

1998

#9 pick Dirk Nowitzki (PF) (via trade for Robert Traylor) [Basketball-Reference.com]

11 year NBA career (thus far)
Career: 22.7 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 2.7 apg,
8 time NBA All-Star
9 time All-NBA Team
2006-2007 NBA MVP

Steve Nash (PG) (via trade for Martin Muursepp, Bubba Wells, the draft rights to Pat Garrity and a future first-round draft pick which ended up being Shawn Marion) [Basketball-Reference.com]

Lead league in assists per game 3 times: 2004-2005 (11.5 apg), 2005-2006 (10.5 apg), 2006-2007 (11.6 apg)
2 time NBA MVP
6 time NBA All-Star
6 time All-NBA Team

The softest pair of MVPs ever assembled. via www.blackmarks.net

2000

#12 pick Etan Thomas (PF) [Basketball-Reference.com]

Never played for Nellie

#13 pick Courtney Alexander (G) [Basketball-Reference.com]

BUST

That didn't turn out so hot. via SPLN.imageg.net

2002 pick and Juwan Howard, Donnell Harvey, and Tim Hardaway traded for Nick Van Exel, Raef LaFrentz, Avery Johnson, and Tariq Abdul-Wahad

Can't say Nellie doesn't keep things interesting

Fun team to watch. via assets.espn.go.com

2003 #29th pick Josh Howard (SF/SG) [Basketball-Reference.com]

Career: 15.6 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 1.1 stl
2003-2004 NBA All-Rookie 2nd Team
2007 NBA All-Star

Quite a steal. via www.sportsmemorabiliabaseball.com

2004 pick, Raef LaFrentz, Chris Mills, and Jiri Welsch traded for Antoine Walker and Tony Delk

Another interesting trade.

Quite possibly the tackiest NBA jerseys ever made. via images.usatoday.com

MYTHS

Don Nelson does not play rookies. See Richmond, Hardaway, Hill, Gatling, Alexander, Sprewell, Webber, Rozier, Nowitzski, Alexander, and Howard.
Chris Mullin has a better draft record than Don Nelson and his associates. (Nellie draft day All-Star count in Warriors and Mavs years: 9; Mullin draft day All-Star count: ZERO)
Don Nelson does not draft/ like big men. See Hill, Gatty, Big Vic, CWebb, Rozier, and Dirk.

I can only guarantee you that there's more draft day reflection in store on GSoM. (This is like our playoffs!)

Poll

What was Nellie's best draft day move for the Warriors and Mavericks?

1988 #5 pick Mitch Richmond

104 votes

1989 #14 pick Tim Hardaway

212 votes

1990 #11 pick Tyrone Hill

6 votes

1991 #16 pick Chris Gatling

6 votes

1992 #24 pick Latrell Sprewell

151 votes

1993 #1 pick Chris Webber

142 votes

1998 #9 pick Dirk Nowitzki

738 votes

1998 trade for Steve Nash

290 votes

2002 trade for Nick Van Exel, Raef LaFrentz, Avery Johnson, and Tariq Abdul-Wahad

10 votes

2003 #29th pick Josh Howard

63 votes

2004 trade for Antoine Walker and Tony Delk

6 votes

1728 votes | Poll has closed

Orlando Magic 100, Indiana Pacers 98 (OT)

Ben Q Rock — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 06:17:22 -0000

Rashard Lewis of the Orlando Magic shoots the go-ahead jumper over Danny Granger of the Indiana Pacers. The basket gave the Magic a 100-98 lead with 23 seconds to play in overtime. Orlando won by that margin after a strong defensive stand.

Photo by Rob Goebel, the Indianapolis Star

The Orlando Magic continued their strong, heady play in games away from home by defeating the Indiana Pacers at the Conseco Fieldhouse in overtime, 100-98. Dwight Howard lead the Magic with 24 points, 17 boards, and 5 blocks. Jameer Nelson added 22 points and 9 assists, while Rashard Lewis scored 7 of his 23 points, including the go-ahead basket, in the extra frame. The Magic withstood a strong effort from Marquis Daniels, a graduate of Orlando's Edgewater High, who scored a season-high 25 points to lead Indiana.

Team	Pace	Efficiency	eFG%	FT Rate	OReb%	TO Rate
Magic	100	96.2	50.0%	16.3	11.6	17.3
Pacers	100	94.2	41.9%	15.2	26.3	13.5

For the third straight road game, Orlando trailed early, only to clamp down on defense while its offense came around. Howard, Lewis, and Nelson each made several clutch plays in the figurative absence of Hedo Turkoglu. The Magic's usual go-to scorer played miserably the whole night and was little more than a spectator in the fourth quarter in overtime.

Nelson lead the Magic's fourth-quarter rally after sitting the first four-plus minutes of the period. He and Lewis were dynamite in the closing minutes of regulation, as the following list illustrates:

07:31 - Nelson takes the ball and attacks the rim off the inbounds pass--one of the few times he will drive the lane this evening--and draws a foul on T.J. Ford. He converts both free throws. (IND 81-77)
07:05 - Ford misses a layup, but Nelson forgets to box him out...
07:03 - ... so Ford collects his own miss and puts it in. (IND 83-77)
The teams trade misses for a few minutes.
05:48 - Lewis, who had been resting with five fouls, checks into the game...
05:41 - ... and drills a three-pointer off a Nelson assist. (IND 83-90)
05:24 - Lewis grabs a missed put-back by Indiana's Jeff Foster.
05:13 - Nelson once again spots up from near the top of the key, and hits. (IND 83-82)
04:48 - Danny Granger, who struggled to find the range all night, hits a very tough shot fading to his left over Turkoglu's outstretched arm. (IND 85-82)
04:11 - Lewis strips Granger for his 5th steal of the night...
04:07 - ...then streaks down the court for a dunk. Granger fouls him weakly, and Lewis converts the three-point play. (85-85)
03:32 - Lewis makes a rare bad play, fumbling the ball into Ford's hands. Ford pokes the ball into the air, takes possession, and dribbles down the floor before tossing a lob to Daniels...
03:29 - ... who flushes it home. (IND 87-85)
03:13 - Nelson weaves through the defense, and spots up yet again on the perimeter. Buckets. (87-87)
02:57 - Nelson gets called for a ticky-tack foul on Ford. He misses his first free throw, but drills the second. (IND 88-87)
02:40 - Howard, touching the ball on offense for the first time in what seems like forever, gets hacked by Rasho Nesterovic. He converts both free throws and the natives get restless. (ORL 89-88)

The period closes with Indiana scoring 3 more points--Danny Granger went only 1-of-2 at the foul line on a key possession--and the Magic only scoring 2, off a Nelson jumper. On the final possession of the period, the Pacers run a high screen-and-roll with Ford and Nesterovic. Ford dribbles right, but gets trapped. He has no choice but to pass back to Nesterovic, a decent shooter who is nonetheless reluctant to shoot a long jumper with the game on the line. He drives to his right and lofts a hook at the basket. Howard blocks it cleanly. The Magic head to overtime, where they were 3-0 last year.

Nelson's shooting touch vanished in overtime, as he missed badly on his only two shot attempts. Luckily, Lewis was still on fire. He hit a deep three-pointer, which tied the game at 96, to answer Granger's buzzer-beating three on the Pacers' previous possession. After Howard hounded Nesterovic into a missed layup on the other end, he rebounded strong, established possession, then headed upcourt for Orlando. This time, the Magic isolate Lewis on Marquis Daniels, over whom he has a four-inch height advantage. With Howard, Turkoglu, and Keith Bogans drifting on the weak side, Nelson dumps the ball to Lewis on his preferred spot--the lower left block, extended--so Lew can go to work. He takes a few dribbles, then spins baseline and lofts in the fadeaway jumper. The Magic lead, 98-96, with 2:12 to play.

And here's where the game gets real interesting. Make the jump to read how the rest of it played out, as well as some general observations.

After Lewis' go-ahead jumper, the Pacers inbound the ball and look to their coach, Jim O'Brien, who elects not to call timeout. Ford dribbles upcourt with his head turned toward O'Brien to hear the play-call. The Pacers go to Daniels, who has the hot hand with a team-high 23 points, but he struggles to get a shot off. It's well off the mark, but a blown box-out assignment leaves the lane open for Daniels to collect his own miss and put it in, tying the score at 98 with 1:35 to play.

The Pacers' defensive intensity has really picked up in overtime, and the Magic have to work hard for all their looks. There isn't an exception on this play, as Nelson misses a long 26-footer which caroms out of bounds. Again, the Pacers do not call time out, and again Daniels gets the call. His errant shot falls out of bounds, giving the Magic possession.

Nelson, perhaps tired, isn't quite as quick as he was during the Magic's big fourth-quarter run. He can't get past Ford, who never runs out of energy, and takes a stepback, fadeaway jumper, with the emphasis on the step; I doubt I've ever seen any player at any level cover as much ground as Nelson did as he hopped backwards on that shot. Granger rebounds the miss, and the Pacers take a full timeout.

On the inbounds, the Pacers get the matchup they want; Troy Murphy, a left-handed, 6'11" power forward with post skills AND a reliable jump shot, gets the ball against Howard on the left side of the lane. Murphy drives right at Howard with his right hand, and appears to have him beat. As he leaps to lay the ball in, Howard swats the ball with his left hand and--here's the crucial part--keeps it in play rather than swat it out of bounds. Bogans is in the right place at the right time and recovers the ball in front of Orlando's bench. The Magic call for time.

As one might expect, the Magic run a screen-and-roll with Nelson and Howard; in other games, Turkoglu may have handled the ball, but both his decision-making in this game was bad (2 assists, 4 turnovers) and his shooting was worse (1-of-13[!]). In any case, Nelson dribbles left around Howard's screen. Just before Nelson comes around the screen, Lewis cuts across the baseline, from right to left, bringing Granger with him. When Nelson comes fully around the point of the screen, Granger must make a split-second decision: step forward to cut off Nelson's penetration, or stay with Lewis and hope one of his teammates rotates over in time. He decides to step forward, and Nelson reads it perfectly. He stops immediately and fires a crisp chest-pass to Lewis, who has his feet set and shoulders square on the left baseline, a step or two beyond where he hit the tying jumper moments ago. Once again, Lewis is right on the money. Orlando leads, 100-98, with 23 seconds to play. The Pacers call timeout.

I don't know what went on in the Pacers' huddle, but if what happened is what was supposed to happen, I don't agree with it. Granger never touches the ball, and Daniels gets only a brief handle. Ford and Nesterovic play a two-man game, with Nesterovic rifling the ball back out to Ford, who has to take a fadeaway jumper with Howard lunging at him. He misfires at the last second. Turkoglu grabs the rebound--perhaps the first good thing he's done tonight--and the Magic escape with the win.

The game was a real blast to watch, despite the poor shooting by both teams in the second half. For the most part, the misses were due to lock-down defense, not poor decisions, which made the game a bit more watchable. Once again, the Magic battled back after trailing for most of the game. Although the offense was horrid on the game--the offensive rating of 96.2 was the team's worst since going for 93.3 against Memphis--the defense made up for it. The team's late-game execution was superb, and it's encouraging to see that the team snapped out of its bone-headed, first-half play.

Some general observations:

Until further notice, do not count the Magic out in any game, home or away, against any team.
Lewis played the final 5:48 of regulation and all of overtime with 5 fouls. The Magic did well to hide him on defense so he wouldn't foul out. Either that, or the Pacers did a poor job attacking him. Take your pick.
J.J. Redick was the first shooting guard off the bench. He went 1-for-3 in 12 minutes for 2 points. Keith Bogans was the only other shooting guard to get off the pine, as Indianapolis native Courtney Lee received a DNP in his first NBA game in his hometown. Bummer.
Mickael Pietrus has a reputation as a mistake-prone player, yet his turnover rate of 11.2 this season is better than his career average of 12.9. That's a statistical way of saying that he hasn't screwed-up royally much. His night got off to a pretty bad start when he stepped on the baseline trying to maneuver past Granger on Orlando's first possession. He did it again in the final minute of the first quarter.
Brian Cook, who has played only 7 mop-up minutes all season, entered the game for Lewis with 9:27 to play in the second quarter. He did not impress. In 12 minutes, he scored 3 points on 1-of-2 shooting, with 2 turnovers. His decision-making remains questionable at best. His lone make was a deep three-pointer from dead center, his signature shot. Gaining confidence, he fired away on Orlando's next possession. It was a dumb shot, frankly. He was well guarded when he received the ball, dribbled 2 steps to his left and inside the arc, and--still well guarded--rushed a shot without his feet set. There were 17 seconds on the shot clock.
The next time he got the ball, he was wide-open, in his sweet spot behind the three-point line. He should have shot the ball, but he elected to put the ball on the floor instead, perhaps mindful of his last dreadful miss. Problem was, he had already gone into his shooting motion, and he shuffled his feet. Traveling. He did not make a strong case for his insertion into the rotation tonight. Magic fans frequently liken Cook to vintage Pat Garrity, and they are indeed similar: perimeter-oriented power forwards who shoot threes, are allergic to rebounds, and play for the Magic. Yet Garrity was at least a willing passer who usually made the smart play.
But, to Cook's credit, he did grab two defensive boards.
Turkoglu's play tonight is as bad as his stat line indicates. He shot a dreadful 1-of-11 from the field and 0-for-6 from the three-point line, and that's not counting two misses in particular--a desperation heave from midcourt at the end of the third quarter, and a floater from the left side of the lane that banked into a leaping Dwight Howard's hands for a stick-back dunk. His passes were off the mark, too. I have, quite honestly, never seen him play this poorly in his Magic career.
Bogans, not Pietrus, got Orlando's minutes at shooting guard down the stretch. That has been the case in all of the Magic's close games this season.
The Magic were lucky to catch Granger on an off night. Yet the Pacers caught Turkoglu on an even worse night, which offsets the former fact.
I give the Pacers a lot of credit: they have spirit. They'll win games like these eventually, as Ford and Granger mature. Getting Mike Dunleavy back will certainly help, too.
Here's Indy Cornrows' game recap.
Howard got back on track offensively, with 24 points, but he shot just 9-of-19 and had 5 shots blocked.

The Magic flew to Orlando immediately after the game to take on Houston tonight. The Rockets were also traveling, as they played the Wizards in D.C. as the Magic were battling the Pacers.

Whittell: Hedo Turkoglu a "Star" in Eurobasket Qualifying

Ben Q Rock — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 01:53:56 -0000

Hedo Turkoglu has done his country proud. In an ESPN.com report brought to our attention by NetsDaily, Ian Whittell named Turk the "Star Man" in Group C of Eurobasket 2009 qualifying:

His averages of 12.0 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists in 26.2 minutes a game do not reflect the steadying influence and experience that the 29-year-old Orlando Magic forward brought to a team that boasts some astonishing young talent.

If you're interested in seeing Hedo's complete stats, click here. Notice anything troubling?

In the five games he played in the qualifying tournament, Hedo connected on only 13% of his three-pointers, making 2 and missing 13. In a vacuum, maybe that information wouldn't trouble us. But his three-point shooting woes started last April, even before the start of the NBA Playoffs. He shot 10-of-30 in April before the Playoffs and 10-of-35 during them for a combined 30.7%.

While it's true that all players go through shooting slumps, it's also true that the Magic will struggle if Hedo, their go-to perimeter scorer, doesn't shake himself out of this funk soon.

But the Eurobasket stats aren't all bad. Hedo apparently drove the lane at will, and finished: he made 12-of-15 two-pointers in the tournament. And when he wasn't making those, he was getting hacked and sent to the foul line, from which he shot 26-of-34. While 76.5% is average at best, and well below his 82.9% mark from last season, it's encouraging that he averaged nearly 7 free throw attempts per game. Scoring from the line is efficient and a good predictor of team success, as the statistician Dean Oliver illustrated in his book Basketball on Paper. The Magic could use more free-throw attempts from Hedo this season, especially if he doesn't regain his three-point stroke.

As an aside: does anyone else feel like the Magic might need more of Hedo's "steadying influence and experience" this season than they did last season? Now that Keyon Dooling and Pat Garrity are gone, another veteran needs to show some leadership skills. Adonal Foyle and the mature-beyond-his-years Jameer Nelson can't do it themselves.