I've written countless posts at Third Quarter Collapse, now Orlando Pinstriped Post, and this is the -- by far -- the toughest one I've had to write. I knew this day would come, too. There would be a point in time when I wouldn't be able to write anymore at a place I've called "home" for over a year, for whatever reason, and that time has come. I'm moving on to start a new Orlando Magic blog at the TrueHoop Network and I know the fact that I'm leaving may disappoint people here and there but this is a great opportunity I can't pass up. Hence my absence the past month or so. However, if it wasn't for my colleague, Ben Q. Rock, giving me the chance to jump on board at this website and team up with him to cover the Magic on a day-to-day basis, I wouldn't be in the position that I'm in right now. In that sense, I'm forever indebted to Ben and blessed to have been able to work with an individual who is as passionate as I am about a number of things: the NBA, the Orlando Magic, etc. 

Ben is a phenomenal writer, by the way. The man can write and is a superstar in his own right, too.

I can't forget about the readers, either. Your comments, your feedback, your support, you are equally a reason why I'm in the position that I'm in today. Whenever I've written something, you have been kind enough to take a little bit of time out of your day to read what I wrote. For that, I thank you. It's been satisfying to see this site grow exponentially since my arrival. Ben and I have tried our best to slowly build a haven for Magic fans to stop by, chat about the team in an educated manner, and (hopefully) read about what we had to say and I think we've done a good job of doing that. Developing a community takes time but the payoff is worth it and everyone deserves credit for doing their part in helping 3QC OPP grow into what it is today.

So, this is the end and the beginning.

It's the end because I'm the one that must break up the duo between Ben and I. It's like breaking up ... the tandem of Penny Hardaway and Shaquille O'Neal. Or something. But without the behind-the-scenes drama, of course. Needless to say, it pains me to do it. It's the beginning because, in a way, I help spread the type of stuff that we do here to another audience, another network, another platform. That's never a bad thing. 

Look at it this way. It's not a goodbye, it's more of a see you later. I'll still be around to chime in with a comment here and there but by all means, mi casa es su casa. Don't be afraid to come on over, pull up a chair, and talk about the Magic at my site in conjunction with the great work you find here on a daily basis. In the end, it's more content for the readers! Everyone wins. 

Catch you on the flip-side.

And thanks. 

Click here to check out my new digs. 

Coming into tonight’s game, the Orlando Magic were on an eight-game winning streak and looking to tie a franchise-record for most consecutive regular season wins with nine. But catching the Charlotte Bobcats, a team without All-Star forward Gerald Wallace, on a back-to-back proved to be too much for the Magic. After the game, head coach Stan Van Gundy bemoaned Orlando's poor play. For the Magic, it was just one of those nights.

I was able to speak with Van Gundy amongst the media, as well as Mickael Pietrus, and Dwight Howard. Here’s what they had to say:

Stan Van Gundy:

Could you talk about Mickael Pietrus’ performance tonight?

I thought M.P. played well, yeah. I thought M.P. … on the offensive end, I thought M.P., Vince [Carter], and Dwight [Howard] all played well but it was pretty much a three-man show. Nobody else could really get anything going and so it’s just not enough.  

More after the jump.

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Before the Orlando Magic face off against the Charlotte Bobcats in tonight's game, I was able to speak briefly with head coach Stan Van Gundy amongst the media.

Here's what he had to say:

With the rotation in tonight's game, will you allocate some of the minutes at the small forward position to Vince Carter?

Yeah, Vince and J.J. [Redick] have played ... we went down the stretch last night with those two guys in so that's not a problem. We can move Rashard [Lewis] over there, too.

What's the key to game-planning against a Larry Brown-coached defense?

Well, I don't know about ... they're a good defensive team and I think when you play good defensive teams, you're generally going to have to make more passes, get to your second and third options, and things like that. I think the one thing that they do is that they will trap you coming across half-court at various times and you have to be alert for that but other than that, it's just a good, solid defense. Not a lot of tricks to what they do other than the traps. It's just they get down [the court], they work hard, they got tough guys that put pressure on the ball, they got size inside to protect the basket. I mean, it's a solid defense.

Via Tania Ganguli of the Orlando Sentinel:

"Early in the season we all knew it was going to be a roller coaster ride for us," [Dwight] Howard said. "Win a couple games, lose here and there. We understand that. Now we're learning to play with each other to get better going into the playoffs. I think we can get a lot better"

"We're playing pretty good basketball. Hopefully we can continue to keep it up but at the same time stay humble knowing that if we don't play the way we played these last eight games we could slip and lose somewhere."

If the Orlando Magic defeat the Charlotte Bobcats in tonight's game, they will tie a franchise record with nine straight wins, most recently achieved in 2001.

serious (adj.) - concerned with work or important matters rather than play or trivialities

Via Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel:

The Magic franchise record for consecutive victories is nine, set twice, in 1994 and in 2001.

A victory against the Wizards would match the second-longest winning streak in Magic history, when the 2005-06 team won eight in a row.

"We're just trying to get better — no matter who we play at this point," center Dwight Howard said. "We just want to continue to do the things that are going to make us a lot better going into the playoffs. "Our goal is to win a championship."[...]

"There's not much joking around," point guard Jameer Nelson said. "It's a lot more serious and especially now. Everybody is focusing in on everything."

• Are the Magic as good as they have seemed since the All-Star break?
  Tania Ganguli explains why the Orlando Magic have played so well lately.

  Magic Coach Stan Van Gundy talked about the team’s preparation reaching a new level lately. Jameer Nelson seconded that.
  
  "We’re preparing better; we do everything better right now," Nelson said. "… Individually we’re getting better. Early in the season we really didn’t have too many guys play together too often. Vince [Carter] goes out, Rashard’s [Lewis] out, you had guys go out. We start getting playing time together, practice time, we start jelling a little better."

• Are Statheads the NBA's Secret Weapon?
  David Biderman of the Wall Street Journal notes that teams with statisticians, a group which includes the Magic, are succeeding on the court. (via TrueHoop)

  According to interviews with every team, The Wall Street Journal found that half the league's teams this season have at least one of these statisticians who helps make in-game, draft-day and trade-deadline decisions. Many of these teams are among the NBA's best. The list accounts for all six division leaders, including the Orlando Magic and Dallas Mavericks, who have a data analyst traveling with the team. These 15 teams that have invested heavily in statistics have combined to win 59.3% of their games this season. The 15 teams without such analysts have won 40.7% of their games, and only three—the Phoenix Suns, Utah Jazz and Atlanta Hawks—are on pace to make the postseason. Houston Rockets' general manager Daryl Morey, one of the pioneers of statistical analysis in the NBA, says more teams will soon come over to the quant side.

More after the jump.

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• The Orlando Magic pound the undermanned Chicago Bulls on Tuesday night, stretching their season-high winning streak to seven games.
  Vince Carter realizes that the playoffs are near.

  There are 16 regular-season games remaining for the Orlando Magic. Although they haven't officially clinched a postseason spot, you can see the pending playoffs written all over Vince Carter's game face. [...]
  
  "Been a while but I've been there [to the playoffs] and I know what it takes," Carter said. "You have to take the necessary steps to get there. Right now we're playing out best possible basketball and it doesn't matter the opponent." [...]
  
  Carter looked invigorated. Maybe it was the playoff push. Then again, maybe it was something else. "I think had too much Red Bull before the game," he laughed.

• Orlando Magic are set to scout the teams they might play in the first round of the NBA playoffs.
  Brian Schmitz writes that the scouting staff for the Orlando Magic is going to start to scout possible first-round opponents as the regular season winds down.

  The club went into Thursday night's game against the Chicago Bulls positioned as the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference playoff race. If they held the spot, they would begin the postseason facing the No. 7 seed, which is currently a grab-bag of possibilities.
  
  Toronto, Charlotte, Milwaukee, Miami and the Bulls are all in the mix at No. 7. The Magic might have to see how the season plays out before knowing their opponent.
  
  "You just don't know the way teams are bunched down there," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. "We'll start watching them more and more intensively."

More after the jump.

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With injuries to Luol Deng and Joakim Noah, the cards were already stacked against the Chicago Bulls when they faced off against the Orlando Magic in front of a nationally-televised audience. Losing Derrick Rose to a wrist injury near the end of the first quarter, when he attacked the basket and collided with Dwight Howard, just exacerbated the discrepancy of talent between two teams heading in completely opposite directions. The Magic won the game by a score of 111-82, extending their winning streak to a season-high seven games.The Bulls' six-game losing streak is slowly taking the team out of the playoff picture with 16 games to go in the regular season. Vince Carter led Orlando with an efficient 23 points (8-13 FG, 2-5 3PT). Rookies Taj Gibson, with 12 points (6-10 FG) and 9 rebounds, and James Johnson, with 13 points (5-9 FG) and 3 steals, played relatively well for Chicago.

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Another game, another win.

With a victory against the Chicago Bulls, a depleted team that lost All-Star point guard Derrick Rose to injury near the end of the first quarter, the Orlando Magic extended its winning streak to a season-high seven games. Like its game against the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday, the Magic took care of business in the first half and coasted to a blowout win. There’s not much else to say, other than Orlando is beating teams it should beat and doing it in impressive fashion.

I was able to speak with Stan Van Gundy amongst the media, as well as Vince Carter, Jameer Nelson one-on-one, Brandon Bass, and Dwight Howard.

Here's what they had to say:

Stan Van Gundy:

Could you talk about the bench, in terms of what they were able to bring to the table?

I thought they brought good energy I thought, particularly in the second quarter … and then I thought in the third quarter, we were really stumbling and not playing very good basketball and I thought Jason [Williams] got us going again so yeah, I was happy. I’m just happy. I think our guys – all of them – are coming in the game with a solid approach, really trying to play consistently from night-to-night and so I’m happy with that.

More after the jump.

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• The Orlando Magic are finding new ways to keep their workouts competitive
  Amanda Angel of ESPN the Magazine explains a workout routine the Orlando Magic conduct that helps with its defense. The purpose of the Velcro is to remain intact, which signifies good defense.

  Joe Rogowski has a bag of tricks and isn't afraid to use it. "Yeah, I incorporate gimmicks," says the Orlando Magic strength and conditioning coach. To take the drudgery out of defensive workouts, Rogowski straps resistance bands around the waists of two players -- in this case, forwards Ryan Anderson and Rashard Lewis -- and links the bands with Velcro. He then designates one guy as an offensive player and the other as defensive. Next he has them go through a series of sprints and shuttle runs, with the offensive player setting the pace and making sudden moves.

• NBA HD: Adjusting How We Measure and View Assists
  Tom Haberstroh of Hardwood Paroxysm takes a look at how assists are measured and creates a new metric, weighted assists per game, which rewards players who distribute the basketball to high efficiency areas: at the rim and beyond the three-point line. Jameer Nelson rates well in weighted assists per game.

• Orlando Magic Dunk-In
  Video of Magic players dunking before a game. (via TrueHoop)

More after the jump.

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• Dwight Howard is proving critics wrong by providing service with a smile. He’s a puppy dog with a bite.
  George Diaz states that, despite receiving criticism left and right, Dwight Howard keeps on keeping on.

  A lot of people — columnists, NBA Hall of Famers, Joe in the 27th row — have gone Dog Whisperer on Howard, suggesting he isn't fit to be the pack leader because he's just too warm and fuzzy and amiable. Howard's comeback has been to unleash the beast, and it's been pretty incredible to watch.

• Orlando Magic notebook: Orlando Magic power forward Brandon Bass will continue as Rashard Lewis’ primary backup at least for tonight
  Josh Robbins shares news that head coach Stan Van Gundy plans on continuing to play Brandon Bass for the time being.

  "A lot of times what I've been doing now with some of these teams is having Rashard start the second quarter so I can sort of see who the other team is going to play," Van Gundy said Wednesday. "But we've won six in a row, and it's been Brandon playing. So, when you're going real well, I'm a little hesitant to sort of break up what's going on. So, he'll probably be the guy back in here again tomorrow [tonight against the Chicago Bulls]. That doesn't mean that the other guy won't get in there, but right now, I'm not going to break up what we're doing."

More after the jump.

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There’s one NBA head coach who thinks Dwight Howard deserves to be the Defensive Player of the Year and that’s, unsurprisingly, Stan Van Gundy. Effusive in his praise after practice was over for the Orlando Magic earlier this afternoon, Van Gundy detailed why he thought Howard makes the biggest impact on defense out of any player in the league. Even Marcin Gortat got into the spirit of praising Howard but for a different reason and it had nothing to do with defensive skills. What did he say?

That’s what we call a teaser in journalism.

I was able to speak with Van Gundy amongst the media, as well as Gortat.

Here’s what they had to say:

Stan Van Gundy:

Could you provide your thoughts on the Chicago Bulls after the trade, in which they let John Salmons and others go?

Well, I don’t really know. I mean, in terms of … they’re still playing and starting the guys they started before [the trade]. Flip Murray has sort of taken Salmons’ role, who was a guy coming off the bench scoring, so other than [Joakim] Noah being out with the injury, I don’t think they’re a whole lot different than they were before but I do think the things that have happened is that they’ve had Noah out with injury and then they traded Tyrus Thomas and so their frontline depth is less right now.

With Vince Carter and this time of the year, do you think he’s found a happy medium in the offense at this point?

I think he’s playing very, very well. He’s been very efficient since the first of February and his shooting percentages are very, very high, both from the floor and from three. He’s making great decisions with the ball. I think he’s been fantastic.

More after the jump.

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Coming off one of its biggest wins of the season against the Los Angeles Lakers, if there was a storyline to look at before last night’s game, it was this … how would the Orlando Magic perform versus the Los Angeles Clippers? There is an inclination, at times, for teams in the NBA to have a letdown after a victory against a marquee opponent. But head coach Stan Van Gundy made an excellent point before the game when asked if the Magic were in for a trap against the Clippers. Van Gundy’s answer, more or less, was no because Orlando has shown the ability to win games this season in convincing fashion after coming off huge victories versus teams like the Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, and others.

Yesterday was no different, as the Magic out-classed the Clippers by the score of 113-87. Orlando had a 10 point lead in the first quarter against Los Angeles and never looked back. Balance was the name of the game for the Magic, as six players scored in double-figures. Dwight Howard led the way for Orlando with 22 points (9-12 FG, 4-4 FT), 15 rebounds, and 2 blocks. Oh, and Howard had one dazzling assist on a fast break that sent the sell-out crowd at the Amway Arena into a frenzy. Jameer Nelson, who has been playing at a different level since the All-Star break, continued his sterling play with 17 points (6-13 FG, 3-6 3PT), 8 assists, 5 rebounds, and 0 turnovers. The Clippers were led by Baron Davis, who had 16 points (7-15 FG, 2-4 3PT), 9 assists, and 4 rebounds. And general manager Mike Dunleavy Sr. was fired, to boot.

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The Orlando Magic extended its winning streak to six games after a victory against the Los Angeles Clippers. For head coach Stan Van Gundy, he praised his players for taking a mature approach to the game after a big win against the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday. Instead of having a letdown, the Magic defeated the Clippers with relative ease.  

I was able to speak with Van Gundy amongst the media, as well as Rashard Lewis, Brandon Bass one-on-one, and Dwight Howard.

Here’s what they had to say:

Stan Van Gundy:

With Brandon Bass, what was the one thing you liked most from him in tonight's game?

I thought his energy was good. That’s what we need, more than anything, is for him to come in and play with great energy and give us a boost there and I thought he did that. We know he can score and we know that he can put the ball in the basket. Again, I’m a broken record on this. It’s a matter, with he and Ryan [Anderson], better defensive rotations, better rebounding the ball, and giving us that energy.

More after the jump.

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Before the Orlando Magic face off against the Los Angeles Clippers tonight, I was able to speak briefly with head coach Stan Van Gundy amongst the media.

Here's what he had to say:

What type of challenges do you anticipate the Los Angeles Clippers giving your team in tonight's game?

Well, I mean, first of all they've made a dramatic turnaround. I mean, through the first 52 games of the year until they made the trade, they didn't shoot many threes, didn't make many threes, and they didn't shoot them very well. I mean, they were one of the worst shooting teams in the league and then all of a sudden, changing philosophy maybe coaching-wise, plus the addition of [Travis] Outlaw and [Steve] Blake in the trade, [Al] Thornton - who didn't shoot many threes - going out, they've now over the last 11 games been one of the best three-point shooting teams in the league.

They've gone from making under five a game to making eight and a half a game, which would put them third or fourth in the league if it were over the course of a year. They've gone from shooting 31% from three to 38% from three so they've really added a huge element of three-point shooting to a great low-post game, which is also been improved, so they've added a low post guy ... [Chris] Kaman is already there, and now they've added [Drew] Gooden who you have to come down on, and now they've added more shooting, Blake in place of [Sebastian] Telfair, Outlaw getting minutes in place of Thornton, so offensively they're a much, much better team than they were before the trade so we've got to do a good job on their post-ups, we've got to do a good job on obviously Baron [Davis'] pick and rolls, and try to keep the ball out of the paint but then the element that's been added is you go to do all that and then you have to be able to close and limit their three-point shots, which has obviously been a big problem for us over the course of a year. The only real, on a consistent basis, bad part of our defense.

You've been adding some plays to your offense recently, like the pick and roll with Jameer Nelson and Vince Carter. Do you anticipate adding any more plays before the playoffs start?

Yeah, you always add stuff and we'll continue to add. Quite honestly, most of what you put in doesn't work and so you add it, then you get rid of it. You just keep trying to find stuff that might actually help you a little bit so some of what I've put in, I like, and then other stuff I'll see it a couple of times, I don't like it, and I'll put in something else.

• Is Pippen right about Howard’s inability to dominate?
  Scottie Pippen offers his thoughts on Dwight Howard.

  "He’s a very special player but I don’t think he’s going to win a championship until he gets another superstar to play alongside of him," Pippen said recently while visiting Orlando. "A guy that’s very consistent and has that drive, that’s what it’s going to take. I don’t think that he can carry a team to a championship."
  
  "He’s not that great of a scorer, he’s not a good shooter and he’s not a good foul shooter. So in the latter parts of the game, as big as he is and as much athleticism as he has, that becomes very small when the game gets into crunch time. He’s not the type of player that can dominate a game in the fourth quarter."

  It should be noted that Pippen was on the record, also, of saying that LeBron James wouldn't fit well with Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls. Yeah ...
  

• Why Dwight Howard is overrated
  Peter Keating of ESPN.com, like Sebastian Pruiti of NBA Playbook did last week, looks at a study conducted by John Huizinga and Sandy Weil at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference.

  In the seven seasons that Huizinga and Weil studied, Rasho Nesterovic was able to direct 65 percent of his blocks to his own teammates, while Stromile Swift had no blocks at all that yielded defensive rebounds. If your block produces an offensive rebound -- often the result of smashing the ball out of bounds -- that's neither the best nor worst result. The other team keeps the ball, with an expected value of about 1 for its possession. If you goal tend on a block, that's the worst; your opponent scores automatically, and occasional fouls push the expected value of the possession up to about 2.07.
  
  Over the entire stretch of data that Huizinga and Weil examined, Tim Duncan didn't goaltend once, while 24 percent of Dwight Howard's blocks resulted in free points for the other team.

• Orlando Magic center Adonal Foyle wants to keep playing beyond this season
  Adonal Foyle says that he'd like to continue to play in the NBA.

  Although Foyle hasn’t appeared in a game yet for the Magic in 2009-10, he said this afternoon that he wants to continue as a player beyond this season.
  
  "I’ve been very fortunate to be around this game for as long as I have," said Foyle, who is celebrating his 35th birthday today. "It’s been fun. I really enjoy it and I still do. I still do.

• Superman's Costume Gets an Addition
  Chris Sesno of NBA FanHouse breaks down the Superman-themed shoes Dwight Howard wore against the L.A. Lakers on Sunday.

It was a successful week for the Orlando Magic, as the team went 4-0 with wins against the Philadelphia 76ers, Golden State Warriors, New Jersey Nets, and Los Angeles Lakers to extend their winning streak, overall, to five games. Leading the way for Orlando was Jameer Nelson, who is continuing to show he's returning to the form that made him an All-Star last year.

Jameer Nelson	Pts	Rebs	Ast	Stl	Blk
	16.3	5.0	7.3	0.8	N/A
	FG%		3FG%		FT%
	47.9		37.5		81.3
	eFG%				TS%
	54.2				59.0

Head coach Stan Van Gundy has been doing an excellent job of monitoring Nelson's minutes to maximize his effectiveness, given the way he plays, and the move has been working. As David Steele noted in a podcast before yesterday's game between the Magic and the Lakers, Nelson is at his best when he's in attack mode. The results, lately, speak for themselves. With 10 games gone by since the All-Star break, in which Nelson has sustained a relatively high level of play, it's safe to say he's back.

• Magic makes a stand against Lakers
  Matt Barnes breaks down the final play between himself and Kobe Bryant that decided the game between the Orlando Magic and the Los Angeles Lakers.

  Barnes had defended Bryant all game, had watched him score 34 points and now was left alone on the Lakers' guard with Orlando holding a 96-94 lead with 9.7 seconds left.
  
  Bryant pulled up for a 20-foot jumper for the tie that missed as time expired.
  
  Barnes raised his hands.
  
  "I knew he wasn't going to pass it, so I just really tried to square him up," Barnes said. "There really wasn't enough time for him to get me up in the air on a pump fake. I knew once he made a move he was going to have to shoot it so I just tried to jump with him and hope he missed it.
  
  "He was talking the whole time, ‘You better double me.' That's what he does. He's the best so he's got to think that way."

• Jameer Nelson collects nine rebounds and adds seven assists to help the Orlando Magic defeat the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday
  Josh Robbins asserts that Jameer Nelson is proving that he's fully recovered from injuries that have slowed him down the past year or so. Nelson's in better shape, too, losing eight pounds and weighing in at 198.

  On Sunday, Nelson provided one of his most energetic performances of the season and routinely outfought much taller Los Angeles Lakers players for rebounds. The diminutive point guard scored 15 points, collected nine boards and dished out seven assists to help the Orlando Magic defeat the defending world champs 96-94 at Amway Arena.
  
  "There's no way we win that game without the plays he was making," Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy said. "He was phenomenal. To get nine rebounds in a game like that against the biggest team in the league, and Jameer's the smallest guy on the floor . . . he's in there fighting the entire time."

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• Orlando Magic face Kobe Bryant and the Lakers in a rematch today of last season's NBA Finals.
  Brian Schmitz asks some questions before the Orlando Magic face off against the Los Angeles Lakers at the Amway Arena for the first time since Game 5 of the 2009 NBA Finals.

  The questions that they must answer — not just today, but if they meet the Lakers again — are largely the same:
  
  Can they handle the length of big men Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom? Is Brandon Bass an X-factor?
  
  Will [Jameer] Nelson return to bedeviling L.A.? He was a Lakers-killer in last season's 2-0 sweep, but a non-factor in a Finals comeback and ordinary in L.A. this season.
  
  Can [Vince] Carter show L.A. some of the Vintage Vince we've seen this month?

• The Los Angeles Lakers, who will face the Orlando Magic on Sunday in Orlando, look to avoid their first three-game losing streak since Jan. 2008
  Josh Robbins writes that Kobe Bryant and his teammates are frustrated about a two-game losing streak, which speaks to the expectations surrounding the Lakers to repeat as champions.

  After a defeat Thursday in Miami and another Friday in Charlotte, the defending world champions will enter this afternoon's game against the Orlando Magic hoping to prevent their first three-game losing streak since Jan. 2008.
  
  Bryant spoke up during the Lakers' practice Saturday at Rollins College. He wouldn't tell reporters what his message was — "It's to my teammates," he said — but ostensibly he wants to see more determination, especially on defense.

More after the jump.

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When it comes to the Los Angeles Lakers, there's no lack of coverage for one of the most successful franchises in the history of professional sports. Forum Blue & Gold is one of those outlets that covers the Lake Show, an excellent site that was ran by Kurt Helin for five years before stepping down to write for NBCSports.com's basketball blog, ProBasketballTalk. Taking over is Darius Soriano, who has done a great job of maintaining everything that's made FB&G a go-to source for all things Lakers.

A few days ago, I was able to ask Soriano a few questions to preview tomorrow's game between the Orlando Magic and the Los Angeles Lakers.

Before the season, the APBRmetrics community was intrigued by the swap of Trevor Ariza for Ron Artest because it created an opportunity to conduct a real-life efficiency vs. usage experiment. Artest has silenced concerns that he would use up too many possessions, given that his usage rate (16.5%) is - by far - the lowest it's ever been in his career. Even though he's not as efficient on offense as Ariza was in a similar role last year, there's no denying Artest's impact on defense (I've read your glowing reviews lately). What are your thoughts on what Artest has brought to the Lakers?

I've been very happy with the Artest acquisition.  On offense he's not the slasher that Ariza was nor is he the above the rim finisher that can make one of those types of plays that really gets the crowd going.  But he's much steadier and has a much more well rounded game.  I think that he'll continue to grow in the Lakers' sets and learn the nuance of the Triangle more over the next several seasons and that he'll be even better on offense over the life of his contract.  I have been slightly less than impressed with his post game - I thought he'd be better on the block in a lot of our sets - but he passes well from the post and off the dribble and that play making part of his game has been a pleasant surprise for me.  I also love his ability to make post entry passes, which to me, is an underrated trait for a player.  As a fan of a team that has a marquee big man, you understand that having a player who is not a good post entry passer leads to possessions where one (or more) of your better players don't get the opportunities that are available to them.  But, Artest has been very good on that end and I think it's helped our big men to have an offensive threat that can create for himself while also still create for them.

But his real impact has been on defense.  Last season, the Lakers were, statistically, one of the better defensive teams in the NBA using their strong side zone scheme.  However, this season they are number one in defensive efficiency and I think Ron has a lot to do with that.  His ability to guard the opposing team's best wing player , and do it without much help, gives the opposition's offense fits while also giving Kobe more of a breather on defense.  Most fans saw how Artest pestered and bullied Carmelo last weekend and that is something that the Lakers could not do last season with the personnel on hand.  So, when you combine his stellar defense and his well rounded offensive game, I think Ron has been a great addition.

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It's fitting that the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference is today because I know that a number of you in the community have expressed a genuine interest to know more about statistical analysis. Which is great because the more educated you can be as a fan, the better.

We at Orlando Pinstriped Post pride ourselves in referring to advanced statistics to try to find out what Brandon Bass' return to the rotation means to the Orlando Magic, why Dwight Howard deserves to be in the discussion for the Most Valuable Player Award, and more. If you browse the archives, you'll find a plethora of examples where Ben and I use data in whatever subject we're covering in our posts. But we also know that sometimes you, the reader, don't know what adjusted plus/minus is or whatever else. 

In the next few days, I'll create a glossary with a compilation of links that will provide you an explanation of the metrics you want to know more about. Not sure what True Shooting Percentage is? Click here and bookmark the link, for example. There will be more links like that which will, most likely, answer the questions you have.

So, what do you want to know? 

I'll do my best to make sure I have a link to a resource ready for you when the time comes. 

acquaintance (n.) - personal knowledge or information about someone 

Via John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com:

The Magic might get to see an old acquaintance tonight in second-year guard Courtney Lee. Lee was Orlando’s starting shooting guard on last season’s team that reached the NBA Finals. Lee has missed time recently with a sprained ankle and his availability for tonight’s game is in question. 

Lee, who has averaged 12.2 points and 3.5 assists a game this season, was stunned by last summer’s trade and has admittedly struggled with playing on a poor Nets team after rising to the Finals with the Magic. He still talks often with Magic superstar and close friend Dwight Howard. 

``Any team that’s losing you are going to be frustrated, but I’ve tried to tell him that he’s just got to continue to play hard,’’ Howard said of his conversations with Lee. ``I’ve tried to stress to him to not let the season affect the way he plays and to just keep getting better and better.’’

If you haven't visited Hoopdata.com lately, you're missing out on a ton of goodies the site has been sharing with the public the last few weeks or so. I'm not exaggerating when I state that Hoopdata is the go-to source, along with Basketball-Reference and a few other resources, for NBA statistics and analysis. You'd be hard-pressed to find another outlet that provides some of the information Hoopdata does, like a Google Motion chart "filled with statistics to help you spot trends among the game's active players and across the league as a whole. Packaged fully customizable and animated for your pleasure." 

Behold, the power of Google Motion using NBA data.

For example, I plotted PER vs. Time to come up with a graph that shows the progression of the starters on the Orlando Magic based on their respective PER's. I'll be quick to note that PER is not a be-all and end-all statistic to evaluate players, it's just a piece of the puzzle and nothing more. But with that said, there's a few things that jump out when looking at this chart. For instance, the PER's of Vince Carter, Dwight Howard, and Rashard Lewis converge very closely together in 2007 before each player's career takes a different turn. 

According to the numbers, Carter and Lewis have been trending downward in a similar manner while Howard has been getting better (even though he's seeing a small dip in his PER this season). For Carter and Lewis, part of the explanation for their precipitous declines is simply due to an evolution in their roles. The decrease in the usage rates of both players the past few years is one example of that change. There are other factors, of course, but it's intriguing that Carter and Lewis respective careers mirror each other quite a bit.

Jameer Nelson's career arc has been interesting, too. Nelson has shown that, when healthy and at his best, he's an All-Star caliber player. But at the same time, Nelson has had to battle bouts of inconsistency.

So, I'll open things up for discussion. When you look at the chart, what stands out to you the most? 

Here's a link to create a Google Motion chart, by the way, to conduct your own analysis. Familiarize yourself with the axes, color gradient, and size. You can use different variables to come up with a variety of comparisons, which makes the possibilities endless.

Enjoy.

• Orlando Magic notebook: Golden State’s C.J. Watson plays in Amway Arena for first time since last summer’s trade talk
  Josh Robbins notes that C.J. Watson made his first appearance in Amway Arena since this past summer when general manager Otis Smith tried, but failed, to acquire him as a free agent.

  Wednesday offered Golden State Warriors PG C.J. Watson his first opportunity to play at Amway Arena since the Orlando Magic tried to acquire him in a sign-and-trade deal last summer.
  
  The Warriors declined the Magic's offer for the 25-year-old Watson, who was a restricted free agent at the time.
  
  Watson eventually accepted Golden State's $1 million qualifying offer for the 2009-10 season instead of a more lucrative multi-year deal with the Warriors. That decision will enable Watson to become a restricted free agent again once this season ends.
  
  "I just let it end up in God's hands," Watson said. "I'm here with the Warriors, so there's really no reason to talk about last summer or anything like that."

• Stan Van Gundy marvels at Don Nelson’s longevity
  Head coach Stan Van Gundy praises a peer.

More after the jump.

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The numbers say Kevin Durant, LeBron James, and Dwyane Wade are the players who deserve to be in the mix for the NBA's Most Valuable Player Award. The mainstream media will mention other names and offer irrelevant reasons as to why Player A or Player B deserves to be in the discussion but at the end of the day, there are a variety of linear metrics that can be used as evidence to effectively decide the MVP and the stats strongly back the names above. Unfortunately, the voters who decide the award don't always choose the right person but that is neither here or there.

There's another player who deserves to be mentioned as a worthy MVP candidate and his name is Dwight Howard. Perhaps you've heard of him. Howard is one of the best players in the league, yet you wouldn't know it sometimes by how often critics target him. Especially when compared to his peers like Durant, James, and Wade, who are praised more than they are criticized. Sometimes it seems like the opposite is true for Howard. Is some of the criticism of Howard warranted? Sure, but at the same time, some of it isn't. Which brings us back to Howard and the MVP race. At times, the critics' voices have been so loud that people have overlooked the fact that Howard has taken his game to another level since the middle of January and has carried his team on his back at the same time. Yes, it'd be nice if Howard played the entire season like he has the past month and a half but it's also important to note that he has taken his game to another level since the middle of January. Howard is playing some of the best basketball of his career right now and even though he's produced like this in the past when looking at monthly splits, it's the way he's been producing that's been impressive.

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With roughly a month and a half to go before the 2010 NBA Playoffs begin, I think it's safe to start mentioning postseason and the Orlando Magic in the same sentence. There will be plenty of time to analyze other things, like seeding in the Eastern Conference and try to figure out where the Magic may fall in the bracket, but I wanted to start discussing potential opening round matchups with the community. 

At this point, there are five different teams that Orlando has a chance of playing against in the first round: Toronto Raptors, Chicago Bulls, Milwaukee Bucks, Miami Heat, and Charlotte Bobcats. As of today, two and a half games - that's it! - separate these squads between seeds five through eight so there's no telling what order they'll finish in on April 14th when the regular season ends. But the question I wanted to ask everyone is which team, whether it's the Raptors, Bulls, Bucks, Heat, or Bobcats, would potentially pose the biggest matchup problem for the Magic? 

Choose one and explain.

• Nelson leads Magic in 126-105 rout of Sixers
  Jameer Nelson, a native of Chester, PA., continues to play well for the Orlando Magic.

  Asked if playing in front of his "home crowd" put a bounce in his step, the oft-injured Nelson said, "Being healthy puts a bounce in your step." [...]
  
  Nelson has said that he is finally feeling totally healthy since returning in late December from arthroscopic knee surgery. He has been driving into the lane, where he can be effective drawing defenses and passing.

• Magic notes: Power forward Ryan Anderson can't wait for playoffs to arrive
  After last night, Ryan Anderson is ready for the playoffs.

  Magic PF Ryan Anderson can't wait for the playoffs to arrive. It will be a new experience for the second-year player out of the University of California. "I hear it gives everybody new energy," he said. Acquired along with Vince Carter from New Jersey last summer, Anderson escaped basketball purgatory with the Nets, the league's worst team.

More after the jump.

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