SB Nation - Maurice Evans

Atlanta Hawks 130, New Jersey Nets 107 or blogging is hard when you don't get to complain

hawksdawgs — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 03:58:19 -0000

More photos » by Erik S. Lesser - AP

8 days ago: Atlanta Hawks guard Jeff Teague, left, jumps to the basket against New Jersey Nets guard Rafer Alston in the second half during an NBA basketball game on Sunday, Dec. 13, 2009, at Philips Arena in Atlanta. The Hawks defeated the Nets 130-107. (AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser)

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The Hawks won. They were suppose to win. Number seven over 15 points. It is tough to be upset with anything about any player. Sure a few bad shots, some strong stretches of bad defense, and maybe some weird substitutions, but the Hawks did what they were suppose to. They dominated.

You see one blowout and you say there is nothing to learn. You watch two and you say they are starting to understand. But you witness three in a row and it is hard to understand the set as anything but something different, something new. Sure, the Hawks blew some people out in years past. They dominated here and there. But this consistence out classing is something new. You can name who they beat as an argument, but any team in the past seven or eight years would be overjoyed with these results no matter who occupied the other side of the box score. These Hawks are winning big when they are suppose to. And since they are one of the most talented teams in the league that is a hell of a dangerous combination.

A brief ode to Maurice Evans

He came in as the "defensive stopper." Well, he is not a defensive stopper. Average, yes, stopper, no. But what he does do is try. Try like there is no tomorrow. Against the Nets. The two win Nets. He went horizontal in the second half. Torso parallel to floor. Up 15 for an offensive rebound. And if you are going to have back to back games hitting about 70% of your shots then fans really can only stand up and applaud. Mo is playing with Mario West energy and shooting like hot Jamal Crawford. Will it last? Certainly not. Does it make you appreciate all the little things Evans will do every time he sees the floor whether he is hitting shots or not? You better believe it.

Jeff Teague Progressing my view of Mike Woodson

Maybe it is because the Hawks are winning. Maybe it is the recent up swell in minutes. Maybe it is Mike Bibby playing actual average defense. I don't know. But at some point, you have to say Mr. Coach Woodson, well done. I have disparaged Woody's player development for a while. Whether it was Josh Smith's three point shooting or Acie Law or Solomon Jones lack of improvement, I have just not see our coach push players toward productivity since his job has been on the line. Not looking toward the future one bit, all I can say is Jeff Teague is improving, the Hawks are winning, and everyone on the team seems happy with the speed of both. So Coach, well done sir.

Victory Bullets

Jamal Crawford flops a lot. He also gets no calls. Bad combination.
Name someone that helps a team's defense more than Josh Smith.
I love point guards that can dunk.
Brook Lopez is going to be so, so good.
Pretty sure Mo Evans made two jump shots off the dribble all year last year. This year he has like eight.
The Jeff Teague one man press is the best thing ever.
Congrats to Othello Hunter for entering the world of 09-10 NBA stats.
Watching starters routinely turn into towel waivers is the most surreal thing ever.
Teague is so upset about every missed shot. You know why? Because he can easily make them.
Bob Rathbun called the NBA "big boy basketball."
If Devin Harris ever gets on a good team, he is going to be annoying with the way he seeks fouls more than baskets.
It is kind of hard to put together, without any 30 point outbursts, but Al Horford is so much better at offense.
Loving the Eno by Zaza
Up 25, diving into the stands, Randolph Morris you have earned whatever nickname you get.
Nique on Collins made basket, "The BIG GUY, STRETCHING THE DEFENSE!"
This was the Nets. Take everything but effort and Teague with a grain of salt.

Go Hawks!

Orlando Magic 93, Charlotte Bobcats 81

Ben Q Rock — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 03:26:24 -0000

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Thanks to balanced scoring and mostly good defense, the Orlando Magic defeated the Charlotte Bobcats, 93-81, to bump their record to a respectable 6-2 even with early season injury woes. Dwight Howard and Vince Carter, making his return from a sprained ankle, led the Magic with 15 points apiece; Howard also contributed team-highs with 10 rebounds, 6 assists, and 5 turnovers. Brandon Bass and Mickael Pietrus rounded out the Magic's double-figure-scoring, with 14 and 12, respectively. Charlotte's Raymond Felton led all scorers with 18 points.

Team	Pace	Efficiency	eFG%	FT Rate	OReb%	TO Rate
Magic	88	105.1	52.5%	9.9	23.1	15.8
Bobcats	88	92.0	45.5%	14.3	24.3	19.3

The story out of this game on most Magic fans' minds is Carter's performance after a long layoff. He hadn't played a full game since opening night, and hadn't appeared at all in exactly a week, when he tried to play through the pain in a loss at Detroit, which didn't work out for him. In any case, Carter came off the bench and looked great early, but his rust showed as the game wore on. He missed 11 of his 16 shots, and rarely looked to drive the ball to the basket. However, when he did charge to the rim, he did so assertively. The only time his soreness became apparent came midway through the fourth quarter, when he tried to throw a jump-pass to Matt Barnes off his left foot and grimaced afterward. But if you had simply shown me the game film, I would have just said Vince had an off-night, and would not have been able to discern with any degree of certainty that he had missed any time. Which bodes well for Orlando going forward.

Taking a step back, it's hard to know what to make of this game, since Charlotte's skill heavily tilts toward the defensive end; as I mentioned in the game preview, Charlotte's D ranks 3rd in the league, but its offense is dead last. If you choose to look at the game from a positive standpoint, you'll acknowledge that the Magic bested the Bobcats' usual defensive efficiency, while holding its putrid offense to just below its league-worst average, and did so without two rotation-caliber players.

If you take a more pessimistic view, you'll look at the third quarter, in which the Bobcats erupted for 30 points en route to slicing what had been a 20-point Magic lead to 6 entering the fourth quarter. And in that quarter, the Magic seemed a step slower to reach each loose ball, and to close out on the Bobcats' shooters. The rebounding differential, which was fairly comfortably in Orlando's favor during the first half, swung back to Charlotte. Just an ugly quarter for Orlando, which looked every bit like a mid-tier team that'd have to scrap and claw just to reach the playoffs.

But then, switching back to the good news, Orlando buckled down in the fourth quarter. The offense continued to wane--the Magic's scoring decreased in each quarter--but the defense was much more active and intelligent, and yielded only 10 points to the Bobcats, or one-third their output from the previous quarter. That's an impressive swing for a defense that's struggled for most of the season, and something on which to build.

We should acknowledge the strong play of some of the Magic's less-heralded players. Bass scored 12 of his season-high 14 points in the first quarter, missing none of his 6 attempts. Perhaps owing to his less-than-stellar individual defense--although he did record one blocked shot tonight--he only played 9:45 after the first period, but his ability to drain mid-range jumpers keyed the Magic's hot first quarter. Marcin Gortat, who's had a spotty season so far, chipped in with 6 points, 5 boards, and 4 blocks in only 17 minutes.

A note on Dwight Howard's passing: it looks much better this season, and his 6 assists tonight attest to that refinement in his game. Having Matt Barnes on the team has helped him immensely, as he's always been at his best hitting cutters to the hoop, most notably Maurice Evans two seasons ago. Barnes cuts even better than Evans did, and Dwight's very quick to pick up on Barnes' movement when his defender leaves him to double Howard. And although he finished with 5 turnovers tonight, only 2 of them were off bad passes. The Magic will take a 3:1 assist:bad pass ratio from their franchise center any night, and especially against the league's fifth-best turnover-forcing team.

As a final note, how bad must Gerald Wallace feel right now? He played a decent enough game, with 13 points, 9 boards, and 3 steals, but he also blew three dunks in this game. Add those 6 points to the Bobcats' total, and they would have been in much better shape. They lucked out, though, since the Magic got 0 points on possessions ensuing after Wallace's missed dunks: a missed jumper by Jameer Nelson, an offensive foul by Dwight Howard, and a missed jumper by Bass.

Overall, the Magic are nowhere near where they need to be. What we saw on the floor tonight was not championship-caliber basketball, but it was still good basketball, and it showed promise. If the defense continues to improve--and it showed flashes tonight--the Magic should return to form as an elite team, as I have no doubt that the offense will maintain its high level of play, and maybe improve, once Rashard Lewis and Ryan Anderson return to the floor.

Schmitz: Hedo Turkoglu "Upset" with the Orlando Magic after "Unsatisfactory" Contract Offer

Ben Q Rock — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 05:25:35 -0000

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Hedo Turkoglu played his last game as a member of the Orlando Magic on June 14th, 2009; he was, for all intents and purposes, out the door a mere 11 days later, when the Magic acquired Vince Carter and Ryan Anderson from the New Jersey Nets. Turkoglu moved on to the Toronto Raptors in a sign-and-trade deal the Magic were happy to facilitate. Now, just before Turkoglu's first game against the Magic since joining Toronto, Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel provides more details on Turk's departure. Of particular note are the contract terms the Magic offered him.

Turkoglu was upset with the Magic after what he called an "awkward" meeting with the front office following the season.

He said the Magic made an unsatisfactory offer — four years for $34 million, with the Magic insisting on holding the option on a fourth season — and some communication issues.

Turkoglu said he first got the impression he might become a former Magic player after he met with General Manager Otis Smith and Coach Stan Van Gundy.

"They said I had a good year, it's a good market for you and we hope you get some money," Turkoglu said. "It was awkward. After that, my agent [Lon Babby] looked into other teams. Then they [the Magic] didn't return our calls. They made some kind of offer. ... It was frustrating."

Turk's experience mirrors those of other former Orlando players who felt the Magic disrespected them in free-agency, namely Keyon Dooling, Maurice Evans, and (most famously) Darko Milicic. Yet I believe in Hedo's case, every party got what he wanted: Hedo got his money (5 years and $53 million from the Raptors), the Magic got a trade exception (worth $6,864,200), and the Raptors got the perimeter scoring/playmaking they so desired. Turk certainly doesn't harbor any ill will toward his former Magic teammates--he refers to the Magic as "all my friends" in Schmitz's report--so there shouldn't be any animosity on the floor. But if Turk has an extra spring in his step, if it looks like he's quite driven to stick it to the Magic, it's probably because he feels the operations side of the team slighted him.

Atlanta Hawks 111, Memphis Grizzlies 96 or ok, lets start the season

hawksdawgs — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 11:58:20 -0000

More photos » by Lance Murphey - AP

See I am going to let you karate chop me there. And then I am going to do a little of this, then a little that, then in your face Marc Gasol, and basket.

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Straight Outta Vancouver

Hawks win. No one was injured. I love the preseason!

Welcome back Mo! Have we met?

I am just going to say it. If Maurice Evans puts in 27 a night, the Hawks are going to the conference finals and probably curing some diseases along the way.

Of course Mo is probably not going to be able to call upon his inner Kobe Bryant that often, but I did not even know Evans had it in him to hit a shot off the dribble. So no one says the preseason is full of misinformation. I feel like I am in an intensive learning experience.

Jeffrey!

If you are desperately trying to talk yourself down from edge of the Jeff Teague building of hope and optimism, don't read this Mo Evans' quote.

"He makes a tremendous difference having a point guard on the second unit who really distributes the ball the way he does," Evans said. "I found myself really open and getting quality looks."

From what I hear mostly and see a little, Jeff Teague is not bad. He looks like he plays under control and the one thing that does not change from the preseason to the regular season, scary fast freaking speed, is on full display.

Last night, he started out 0-5 from the field and then did a very unrookie thing and kept playing within himself and finished the game making four of his final six shots.

Teague still has not shown an ability to get off and/or make his jump shot, and I have not really been able to see his defense, but it is tough not be a little excited about our rookie. Ok, really tough.

Put it on the big screen

Why has this preseason been so enjoyable? The starters look like starters, they look better than the second team, look better against the other team's starters, and then come off and the backups look like starters against other team's backups.

It is weird that in games that don't matter you sometimes deal more with reality by looking big picture over small picture and right now the starters look healthy and sharp and the backups outplay anyone they find of the floor. There is a lot of fluff in that. A lot of preseason figures to mislead, but the Hawks look good. And if your starters are playing 21 minutes a game, that can't be a bad thing.

Highlights and bullets after the jump.

Courtney Sims dominated the other fifth string centers.
I would do many things that would be looked down upon by society if it ensured Al Horford got to the line 10 times a game.
Juan Dixon is not afraid to shoot.
Garrett Siler's shot blocking style involves not jumping. Really, not moving at all.
It is official, I am ready to see Jamal Crawford on the court.
One out of the hundreds of reasons I love the NBA is that games last about 2 hours. The replacement refs are killing this reason. What's next? No kiss cam. I demand justice.

Go Hawks!

Mo Evans, inconsistently consistent

hawksdawgs — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 11:56:56 -0000

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Maurice Evans is strikingly consistent. Every close to full season he plays, Mo grabs about the same amount of rebounds, shoots roughly the same percentage, averages about the same amount of points. It is striking because game to game, Mo can be Jeckyll and Hyde. Month to month he would go from playing a game to see how close he could come to hitting the front of the rim to draining corner threes like the magic number that they are.

It makes me go back and forth on whether Evans is underrated or overrated. Mostly because I would go back and forth between thinking he was horrible and awesome. Neither really being true. He is no "defensive stopper" which he was labeled on upon coming to Atlanta, but he is a perfectly adequate defender. He is no terrific finisher but enjoys a quick pace and can put back offensive rebounds for dunks with the best of them. He goes from automatic beyond the arc to Josh Smith with a quicker green light.

Sometimes I want to say we have a great role player, that we need to appreciate Mo Evans more. After all, he works hard, doesn't put up with poor effort from others, and does whatever he is asked. Where are the Mo Evans fan clubs?

Of course, the next night, I demand a single reason as to why Mo just played 18 minutes since I just watched him front rim jump shots and overexagerate (which I didn't think was possible) how good Dwyane Wade's first step is.

What I am trying to say is I am glad Evans has two first names. "Good Evans" will from here on will be Mo. Mo is the kind of guy you want to hang out with. "Bad Evans" will be Maurice. It sounds like parrot.

I guess what Mo/Maurice Evans is is a role player. He is a cog in the wheel. And the wheel needs cogs. So I am glad the Hawks have one I know will try to work every game. And who knows, maybe this season we will get to see an extended stay from Mo. We will call it a Mo Marathon on the way to Joe Johnson averaging less than 37 minutes a game.

Other player previews: Marvin Williams, Zaza Pachulia.

Orlando Magic News for September 14th: Notes on Defense and Rebounding

Ben Q Rock — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 21:00:26 -0000

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The Impact Of Vince Carter’s Departure

Sebastian Pruiti provides video analysis of Vince Carter's game in order to demonstrate how his leaving via trade will affect the Nets. Of particular interest to Magic fans is Pruiti's assessment of Carter's defense; it appears as though his reputation of indifference on that end is well-earned, based on these clips. If the Magic are to repeat as the league's most efficient defense this year, Carter's going to need to step up his attention level on that end of the floor.
The top 10 rebounders of the last decade

Dwight Howard is the Magic's lone representative in Kelly Dwyer's latest top-ten list. He rates second, behind only Ben Wallace. Here are Dwyer's comments about Howard:

It's safe to say that we have a clear clubhouse leader should we strike this list back up again in 10 years — because if Howard retired today, he'd take to Florida's senior communities as the owner of the third highest rebound rate in league history. Pretty solid work for a player who has yet to turn 24 years old. For comparison's sake, Dennis Rodman was 25 and a half years-old when he grabbed his first NBA carom.
NBA Scouting Reports: Filling in the Blanks- the Shooting Guards

Matt Kamalsky of DraftExpress evaluates the shooting guards from the 2005 draft class, which includes Orlando reserve J.J. Redick. Here's Kamalsky's assessment of Redick's work on defense, for which he's often criticized:

Defense: Had his moments in the 2009 playoffs by playing extremely active, but will remain a potentially exploitable match up since he has to play all-out to be effective. Lacks ideal lateral quickness and strength. Shows very good fundamentals and displays nice awareness off the ball. Doesn’t possess the explosiveness or length to force many turnovers, but will get a hand up on shooters. Struggles in one-on-one situations, but works hard to fight through screens to stay with his man on the pick and roll. Will look to secure long rebounds. Not an ideal defensive option, though his effort level will help compensate for all of his shortcomings on a game-to-game basis.
72 reasons to be excited about the Atlanta Hawks: #47 Rooting against Dwyane Wade

Okay, this link doesn't directly pertain to the Magic, but it's still funny. Former Magic swingman Mo Evans, now of the Atlanta Hawks, is apparently pumping iron in order to better defend the likes of LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. This story amused Wade, who Tweeted that he's now extra-motivated to take it to Evans and the Hawks. I fear for Mo's life.

72 reasons to be excited about the Atlanta Hawks: #47 Rooting against Dwyane Wade

hawksdawgs — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 18:53:52 -0000

More photos » by Wilfredo Lee - AP

Why am I not at the free throw line? There was contact. I know because I pushed off!

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After only one playoff game against Miami, I raised the question of whether any fan could admire/remain civil/not strongly dislike a superstar on another team during the playoffs. I have failed twice in the last two years. Part of me feels like a bad fan of the game of basketball. Part of me revels in it.

Despite the incredible show he can put on, I have grown to enjoy rooting against Dwyane Wade. I am excited to yell and brood in my seat when Miami comes to town. When "us vs. them" arises naturally in sports, why not embrace it?

Which of course is why I love the twitter jockeying that went on today over this quote from Mo Evans.

I lifted a lot of weights to build up my endurance so I can be a lot more physical when I’m guarding guys like Dwyane Wade and Kobe Bryant. Those guys don’t like to be touched. They’ll see the difference and notice it when we’re out there on the floor and they can’t get their way physically.

Well, normally, quotes from the 8th man in September to the local paper are not going to cause much ruckus. But normally was pre-twitter, and someone let Wade know about this insult via the network which led to these two tweets from Wade:

Had to laugh at what I jus read via tweet. At the gym about to get it in. Some people don't kno when to keep there mouth closed lol

This is comical RT @jordub @dwadeofficial Mo Evans is bulkin up for u "...guarding guys like Dwyane Wade"

It is certainly funny. I agree. Mo Evans should probably be more worried about staying in front of Wade than man handling him with new found strength as Wade blows by him. Plus, Dwyane actually looks for contact on almost every play. He loves it....unless of course he does not get a foul call. Then, well then, he hates it and fakes injuries.

These comments from Wade are fine and normal, but they are going to be ridiculed by Hawks fans. He is not going to try harder than he did in the playoffs unless of course he tries when he used to complain but that is unlikely to happen.

Wade is now a target for us. And we are Hawks fans. We only have like three of them. We want to dislike him, root against him. However dumb an over exuberant celebration by Mario West is or unnecessary an off-handed comment by Mo Evans happens to be, we enjoy them. Because for some reason, they get under the skin of Dwyane Wade. And we get excited to irritate.

Like a middle schooler trying to hang out with the cool kids, Deron Williams weighed in too:

@dwadeofficial if u ask me I think Mo Evans just commited suicide! I will be watching Hawks vs Heat that's 4 long games for him!

Ahhh Deron, we will be watching too, and we're excited.

(HT to JazzHop for the heads up on the twitter anger.)

72 reasons to be excited about the Atlanta Hawks: recapping the first 20

hawksdawgs — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 14:05:38 -0000

via alt.coxnewsweb.com

Just in case you missed one or desperately want to reread about Mo Evans' friendship bracelets.

#72 Terrell Owens #71 Marvin's Mustache #70 Horford's Two Handed Slams

#69 Heat Checks #68 Dwight Howard #67 "Everybody Clap Your Hands..."

#66 The Mario #65 Getting to Know your A-town Dancer #64 Joe Johnson Dunking

#63 Poured out for Steve Smith #62 Spin it to Win it #61 Mo Evans' friendship braclets

color commentary

#60 Buying your first jersey #59 Ryan Cameron #58 Mo Evans' three pointers

#57 The Mike Bibby Dance #56 Marvin Williams' pregame OCD #55 Othello's quest to be an 8th man

#54 Mike Woodson's suits #53 Betting on youth basketball #52 The Crowd Makeup

Thanks to everyone who has already suggested a reason. Got one you think deserves to crack the top fifty. Email me at ptreehoops@gmail.com.

72 reasons to be excited about the Atlanta Hawks: #61 Mo Evans' friendship bracelet

hawksdawgs — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 17:27:18 -0000

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From the wikipedia page,

Friendship bracelets are special bracelets given from one friend to another as a symbol of friendship.

Truth right there. Truth. Mo Evans, you always* have a friend in Peachtree Hoops.

*By always I mean if you hit the corner three and actually 
stop people on defense.

Rashard Lewis' 10-Game Steroid Suspension Raises Key Questions for Coach Stan Van Gundy and his Orlando Magic

Ben Q Rock — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 12:00:19 -0000

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Now that we know Rashard Lewis is slated to miss the first 10 games of the 2009/10 season due to violating the NBA's steroid policy, it's time we tried to figure out how the Orlando Magic plan to replace his production. I grasped at straws yesterday when the news broke, listing Brandon Bass as potentially starting in Lewis' stead at power forward if coach Stan Van Gundy wanted a more conventional lineup. In contrast, Ryan Anderson and Matt Barnes would give the Magic the opportunity to play the one-in, four-out style to which they've come accustomed in the last two seasons, under Van Gundy and with Lewis. Right now, it's anybody's guess as to who'll get the nod. Not even Van Gundy knows for sure. Here's what he told Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel after news of the suspension broke (brackets Robbins'):

"We're such a new team now that to say exactly what impact [it has] and who we play in place of him, that's hard to say."

Indeed, Orlando is in the unenviable position of replacing Lewis in the lineup, which it rarely has had occasion to do. Since joining the Magic in the summer of 2007, Lewis has missed a total of 4 games out of a possible 198, counting the playoffs. The first game came in December of 2007, a loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, in which Van Gundy shifted Hedo Turkoglu to power forward and moved Maurice Evans--who had yet to take Keith Bogans' job as the starting two-guard--into Turk's usual small-foward slot. Turk, Evans, and Bogans are no longer members of the Magic, so there's very little to take from this game from Orlando's standpoint.

More recently, but just as irrelevantly, Lewis sat out the last three games of this season in order to rest nagging ankle and knee injuries. The Magic had nothing at stake, having locked themselves into the Eastern Conference's third playoff seed, which may have contributed to Van Gundy's choosing to start Tony Battie at power forward during this stretch; were these games more significant, I'd wager that Lewis would not have sat at all. Battie didn't produce consistently last season, but he contributed well during the (admittedly meaningless) final three games, which took place against New Jersey, Milwaukee, and Charlotte, teams which were out of playoff contention. He averaged 16.3 points and 6 rebounds on 48.7% shooting. Not bad for Tony, although Orlando dropped two of those three games. Dwight Howard, incidentally, also rested during the game against the Bucks, making that game even less noteworthy for our purposes.

What we do know is that between Anderson, Barnes, and Bass, Orlando certainly has the personnel to absorb Lewis' minutes. What's far less clear is who will play the most, and more importantly, who will play the key moments down the stretch of close games. Van Gundy has a solid opportunity to tinker with his lineups early in the season, but let's not spin this story as a net positive for Orlando: the Magic will present much more challenges for opponents with their All-Star power forward on the floor, not without, as they will be forced to play the first few weeks of their schedule.

And it's not just the neophyte power forwards--Orlando aquired Anderson, Barnes, and Bass just this summer--who will have to take charge with Lewis out of the lineup. Newly acquired shooting guard Vince Carter must shoulder much of the scoring load, perhaps needing to average 20-plus points per game to start the season, and he'll need to accomplish some of it by taking more three-pointers than he might usually attempt under different circumstances. Lewis has teed-off from three-point range a staggering 1107 times over the last two seasons, or 1307 if one counts his playoff totals. Lewis' primary offensive functions were to a) shoot threes; b) spread the floor with his mere presence; and c) throw the occasional post entry pass to Dwight Howard from the top of the key. Orlando probably figured it'd count on Carter for those things anyway. Now, that need is even more pronounced.

And what of Howard, exactly? Even if Van Gundy elects to flank him with the floor-spreading Anderson or Barnes, neither will make opponents think twice about double-teaming him as Lewis does. Howard posted the second-highest usage rate of any Magic rotation player two seasons ago, and the highest last season. Might that figure take another hike this year, at least with Lewis sidelined? And if so, will the increased offensive responsibilities result in a dip in efficiency, or sap him of his much-needed defensive energy?

More questions than answers, and given the time of year, the Magic's lack of money, and GM Otis Smith's assertion (though one never knows for sure with him) that the team won't sign another player for a few weeks, Orlando fans will have plenty of time to consider the possibilities. So, too, will Van Gundy, who got the Magic all the way to the NBA Finals despite losing All-Star point guard Jameer Nelson for the stretch run. If he can guide his team to the Finals without Nelson--arguably more important to Orlando's success than Lewis--for 40 games last season, he can guide them through the first 10 games of this season without Rashard.

What isn't in doubt is Van Gundy's ability to get the most out of his team. What is, however, is the way in which he'll go about it in this instance, with so many new players to integrate, and an offense that thrives on the attention opponents must pay Lewis.