SB Nation - Jason Williams

Game 28 Preview: Blazers vs. Magic

Dave — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 05:41:52 -0000

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Uh oh.

Game Time: 4:00 PM TV: Comcast

OK, now things get interesting. The Magic carry an unfortunate (for us) combination of being 18-7 on the year, having just lost their last game, and playing at home where they are 9-2. Their home losses came to Cleveland and Miami so it's not like just anyone gets to waltz in and request a win. They're good, they're stacked, and unless they completely take us for granted the Blazers will have a hard time winning this game. Granted it's happened before for Portland in Orlando, but it's always hard when you're fielding a team that's trying to be something and facing a team that's full of people who already are the something you're trying to become.

Obviously your first thought when you think "Magic" is Dwight Howard and rightfully so. Name a way he's not destroying the league this year. He's averaging 18 points and almost 13 rebounds. He gets over 2 blocks per game, shoots over 63% from the field, and is drawing 11 foul shots per game. Even though he's only hitting 59% of those free throws he's causing foul trouble for everyone who comes against him...a definite headache for the Blazers at the moment. He's completed the metamorphosis from incredibly raw talent to legitimate NBA superstar. There are no answers for him when he gets the ball where he likes it. He's the main reason Orlando has the 4^th most efficient offense in the league. He's also the main reason the Magic rank 2^nd in the league in points in the paint allowed and 1^st in defensive rebounding percentage. He's a two-way player, one of the wholly unique talents playing today.

The Magic have surrounded Howard with a bevy of perimeter players. Vince Carter leads the pack, also leading the team in scoring at 19 per game. He's not the VC of old but he can still hit a jumper and he can still pour it in when needed. He's scored 25+ six times this season already. Rashard Lewis didn't play until mid-November and had a hard time with adjustments when he did return but he's had a good month, is hitting the three-pointer, and is hitting 20ppg himself fairly routinely now. Those two have got the heavy scoring covered.

With Jameer Nelson out Orlando has dug Jason Williams out of mothballs. Though he's no longer any kind of Chocolate, save perhaps "stale", he still knows how to pass the ball and he's not shy about shooting the three either. Small forward Mickael Pietrus, former Golden State energy-producer, rounds out the starting lineup. Guess what? He can hit threes as well. In fact the only guys who can't drain the long ball on this team are Howard, forward Brandon Bass, and (this year anyway) forward Matt Barnes. Unless you're facing one of those three you better be ready to close out and get a hand up.

The Magic field ancient-yet-capable reserve Anthony Johnson at point guard, shooters J.J. Reddick at off-guard and Ryan Anderson at power forward, Barnes at small forward, and 6'11" rebounder Marcin Gortat for a few minutes at center. Both Gortat and the aforementioned Bass could be getting more time elsewhere. This team is pretty deep and they use everybody. They seldom lack for energy and they never lack for offensive threats.

Unless the ball is going to Howard the Magic attack is primarily perimeter-oriented. They don't score on the break and they don't score in the paint if Howard isn't taking the shot. They will give Dwight the first chance to break you down, which he'll likely do if you try and guard him one-on-one. If you send help they have you. It's simple, as old as the hills, and extremely effective. They draw a lot of fouls and shoot a TON of threes, generating extra points even in their measured game.

They'll practice the same basic plan on defense. They make up for spotty individual defenders at the wing positions by getting back, not letting you break, then shutting down the middle and daring you to hit outside. Even if you drain a couple what are the odds of you matching them the whole game?

The Magic are excellent defensive rebounders. Many of their offensive misses bounce long or are shot by Dwight Howard with nobody else coming to clean up so they're not a great offensive rebounding unit. But they don't need to be. They turn the ball over a smidge too much but it doesn't burn them most nights.

Keys to the Game

Being realistic this isn't a game the Blazers should win. There's too much need for them to double against Howard and too little capability to rotate or close out when they do so. They're going to have to stop perimeter players with guys who are too big or too small. Their own offensive players haven't always been able to dominate weaker defenders. The #1 plan should be to try and get Howard in foul trouble. When he sits you can start watching those shooters more carefully. Obviously this means some kind of penetration, as Joel Przybilla is unlikely to create problems for Howard on his own. The Blazers have to pick their poison defensively. I don't see any way they can cover everybody. I think in this case my druthers would be to stop the perimeter guys and make Howard beat us. He can go for 50. He can destroy us. But if you're going to take a chance on somebody having a bad night why not go for broke and put your eggs in one basket instead of hoping all of those shooters miss on the same night. Sometimes Howard doesn't get the ball as much as he should in those situations as the other players get impatient. Above all the Blazers have to show energy all night. It's not like they can't hang with this team. They'll just have to put themselves in a position where a few things going right can make a difference. The only way to do that is to play hard all game and see what transpires late.

You can see how Orlando views this game at OrlandoPinstripedPost.

Enter tonight's Jersey Contest form here.

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

Schmitz: Jameer Nelson Could Be Back Next Wednesday

erivera7 — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 21:44:39 -0000

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Via Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel:

Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said Thursday that the earliest PG Jameer Nelson could play would be next Wednesday against the Houston Rockets and likely practice on Sunday.

Nelson hasn't played since undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his left knee on Nov. 18.

Van Gundy said, "It just depends on how he looks. We'll have to see if he's up to speed," Van Gundy said. "He's got to go through a practice."

It's a testament to the Orlando Magic's depth that Jameer Nelson has rarely been mentioned during his absence, given that the team has gone 11-4 since he's been out. But it's clear, especially after last night's forgettable loss to the Miami Heat, that the Magic could use him back in the starting lineup.

All the credit in the world should be given to Jason Williams - ranked 6th in Pure Point Rating - and Anthony Johnson for holding down the fort while Nelson has been rehabbing his injury. Neither player is of Jameer's caliber but both came to play nearly every night for Orlando. Yes, there have been games where Williams just didn't have it for the evening but in almost each of those instances, Johnson gave the Magic much-needed production at point guard.

With Nelson set to return next week, Orlando will finally have a chance to play with a fully healthy roster for what many hope will be an extended period of time. Although Jameer hasn't been playing at the All-Star level he was performing at this past season, he is still the best point guard the Magic have. Likewise, head coach Stan Van Gundy knows that he has two reliable back-ups in Jason and Anthony. Unlike last year, Van Gundy will have the rare opportunity to play the matchups with his reserve point guards depending on the opponents. Or Stan has a chance to go with a different point guard when Williams or Johnson (or Nelson, too) isn't playing up to par. Options. It's something Van Gundy has in droves not only with his point guards but with every other position on the squad.

It'll be interesting to see if the Orlando Magic raises the level of its play a notch when Jameer gets back. It'll also be interesting to see if Nelson improves on his defense, which has been below-average this year.

Heat continue to move forward with dominating win over Orlando

DolPhanDave — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 05:00:40 -0000

by Wilfredo Lee - AP

The Heat were all over the Magic from start to finish

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I don't know what you may have been expecting before Thursday nights showdown with our in-state rivals, but I'm quite certain that what happened on the court of the AAA caught everybody by surprise. Even if you thought Miami was going to come away with the victory, it would be hard to expect that Orlando would get beat that badly. It was all about the Heat, who played pretty amazing from start to finish. Something happens to this team when Q-Rich is in the lineup...

From the opening tip you could tell that the Heat came to play. Quentin Richardson announced his return to the starting lineup by drilling back-to-back threes in the opening minutes. Miami was attacking the boards and creating 2^nd chance opportunities, holding the Magic to just 5 rebounds in the 1^st quarter. The Heat closed out their amazing 1^st with a 10-0 run, and Miami found themselves up by 15.

One of the funniest things I'd seen in a while was when they showed a shot of Stan Van Gundy after the Heat pushed their lead to 18. Those priceless moments are what I miss most about our former coach. Other then Dwight Howard the Magic we're really struggling to keep up with the Heat on both ends, but its just amazing to me how different of a team the Heat are when Quentin Richardson is in the lineup.

Orlando tried making a push at the end of the 2^nd quarter, but every time they hit a shot Miami answered right back. In the final minute, Jason Williams hit back-to-back buckets for the Magic, the last one coming with just 6 seconds left. Carlos Arroyo would respond to J-Dub's run by hitting a three with under a second left, keeping the Heat up 15 into the half.

Whatever scream-fest the Magic had to endure in the locker room wasn't enough to get them playing better then the Heat. D-Wade led the way, but it was a very balanced scoring attack by Miami that was keeping them a step ahead of the Magic. It also helped that the Heat were playing very smart basketball, turning the ball over only twice after 2 ½ quarters.

The final minute of the 3^rd was a Dwyane Wade party. He started by pulling up and hitting a trey to give the Heat a 27-point lead. Nope...not a type-o. Twenty seven. Anyway...shortly after that, Wade came from out of nowhere to block a J.J. Redick layup from behind. A couple of Mario Chalmers free throws later, the Heat took a 29-point advantage into the final quarter. Miami had 21 assists on their 36 baskets while the Magic had only 7 on 23, more proof that the Heat were doing what they wanted offensively.

When the 4^th quarter began, the only starter in the game for either team was Michael Beasley. With both teams utilizing their bench players, the advantage should have lied with the Heat because they still had guys like Chalmers, Haslem and Wright, who are all major contributors. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. After Udonis scored in the first minute, the Heat went cold. Over 4 minutes later, Michael Beasley got the Heat back on the board and luckily for the Heat, Orlando was only able to score 6 points during the dry spell.

A late 10-0 run by the Magic would provide a nice ‘eye rolling' moment for Heat fans, but the overall results were just awesome. A reminder of how good our young squad can play when all the right buttons are being pushed. We all came into tonight expecting (or hoping for) a dogfight, with the Magic likely looking for revenge for the Heat's victory on their home floor a few weeks ago. Instead, the Heat blew out the Magic like a bunch of pin-striped birthday candles.

GAME NOTES

How sweet was Dorell Wright's buzzer beater at the end of the 1^st quarter? The home crowd went absolutely crazy...it was a much needed ‘Heat fan' moment.
A great shooting 1^st half for the Heat: 55% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc.
I find myself more and more impressed with the improvements in Joel Anthony's offensive game. His hands are softer, his footwork is much better and he is actually putting touch on the ball. It may be safe to say that he is no longer an offensive liability when on the court.
Carlos Arroyo did all the right things for the Heat, running the offense efficiently and racking up the assists. He had 7 dimes last night to go along with 5 points and 4 boards.
Meanwhile, Mario Chalmers was solid coming off the bench. For the time being, the Heat seem better off having the veteran starting and let the sophomore continue to provide quality backup minutes.
Luckily for the Heat it didn't come down to free throws. They hit just 13-of-19.
The Heat's 33 1^st quarter points matched a season-high, and their 15-point lead was the largest advantage after the opening quarter this season.

The Heat now have a couple days off to enjoy their sudden string of good, solid basketball. Portland comes to town for another late afternoon Sunday home game, with tipoff coming at 6pm.

Game #24: Orlando Magic (19-6) vs. Miami Heat (12-11)

DolPhanDave — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 08:26:12 -0000

More photos » by Jeffrey Boan - AP

Dwyane Wade driving with the ball...something we'll hopefully see much more of in the near future.

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If the first game between these two teams is any indication, we're in for some kind of slugfest between these interstate rivals. I'm sure the Magic remember the first meeting with Miami very clearly, likely with that image of Michael Beasley taking the D-Wade airball and slamming it home to win the game burned into their memories.

On top of that, Orlando also will notice that Beasley has been playing the best ball of his young career the past few weeks and is coming off of one of his most productive games of the season. While he hasn't been able to bring that supreme effort every night, the good games outnumber the bad ones and it's starting to become a reasonable expectation for Beasley to have a 20-10 night every game.

The Magic definitely used the last second loss to Miami as inspiration because since that game they've won 8 of 10, including six straight immediately following the Heat victory. The only two losses came on the road, at Utah and at Phoenix. Orlando did play last night at home against Toronto, but the game was never really close as the Magic got out to an 11-point lead after the 1^st quarter and never looked back.

As inconsistent as the Heat have been the past several weeks, a big home win over Orlando would go a long way for both the players and coaches. Coach Spo was quick to point out after Tuesday's win over Toronto that while it was nice, it was just one game. However, should the Heat bring the same kind of effort and intensity tonight against a much better squad in Orlando, it could send a message that these players are ready to start re-claiming the respect they earned over the first couple weeks of the season.

A developing situation this week has been the status of Mario Chalmers. He was relegated to the bench for Tuesday' game after starting all 104 games of his young career. Afterwards, Coach Spoelstra said that it was a one-time thing; a ‘punishment' for Rio being late to the team's shootaround...but that may not be the case.

Chalmers was working with the second team during practice on Wednesday, suggesting that Spoelstra was pleased enough with the play of Carlos Arroyo with the first unit to keep that squad together for another game. When asked about who would be starting for Miami against Orlando, Coach Spo told the media "I'm going to wait and see".

While the ceiling is still high for Chalmers, he still has a ways to go when it comes to running the offense. My main knock on Rio is that too many times he'll bring the ball up the floor and spend way too long dribbling around the perimeter, giving the Heat under 10 seconds to run a play and try getting a favorable look at the rim.

With the offensive weapons that Miami has at their disposal, you want to give them as much time as possible to get the matchup the coaches want. Whether it be trying to isolate D-Wade on the baseline, getting it down low to Jermaine or letting Beasley work with the ball at the elbow, the more time they have to operate, the better.

GAME NOTES

Dwight Howard had 8 blocks last night against Toronto, and has 12 in his last two games. He also had a 7-block game earlier this month against the Clippers.
Forward Matt Barnes is coming off of his best game in a Magic uniform, scoring 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting and adding 6 rebounds in 30 minutes off the bench.
Before scoring 13 points in last nights win, Jason Williams had just 2 points in the previous 3 games combined, shooting 1-for-13 from the field. Also to note, in 7 games played in the month of December J-Will has taken only 2 free throws.
The Heat are just 1-2 on their current six-game homestand.
A win against Orlando will put Miami back over .500 at home, where after starting the season 6-3 they had lost four straight before getting the W against Toronto on Tuesday.
The Magic have lost their last two on the road after winning 8-straight games away from home before that.
D-Wade needs two free throws to tie the Heat franchise record set by Alonzo Mourning.
Quentin Richardson is officially listed as questionable for tonight's game, but even if he does dress I'd expect the Heat to take it very slow with Q.

Tonight the tipoff will be at 8pm from the AAA because the game will be nationally televised on TNT. If you happen to be going to the game, they are giving away car flags so get there a little early if you'd like one.

Orlando Magic 118, Toronto Raptors 99

Ben Q Rock — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 08:09:03 -0000

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The Orlando Magic used a team-wide hot shooting performance against the Toronto Raptors' perpetually porous defense to cruise to a 118-99 win Wednesday night. Rashard Lewis led all scorers with 21 points--including 5 three-pointers--while Matt Barnes scored 20 points on 10 shots off the bench. Dwight Howard approached a triple-double with 18 points, 14 boards, and 8 blocked shots before checking out as the game got out of hand. Orlando held Toronto's Chris Bosh to 20 points, while former Magic player Hedo Turkoglu chipped in 14 (on 2-of-9 shooting) and Jarrett Jack added 13.

Team	Pace	Efficiency	eFG%	FT Rate	OReb%	TO Rate
Raptors	94	105.4	46.6%	18.0	22.7	10.7
Magic	87	134.9	66.7%	24.0	27.6	16.0
Green denotes a stat better than the team's season average; red denotes a stat worse than the team's season average.

The game transpired more or less like you might have figured it would based on these teams' reputations going in. The Raptors hung with the Magic early on, but the Magic created just enough separation with an 8-0 run late in the first quarter--fueled by a tough Vince Carter layup and back-to-back treys from Jason Williams--to take a 27-19 lead, and Toronto never really challenged after that. It wasn't always a question of effort, but rather ability; Orlando got whatever it wanted, the Raptors couldn't keep pace with the Magic's blistering shooting, and so it continued for the next 36 minutes. After a while, the Raptors appeared to just say, "screw it," and they mailed in the rest of the game. The way things went for the Magic, you can hardly blame them.

Okay, well, you can, to an extent, but I think you see my point. Things came entirely too easily for Orlando. The misses came on well-executed plays, open, and in rhythm, at least until garbage time, when Marcin Gortat started launching just any old thing he wanted. And by "old thing," I mean "15-footer early in the shot clock."

Howard missed 1 shot all game, and it was an off-balance tip-in attempt. Barnes shot 7-of-10, and one of those misses came on an inexplicably blown dunk with nobody around. Several of J.J. Redick's shots rattled around and out... and on it goes. Nary a blemish for Orlando offensively, at least not when the game really mattered. Turnovers were a bit of an issue, with Anthony Johnson--who scored a lively 13 points off the bench--twice losing the ball off his knee on his way to the hoop. and with the odd push-off against Howard or Redick. Overall, though, what is your chief complaint if you're the Magic? Maybe it's that Mickael Pietrus struggled in his 17 minutes, shooting 1-of-5 with 2 turnovers as he tried to battle through illness. Maybe it's that the Raptors came up with 6 steals, despite being the league's worst turnover-forcing unit. Maybe it's that Bosh scored 20 in 30 minutes, on 7-of-11 shooting. Still, his touches were few and far between, as the Magic dared Jack (13 points on 15 shots) and Andrea Bargnani (12 points on 12 shots) to beat them. A sound strategy, which they executed.

That sentence more or less summarizes the Magic's night. They had a game plan on both ends, they put it in motion, and they prevailed with ease. Really, I'm more impressed with the Magic's defense of the Raptors than I am with their offensive assault against them. A team as gifted as Orlando should light up the scoreboard against a sieve like Toronto. But the Raptors had the league's 4th-most efficient offense coming in, and Orlando shut it down. Howard's rejections helped, sure--and some of them could have been fouls or goaltends, if we're honest, but not nearly enough to swing momentum in Toronto's favor--but rarely did the Magic get burned on that end. So Antoine Wright peels himself off the end of the bench and scores 7 straight points late in the 4th: who cares? Two contested looks in the lane and a three-pointer for a career 29.3% long-distance shooter. You're happy giving those looks up.

Finally, how about Brandon Bass tonight? Coach Stan Van Gundy dusted off Orlando's sparingly used free-agent signee, who played both power forward and center, and he responded. 5 points, 1 rebound, 3 blocks (?!), and the usual energy and aggression in just over 9 minutes for Bass, who's probably a rotation player on just about every other NBA team. I see no reason or him to take minutes from three-point ace Ryan Anderson on a regular basis, but it's always good to know that your 11th man can come in immediately and make an impact.

Sorry if I seem more peppy than usual, but again, there's very little wrong with the way the Magic played tonight. A solid win against a worthy offensive foe, and a chance to rest up on the first night of a back-to-back set. Orlando jets to Miami to play the Heat--themselves fresh off a win against Toronto--tomorrow night.

Tracking Defensive Plays in the Orlando Magic’s 106-98 Victory Over the Indiana Pacers

jonnichols — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 13:00:43 -0000

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For my previous piece on the Orlando Magic, I charted hustle stats such as deflections, loose balls, missed blockouts, etc. While these things are all important, perhaps the area in which hustle is most important is defense. Although it takes more than just good hustle to be a good defender (as a certain Mr. Dwight Howard will show us later), effort is one of the keys to being a good defensive team. Therefore, I decided to track defensive plays in last night's contest between the Magic and the Pacers (this time, I only kept track of the Magic's stats). I imagine most (if not all) NBA teams track these on their own, as well as companies such as Synergy Sports.

To see the numbers, click the link below:

http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AvNKNGJ_AHijdFVaanJkQ2xSSG5DU3ZNcUVPRHpfSkE&hl=en

The rest of this article will explain what those numbers mean. I will also provide a few observations and notes about the contest.

The first column is "Forced Misses." This is pretty self-explanatory, although I should explain a few things. First, forced misses don't only occur on an individual's man-to-man assignment. A help defender who forces a missed shot would receive the credit. Second, I conservatively rewarded a few forced turnovers as forced misses. These were situations in which a player caused his opponent to turn the ball over (through traveling, bobbling the ball, etc.) by applying good pressure and staying in good position.

The second column is "Baskets Allowed." This is also self-explanatory, with one caveat. If a player made a bad defensive play that eventually led to someone from the opposing team scoring, he was the one credited with an allowed basket. For example, on one play, Jason Williams allowed his man to penetrate into the lane with ease, forcing the Magic to help and rotate. The Pacers swung the ball and ended up with an easy three-pointer. Although Williams' man did not receive any points or assists for the play, Williams was penalized for allowing the basket.

The third column is "Good Help D." This occurred when a player came off his man to either help a beaten teammate or to make a good play such as causing a turnover. When Dwight Howard met the opponent in the lane and forced a miss, he was credited with a "Good Help D." When Ryan Anderson strayed from his man for a second and reached in and knocked the ball loose from another player, he also received credit for good help defense. As you can see by now, many of these statistics are subjective (which is both a great thing and a bad thing).

The fourth column is titled "BB/MD." This stands for blow-bys/middle drives. This occurred any time a Magic player allowed his man to drive right past him without the use of a screen (in certain cases, when there was a switch on a screen and the new defender allowed the opponent receiving the screen to drive by, a BB/MD was assessed). A BB/MD did not have to result in a made basket to be counted.

The fifth column is titled "Lost Man." This was recorded every time a player failed to stay on his man, resulting in score. This occurred most frequently in one of two ways: either a player simply wasn't paying attention and allowed off-the-ball movement (such as a backdoor cut) for a score, or a player failed to chase his man quickly enough through screens.

The sixth and final column containing raw data is "Silly Fouls." While obviously the most subjective of the six categories, it was generally pretty easy to determine. Fouls that occurred off the ball and away from the play were the biggest culprits.

The rest of the data is computed based on those six categories. I included each player's minutes played to serve as a reference point. "FG% Allowed" was calculated as follows: Baskets Allowed / (Baskets Allowed + Forced Misses). This statistic does not mean the field goal percentage of the man-to-man assignment. Because Forced Misses and Baskets Allowed are not always credited on a man-to-man basis, FG% Allowed is a bit more complicated. Obviously, a lower percentage is a better percentage.

The final six columns are the six raw categories calculated on a per-minute basis. Like last time, I calculated them in the form of "minutes per stat" as opposed to "stat per minute." This is to avoid presenting very small numbers. For positive stats such as Forced Misses and Good Help D, a lower number is better (in other words, a player achieves these stats more frequently and therefore in less minutes on average). For negative stats such as Baskets Allowed and BB/MD, a higher number (or no number at all) is better.

Finally, some observations:

As amazing as this might sound, Dwight Howard's impact was possibly even stronger than the box score indicates. He altered a ton of shots in a night in which many of his teammates seemed to struggle defensively. He was able to help his teammates and alter the Pacers' offense considerably. It didn't hurt that the opposing centers weren't looking to challenge him very often.
Other than Howard, Anthony Johnson and J.J. Redick had the two best defensive performances. Despite his age and perceived lack of speed compared to T.J. Ford, Johnson was able to play solid one-on-one defense and force a lot of misses. It's not surprising he ended up playing 27 minutes despite coming off the bench. Redick, although not challenged as often as Johnson, also made a few good defensive plays and forced some missed shots.
The only blemishes on Redick's defensive stat line were the silly fouls. He certainly did not agree with the calls, but three times he was called for defensive fouls away from the ball while fighting for position. He was the only Magic player to record a silly foul.
The man Johnson replaced, Jason Williams, struggled on the defensive end. He had a difficult time preventing Ford from penetrating and generally played poor pick-and-roll defense. The Pacers built an early lead partially by attacking him.
The Magic's two highest-paid players were mediocre at best on defense. Vince Carter's performance, which wasn't terrible, can possibly be excused because of his great offensive play. But Rashard Lewis complemented his offensive struggles with some defensive struggles. He allowed seven baskets while only forcing three misses, and he let his man blow by him into the lane four times. Lewis made some defensive strides last season, and he must be careful not to relapse this year.
Ryan Anderson struggled a bit on defense, although not because of a lack of effort. He allowed five baskets (second-most on the team behind Lewis), but did have a nice steal.
Marcin Gortat won't be happy about the measly six minutes of playing time he received, but he was generally pretty effective on defense when he was on the court.

I enjoyed tracking the individual defensive performances of the Magic, and I think this type of information sheds a great deal of light on what's going on beyond the box score. Although I don't know what Synergy Sports or the Magic track defensively about their players, I imagine data such as these are of interest to them simply because they're so useful. I plan on doing this exercise again soon.

Orlando Magic 106, Indiana Pacers 98

Ben Q Rock — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 05:35:22 -0000

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The Orlando Magic rode Vince Carter's offense, Dwight Howard's defense, and the superb all-around play of reserve guards Anthony Johnson and J.J. Redick to an impressive, 106-98 win over the Indiana Pacers on Monday night. Indiana raced out to a 30-point first quarter and at one time doubled up the Magic at 34-17, but Johnson and Redick keyed the Magic's 21-6 run to bring them back into the game. The Pacers, without All-Star forward and leading scorer Danny Granger, played a great offensive game for the first 42 minutes, sinking open jumpers with ease against an uncharacteristically soft Magic defense. They closed the game out with 4 points on their final 11 possessions, including 3 turnovers. Jon will have more on the Magic's defense in this game later this week, but suffice it to say that Orlando's effort in the game's waning moments more than made up for the porousness that characterized their early defensive stands.

Team	Pace	Efficiency	eFG%	FT Rate	OReb%	TO Rate
Pacers	92	107.0	51.7%	8.0	15.9	10.9
Magic	94	113.4	47.1%	29.1	22.4	7.5
Green denotes a stat better than the team's season average; red denotes a stat worse than the team's season average.

Orlando came out of the gate looking like it was on the second night of a back-to-back, even though it had 2 days of rest after its 4-game, 8-day road trip. Indeed, Howard and Carter were the only Magic players to score until the 10:20 mark of the second period, when Matt Barnes got into the scoring column with a driving layup. Carter nearly missed the game due to a stomach ailment which kept him out of practice today and yesterday, but you wouldn't know it based on his performance tonight. He looked to get to the rim and create contact, and save for a vintage Carter no-no-no-no-yes! shot--a pull-up three on the fast break, with 5 Pacers defenders back, which he made--he didn't appear to settle too often. No, he forced the issue, to the Magic's benefit. 28 points for Carter on 10-of-21 shooting, to go with an impressive 7 defensive boards and no turnovers in 33 minutes.

Redick's strong play limited Carter's playing time a bit, as coach Stan Van Gundy couldn't afford to take Redick off the floor. Redick made plays and baskets, without making mistakes. 13 points on 7 shots, with 4 assists and no turnovers. Redick's growth into a sound all-around player has been a pleasure to watch, and he's playing his way into a decent portion of the mid-level exception when he becomes a restricted free agent this summer. We'll save the discussion about whether or not the Magic should keep him until much later this year, however.

Overall, the energy Johnson and Redick brought may have proven to be the difference in the game. Johnson has far outplayed starting point guard Jason Williams of late; Williams missed all 4 of his shots tonight and tallied 1 assist, while Johnson scored 13 and added 7 assists. He simply looks fresher than Williams, and the burden of starting 13 consecutive games during Jameer Nelson's absence appears to have taken its toll. Johnson's the sharper, fresher point guard, and while I wouldn't put him in the starting lineup ahead of Williams, I would make sure he's on the floor with victory on the line, as he has been in each of the Magic's last two games. A.J. has never really dazzled me with his passing ability, his on-point crosscourt pass to Rashard Lewis for an open three-pointer with 2:11 to play was impressive. The Pacers overloaded the right side of the floor to account for Johnson's penetration; he read the defense and threw the ball right to Lewis' shooting pocket. The shot had a certain ring of inevitability to it--play-by-play man David Steele said "He's due!" with the shot en route--and when it dropped, it gave Orlando a 5-point lead, not to mention the momentum.

Even with Indiana's strong start and the Magic's poor shooting, I never got the sense that the Pacers were in firm control, mostly because their offense didn't look sustainable. Howard locked down the middle with 4 blocks, and it never ceases to amuse me when an offensive player drives, recognizes Howard's presence, and dribbles back out to re-set, as Tyler Hansbrough did at least once tonight. But the Pacers were effectively counting on T.J. Ford, Earl Watson, Jeff Foster, and Brandon Rush to knock down jumpers if Mike Dunleavy and Troy Murphy were covered. That well was bound to dry-up eventually. No Pacer seemed eager to drive the ball, even if only to create contact. The result was a meager 10 free-throw attempts 2 of which came quite late with the outcome already decided. Howard shot 22 on his own, while the Carter/Redick shooting guard tandem combined for another 10.

On the one hand, the Magic needed a big rally just to beat a lottery team, on the road, missing its best player, which could be cause for concern; on the other, they looked dominant for almost every minute after the disastrous first quarter, and they won with a team effort rather than a monstrous individual one, which bears noting. Great teams rarely fall into such large holes against lesser ones, but when they do, they (usually) respond. That's what Orlando did tonight.

You know what Howard did tonight? He only rebounded the Pacers' starting frontline of Dunleavy, Murphy, and Roy Hibbert by himself, 23-15. You know, in addition to shooting more than twice as many free throws as the entire Pacers team. Howard needs to deliver more of these dominant performances, especially on nights when the offense needs a kick-start. Orlando exceeded its usual offensive efficiency despite shooting poorly, aided both by Howard's offensive rebounding giving it second-chance points as well as by everyone's taking care of the ball. Of Orlando's 7 turnovers tonight, 2 were obvious offensive fouls, and another was a shot-clock violation with 4 seconds left and nothing at stake except for stats to pad (Johnson missed a layup, Howard gathered the rebound and bungled a tip-in attempt). In other words, only 4 came due to silly passes or ballhandling errors. Sharp decision-making compensates for a lack of sharp shooting.

Overall, Orlando responded fairly well after a lackluster road trip, and can continue looking forward to playing 6 of the final 7 games of the calendar year at Amway Arena. Great to see the second unit deliver when called upon, although it'd be much nicer if Lewis, Williams, and Mickael Pietrus simply played better to begin with.

Phoenix Suns 106, Orlando Magic 103

Ben Q Rock — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 07:17:06 -0000

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Trailing the Phoenix Suns by as many as 19 points, the Orlando Magic staged a furious second-half rally and took a 4-point lead midway through the 4th period, but faltered from there and lost, 106-103, giving them their first losing streak of the year. Rashard Lewis (24 points) and Mickael Pietrus (a season-high 23) carried Orlando's offense, while Dwight Howard anchored the defense and the glass. But ultimately, the Suns' efficient offensive attack was too much. Steve Nash matched the entire Magic team with 18 assists, scoring 20 points of his own. Amar'e Stoudemire led all scorers with 28 points, including a dunk with 6.9 seconds to play to preserve Phoenix's win.

Team	Pace	Efficiency	eFG%	FT Rate	OReb%	TO Rate
Magic	95	108.7	50.7%	34.2	33.3	22.2
Suns	93	114.4	53.5%	16.3	25.0	12.9
Green denotes a stat better than the team's season average; red denotes a stat worse than the team's season average.

Orlando showed its road-weariness early on, and one long dry spell in the first quarter may have proven to be the difference. Howard made the first of two free throws, but missed the second, which Lewis rebounded. Lewis' ensuing 3-pointer rattled out, but Howard corralled it. Stoudemire stole the ball, fueling a layup by Grant Hill in transition. His shot tied the game at 9.

So that's one possession which resulted in one point for Orlando. For the next 6:37, the Magic had 12 possessions, and did not score on any of them. 6 consecutive misses--all jumpers--followed by 6 consecutive turnovers. By the time Pietrus freed himself for an easy dunk underneath to end the drought, Phoenix had taken a 24-11 lead. No team can afford to come up empty against an offense of the Suns' caliber, and especially one that runs the fast break as well as Phoenix does. Discard that awful Magic stretch and you see they scored 103 points on 83 possessions, for an offensive rating of 124.1. Too bad the 12 abominable ones there do, indeed, count in the final score.

Mistakes late doomed the Magic as well; they weren't isolated. They yielded back-to-back, open, corner three-pointers to Jared Dudley and Jason Richardson, which gave the Suns a 101-99 lead. On some level, you're happy they covered Nash and Stoudemire on the pick-and-roll and forced the kickout. But man, those shots are backbreakers. Moments later, trailing by a single point, Nash coughed the ball up into Howard's hands, giving the Magic a transition opportunity. Backup point guard Anthony Johnson, who scored all 11 of his points in the 4th quarter to keep the Magic in the game (!), dribbled the outlet pass off his foot. The ensuing possession set up Stoudemire's offensive rebound and dunk to seal the game. You'll recall that poor box-outs cost the Magic against the Heat three weeks ago, when putbacks by Udonis Haslem and Michael Beasley gave Miami a narrow, one-point victory.

The theme here, I suppose, is that the tired team made mental errors throughout the game to lose when they might have otherwise won.

I'm sure the media will latch onto Howard's only getting one shot attempt--two minutes into the game!--in 41 minutes and make a big deal of it, especially after a game in which he got only 11 shots in 44 minutes. Fact is, Howard got his touches: 5 turnovers, 17 free-throw attempts, 2 assists, and several other wise passes out of double-teams. The Suns forced the Magic to look elsewhere. The absence of go-to-scorer Vince Carter in the second half due to a sore knee made scoring that much more difficult.

A tough loss to take any time. Orlando split its 4-game Western trip, squandering double-digit leads in three games and having to battle back in another. It's clear that the Magic aren't as sharp now as they were weeks ago, when Jason Williams first took over for Jameer Nelson as the starting point guard and could hardly do wrong. 22 assists, 11 turnovers, and 48.3% eFG% on the trip overall, and 11 assists to 7 turnovers in the last 2 games. The bloom is off the rose a bit, yes?

Orlando has plenty of time to regroup, as it doesn't play again until Monday, and will play 7 of its final 8 games of 2009 at home. The Magic are due to bounce back, but the results of this road trip certainly raise troubling questions. At least it's still December.

Orlando Magic News for December 11th: Rashard Lewis and Stan Van Gundy Clear the Air, Help Dwight Howard's Foundation, and More

erivera7 — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 19:54:12 -0000

More photos » by Gus Ruelas - AP

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Behind the Box Score, where Deron dominated
Kelly Dwyer of Ball Don't Lie recaps yesterday's contest between the Orlando Magic and the Utah Jazz.

Orlando has a re-done roster, and I don't know if they need to talk more in the half-court or while defending the face break, or if this is just the season-long worry regarding point guard defense. It's not just Deron Williams dropping 32 in Jason Williams' face, it's about the early penetration that results in a few passes and the eventual good look.

OK, maybe it was Deron. 15 assists, too. Eight rebounds, and just one turnover despite dominating the ball for 42 minutes. What a game.
Rashard Lewis refuses Stan Van Gundy's request to re-enter game in second quarter of Orlando Magic loss at Utah Jazz
Brian Schmitz elaborates on what occurred last night between Rashard Lewis and head coach Stan Van Gundy during the game.

"(Lewis) didn't want to go back in. I wanted to put him back in with six minutes to go in the second quarter and he didn't want to go back in," Van Gundy said after the Magic (17-5) had their six-game winning streak broken. "He said it was because he had two fouls, and so if you have a guy who doesn't want to play, I'm not going to get in an argument and put him back in if he doesn't want to play at that time.

"He said, `I'm going back in and be out in three or four minutes and Ryan (Andersonn) is playing good.' [...]

Asked if he was being defiant, Lewis said, "No, hell, no. I was looking at it and Ryan had 14 points and I had two fouls. Let him play. " [...]

Van Gundy agreed that Lewis wasn't being defiant and even said he probably thought he was being "unselfish." But the coach was not pleased and said he wasn't going to send someone back in a game "that wasn't in the right frame of mind."

Lewis said he didn't feel that he and Van Gundy are at odds. [...]

"I'm not going to get too worried about it because it wasn't a defiant thing or that he refused to go in. It's not something that's a problem we've ever had before and I don't think we'll ever have it again. I'm not going to worry about it, but if you going to ask me why he sat so long that's why.
Rashard Lewis Refuses Van Gundy's Request to Re-Enter Game
Brett Pollakoff of NBA FanHouse has more.

In Stan Van Gundy's world, a player's unselfishness is apparently a good enough reason for him to refuse a direct order, as there weren't any lingering hard feelings about it from the coach -- at least not initially.

Lewis was back out there to start the third, but the team, which was riding a six-game winning streak and had been playing so well of late on the road, clearly wasn't right.

The Jazz, after all, were playing on the second night of a back-to-back, after managing just six points in the fourth quarter the night before in Los Angeles. A 17-point third quarter beatdown at their hands didn't seem likely, but then again, neither did one of Van Gundy's star players declining his request to re-enter the game.
Rashard Lewis Too Nice to Play
Bethlehem Shoals of The Baseline chimes in, as well.

So go ahead, untangle this: An overpaid player refuses to go in because his younger teammate is playing well, and his foul situation could be a problem. Coach obviously disagrees, but doesn't order him in, and seems somewhat impressed by the moral fiber of the decision. Unfortunately, it may have cost the Magic the game. Is it possible to be so nice you're a jerk? I'd say that's the accurate summation of Rashard Lewis here.
Help My Foundation
Dwight Howard posts on his official blog today, and asks people to help contribute to a good cause.

I need ya’ll’s help on a few things and I need your votes – and we’re not even talking about All-Star votes here. Although ya’ll can help me be the leading vote-getter in the All-Star Game again with a few clicks.

Chase’s Community of Giving is donating $5 million to charities across the country in December. My foundation, the Dwight D. Howard Foundation, is trying to win one of the $25,000 awards and I need your votes.
You can vote by clicking on this link. Then, type in Dwight D. Howard Foundation, Atlanta, GA.
We’ll put the money to great use to help kids in the Atlanta and Orlando areas. You guys know that I really enjoy giving back to my community and this will just help me take it to another level. Thanks for your help.
15 Footer 12.11.09
Matt Moore of Hardwood Paroxysm previews the games on the schedule for tonight, including the matchup between the Magic and the Suns.

The Limit

Orlando at Phoenix, 10:30PM EST
Orlando lost a tough one to Utah who’s absolutely on fiyaahhhhh right now. Phoenix lost a tough one to Dallas who’s just a solid team. Phoenix is having a sugar crash, Orlando’s still winning but just… seems off. How about Barnes v. Amundson tonight? Or Richardson v. Carter, that’s pretty sexy, no? Howard’s going to unleash hell on them inside, which means Phoenix will just have to run more. I hope you like three pointers, late-night watchers.
I wouldn't say that the Magic seem "off" but that's just me.
Grading the Replacements
Gerald Narciso of Dime Magazine takes a look at some players who are filling in for their teammates and grades them on their performances.

Jason Williams: It was deja vu all over again for the Magic, as Nelson was once again forced to miss an extended period of time. The only difference is Jason Williams will be stepping is as Jameer’s replacement rather than Rafer. It’s fair to say that White Chocolate has been a success as the Magic have gone 9-2 and he has averaged 9.6 points and 5.8 assists since he became a starter. Grade – A minus
Game to pay attention: Magic vs. Suns
UPDATE: Title of the link says it all.

Orlando Magic News for December 10th: Dwight Howard and Vince Carter Could Start in the All-Star Game

Ben Q Rock — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 21:00:25 -0000

More photos » by Chuck Burton - AP

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Kobe in West, D-Wade in East take lead in All-Star voting
The NBA released the first returns in its All-Star balloting and the Orlando Magic have done well so far. Center Dwight Howard, who set a record for total votes received last year, is again in line to start this year; he leads Shaquille O'Neal, his next closest competitor, by more than 400,000 votes. Meanwhile, Vince Carter is in line to start at guard, second at the position only to the Heat's Dwyane Wade, who leads all vote-getters in the Eastern Conference. Carter leads Gilbert Arenas is big, but not insurmountable, at just under 80,000 votes.

Rashard Lewis ranks 10th among Eastern forwards. Jameer Nelson, the other Magic player on the ballot, did not appear in the early results. Naturally, none of this damages their chances of actually playing in the game...
Chat: John Hollinger
...because as John Hollinger explains, the coaches--who select the reserves--tend to reward good teams by allotting more roster spots to their players.

Likely East All-Star team is Wade, [Chris] Bosh, LeBron [James] and nine players from the Celtics, Magic and Hawks.
Denton: Lack of Respect Motivates Magic
I enjoyed J.J. Redick's perspective on the Magic's lack of respect, which has become a fairly tired subject.

"Around the league I think we’re well respected, especially among players and coaches who know the game of basketball," Magic reserve guard J.J. Redick said. "We have three legitimate superstars and four really when Jameer (Nelson) is healthy. But we’re a small market and we’re not L.A., we’re not New York and we don’t have LeBron James.

"We’re starting to get some attention, but we don’t set out for that. We just want to win," Redick continued. "I think we’d rather be called the best team in June than the best team on Dec. 9th."
#13 Orlando Magic
Forbes.com rates the Magic as the NBA's 13th-most-valuable franchise. I found this fact particularly interesting:

This [sic] Magic's run to the finals last season, where they were defeated by the Lakers, boosted their bottom line by $5 million. The extra loot from the postseason will come in handy as the team awaits its new building, the Amway Center, scheduled to open in the fall of 2010.

It's also nice to see that the franchise has increased in value each year since 2002, and in revenue since 2004.
Stephen Jackson fits in with Bobcats, Larry Brown
Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated writes about Magic backup point guard Jason Williams, pushed into starting duty due to Nelson's knee injury. Williams came out of a year-long retirement to sign with Orlando in August.

"Sometimes when you have a long career you like it and you appreciate it, but I think it goes to another level when you have a year off," said Magic coach Stan Van Gundy. "He really wanted to come back. The thing we liked with him, which is a lot like what we liked with Rafer [Alston] last year, is that we had a pretty good confidence level that if needed, he could play big minutes. He just always had one of those motors that he could go a long time."
Rafer Alston rips New Jersey Nets, winning streak halted at one as Golden State Warriors romp
Alston is not happy with his teammates in New Jersey, to which Orlando dealt him in a package to obtain Carter and Ryan Anderson. In short order, Alston went from starting for an NBA Finalist to backing up the worst team in the league.

After the Nets took a 105-89 pounding from the Warriors last night at the Meadowlands, Nets reserve Rafer Alston blasted his teammates for not sticking together through the tough times.

[....] But what especially rankled Alston last night was seeing teammates fail to pull for each other before an announced crowd of 10,005 at the Meadowlands.

Alston would not have been happy here backing up Nelson, but clearly he's unhappy in New Jersey as well. The middle ground would be for the Nets to trade him to a team that needs a point guard, most obviously Alston's hometown New York Knicks. But because Devin Harris and Keyon Dooling, the Nets' other point guards, have nagging injuries, the Nets will likely hang on to Alston's expiring deal.
Fun With Numbers and Venn Diagrams
UPDATE: Ryan Schwan of Hornets 247 attempts to categorize point guards using a series of Venn Diagrams. It's interesting to see where Nelson (the scorer) and Williams (the distributor) land here.