SB Nation - Orlando Magic

Orlando Magic 106, Indiana Pacers 98

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

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.

Magic 106, Pacers 98: Magic Zoom By Pacers At The Finish

Tom Lewis — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 04:11:55 -0000

More photos » by John Raoux - AP

A win for the Pacers was just out of reach against Dwight Howard and the Magic.

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The Orlando Magic made a 17-point deficit disappear in the first half and then the Indiana Pacers' offense vanished into thin air during the final five minutes of the game, leaving the Pacers losers on the road, 106-98.

Stick with me as I shift to a little Indy Car analogy. For the uninitiated, Indy Cars have different fuel settings allowing the cars to run at different levels of performance depending on whether they're trying to save fuel or run up front. The best cars can stay within sight of the lead on a lower fuel setting and then eventually switch to full rich, meaning they're running wide open allowing them to track down and overtake a car with lesser equipment.

Throughout the third quarter, the Magic felt like a Penske or Ganassi car tucked in behind a Vision Racing car (Pacers), staying close without running on full rich. While still a one-possession game early in the fourth quarter, you could sense the Magic had raised their level of play to "full rich" and expected to overwhelm the Pacers.

The Pacers hung tough, though and appeared to frustrate the Magic as the hosts tried to impose their will on the game. With 4:58 in the game, T.J. Ford rose up to knock down a baseline jumper to give the Pacers a 96-94 lead. At that point, it appeared Ford may cap off a solid night by pushing the Pacers to an upset win.

Instead, Ford's shot was the last field goal the Pacers would make. Meanwhile, the Magic used back-to-back three-pointers from Rashard Lewis and J.J. Redick to pull away from the Pacers at winning time. In essence, the Pacers ran out of push-to-pass button boosts allowing the Magic to zoom past them to victory lane.

After the jump, back to straight hoops talk with more thoughts and observations from the loss.

Let's start with Mike Dunleavy. Actually, Jim O'Brien started Mike Dunleavy, making the move because his minutes limit had been bumped up to 28 and Dahntay Jones was available but still feeling the effects of his hard fall in Washington. Dunleavy had another great outing and JOB used that minutes limit as a mere suggestion, using up 18 minutes in the first half and eventually playing 17 more than 33 minutes. While his shot betrayed him at time, Dunleavy still finished with 26 points.
With Dunleavy starting the game, the first unit jumped out to a quick start at 12-2 on a 12-0 run. Within th first five minutes all five starters scored thanks to solid ball and player movement. For the Pacers first bucket of the game, things stagnated a bit and Dunleavy and Brandon Rush nearly bumped into each other on the perimeter. Dunleavy directed a little traffic and as Rush swung the ball to Ford on the perimeter, Dunleavy cut through the lane. When Ford's drive to the hoop was stopped, Dunleavy was there for a pass. His little hook missed but drew a defender which left Roy Hibbert open to dunk the follow. Can't help but think that possession would've ended with a jacked-up shot without Dunleavy involved.
The free throw differential was an eyesore reminiscent of several games last season. The Magic shot 35 free throws compared to the Pacers' 10. Of course, Dwight Howard accounted for 22 of Orlando's freebies. Howard missed nine of those attempts, but was nothing short of a beast with 21 points and 22 rebounds. Still, you'd like to have more points than free throw attempts at the end of the night. I guess he'll take the win, though.
Clark Kellogg made a great call at the start of the fourth quarter with the Pacers clinging to a two-point lead. He noticed that the Magic had only made five 3-balls and they averaged 10 per game. Sure enough, at winning time it was raining threes as the Magic made four, including the two daggers to decided it late.
T.J. Ford nearly put together his best full game of the season, and in fact, maybe this was his best full game thus far, but it certainly wasn't complete. Ford did his part to push the Pacers out to a 17-point lead in the first half. The lead would dwindle to one at the break, but Ford had 11 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds and zero turnovers. HUGE numbers compared to his recent production. He was unable to pick up where he left off in the second half, finishing with 13 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds. Worse, he dribbled away a few critical possessions in the final five minutes making some poor decisions with the ball and game in his hands.
Tyler Hansbrough had a rough shooting night making just 4 of 12 shots, finishing with 8 points and 6 rebounds. He seemed to really miss running with Dunleavy on the second unit. They did play some together but in the first half that second unit was lost.
Roy Hibbert picked up 3 early fouls which nullified a pretty good start for the big fella. From there Hibby had minimal impact on the game.
Former Pacer, Anthony Johnson and J.J. Redick were huge off the bench for the Magic. The relief backcourt tandem combined for 26 points and 12 assists. Redick also drained 3 of 4 three-pointers.

Orlando Magic News for December 14th: Vince Carter Still Sick; Stan Van Gundy Not a Fan of Tim Donaghy

erivera7 — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 20:51:59 -0000

More photos » by Paul Connors - AP

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Orlando Magic shootaround report: Vince Carter still ill
Tania Ganguli shares an update on Vince Carter's health.

Magic shooting guard Vince Carter was on his way to the doctor this afternoon. He did not participate in shootaround today a day after missing practice with a stomach ailment. He looked sick as he left. Magic Coach Stan Van Gundy said he does not have the flu.

If Carter can’t play [tonight against the Indiana Pacers], J.J. Redick said he would start in Carter’s place.
Van Gundy Calls Donaghy's Book Tour "Despicable''
Tim Potvak of NBA FanHouse states how head coach Stan Van Gundy isn't a fan of Tim Donaghy's book or his book tour.
Magic coach Stan Van Gundy has been around the NBA long enough to understand the business of selling a book – however tainted it may be -- but he doesn't have to like it. And with Tim Donaghy, the disgraced former league official, Van Gundy hates what he sees happening. [...]

"I think what he's doing now is despicable,'' Van Gundy said when asked about Donaghy. "I have trouble with it, trying to throw everyone else under the bus. You made a mistake. You got caught. Now stand up like a man and take your punishment.''
NBA 'Watchability' Scale: Ranking Every Team Based On Entertainment, Not Talent
Mike Prada of SB Nation, and also of Bullets Forever, states how the Orlando Magic are one of the more watchable teams in the NBA.

Two issues here. One is Dwight Howard's post game. Maybe it's effective, but man is it ugly. The other is Vince Carter's shot selection. I really do love Carter, and I think he's unfairly branded as a selfish loser when he's five years removed from his ill-fated "Yeah, I dogged it in Toronto" comments, but it can sometimes be painful to watch a lot of 18-foot fallaways.

Otherwise, though? Lots of threes, great defense, great spacing, lots of fast breaks, particularly when The Artist Once Again Known As White Chocolate After A Brief Retirement is in. What's not to like?
Phenomenal Swag: Super cool Orlando Magic t-shirt, brah
No words.
Denton: Carter Likely Out Tonight
UPDATE: John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com has more on VC.

Vince Carter left the Orlando Magic’s practice facility Monday morning with a troubled look on his face and a doctor’s appointment ahead of him. And after missing practices Sunday and Monday, it appears that the star shooting guard won’t play tonight when the Magic (17-6) host the Indiana Pacers (8-13).

Carter has a stomach ailment, causing him to miss the past two days of practice. The team had hoped that Carter would be well enough to practice Monday morning and play tonight, but that idea was scratched when the illness lingered.

Create A Caption #42 Winner

erivera7 — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 20:32:13 -0000

More photos » by Marcio Jose Sanchez - AP

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Well, 72 hours have passed and we have a winner in Third Quarter Collapse's forty-second "create a caption" competition. Here is the winning submission:

Pietrus: Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir?
Carter: WHAT

3QC member TheGiantSquid is the winner in the competition, garnering 57% of the votes.

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

3QC Wins Orbbie for Orlando's Best Sports Blog

Ben Q Rock — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 13:00:46 -0000

by Chris O'Meara - AP

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Third Quarter Collapse is proud to announce that it won the Orbbie for the best sports blog in Orlando. The Orlando Sentinel created the Orbbies, short for "Orlando's Rockin' Blogs;" you can read the complete list of winners in each category by clicking that previous link.

I'm sure I speak for Eddy and Jon when I thank all of you for supporting us. We're happy to add the Orbbie to our virtual mantel, and hope to defend the honor next year.

Again, thank you.

Pacers Need To Step Up Game To Meet Challenge From Orlando Tonight

Tom Lewis — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 11:30:42 -0000

Whenever a shooter has it going from outside in a game, he usually ends up taking a deep or contested, normally ill-advised, shot as a heat check.

Tonight the Indiana Pacers will give their two-game winning streak a heat check when they take on the Orlando Magic. Wins are wins in the NBA and for the Pacers no one can scoff at beating the New Jersey Nets or Washington Wizards. But maintaining a high level of play against the Magic and having a chance to win late will show some growth from the blue and gold.

Especially since the Magic always present problems for the Pacers because of their ability to pound away from outside or inside or both if the Pacers' defense doesn't show up. The Pacers should be rested and ready after spending an off-day yesterday in the warm 85 degree weather in Orlando. Doesn't that sound nice?

After the jump a few links, including just due for the Pacers' second unit. The team will need everyone in the playing rotation to add a jolt tonight, though.

PACERS: Pacers-Magic preview
Bruno's Scouting Report focuses on Mike Dunleavy and Tyler Hansbrough expanding their respective roles in the lineup as their minutes limits increase.
Pacers: 2nd unit offers jolt
Mighty Mike Wells, no doubt with feet up relaxing pool-side in Orlando, reports on the Pacers' second unit providing a boost of late, with Dunleavy, Watson, Foster and Hansbrough all bringing a little something different to help.
The Orlando Magic will try to break their first losing streak of the season tonight against the Indiana Pacers
Josh Robbins reports on the Magic looking to win again after dropping the last two game on their West Coast road trip.
Knicks Sign Bender, Who Has Been Out of the N.B.A. Since 2005
Jonathan Abrams reports on the surprising signing of Jonathan Bender by the New York Knicks.

12 Days Till Christmas In Orlando

Jeff Clark — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 01:44:52 -0000

More photos » by Michael Dwyer - AP

Revenge is a dish best served cold, with some egg nog.

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The Celtics have already given us a gift in this 10 game winning streak. Concerns over the team's slow stretch have been put back on the shelf in the back room next to the panic button and umbrellas. Rumors of our window closing prematurely were greatly exaggerated.

Still, call me greedy, but I want a little more. I'm looking forward to one game in particular 12 days from now.

Last year this team had some similar themes that were concerning. The team ran over lesser teams but hit a brick wall against the Lakers and staggered through a rough stretch. They got their mojo somewhat back down the stretch but we don't know how good the team could have been with a healthy KG in place.

The Magic beat us in November, which appears to have motivated the team to step it up a notch. They haven't lost since and they get their chance at revenge on Christmas day. I want that win. I want it badly.

Still, we've got another 12 days to go, so lets bide our time looking forward at the schedule with a (slightly modified) old favorite tune.

On the 1st day of Christmas, my Celtics gave to me, a game against the Teddy Bears in Memphis.

On the 2nd day of Christmas, my Celtics gave to me, a three day break to rest weary bones.

On the 3rd day of Christmas, my Celtics gave to me, a full practice to work on rebounding.

On the 4th day of Christmas, my Celtics gave to me, another practice to work on the finer points.

On the 5th day of Christmas, my Celtics gave to me, a look at the wrong Answer to a question that was never asked.

On the 6th day of Christmas, my Celtics gave to me, a day off to do some Christmas shopping.

On the 7th day of Christmas, my Celtics gave to me, a chance to catch up with some old friends in from Minnesota.

On the 8th day of Christmas, my Celtics gave to me, a chance to be thankful for the special team we've got.

On the 9th day of Christmas, my Celtics gave to me, a visit from Grandpa Larry Legend.

On the 10th day of Christmas, my Celtics gave to me, more rest and home cooking.

On the 11th day of Christmas, my Celtics gave to me, a silent night and chance to reflect.

On the 12th day of Christmas, my Celtics gave to me, revenge!

Ok, that last one isn't exactly in the spirit of the season, but hey, I wish the Magic players and organization all the blessings in the world, as long as those blessings don't extend to the basketball court.

Game in Exclusive Pictures: Suns Defeat Magic (The Real Super Hero Arrives)

Phoenix Stan — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 00:08:40 -0000

The Suns defeated the Magic on Friday night. Here's the Game in Pictures:

The many faces of Stan Van Gundy

The game began well for the Magic when Dwight Howard punched through a wide open dunk. He would go on to have NO other field goal attempts in the entire game.

Old friends Steve Nash and Vince Carter took a moment to catch up.

Suns second year reserve Center Robin Lopez came in the game and recorded a record 47 fouls in 3 minutes and 15 seconds of play.

In an interesting move, Matt Barnes attempted to draw a foul on Steve Nash by using Nash's arm to slap Dwight Howard.

This private moment between Jared Dudley and veteran official Joey Crawford was overheard verbatim.

To close out the first half, Matt Barnes hit an incredible (lucky) fadeway three at the buzzer.

Suns Center Robin Lopez attempted to argue one of his 47 fouls but was not successful.

Magic backup Center Marcin Gortat played well in his 6:46 of action.

But for some reason his coach doesn't have confidence in his play.

As the game got close in the fourth quarter, the real super hero arrived.

The play resulted in a foul on the Magic prompting this exchange of word between Nash and Van Gundy.

Closing out the game with an impressive offensive rebound and put-back slam, Amare Stoudemire screams in delight.

Game Gallery

NBA: Orlando Magic at Phoenix Suns 121109 - Images by Max Simbron

Daily Links 12/13

FLCeltsFan — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 20:10:34 -0000

Herald   Celtics charge past Bulls
Celtics’ Ray Allen copes with time away
Rajon Rondo gets foe’s message
Replays help Pacers past Wizards
Web site providing new ticket ‘option’ for Celtics fans
Globe    Updates from Celtics-Bulls
Pierce injuries shoulder, but returns to game
Analysis of Celtics-Bulls
Celtics’ Pierce deserves contract extension
Rondo undaunted by Miller
Celtics make it a perfect 10
Vote for Perk   Vote For Perk

CelticsBlog   Celtics Stuff Live 12/13: Mike Gorman
Rondo the (Bulls) Destroyer
Loy's Place     Comments from the Other Side - Bulls 12/12
Telegram   Celtics’ bench will take back seat
Celtics.com   Ford Keys to the Game: Celtics at Bulls Ford Keys to the Game: Celtics at Bulls
Red's Army   The Maestro
The Morning Dump... where Rondo takes his shot at Brad Miller
Enemy Chatter: "We're not even close..."
Green Street    Fast Break: Celtics-Bulls
CSNNE     Live from the United Center!
Celtics 106, Bulls 80
Celtics Hub    Ray’s "Nothing But Net" Moment
10 in a Row with No Signs of Slow
Where’d the Bulls Go? C’s 106, Bulls 80
Sunday Notebook: Pierce Wants to Stay, Rondo’s a Bad Ass and Ray Copes
Chicago Now   Boston Celtics beat Chicago Bulls 106-80 Haiku
North Station Sports    Celtics Make Bulls See Red After Beatdown 106-80
An unwilling witness: why LeBron James has let me down
What Do We Do With Rajon Rondo Now?
CT News    Celtics Play the Right Way
NBA.com   NBA Development League: Red Claws at BayHawks
Celtics Town    Celtics grab the Bulls by the horns
Celtics Loudmouth Quote of the Night
Hardwood Houdini    Celtics Charge Past Bulls, Win Tenth Straight
Rondo Leads Celtics To Tenth Straight
Lex Nihil Novi    Pistons Require 3 OTs to Top Celtics Record 83-84
Celtics Overcome 12 4th-Quarter TO's to Finally Beat Knicks 83-84
19-4: Celtics 106, Bulls 80
World B. Free Sounds Off after Celts Top Cavs
Celtics Life Live Game Chat, Celtics at Bulls
C's Blitz Bulls for 10th Straight Win
Celtics/Bulls Post Game Videos
Gino's Jungle    Live from Chicago
Celtics Stuff Live     The Gold Rarities Postgame Show
Daily Herald    Bulls fade against surging Celtics, lose 106-80
Slam Dunk Central   Celtics Use "Killer D" To Slaughter Bulls 106-80 For Tenth Straight Win
Bulls.com   Celtics Show Bulls 2009 Playoffs are History
NW Herald Not much of a rematch
NY Post   Post blows whistle on Donaghy claims
ESPN   Do you want Ray to stay?
First impression: Celtics 106 , Bulls 80
Rough night for Pierce
Bulls can't slow Rondo
Bench solid for Celtics
Defending Del Negro
The Celtics-Bulls rematch that wasn't
BWorld Jazz drop LA Lakers from league’s best record; Celtics win
NESN    Live Blog: Celtics at Bulls
Celtics Make It 10 in a Row With 106-80 Rout of Bulls
Kendrick Perkins Thriving Under the Radar
WEEI   Kendrick Perkins on WEEI
MetroWest Daily News   Celtics 106, Bulls 80: Power of ten
Courtside View: Celtics finding winning form
Yahoo   Williams, Jazz end Lakers' streak
Behind the Box Score, where the C's outclassed the Bulls - Ball Don't Lie
Autographs   Proof That The Nba In Fixed….tim Donaghy Rats Out…
Dimemag   Game of the Weak
Hoopsworld   5 Things We Learned In The NBA This Week
The Hoop   Lokomotiv Kuban announced Gerald Green
Hoopsworld   Only Getting Worse for Bulls
Chicago Now    Brad Miller called for flagrant on Rondo
Chicago Breaking Sports    Celtics blowing out Bulls
Chicago Tribune Doc Rivers rises to Vinny Del Negro's defense
Orlando Sentinel     Is the NBA headed for another Lakers/Celtics Finals?

Orlando Magic News for December 13th: The "Magic" Behind the Scenes; Update on the Amway Center

erivera7 — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 19:31:40 -0000

Orlando Magic receive a big boost from their video coordinators, Ahmad Ajami and Adam Glessner
Josh Robbins writes a fantastic article highlighting Ahmad Ajami and Adam Glessner, the video coordinators for the Orlando Magic.

It's 10:42 on a Saturday night, and Ahmad Ajami and Adam Glessner are sitting in front of their computers, working to make the Orlando Magic a better basketball team.

Ajami has planted himself near the Magic locker room at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif. His laptop screen displays a live feed of the Golden State-Orlando game and shows Rashard Lewis intercepting a bad pass into the paint by Warriors point guard Monta Ellis.

Ajami clicks his computer mouse a couple of times. He's recorded and logged his first video clip of the night.
Orlando Magic analysis: 2-2 road trip reveals some NBA vulnerabilities
Brian Schmitz points out some of the defensive flaws that plagued the Magic on the West Coast road trip.

Against the Jazz, the only way [Stan] Van Gundy could stop them at times was to call time-outs. [Anthony] Johnson said the defense was "absolutely terrible."

On the trip, the Magic didn't always run back in transition and didn't get to 3-shooters in time. They fouled too much. Point guards Steve Nash and Deron Williams carved them up like Benihana chefs.

Teams still penetrate at will, especially point guards, undermining the defense.
Orlando Magic's Amway Center: $4.6 million streetscape work will make area pedestrian-friendly
Mark Schlueb of the Orlando Sentinel points out how the city plans to spend money to upgrade the area surrounding Orlando's new arena - the Amway Center.

The city plans to spend about $4.6 million to dress up the area around the new arena, including arty "light trees," asterisk-shaped benches, speakers and light-pattern projectors beneath the I-4 overpass; landscaping and a fountain at a retention pond; and sidewalks, decorative streetlights and oaks along Division Avenue.

An additional $15.7 million streetscape project — to be paid for with federal money — will upgrade a 1-mile stretch of Church Street through Parramore, from the new Amway Center to the Citrus Bowl.

The idea is to create a space around the new arena that will encourage fans to walk to events, linger in the plaza area — and then walk to downtown Orlando and spend money.
Game Notes: Magic at Suns
Dennis Tarwood of SLAM ONLINE posts his game notes of the contest between the Magic and the Phoenix Suns; a matchup in which Orlando lost by 3.
Jameer Nelson could practice with the team starting next week
UPDATE: Tania Ganguli provides an update on Jameer Nelson ..

Jameer Nelson was running up and down the court, shooting a bit, toward the end of practice today. Magic Coach Stan Van Gundy said the team is hopeful it will have Nelson back at practice next week.

The Magic point guard had athroscopic knee surgery on Nov. 18 and the initial prognosis was that he would be out four to six weeks. It’ll be four weeks since that surgery this Wednesday and Nelson said he’s made steady progress since then.
Vince Carter misses Sunday practice with a stomach bug, Magic expect him to play Monday
UPDATE 2: .. and Vince Carter.

Carter left Friday night’s game against the Phoenix Suns with a sore hip and knee. Because he wasn’t well enough to practice, the Magic couldn’t evaluate his injury. Van Gundy said he thinks Carter will play on Monday.