SB Nation - Miami Heat

Schmitz: Jameer Nelson Could Be Back Next Wednesday

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

More photos » by Phelan M. Ebenhack - AP

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.

Miami Heat 104, Orlando Magic 86

Ben Q Rock — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 19:34:35 -0000

More photos » by Wilfredo Lee - AP

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In arguably their worst overall performance of the season, the Orlando Magic did little more than go through the motions against the Miami Heat, and came away with a 104-86 defeat as a result... and the game wasn't even really that close. Dwyane Wade and Michael Beasley led Miami with an effortless 25 and 22 points, respectively, while the bench combined for 32 points. The Heat shot 58% from the field and from three-point range through three quarters and held a well-deserved 29-point lead. Only an impressive showing from J.J. Redick (11 points on 4-of-6 shooting), coupled with indifference on the Heat's side, made the score look more respectable.

Team	Pace	Efficiency	eFG%	FT Rate	OReb%	TO Rate
Magic	88	97.9	49.4%	11.5	17.1	14.8
Heat	86	121.2	56.2%	16.0	22.0	10.5
Green denotes a stat better than the team's season average; red denotes a stat worse than the team's season average.

What makes the loss so jarring, from an Orlando standpoint, is just how decisively Miami out-worked it, in every facet of the game. Point guard Carlos Arroyo twice managed to out-race a Magic player to an offensive rebound, for instance. The Heat moved the ball about as well as I've seen a Magic opponent do this year, making the right pass to the right guy, which helps to explain how Joel Anthony scored 3 baskets. The Magic's defense scarcely took any of the Heat's offensive options away through the first three quarters, in which Dwight Howard, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, did not rest a single second.

The offense looked just as bad, really. Howard showed some nice moves inside early, with a rolling hook from the left block and a drop-step-to-layup maneuver from the right one, which had TNT analyst/NBA legend Kevin McHale, in a rare courtside appearance, raving. Other than that? Rashard Lewis rimmed out some open three-pointers and mid-range jumpers, while Vince Carter attempted to play HORSE with an invisible adversary, launching all variety of off-balance, contested looks. Carter's played much better of late, tending to drive to the basket rather than settle for jumpers. Tonight? 2 free-throw attempts, 4 three-point attempts (all misses) and 4-of-10 shooting overall.

It truly was an instance of Miami doing almost everything right and Orlando doing almost everything wrong, on both ends. Redick, to his credit, obviously came to play, finishing with 13 points, 5 boards, and 2 steals. But on the whole, the Heat chewed the Magic up and spit 'em out. Orlando rarely plays so uninspired on the road. Incidentally, it's now dropped 3 consecutive away games after an 8-game win streak. The good news, then, is that Orlando finishes out 2009 with 5 straight games at Amway Arena, where they can hope to rediscover their winning ways.

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.

NBA Eastern Conference: Taking Stock

tenaciousT — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 00:04:32 -0000

NBA –arama

After making my preseason predictions, I said I'd check how things were going from time to time. It's time. Let's take a look around the east, see what’s going on, and fess up to a few big misses. A number of predictions are on target...so far. Preseason predictions are in parentheses followed by current record

Atlantic Division

Boston Celtics (63-19) - 20-4
Thought they were going gently into their assisted living facilities, eh? Tut tut, my skeptical friends. The ‘assisted living’ comes courtesy of one Rajon Rondo, point guard extraordinaire. Rondo plays one gear higher than the rest of his starting unit.

11 game win streak says they are rounding into shape after starting strong, stumbling, then slowly righting the ship. The only major surprise was/is the lack of 48 minute intensity, and rebounding woes. They still look like one of the best teams in the NBA to challenge the Lakers. Back with a vengeance? They are back. Vengeance comes later.

Toronto (35-47) - 11-17
International crisis or communication breakdown?
Some expected more, but they are about where I expected and for the same reason – defense. Bargnani is part of the dilemma. He is a skilled big, but not an interior presence. With a domestic vs. international player rift surfacing recently, the Raps played their best defensive game of the season afterwards. Hedo’s not fitting in like they hoped…yet.

Jose Calderon has disappointed so far in what was supposed to be his big year. The rebuilt roster should be better later in the season, but aren’t built for prolonged defense. They are giving up 103.5 over their last 5 games, which 5 points better than before.

New York (31-51) - 8-16
After a 3-14 start, the ‘D’Antonies’ are 5-2 in their last 7 games. Another team without interior defense. They looked under every rock for a bona fide PG but the right one – the draft. Biggest current embarrassment is choosing Jordan Hill over Brandon Jennings in the draft. This was going to be a learning year anyway, right? Ty Lawson, Darren Collison, Eric Maynor, Jeff Teague were also still out there. Any of those better than Chris Duhon? Maybe some are already.

D’Antoni, frankly, has disappointed as well. I’ll confess, I thought Darko Milicic was a good risk for a team starved for bigs that block shots and play defense. Go figure. Jordan Hill may end up being a good player some day, too. Winning started by benching Nate Robinson. Coincidence? Sharp shooter Gallinari continues to impress, adds some board work.

76ers (41-41) – 6-19
Okay, this is one that’s not going as I thought it would. Oye.
Injuries are only part of the problem. Is Brand a lesser player now? Or is he just on the wrong team? Maybe it’s all bad karma for Elton leaving a good situation in Clipperland. (Yes, I did just say that.) Louis Williams (injured), Marreese Speights, and Thaddeus Young give hope for the future. It’s so bad that Iverson is back. Yeah, I know.

New Jersey (26-56) – 2-24
Say no more. Accident on the Jersey Turnpike. Tie up for miles, but not for years. No, they are not this bad. Bad luck continues with Yi Jianlian getting 50 stitches (yes 50) in his mouth courtesy of a Sean Williams elbow in a recent practice. The sooner this team can exit the swamp the better. Still, Brook Lopez will become an even better player if this season doesn’t kill him first. Devin Harris, Courtney Lee, Chris Douglas-Roberts are all good young talent.

Central Division

Cleveland (58-24) – 19-7
They are much better after starting 0-2 and 3-3. Not dominating like last season, but still a force. Shaq shooting a career low 49%, though they are now winning with him. Most lopsided team scoring distribution I have ever seen for a top team. Only three players in double digits and one of them is Shaq at 10.8 per.

Second best FG% defense and 4th best points allowed means they are still dangerous and in the hunt. Though Shaq is mostly a sideways or backwards move, if they get to the finals he helps against Lakers’ frontline. Shaq can’t slow down an already very slow team…can he? I feared this team more last year. Stop LeBron and you stop the Cavs. Am I wrong?

Stat of note: Cavs lead league in points in paint defense (34.1)

Milwaukee (35-47) – 11-12
Early season surprise coming back to earth lately. Many thought I had them too high. But Skiles always seems to get players to overachieve for a few years, until his tough guy ways get tired. Brandon Jennings makes a big splash with 55 point game but is tailing off since then. Still, he is the real deal and will figure things out.

Bucks are first in shot attempts and dead last in free throw attempts, which pretty much goes hand in hand. No one on this team gets to the line, except Jennings and Hakim Warrick.

Side Note: Toronto is known as the international team. But even they can’t compete with Milwaukee. Current starters are from 5 different countries: Turkey, Argentina, Australia, Cameroon, and U.S. Positively cosmopolitan for a city Shlitz beer made famous.

Detroit (36-46) - 11-14
I guess they are a bit better than I thought. Will this last? Even with key players injured, they put together a recent 5 game winning streak. They are still working a new system with a new coach. Loss of Tayshaun Prince hurts, Gordon is playing hurt, and Rip Hamilton is still in and out.

Still, the biggest surprise is the renaissance of "I’m retiring" Ben Wallace. Back up to 30 minutes and 10 rebounds a game, he can still defend, too. Detroit is 2nd best in points in paint defense. Can he do it all year and where is his help?

Pistons have the 3rd best total rebounding and 3rd best offensive rebounding differential in the league. Rodney Stuckey’s career year (19.3 pts) is offset by lower shooting %. He should stop taking three pointers altogether (21.4%)

Indiana (30-52) – 9-14
Danny Granger’s team is without Danny Granger for a while. With mediocre stats everywhere, just what do they do better than most NBA teams? Foul. They are 3rd in league with 2.2 foul differential.

Mike Dunleavy returns to a system that uses him to his best advantage and not a minute too soon. If the Pacers win 36 games, and that’s possible, that means O’Brien would have coached three straight 36-46 records here. Hey I have to find something interesting, don’t I? T.J. Ford is underwhelming again.

How are they doing attracting more fans? The past three years they went from 30th to 28th to 27th this season in attendance. They are a team with more integrity, but a few more wins wouldn’t hurt, would it?

Chicago (41-41) - 8-15 No one expected this meltdown. The loss of Ben Gordon’s 4th quarter points, Tyrus Thomas’ injury, Kirk Hinrich playing hurt, John Salmons’ underachieving season are all contributors, but all are secondary to Derrick Rose’s lack of noticeable improvement.

The chant for Vinny Del Negro’s head grows louder and I’m not against it. But I’d ask…who hired a rookie head coach for this team in the first place? That is where the blame should lie. Del Negro did reasonably well last season, but the wheels are falling off the wagon now.

Deng is playing well and Joakim Noah is continuing his rise up the food chain, but it’s nowhere near enough. I am fast becoming a Joakim Noah fan. Plays with passion, toughness, and heart.

Southeast Division

Orlando (60-22) -19-6
Fools go where wise men fear to tread – the paint against the Magic. They are crazy deep and probably Boston’s biggest problem in the East. Jameer Nelson returns soon and that’s not good news for opponents. Right now they are better offensively (5th rated) but worse defensively (9th rated) than last season, while giving up 2.2 more points.

This is a great situation for Vince Carter, who is playing 5 minutes less, but leads the team in scoring (19), while still hoisting up 17 shots per and will be a solid 4th quarter option for the Magic.

D. Howard is getting one less block a game, but shooting a career high in FG% (63.4%) While they probably over paid a bit for Mickael Pietrus ($5.3 mil), he continues to be a valuable piece to this team. Ryan Andersen has quietly been a nice addition. Marcin Gortat – the unhappy multi-millionaire.

Atlanta (48-34) - 18-6
This team is playing even better than I thought….and I thought this would be a good team. Woodson said the next thing is to learn how to win on the road. The Hawks are 7-4 so far this season and that is a huge step forward. Three of those road wins were against very tough home teams - Dallas, Boston and Portland.

For a team that could lose their leader (Joe Johnson) and their coach next season, they are moving from pretender to contender. Their youthful exuberance could make up for whatever they are missing. Al Horford and Josh Smith are unique young players and Mike Bibby and Joe Johnson provide the veteran leadership. They are pasting the lesser teams and are 3rd in the league in average winning margin at +8.4 points. Just behind the Celtics and Lakers. Hmm…

Miami (38-44) – 12-11
Dwayne Wade is to this team what LeBron is to the Cavs. Probably more so. Jermaine O’Neal is actually playing pretty well, but is a shell of his earlier self. We knew going in that the Heat go as Wade goes. Michael Beasley is improving and Haslem is solid.

They stretched the Lakers to a (lucky) Kobe Bryant banked buzzer beating 3 pointer over Wade’s outstretched hand. That probably defines their season as well as anything. With $50 million coming off the books in 2010, this team (hopefully) gets a complete rebuild. With a player option for $17 million, whether Wade stays or not remains to be seen.

Charlotte (33-49) - 10-14
Solid defensive team (2nd in points allowed) that has trouble scoring (27th). Deliberate offense (pace: 28th in NBA) helps keep opponents’ numbers down. 5-5 over the last ten, they added controversial, but multi-talented Stephen Jackson. It gives the team a focal point (and… gulp…leader) Larry Brown has great experience handling prima donna players and Raymond Felton is playing better since Jackson’s arrival.

Gerald Wallace, the last original Bobcat, was plucked from deep on Sacramento’s bench. Time to test him for HRH (Human Rebound Hormone). He has gone crazy boarding, up from 7.8 last season to 12.2 this year. I’d like to know the last time an established player made that kind of jump. He continues to ply his game for a team going nowhere.

Talented DJ Augustine has perplexingly gone backwards this season. Tyson Chandler, who could have been an earlier version of Joakim Noah, is showing how much Chris Paul helped his game.

But we forget just how bad this team was before Larry Brown arrived.

Washington (41-41) - 7-16
In preseason I wrote…. "everyone’s favorite ‘move up’ team." What I didn’t write was that it would take some doing to keep all these scorers happy with shots and minutes. Unfortunately, that appears to be the case. And things aren’t getting better. They are on a 6 game losing streak as I write this.

I never saw a happier, more hopeful team in the losers’ locker room than the one that ended its season against the Celtics last year. They all knew a much better year was coming. They had their version of a big three returning. But ubuntu doesn’t live here. Tragic because there is a lot of talent here. Flip Saunders has to sort this out, but I’m not sure where he starts.

I’ll end by (again) making my pitch for an unsung role player buried on the Wizards bench. Dominic McGuire would make a great (and cheap) Celtic.

There you have it. I apparently thought way too much of the Sixers. Comments welcome on all teams.

What They're Saying Before the Orlando Magic Face Off Against the Miami Heat

erivera7 — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:15:46 -0000

More photos » by John Raoux - AP

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Chalmers may have to wait his turn
Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel explains why Heat coach Erik Spoelstra benched point guard Mario Chalmers in favor of Carlos Arroyo.

Apparently, Mario Chalmers didn't escape with just a mere a warning.

Instead, he very much is going to have to go to court to beat this rap.

Wednesday, Chalmers was back working with the second unit, after being stripped of his starting position following one of what apparently have been many late practice arrivals. While it initially appeared that Carlos Arroyo's Tuesday start at point guard was a one-shot deal, that may not be the case.
Evaluating the Evaluator
Michael Wallace of The Miami Herald shares Pat Riley's thoughts "on the team's performance and expectations this season" ...

"I think we're right where we are, with nine other teams, with the opportunity to run past a No. 4 team. So Cleveland is four games ahead of us, and we're four games ahead of the 14th team in the conference. So we're not running place. We're competing like crazy with nine other teams. You can't always get to the next level overnight. We've got a lot of time. There's a lot of time in this season."
Dwyane Wade not immune to Pat Riley's criticism
... and gathers his take on Dwyane Wade.

Riley said Wednesday the team plans to address some concerns about Dwyane Wade's conditioning that might be a factor in the guard's drop-off in production from last season.

``He's not there right now,'' Riley said. ``So I get out of my president's chair and into my coaching chair -- I know he'll probably say I'm nitpicking. His efficiency is down. We'll address what it is we can do to help you maintain that lean, mean scoring machine you were a year ago.'
Vote: How many points will Dwyane Wade score against the Magic tonight?
UPDATE: Tania Ganguli conducts a poll, asking the public whether or not Wade is going to have another big game against the Magic.

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

More photos » by John Raoux - AP

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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.

Randy Livingston Memorial "On The Edge" Call-Up Rankings

Scott Schroeder — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 16:00:21 -0000

Dontell Jefferson, the 6'5" point guard, can dunk, as learned here by Reno's Marcus Hubbard. (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE)

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As you can see, we've collaborated with the top D-League blogger's in the universe (read: all that would answer my e-mail's) to come up with the top 10 players that are deserving of an NBA call-up. While 10-day contract's aren't able to be handed out until January 5th, there's typically two or three call-up's before that date, which is why we've put our heads together to bring you this list. As you'll remember last season, we alternated this type of post with a more specific list like this one. More than likely, I'll put one of those together as well, just because it serves a different sort of purpose.

Anyway, continue on to see the list and a breakdown of each of the top 10 players, an early holiday gift to all of our loyal readers from the D-League blogging contingent!

Livingston Memorial "On The Edge" Call-Up Rankings
Player w/ link to season stats	Jon L (RU)	Matt Moore (Hardwood Paroxysm)	Scott Schroeder (RU)	Steve Weinman (D-League Digest)	Composite Rankings

Dontell Jefferson	3	3	1	2	1
Anthony Tolliver	1	8	2	1	2
Morris Almond	4	2	3	3	2
Rod Benson	2	1	5	5	4
Desmon Farmer	8	4	4	4	5
Carlos Powell	5	5	7	6	6
Mike Harris	6	10	6	10	7
Sundiata Gaines	7	9	8	8	8
Alonzo Gee	10	6	NR	7	9
Dwayne Jones	NR	7	10	NR	10
Reggie Williams	9	NR	NR	9	NR
Cedric Simmons	NR	NR	9	NR	NR

(If I were to round out a top 15, I'd include Cartier Martin, Ron Howard and Romel Beck)

1. Dontell Jefferson, Utah Flash (20.5 ppg, 6 apg, 5.1 rpg, 1.6 spg, 47% FG) - Jefferson should be the poster child for the NBA Development League because I don't think there's been a player that's gotten consistently better like Jefferson has. Consider his D-League draft bio as a rookie back in 2006: to go from averaging 3.2 points and 4.4 assists in college to an call-up to the Bobcats last season is amazing. Having watched a couple of Flash games this year, he may have even gotten better. While his calling card will always be his defense and decision making, the 6'5" point guard is showing some impressive scoring ability this year as well. (Scott Schroeder)

2a. Anthony Tolliver, Idaho Stampede (20.7 ppg, 9.9 rpg, 47% FG, 43% 3pt) - I can't find a word more descriptive of Tolliver's performance than "everywhere." At 6-foot-9 and 240 pounds, Tolliver is a large man, even by basketball standards. But the threes he takes aren't typical of the 21st century pseudo-bigs who hang around the perimeter waiting for kickouts. To borrow the type of term Walt Frazier enjoys using, I can remember few other occasions when a player seems as omnipresent as AT - sprinting to the sideline to snare long rebounds from unsuspecting guards and fighting his way to loose balls amidst the pack inside as well. Defensively, more of the same. One second, Tolliver's jumping out to double a guard on a high screen-and-roll; the next, waiting at the rim to provide help on penetration or swat a shot out of vicinity of the basket. (Steve Weinman, D-League Digest)

2b. Morris Almond, Springfield Armor (33 ppg, 6 rpg, 49% FG) - Morris Almond is mostly known for his scoring, and it's true that putting the ball in the basket remains his best skill. He also does so fairly efficiently, getting to the free-throw line at a decent rate. Almond greatly improved his rebounding while in the NBA, though, jumping from just under two boards per-36 minutes as a rookie to around five last season. Almond wasn't able to crack Utah's
rotation but got some offseason looks from the Knicks (Summer League) and Magic (training camp). The one thing that might hold him back is, well, his back. He had some problems with it last year and teams might worry that they'll return, I suppose. He's not as athletic as some of his peers, but he has a very nice midrange game and so far in career has kept working to improve. What sounds bad about that? (Jon L)

4. Rod Benson, Reno Bighorns (16.8 ppg, 9.2 rpg, 2.4 bpg, 2.2 spg, 53% FG) - Benson's almost a volume rebounder, if there is such a thing. His DRR if he were to ever get a stinkin' flyer would be insane. All you're looking for is quality minutes and you know he'll give you that. He's added frame as he's gotten older and it's not like he's lost in terms of positioning. He's got a high basketball IQ. What's the downside here? The only thing I can figure at this point is that he peed on Adam Silver's rug at some point. And it tied the room together. (Matt Moore, Hardwood Paroxysm)

5. Desmon Farmer, Reno Bighorns (25 ppg, 6.7 apg, 5.5 rpg, 5.17 TO/g (doh!)) - Look, I get the push against guys from the D-League that aren't great at defense. I do. I appreciate that. And I certainly understand the turnover concern. But Farmer has been on summer league teams. He's been in camps. He's done his time. And he fills up the sheet when he's on the floor. He's had cups of coffee with San Antonio and the Pacers and the Sonics. But the Spurs never have room for anyone, and the rest were before the league had experienced success at the NBA-level. He's got potential to be a solid end-of-the-bench contributor with the possibility of a great fill-in in case of injury. (Matt Moore)

6. Carlos Powell, Albuquerque Thunderbirds (21.8 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 4 apg, 50% FG) - Carlos Powell, like Farmer, is he what he is - a big, polished wing that can put his head down and get to the hoop with ease. Powell has an affinity for scoring right around 25 points per game to go along with a handful of assists and rebounds a piece every where he plays. While he's obviously not going to put those numbers up in the NBA, he's a veteran scorer that has what it takes to succeed in the big leagues. (Scott Schroeder)

7. Mike Harris, Rio Grande Valley Vipers (26 ppg, 7 rpg, 59% FG, 45% 3pt) - Harris is currently third in the league in per-game scoring, amidst guys who are more likely to come to mind like Mo Almond, Reggie Williams, Desmon Farmer and Sundiata Gaines. He's making 45 percent of his three-pointers and averaging 10 rebounds per 48 minutes. So basically, he's good. The Rockets obviously like him, having retained him off of their Summer League team, but any other teams jealous of Houston's glut of 6'6" combo forward action too can get in on it by calling Harris up. He's been playing mostly inside next to Joey Dorsey, which helps, but he's also pretty athletic and has worked on his shot enough where he can play some small forward as well. (Jon L)

8. Sundiata Gaines, Idaho Stampede (25.4 ppg, 7.7 apg, 5.3 rpg, 56% FG, 2 spg - has started 1 of 7 games) - That's right, a (mostly) D-League reserve made our call-up rankings. Gaines is that good (and also Bob MacKinnon's bench usually plays a lot). A combo guard in college, Gaines has been playing more point in Idaho, and he's been one of the best in the league so far. He's second in the league in assists, both per-game and per-48 minutes, fourth in the league in scoring, and perhaps most impressive is the fact that he's averaging just three turnovers in that fast-paced MacKinnon offense. Gaines isn't the biggest point guard around, but he's really, really, talented, and his game should speak enough for itself for him to get some consideration. (Jon L)

9. Alonzo Gee, Austin Toros (20.5 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 55% FG) - You can't really take Gee in the Virtual Scout Game. I mean, he's a rookie, playing in a power system that rewards players of his ilk. And he's not really MVP worthy, despite being second in Pts+Reb+As, since he plays alongside the double-double machine Dwayne Jones and Curtis Jerrells. But if you're looking for top-level production that you could sign and immediately send back down? Gee would be a fantastic option for farming. You know, if anyone had managed to do that effectively. Thanks for ruining that dream, Ian Mahinmi. (Matt Moore)

10. Dwayne Jones, Austin Toros (18 ppg, 13.3 rpg, 2.2 bpg, 66% FG) - Jones has clearly been working on his post moves in the offseason, and while they're still not great, he looks a lot more fluid executing them. In addition to the spin move he "had" last year he's added one where he goes underneath the basket and lays it in from the other side, which was pretty effective. And, just so we're clear, his numbers have been helped tremendously by being matched up with Kevin Pittsnogle in five of his ten games. (Jon L)

Tip-In: Toronto Raptors Post Game Report - A "Beastley" Performance

RaptorsHQ - Franchise — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 12:00:46 -0000

by Alan Diaz - AP

The Raptors had no answer for the intensity from Michael Beasley or the rest of the Miami Heat last night...

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The most agonizing and maddening season in Raptors' history only 27 games in? After yet another lackluster performance by the Dinos last night, Franchise ponders this question and compares the club to the hapless 2005-06 edition of the team...

Yesterday in his preview of Toronto's match with Miami, Howland compared watching this Raptor team to a bad relationship; games like the one against Houston on Sunday are enough of a tease to keep you hanging around even though the majority of the time, there aren't enough other reasons to justify your continued involvement.

Well, last night's 115 to 95 loss to the Miami Heat sure provided yet another "Exhibit A" to this argument.

Toronto was completely outworked again as Miami snapped a four-game home-slide and sent the Raps off to Orlando with their scaly tails between their legs.

Frankly, I'm running out of words to discuss this team's apathy.

Last night there wasn't a single Toronto player who looked locked-in aside from maybe Sonny Weems as even Chris Bosh, who again carried the team's scoring load with 28 points, had but two rebounds.

And it wasn't as if the team didn't need any more rebounds on the evening; the Raps were clocked on the glass and in the paint, and again, a Raptor opponent was essentially allowed to do whatever they wanted offensively.

Michael Beasley was particularly impressive, torching Andrea Bargnani for most of his 28 points using an array of jump shots, up-and-unders, drives and post-moves. And while Dwyane Wade, usually a Raptor-killer, was somewhat quiet with a measly 19 points on 8 of 19 shooting, he was nursing a sore right wrist and yet you'd never have known it.

And that's really all that needs to be said about last night's game folks as it's the same old story. I mean, I could write the script for tonight's game right now;

"Talented offensive team relies on hot shooting to keep things close for a while, even though defense allows opponent to do whatever they want. Opponent tightens things up defensively, said talented offensive team goes cold, then gets blown out."

Michael Bay, step right up, we've got one for you!

And I'm not even exaggerating here unfortunately. After last Friday's loss to the Hawks, I noted that Toronto had lost by 13 or more points this year on nine occasions already.

Last night made it number 10.

This got me curious as to the team's ineptitude in this capacity so I reached out to the great site, basketball-reference.com to compare this season to date, with Toronto's last great flop; the 2005-2006 season.

You remember that season right?

The one ironically where the Raps' lone win in the first 17 games came over last night's opponent, the Miami Heat?

Well here's a scary fact for you:

In the entire 2005-06 season, the Raps got blown out by 13 or more points 13 times. After 27 games, this current version of the Dinos is already at 10.

At this rate, the 2009-10 edition of the Raptors is going to smash that mark.

And considering how poor the 2005-06 team was, and the "talent" it contained, that previous statement should make you want to either puke, or start burning effigies of Hedo Turkoglu.

Or both.

And it gets worse.

That 2005-06 team lost games by an average of 3 points on the season. The 2009-10 Raptors are losing games by an average of 5 points already this year.

Nope, this is not what you'd call a good trend.

Am I saying for a fact that this current version of the Raptors is worse than the 2005-06 version?

Not exactly - but I think those numbers speak volumes as to the effort, grit, and fight that's lacking from a group that I would argue is massively more talented.

And this is the single-most infuriating thing for me about the team this season.

I expected them to struggle and have chemistry issues etc, etc. But to keep getting blown out in this fashion is ridiculous, and it's extremely hard as a fan to be passionate about a team that rarely displays any themselves!

I mean forget 13 point losses, the Raps have already been beaten by 20 points or more six times!! I love Sonny Weems, Amir Johnson and perhaps even have a bit of a soft spot for Marcus Banks strangely enough, but if we're seeing these guys this much it's not a good thing. I'm not naive. While most readers know I love second round picks and the "undiscovered upside types," these guys for the most part aren't the ones winning you games. These guys should be getting specific role duties or garbage time minutes.

And unfortunately the latter has been far too common so far this season.

So I'm not going to get into "3 keys" for tonight's game against Orlando.

Frankly, there's only one key on the night and for the rest of the season, and that's to show some pride, fight, grit...and other manifestations of testicular fortitude.

Some of this is indeed on the coaching staff, but in my books, the majority still falls on the players. They're the ones out there heaving ill-placed jump shots (ahem Hedo), missing box-outs (ahem Andrea), "protecting" the paint (ahem Bosh)...etc, etc.

It's got to be a team effort and if it doesn't start tonight, this season may end up much like the 2005-06 edition of the Toronto Raptors.

With a trip back to the NBA draft lottery.

Heat get much needed win in convincing fashion, beating Toronto by 20

DolPhanDave — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 08:23:37 -0000

More photos » by Alan Diaz - AP

If he stays healthy, who knows how high Dorell Wright may rise this season.

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Imagine my shock...I come home, power up the DVR, and what do I see? Not only was Diawara back in the starting lineup, but Carlos Arroyo as well? I guess a lineup shakeup could be expected with the way the Heat have been playing lately, but it seemed that Chalmers in the starting lineup was a foregone conclusion despite his erratic play. Arroyo responded to his first start in a Heat uniform well, hitting his first two shots in the opening minutes of the game.

Miami played a pretty decent 1^st quarter, leading it most of the way...just not the very beginning or the very end. In what's becoming unfortunately normal, D-Wade continues to take outside jumpers and miss them badly. Every year of his career he seemed to improve his J, gradually moving further away from the bucket as his shot got better. This year, however, I feel like he's taken a step backwards. The worst part is that he keeps chucking them up when he is more then capable of driving with the ball and either scoring or dishing the ball off to an open teammate.

Michael Beasley had a great sequence with about four minutes left in the 2^nd quarter. He came down with a real nice block on Toronto rookie DeMar DeRozen, passed it up to D-Wade and ran to the other end just in time to catch and slam a lob pass from Dwyane. That bucket put the Heat up by 9, their largest lead of the game at that point. It was also part of an 11-2 run for Miami.

While it was Toronto that got off to the quick start, shooting 55% in the opening quarter, the Heat closed out the first half just as hot. Miami matched their highest point total for a half, scoring 60 on 54% shooting and took a 10-point lead into the locker room. Michael Beasley led the way for Miami with 18 points (on 6-of-8 shooting) and 8 rebounds.

Chris Bosh came out firing in the 3^rd quarter, scoring the first 11 points for the Raptors. He went 4-for-6 in the entire 1^st half, but was 5-for-5 in the first 3:30 of the 2^nd half. Hedo Turkoglu was the first non-Bosh to score for Toronto, hitting a pair of foul shots 5 minutes into the quarter. Meanwhile, Miami was on a 13-4 scoring run capped off by a rare D-Wade three-pointer, and the Heat held a nice 14-point lead.

It didn't matter much who was in the game for the Heat, as everybody was scoring in the 3^rd quarter. Dorell Wright and Mario Chalmers were joining the scoring party and as a whole, the Heat dropped in another 31 points and took a nice 17-point lead into the final period.

Miami coasted through the 4^th quarter led by Dorell Wright. He is slowly starting to become a consistent contributor in the Heat's offense. Last night he scored 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting, grabbed 8 rebounds and added 3 assists, a block and a steal. Also scoring in the 4^th was Yakhouba Diawara, whose dunk with 2 minutes left accounted for his first points of the season.

I have no idea why this guy has started the last two games, but hopefully this game was the last time we see Diawara get any kind of significant minutes. The Heat have much more talented players on their roster who will do more with the minutes then Kooba. There were a couple occasions during the game where he was the recipient of a nice pass down low, but either dropped the ball or just couldn't finish, reminding me of the ‘stone-hands' of Joel Anthony.

GAME NOTES

Toronto hit their first 14 foul shots, most of which came in the 1^st quarter. While it took Miami a little longer, they also hit their first 14 foul shots and only missed two all night, finishing 20-of-22.
Michael Beasley had 8 rebounds in the 1^st half while Chris Bosh had none. Beasley finished with 11 and Bosh finished with 2.
The turning point of the game was the beginning of the 2^nd quarter. With D-Wade on the bench, Miami hit 6 of their first 7 shots and began building on the lead they'd keep all night.
Dwayne Wade took only one 3-pointer, and hit it! He had made just 3 of his previous 25 attempts from beyond the arc.
The Heat had Michael Beasley taking their technical free throws last night. Why not? He's shooting 85% from the charity stripe this season, by far the best percentage of any Heat regular.
Miami had 19 fast break points (they average 9) and 27 assists (they average 18). I love stats like that, and those were courtesy of ‘the coach' Tony Fiorentino during the Heat's post-game show.
Off the bench Mario Chalmers had 6 points, 8 assists, 2 steals and more importantly 0 turnovers in 27 minutes. After the game Coach Spoelstra said the reason for Rio not starting was that he was late for shootaround, and that ‘the point guard must be the example for the team'.
With the benching, Spoelstra snapped Chalmers' streak of 104 consecutive starts.
Carlos Arroyo did fine in his first start of the year, scoring 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting (and 4-of-5 from the foul line), with 3 assists, a rebound and a steal in 21 minutes.

The Heat have very little time to catch their breath because coming in on Thursday night are our interstate rivals from O-Town. We can only hope that the Heat are able to keep up the good play, because I'm sure the Magic will be thinking about the last time these two teams played each other.