Floyd Nelson Remembered and 2007/2008 Promotions Announced

First, I apologize for the delay between posts. I took a spontaneous vacation this weekend, which (mercifully) kept me away from my computer. Now that it's over, I'll be able to post regularly again, and continue the series of posts on possible starting lineups for next year.

While I was at the beach, Jameer Nelson gathered with family and friends in Chester, PA at a memorial service for his father, Floyd Nelson, who was found dead in the Delaware River last week after disappearing from his job as a tugboat repairman. The Philadelphia Inquirer's story, which I found via a post by Deanna Gugel in Brian Schmitz's Magic blog, can be read here.

Gugel also reported over the weekend that people who want to send Jameer their condolences can do so by mailing their card to the Magic's team office. Donations can be sent to the Nelson family care of Cornerstone Management, 944 County Line Road, Bryn Mawr, PA 19013.

On a much lighter note, I've updated the sidebar with a link to the Magic's 2007/2008 promotions page. You'll DEFINITELY want to get tickets for the December 7th game against the Indiana Pacers. Why? The giveaway is a super-cool Dwight Howard action figure, which shows D12 performing his infamous sticker dunk. You'll also get the added bonus of seeing former Magic player Travis Diener start for the Pacers, as Jamaal Tinsley will surely be jailed/injured by then.

No News Is No News

Orlando Magic news has ground to a halt after the the Rashard Lewis signing. Just as the Magic are left scraping the bottom of the barrel in their search for a competent center/power-forward type -- Brian Skinner? P.J. Brown? MICHAEL OLOWOKANDI?! -- Magic bloggers are left scraping the bottom of the barrel in their search for content. The lack of interesting information, combined with my working at my "actual job" for nine days in a ten-day stretch, has left 3QC unusually barren. About the only news this week was Travis Diener signing with the Pacers.

Expect some Face on the Milk Carton posts in the coming days and weeks, along with the usual Magic news. Until then, to satisfy your Magic fix, I refer you to the following Magic-related sites:

• Black and Blue's daily 'Hottest Magic Cheerleader' competition is still going strong. I'm just pissed he came up with it before I did. Good on you, B + B.
• Believing in Magic has a fairly new post entitled "Magic Math." Play along and predict the Magic's win total for next season!
• The Magic's official team store , which makes me nostalgic for the days of the Orlando Magic FanAttic, wasted no time in offering Rashard Lewis jerseys for sale; authentic, replica, and youth-replica styles are all in the catalog now, although it looks like they're all sold-out at the moment. Hrm. I didn't figure that he'd be that big of a seller.
• And if you're low on adhesives, the team store will let you stock up on TurkOGlu, which is on sale. With apologies to the Horace Grant Celebriduck, this is indeed the finest Magic tie-in product ever made.
  

Redick Scores 30 in Summer-League Debut; Magic Beat Nets 85-74

NEWSFLASH: J.J. Redick can score.

Unable to compete in last year's Pepsi Pro Summer League due to injury, the Magic's second-year guard made up for lost time by scoring 30 points on 7-of-18 shooting from the field, including 4-of-6 from three-point range. His team came away with the victory, as the Orlando Magic held off the New Jersey Nets by a final margin of 85-74.

I'll say this about J.J.: I had him all wrong. I figured him to be fairly one-dimensional on offense. It's true that he relies upon the three-point shot, but he also drives to the basket quicker and harder than one might think. Most of his three-pointers tonight were set up by screens on the low-block, which J.J. would curl around before catching the pass and shooting. The skeptic in me points out that those shots are easier to make in summer-league play because they are not defended as well, but the realist in me counters that the basket is the same height in the regular-season and that the screens will be coming from Dwight Howard and Tony Battie rather than non-roster invitees. A promising offensive display from the Magic's two-guard of the future, to be sure.

But Redick was not the only Magic player who impressed: Marcin Gortat, a second-round draft choice in 2005 who has spent the past few seasons in Poland, posted 10 points, 12 rebounds, and 6 assists; James Augustine, the Magic's second-round draft choice in 2006, added 11 points and 5 rebounds; Kevin Kruger, an undrafted point guard out of UNLV, filled up the stat line with 11 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal; and Steven Smith made a strong case for his inclusion on the Magic's 15-man roster with 13 points on 6-of-11 shooting.

Marcin Gortat played well for the Magic in the first of five summer-league games. The seven-foot center lead all players with 6 assists to go along with 10 points and 12 rebounds.
Photo by John Raoux, the Associated Press

There were some rough patches, however. The Magic's defense, and Marcin Gortat in particular, was sometimes late in rotating, leading to open Nets shots. The Magic also turned the ball over 22 times, which can be expected of a team composed of mostly strangers. The team should be worried, though, if its players are still committing turnovers at that rate as this week's games progress.

Of the non-roster players who made an impact tonight, I'd say Kevin Kruger was the strongest. We already have three point guards -- Carlos Arroyo, Keyon Dooling, and Jameer Nelson -- under contract for next year, and that doesn't even include free-agent Travis Diener. However, Arroyo and Dooling are mentioned as pieces of a sign-and-trade deal that would send them and Pat Garrity to Seattle for Rashard Lewis and Earl Watson. Diener's potential departure would leave the Magic with only Nelson and Watson to bring the ball up. Kruger would fit in nicely as the third point guard. He had three assists tonight, and made plenty more great passes that didn't lead to buckets. He also has three-point range. The Magic should keep their eye on him, especially if they are still in discussions to make that trade with Seattle.

The Magic take the floor again tomorrow to face the Indiana Pacers. The game will start approximately 20 minutes after the completion of the Heat/Nets contest, which starts at 3:00 PM. Each game in this week's League is streamed live and free of charge on this page of the Magic's website.

Sac. Bee: Kings Inquire About Hedo Turkoglu, Might Trade Ron Artest

John Hollinger pointed out in his analysis of the Rashard Lewis signing that Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu are both 6'10" small forwards who like to shoot three-pointers from the corner. As Hollinger put it, Hedo Turkoglu is "redundant" now that Lewis is on the Magic's roster.

The Sacramento Kings have picked up on that fact, and Sam Amick of the Sacramento Bee reports that the Kings have contacted the Magic about making a trade for Turkoglu. Although he has not confirmed which player the Kings are offering in return, Amick suspects that it might be Ron Artest, whose salary is close enough to Turkoglu's to make the trade work under the NBA's collective bargaining agreement.

Ron Artest of the Kings eyes a loose ball as he fends off Corey Maggette of the Clippers. Artest is rumored to be Orlando-bound as part of a deal that would send Hedo Turkoglu to Sacramento.
Photo by José Luis Villegas, the Sacramento Bee

My take? Just say no.

The problem with this rumored trade has nothing to do with Hedo leaving and everything to do with Ron Artest arriving. Putting aside character issues for a moment, he doesn't make sense for the Magic. Stop me if you've heard me express this sentiment before: We don't need any more small forwards. Rashard Lewis and Trevor Ariza have us set at that position. Why not play him at shooting guard? Because he's not near good enough a shooter; teams would leave him wide-open to double Dwight Howard in the post. Given Dwight's turnover problems, that's not something we need.

What Artest is most known for, at least on the basketball court, his is stellar defense. Not only does he shut opponents down, he also forces turnovers, with a career steals-per-game average of 2.1. As hard as it is to believe, the Magic were among the league's top defensive teams last season, so Artest's primary skill does not do the Magic any good.

There's also Artest's dubious history of questionable behavior. Last March, he was charged in a domestic abuse case involving his wife, and subsequently pleaded no-contest. That incident occurred less than a month after his dog, Socks, was removed from his mansion for being underfed; Artest did not face charges in that instance.

Then there's the famous "Malice at the Palace," which occurred in Detroit in a game featuring the Pistons and the Indiana Pacers, for which Artest played at the time. The brawl started when a fan threw a beer at Artest after Artest committed a hard foul on Ben Wallace. The teams fought with each other, and then with the fans, as Artest charged into the stands and threw punches.



He was suspended for the remainder of the 2004/2005 season and postseason. Jermaine O'Neal and Stephen Jackson, his Pacers teammates, also received hefty suspensions for their actions. Without three of their best players, the Pacers' hopes for a title faded, and the franchise is now in a state of limbo.

I don't know Artest personally, but I do know he's bad for a team to have on its roster and in its community. That said, he's a terrific basketball player, and is a real bargain at $7 M annually when his production is taken into consideration. However, even if he were well-behaved, that wouldn't change his incompatibility with the Magic team, which is reason alone for the team not to make this deal.

If the Magic agree to send Hedo back to Sacramento, where he started his career, I worry about what we might receive in return. Shareef Abdur-Rahim and Kenny Thomas are two serviceable power forwards who could shore up our frontcourt deficiencies, but Abdur-Rahim just underwent knee surgery and Thomas is overpaid at $7 M annually. Neither of their contracts come off the books until 2010, which limits the Magic's ability to trade them or to sign free-agents until then.

Shareef Abdur-Rahim and his bionic knees are not the answer to Orlando's deficiency at power forward.
Photo by Randy Pench, the Sacramento Bee

Sacramento may want Hedo, but the Magic shouldn't want anything to do with any of their players. Otis Smith should keep the line open and listen to other teams' offers for Hedo before making a foolish deal with the Kings.

All that said, happy Fourth of July.

Twentieth Century Fox

ESPN: It's In the Lawyers' Hands Now

Here today, gone tomorrow.

The ESPN article by Andy Katz is getting updated almost hourly with new information. Apparently, lawyers for the Magic and for Billy Donovan are in discussions regarding a possible financial penalty for Donovan voiding his contract. The following paragraph is the article's last, and essentially says it all:

The prevailing mood among sources close to this situation is that Donovan will remain the head coach at Florida, the recruits and staff will stay intact, and the Magic will then hope to land Stan Van Gundy, possibly by Monday or Tuesday.

The information about Stan Van Gundy isn't shocking if you've been keeping up with the Sentinel's coverage, which states that Van Gundy was the only other coach the Magic interviewed before the Donovan hire.

Regarding the financial aspects: I think the Magic deserve compensation for this disaster. They need enough money to cover the season-ticket refunds that will likely be demanded, especially considering that at least 200 were sold after Donovan's hiring was made official. They also need money to get some creative public relations firm to spin this disaster into something marginally positive. However, I'm not a lawyer, so I don't think there's a lot more I can say on that.

Regarding Van Gundy: I think he would be a good hire. He's good at developing young talent and had success while coaching the Miami Heat. I just hope we're able to make him an offer in time; the Sacramento Kings were also very interested in his services, and if he were to accept that job, the life would officially have been sucked out of this organization. There wouldn't be any attractive candidates left: Larry Brown is too old; P.J. Carlesimo is not creative enough offensively; and Rick Carlisle, although he's had success in Detroit and Indiana, prefers to play at a Brian Hill-like pace.

I still can't bring myself to be angry. The guys at Four Free Throws do not share my misery, or if they do, they show it in a far different fashion. Rated R for pervasive strong language.

I had planned to do this for a long time, so excuse me if it's not entirely appropriate. Anyway, this post is my 52nd on this site, so I want to commemorate the occasion by posting the following picture of everyone's favorite former Magic player to wear #52, Don Reid:

Don Reid was never afraid to do battle with anyone, not even Hall of Fame center David Robinson of San Antonio
Photo by Eric Gay, Associated Press

Reid averaged 3.3 points and 3.1 rebounds in two seasons with the Magic. His hustle, girth, and scowl are sorely missed and fondly remembered. His NBA career ended in 2002/2003, when he appeared in a single game for Detroit.

Double Trouble

Part the First: Holding Down the Fort

Now that I'm out of school, I've had a chance to catch up on the internet reading that I neglected to do during the academic year. In so doing, I discovered this great piece by Bill Simmons about the power of home-court advantage. The following snippet particularly stands out to me:

Once upon a time, the Celtics had the most significant home-court advantage thanks to 15,000 savvy hoop lunatics crammed into an overheated lunchbox. Since I was blessed with the chance to attend most of their pivotal games during the Bird Era, you have to believe me on this one -- we swung the outcome of six series ('81 Sixers, '84 Lakers, '87 Bucks, '87 Pistons, '88 Hawks and '91 Pacers) in which superior opponents failed to handle the mythical combination of Bird and the Garden. Off the top of my head, I can remember 20-25 games in which we carried the team to a higher place.

Now, you're saying to yourself, "Doesn't every crowd do that?"

Actually, no. More than in any other sport, the fate of a basketball game hinges on the connection between players and fans. Last year, you could have dressed in white, headed to a big Miami game, stood and cheered at all the predictable spots and convinced yourself that you impacted the game ... but you really didn't. You did exactly what you were expected to do, nothing more. You obeyed the giant video screen, followed the musical cues and served your purpose. In other words, you were just like every other NBA crowd.

Why does that resonate well with me? Two Thursdays ago, minutes before tipoff Orlando's first home playoff game since 2003, the in-arena "entertainers" gave a lesson on how to be a fan. Host Scotty B. encouraged the crowd to bang their ThunderStix together loudly, to cheer the Magic enthusiastically, and to boo the Pistons relentlessly. Yes, someone on the Magic's payroll was asked to write a pregame bit on how to cheer.

Somehow, I don't think the Pistons have that same problem; they're able to spend their P.R. money on coming up with playoff slogans that aren't hospital code for imminent loss of life. Pistons fans know how to cheer. I witnessed it first-hand in Game 3 because there was no shortage of Pistons fans in attendance, especially not in the upper bowl. Before, during, and after the game, Magic fans were treated to chants of "DEEEEEEEEE-TROIT BASKETBALL!" and, whenever Rasheed Wallace did anything worth noting, "SHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED!"

This post is not my first about the subject of fandom in Orlando, so excuse the redundancy. But I think the organization's decision to devote some pregame time to teaching fans how to behave speaks volumes about the lack of vocal fans at Magic games. It's also insulting for those fans who are passionate about their team. When the presentation started, my father put down his hamburger, looked at me, and said, "Are you hearing this? They're teaching us how to cheer?" Dad's been a Yankee fan since birth and a Magic fan since the organization's inception. He knows how to cheer. I suppose the same can't be said for some Magic fans, even at playoff games, and that's a damn shame.

Part the Second: An Endorsement

In the week-plus that the Magic have been eliminated, I've watched a handful of playoff games, and I've seen each playoff team compete at least once. After much DVR-ing, it is with great pleasure that I heartily endorse the Golden State Warriors in their quest for the championship. Their upset of Dallas was historic and a joy to watch, especially in Game 6, in which they pounded the Mavericks by 25 at home and the crowd at Oracle Arena remained standing for the entire second half of the game. Last night's game against Utah was an exciting, tremendous, back-and-forth affair that came down to the final minute. Former Magic player Matt Harpring, now a key reserve for the Jazz, pulled down a critical rebound with seven seconds remaining, then hit the icing free throws for the game's final points. I was sad because the Warriors lost, but also happy that I just watched an incredible game.

So, Magic fans, if you're still looking for your NBA fix even after our team has been eliminated, I urge you to jump on the Warriors' bandwagon. It'll be a hell of a ride.

Shine On Me: Magic 104, 76ers 87

Grant Hill has plenty to clap about. Although he didn't have a great game, one of his teammates sure did, and it could not have come at a better time for the Magic.

I'll let Dwight Howard's linescore speak for itself:
35 points, 14-15 field goals, 7-10 free throws, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals in 43 minutes.

Shaq who?

The Magic went into Philadelphia today and made a huge statement by blowing out the 76ers and ending that team's remote playoff hopes. The Magic themselves increased their lead over Indiana for the 8th playoff spot in the East to two games.

It's one thing to pick up a win after a heartbreaking loss. It's quite another to go into another team's home floor and lead wire-to-wire in a double-digit victory. For me, the most pleasing numbers in this game's box score aren't those next to Dwight's name. In fact, the numbers to which I am alluding don't come next to any player's name. No, they're the quarter-by-quarter scores. We outscored Philly in each quarter, refusing to let up even when it became apparent that they didn't have a chance.


Really, it's hard to think of anything that went wrong for us today, except for Darko Milicic's embarrassing missed dunk.

On an individual level, there was Dwight's incredible performance, which included an improbable 13-foot bank shot from the left wing. Darko scored 14, including back-to-back 19-footers from the top of the key. Even Keith Bogans played well, scoring 5 points and grabbing 3 rebounds in only 8 minutes of action, which he probably would not have seen if J.J. Redick had not been deactivated due to a sore quad muscle.

The collective numbers are also good. We shot 53% while holding the 76ers to just 39%. We scored 104 points, the fifth time in this month's six games that we've exceeded 100 -- and the exception was against Detroit, against which we scored 99. Impressively, we had 25 assists on 43 field goals, and five players recorded at least three assists. In my recap for the Pistons game, I wrote that the Magic played as individuals rather than as a team, and that proved to be their undoing. Credit Brian Hill and the rest of the coaching staff for stressing ball movement and unselfish play in practice this week.

I can only hope that today's high level of play can carry over until tomorrow's game with Boston, which has shut down Paul Pierce and Al Jefferson, its two best players, for the rest of the season. The Celtics have guaranteed the league's second-worst record and, as such, their draft lottery position is assured. In other words, they're just playing out the season and waiting for the draft. If the Magic win -- and they should, barring a letdown of colossal proportions -- and the Pacers lose their game with the Nets, we'd clinch a playoff berth. So, as counterintuitive as it seems, we actually become Net fans tomorrow; after that, we can curse them all they want, as we want to steal the 7th playoff spot from them.

Summarily, we've played better in April than our 3-3 record indicates, even considering that our 3 wins came against some dreadful teams. If we keep playing this way for the rest of the season, we'll have a great deal of confidence heading into the playoffs. In an earlier entry, I wrote that the Magic needed to make a fourth quarter surge. Well, they've done that. Now all they have to do is keep it up.

Another Reason to Hate the Wizards/Philly Does Us a Phavor

Damn those Washington Wizards and their golden uniforms.


Washington somehow managed to lose to New Jersey despite holding an 89-84 lead with 1:40 to play. Thus, the Nets now have a full one-game lead on the Magic in the East standings. By virtue of having a better intra-conference record, the Nets would get the higher playoff seed if they were to finish the regular season with a record identical to Orlando's. The Magic's job doesn't get any easier, as they visit Detroit tomorrow night to face the conference-leading Pistons. Should they lose that game, any hopes they have of leapfrogging New Jersey for the 7th seed would effectively be dashed. In fact, there's a chance that the Nets may actually move up to the 6th spot, given Washington's free-fall. The Wizards are without their two best players, All-Stars Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler, and have lost five straight games and eight of 10 overall. Meanwhile, the Nets are 6-4 in their past 10 and All-Stars Vince Carter and Jason Kidd are playing their best basketball of the season. On Saturday, they both managed to record triple-doubles in the same game, something that hadn't been done in 18 years.

What I'm getting at is the following: perhaps no team has frustrated the Magic this season the way the Wizards have. They've taken two of the three games between the teams so far this season, including a 112-111 decision in which the Magic had three players score 20 points and still managed to lose -- due in large part, I hasten to add, to a third quarter in which the Magic were outscored 26-19. Why was that loss so horrifying? For one, it was a close game. But more importantly, the outcome gave the Wizards the lead in the Southeast division, which Orlando had lead for much of the season.

The point at which Orlando's and Washington's lines intersect shows the teams' records at the beginning of the week in which that game took place. After that game, it appeared as though the Magic had woken up, as they went on a five-game winning streak immediately afterwards, giving them the division lead once again. After that, their season officially began to unravel, as they proceeded to lose all the ground they made up during that winning streak by dropping their next five games, one of which was an embarrassing 21-point home drubbing at the hands of the Wizards. As shown on the graph, Orlando never regained the division lead after that point.

There was some good news coming out of tonight's NBA action, however. The lowly Philadelphia 76ers defeated the unraveling Indiana Pacers to move the Pacers two games back of Orlando. While I'm certainly thankful that the 76ers gave us a slight cushion, whatever goodwill I have towards them will be eliminated on Saturday, when the Magic visit Philadelphia and hope to solidify their playoff status. Despite their poor record, the 76ers have played well lately, and finish tonight a half-game ahead of New York for the 10th-best record in the East. There is still an outside shot that Philadelphia can make the playoffs -- they are four games back with five left to play -- so they will certainly have incentive to play hard. However, budding star Andre Iguodala is battling back trouble and may have to sit out against the Magic. That bodes well for Orlando, which needs every break it can get to reach the postseason.

The message from Philly's game tonight is as follows: the postseason chase, like politics, makes for strange bedfellows. The Magic have every reason to loathe the 76ers, not only because of this Saturday's contest but also because of 6th-seeded Philadelphia's improbable 3-1 playoff victory over 3rd-seeded Orlando in 1999. Okay, that happened a long time ago; hell, Penny Hardaway was still playing for the Magic at that point. Still, grudges can be good to hold if they provide motivation, and although nobody currently on either team played in that series, the Magic should still be mindful that this Philadelphia franchise prematurely ended their last legitimate shot at a title.

Go get 'em, boys.

Blood in the Water: Magic 117, Bucks 94

As any longtime Magic fan can attest, there are just some things the Magic can't do: get out of the first round of the playoffs, draft well, hang on to the ball, and beat the Lakers. And although I wasn't aware of it before yesterday, there's another thing the Magic have difficulty with: winning in Milwaukee. Prior to last night's stomping of the Bucks in the Bradley Center, the Magic had lost 15 of their last 16 in that building and had not won there since 2002. They even lost there earlier this season when the Bucks were without Michael Redd, their best player. Talk about your house of horrors.


The Bucks offered little resistance to the Magic last night. I have to admit, however, that I was worried when Milwaukee made 7 of its first 8 shots to open the game, but that worry soon vanished when the Bucks got cold, failing to score a field goal for nearly the entire final 3:46 of the period until Lynn Greer (who?) made a jumper at the buzzer. Orlando, on the other hand, never seemed to cool off, tying a season-best for accuracy by shooting 62.5% from the floor for the game.

I'm sure cynics will try to downplay the impact of this win because Milwaukee was without three of its starters (Redd, Andrew Bogut, and Charlie Villanueva) and only had one player taller than 6'5", but at the risk of stating the obvious, a win is a win. The Magic are still in the thick of the playoff hunt, holding a 1.5 game advantage over Indiana for the 8th playoff spot in the East and trailing New Jersey by just .5 a game for the 7th spot. The playoffs are still very much possible for this team. Also consider that the Magic's only two losses this month game by a combined 4 points and you'll see that they have been playing much better lately. The Magic are playing well when it counts? You've got to be kidding.


Am I surprised that the Magic won? Moderately. I'm more encouraged than I am anything else. The Magic have dropped games to some pretty miserable teams this year, so seeing them come out and play hard against crappy competition was encouraging. They knew they had to win this game, which Brian Schmitz called a "must-win". And they did it without a great effort from veteran leader Grant Hill, who scored 7 points on just 3-of-8 from the field. Instead, Hedo Turkoglu continued his hot streak by scoring 25 points on a sizzling 10-of-15 from the floor. Darko Milicic, who had been playing in a fog, scored 11 points on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting performance to go along with 9 rebounds and 4 assists. Jameer Nelson, whom I have criticized heavily in this blog, put together a fine game by scoring 12 points on 50% shooting, just the third time he has made over half his shots in a game since March 3rd. He also added a season-high 9 assists to raise his April average to 5.2 assists per game. Maybe this stretch will teach him that he doesn't need to shoot the ball for the Magic to be successful.

I think the following statistic sums up just how the Magic dominated last night: of the Magic's 50 made field goals, 12 of them were dunks. Milwaukee made 34 shots, only one of which was a dunk, and that came with under two minutes to play and both teams playing lackadaisically. Orlando now has 26 dunks in its past two games, a remarkably high total. Although I doubt that they'll be able to pick apart Detroit's defense on Wednesday night the way they've dismantled Milwaukee's and Memphis', they should have a great deal of confidence. Just look at Keyon Dooling here:


The intensity with which Dooling dunked in that photo is the sort of emotion everyone on this team needs to maintain if they are going to beat Detroit on Wednesday. The Pistons don't play soft.

Just ask Shaquille.

Bill Walton Would Be So Proud: Magic 116, Grizzles 89

Anyone who has watched a nationally televised NBA game in the past 15 years has heard color commentator and former NBA player Bill Walton say his catchphrase at least 28 times: Throw it down, big fella!

The Magic sure heeded Walton's advice last night in a big victory over the Grizzlies. Dwight Howard, who leads the league in dunks, got 9 slam opportunities against a team not interested in boxing out, defense, or anything else in particular. But it wasn't just Dwight getting in on the action; Trevor Ariza threw down a pretty reverse on a fast break after a great steal, Darko Milicic dropped a tomahawk after getting a beautiful pass from Hedo Turkoglu, Grant Hill wound back the clock and slammed a tomahawk down, and Tony Battie managed a nice two-handed stuff in traffic. Simply put, the Magic were scoring at will. Granted, it was against the league's worst team, but let me repeat: the Magic were scoring at will.


One can point to any number of reasons for tonight's offensive outburst: defensive disinterestedness on the part of the Grizzlies, several players just "feeling it" from the field, etc. But what interests me most is that the Magic were running hard and playing well in transition. I have to wonder how well this team would have fared this season if they adopted a run-and-gun style earlier, which would minimize the its deficiency at point guard because it wouldn't be working out of a set halfcourt offense. That said, some teams are able to dictate the pace of games and would be able to prevent the Magic from running: Miami, in particular, can force even the high-octane Suns into an ugly, grind-it-out defensive struggle. But with just six games left, it seems like it'd be as good a time as any to experiment with a more free-flowing style of play. What do the Magic have to lose? A playoff berth?

Oops.

Yeah... about that. Despite the win, the Magic were unable to gain any ground on the New Jersey Nets for the 7th seed in the East, nor were they able to create any separation from the 9th-place Indiana Pacers. Both of those teams won their games last night and thus the playoff picture remains unchanged. Does that fact minimize the meaning of this game somehow?

The answer is, perhaps surprisingly, no. The Magic's past 3 losses were all soul-crushing: a double-OT loss to Boston, an OT loss to Minnesota, and a loss to Toronto in which the Magic lead by 13 after the first period. A game such as last night's can lift a team's spirits. It's not just that they won; it's that everything went their way. The easy dunks were not the only things that went right for Orlando: Dwight Howard banked in a free throw, Keyon Dooling hit jump shots at the closing seconds of both the first and third quarters, Grant Hill's dunk came during the waning seconds of the first half, and all twelve players scored.

What does the past tell us about how the Magic might perform tonight? Admittedly, not much. The Magic are 4-4 in games played subsequent to victories in which the margin of victory was 15 or greater. In the most recent case, the Magic lost at home to Chicago by 24 points after beating Milwaukee by 18, a turnaround of 42 points. As I documented in an earlier entry, the only constant in this Magic season has been consistent inconsistency.


Tonight's game against Milwaukee is of the utmost importance. Win big, big fellas.

Two-For-One Special: Magic 95, Pacers 87 and Timberwolves 105, Magic 104

I hope you can forgive me for not updating at all this weekend. I spent some time with family and was away from the Magic, at least for a bit.

Owning It

The most encouraging part about beating the Pacers on Friday wasn't the playoff implications; rather, it was the fact that we actually beat someone we were supposed to beat. We needed that win, especially after the debacle in Boston, and we did a good job of getting it.
There are two key stories coming out of this game. First, Grant Hill can still play. More importantly, his style of play is well suited to this struggling team. Facing an offensive drought in the third quarter, Hill repeatedly took the ball to the basket and got fouled. All too often, our young players are content to take jump shots when the team is winning, even if the shots aren't falling. Hill set an example by playing aggressively, but not being overly aggressive and sloppy. Perhaps the best way to describe Hill at his best is 'efficient': he scored 22 points while only taking 10 shots for an incredible 2.2 points-per-shot ratio. He also only turned the ball over once. In short, when Hill plays the way he did against the Pacers, the Magic are usually in good shape.
The second story is the following: Trevor Ariza is more important than anyone on this team not named Dwight Howard. Yes, Grant Hill played better than Ariza did in this game and is the better player overall, but he's also 13 years older and well past his prime. Defensively, Ariza is polished and only getting better. He averages about one steal per game, but that doesn't tell the whole story. He frustrates the hell out of opposing players and forces them to use all their energy trying to escape him, then he attacks them on the offensive end and blows right by them, often resulting in a thunderous slam. The way he changes games is remarkable and I'm not being facetious when I say that he could be a future all-star, or at least a dunk contest participant. Why not? With a consistent jump shot and more playing time, he's at least Gerald Wallace. No joke.

Blowing It
Brian Schmitz likened Sunday's loss to the Timberwolves to Wednesday's loss to the Celtics. It's hard to argue with that comparison. Both opponents are under .500, both opponents got out to early leads, both opponents were hot from three-point range, both games went into overtime, and both games involved missed shots by Jameer Nelson that could have won them. I want to be a half-full guy and say the Magic can at least be happy that they got back into those games after trailing, but it's impossible to be that way now because IT'S THE END OF THE SEASON. As Brian Hill said after the loss in Dallas, there's no such thing as a moral victory in the NBA. Fact: if the Magic had a killer instinct at all, they'd be 36-38 and riding a 5-game winning streak. Instead, they're 34-40 and demoralized heading into Wednesday's showdown with surging Toronto. Talk about your blown opportunities.

Blowing It Again
The recent run of missed clutch shots by Jameer Nelson piqued my curiosity; just how good is Nelson when it counts? Thank goodness for 82Games, which is slowly becoming my favorite NBA site. Why? It's for total statheads such as myself. As you can see, Jameer isn't as clutch as his game-winner against Sacramento would lead us to believe. He shoots just .327 in what that site calls clutch situations - fewer than 5 minutes left in the fourth quarter or overtime, neither team ahead or behind by more than 5 points. Summarily, it's time for Brian Hill to reconsider his clutch strategy of giving Nelson the ball. Brian Schmitz agrees.


The most frustrating thing about the whole situation is that it's no longer a matter of playing well enough to win; we've got that part down. Now, it becomes a matter of showing some killer instinct and putting opponents away when they're down. Grant Hill did it against Indiana by getting to the rim. Let's hope this team can follow his example in a metaphoric sense over the final 8 games of the season and into the playoffs, Rony Seikaly-willing.

Tim Povtak Serves Ben Q Rock a Piece of Humble Pie

I predicted in today's first post that Tim Povtak jinxed the Orlando Magic when he wrote that the three other teams they are battling for the last two playoff spots in the East were likely to lose this evening. I wrote that the Pacers, Nets, and Knicks would all pull upsets thanks to Povtak's deviltry. Well, two of the three games are in the books, and Povtak's predictions have held up so far: the Nuggets beat the Nets and the Mavericks beat the Knicks. The Pacers/Rockets contest is in-progress.
There are two ways to look at this situation:

• My earlier post doublejinxed Povtak's initial jinx, thus restoring balance to the universe and ensuring that his predictions held true.
• I don't know shit about basketball.

Either way, the Nets and Knicks both losing tonight is good for the Magic. I can live with being wrong if it means the good guys benefit in some way.

Tim Povtak Does Not Understand the Concept of the Jinx

If you've ever watched any sporting event on live TV, you know how the jinx works: a commentator/talking head/whatever makes a statement about a remarkable statistic or streak, only to see the unusual result happen.. Here's an example:

"Mark Price steps to the free throw line now. He's tops in the league in free throw percentage. The first shot... bounces off. So, a rare miss for Mark Price..."

Well, Tim Povtak, whose Orlando Magic/NBA coverage for the Sentinel I find to be much better than Brian Schmitz's, has jinxed the hell out of the Magic and their playoff chances. Imagine my horror when I visited the Sentinel's Magic coverage homepage to see this headline:
Idle Magic can shift back into No. 7 slot.
Even though that headline does not assert the shift as fact, it all but dooms us, at least this evening. Here's the key phrase from the article, which I've italicized in the following excerpt:

Indiana (30-35), New Jersey (31-36) and New York (30-36), the other three in the race for the seventh and eight spots, all are expected to lose tonight, playing against Western Conference teams with winning records.

The Pacers are playing the Rockets, the Nets are playing the Nuggets, and the Knicks are playing the Mavericks. Yes, I can see why Povtak would say that the teams were expected to lose. Just look at their opponents: the Rockets are coming off a 50-point victory against the 76ers; the Nuggets have won 4 straight, including a blowout of Phoenix; and the Mavericks have the best record in the league.

Here's what will happen tonight, though: Tracy McGrady's back will tighten up in pregame warmups, forcing Luther Head to start in his place. The Rockets shoot poorly and will lose a close game despite another steller performance from Yao. The Nuggets will decide not to play defense and allow the Nets to run-and-gun along with them. Jason Kidd will thrive in the wide-open style of play and drop a triple-double on the Nuggets. And the Knicks' backcourt duo of Stephon Marbury and Steve Francis will party like it's 1999 and combine for 55 points and 15 assists in shocking Dallas into its third loss in its past ten games.

Maybe I'm going out on a limb here. But now that Povtak has predicted a big standings shakeup, I can't help but to remain skeptical about it.