Thoughts on the Game: Nets Left Chasing Orlando For All 48 Minutes
Mar 6, 2010 2009-2010 Regular Season, Nets vs. Magic, Thoughts On the Game
Orlando Magic Daily – Orlando Pinstriped Post – Howard the Dunk
Coming into last night’s game against the Magic, I know I was particularly looking to see how the Brook Lopez/Dwight Howard match-up was going to shake out. Howard had out-and-out dominated Brook in the team’s previous two match-ups, despite the fact that I maintain that the two should be considered selections #1 and #2 in the conversation for best centers in the Eastern Conference. However, by the game’s end, Howard/Lopez almost seemed like an afterthought for me since neither on them had a particularly fantastic game offensively (Lopez score more points with 18, Howard (11 points) was more efficient shooting-wise and was his usual monster self on the boards (16 total). The difference was Dwight Howard has a great supporting cast, while Lopez is truly an island to himself most games, and last night was no different.
Two things spring to mind as difference makers last night. Matt Barnes early, and the Nets offense in the third quarter. That’s not to say the Magic, who never trailed in this game, still wouldn’t have found a way to win without these factors, but it certainly looked really easy for Orlando because of them.
Similar to JJ Hickson on Wednesday night, in Barnes, the Nets let a guy who’s not typically the focal point for a team’s offense take them to the woodshed early. He scored 14 of his 16 points in the first quarter, and so many of them were transition buckets, I was, and still am, legitimately puzzled as to who was supposed to be guarding him. Here’s what I came up with: it looked like in a lot of man situations Trenton Hassell was on Rashard Lewis, which makes sense since Lewis is a threat offensively who’s big, but plays small from the outside, which is a good defensive match-up for a guy like Hassell. Lopez was on Howard in post situations, with the occasional switchover by Yi whenever there was penetration from Orlando’s backcourt. Devin and CDR had Jameer Nelson and Vince Carter respectively. So when figuring the odd man out on Barnes, we come back to Yi. It’s a logical conclusion, since it would make sense that Kiki Vangeweghe would put Yi on Barnes while Hassell was on the floor because Barnes is supposedly Orlando’s least dynamic player offensively. The only reason I can’t formally confirm Yi was the defender in question because I can’t recall ever seeing Yi actually near Barnes at any point in the first quarter. But that’s not unusual when it comes to Yi and defense.
Quick Recap: Orlando Magic 97, New Jersey Nets 87
Mar 5, 2010 2009-2010 Regular Season, Nets vs. Magic, Quick Recap
The Orlando Magic jumped out to an early lead and never looked back, as they never trailed the New Jersey Nets, winning 97-87 at the Izod Center tonight.
- Statistically, Brook Lopez held his own against Dwight Howard tonight in the match-up of elite Eastern Conference centers. Brook finished with 18 points, 8 rebounds and 1 block and Dwight finished with 11 points, 16 rebounds and 4 blocks.
- The Nets got killed from long-range tonight, allowing 13 threes to Orlando, who shot 42 percent from beyond the arc.
- Yi Jianlian finished with 2 points and 5 fouls in 33 minutes of play.
- Another strong night for Terrence Williams off the bench, who finished with 14 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Trenton Hassell, meanwhile, finished with 4 points in 18 minutes as a starter. He’s starting because…?
- It what will be his last game at the Izod Center, Vince Carter finished with 13 points on 4-11 shooting.
Game 61 Preview Vs. Orlando Magic
Mar 5, 2010 2009-2010 Open Thread, Game Previews, Nets vs. Magic
Sure last game against the Cavs ended up being a 20 point loss, but I liked how the team played. Essentially, the Nets played with the Cavs for three quarters, and you can say that the Cavs coasted, but I didn’t see it. The Magic are a team that runs hot and cold, and if the Nets catch them on a cold shooting night, then who knows what could happen.
As for Courtney Lee, I assume that he is pushing to play against his former teammates, but I just don’t think they will let him out there.
Devin Harris vs. Jameer Nelson
Devin Harris has had some trouble with his shot the last couple of games, and I think that has to do with him settling for outside jumpers a little more. Against Jameer Nelson, he is going against a PG who can’t match his speed. I see him getting into the paint and having a pretty successful game if he can finish.
Advantage: Push
Chris Douglas-Roberts vs. Vince Carter
Mark summed CDR’s performance as of late perfectly:
Chris Douglas-Roberts had a very short stretch in the third quarter where in the span of 2+ minutes, he took over the game offensively, and made three consecutive short runners in the lane – vintage CDR style. Sadly, they were the only three field goals made by Douglas-Roberts all game, missing his other 7 attempts. It’s just so frustrating because as a fan, you can see what CDR can accomplish, but you’re left wondering who that player on the court is the other 20+ minutes a game.
No matter what CDR and his supporters say, it isn’t the system. He just doesn’t seem as aggressive as he used to be.
Advantage: Vince Carter
Jarvis Hayes vs. Matt Barnes
I think Jarvis will be back in the starting lineup since the Nets really need an outside shooting threat to help clear things up from Brook in the center.
Advantage: Matt Barnes
Yi vs. Rashard Lewis
Andre Blatche is like a poor man’s Rashard Lewis, and we saw what he did against Yi and the Nets.
Advantage: Rashard Lewis
Brook Lopez vs. Dwight Howard
Because Dwight is such a good defender, Brook might get single coverage tonight. Brook has been playing very well as of late, and hopefully that can continue.
Advantage: Dwight Howard
Bloggers Talk: Orlando Magic
Mar 5, 2010 Bloggers Talk, Nets vs. Magic
Andrew Melnick from the Magic blog, Howard the Dunk is back with NAS again to discuss his team headed into the season’s final six weeks (and likely more for Orlando). I also answered some questions for him at his site, so be nice and check it out for all of our sakes.
NAS: Vince Carter has had an up and down season and is averaging a career low in ppg. Is there any buyer’s remorse in Orlando?
After a disastrous month of January, there was. Carter was not expected to post the same kind of numbers he has throughout his career, but he doesn‘t need to. In the offseason, he joined a team featuring three All-Stars (Dwight Howard, Rashard Lewis and Jameer Nelson), so his attempts, minutes and subsequently his points per game were going to drop. Carter’s struggles were often discussed heading into the new year but in January, Magic fans began to turn against him. Carter averaged just 8.7 points per game on 22.4% shooting in the month and even watched a few close fourth quarters from the bench as J.J. Redick closed out games. In the month of February, things began to change. Carter finally found his place on the team. After proclaiming that he would turn it around in February, he has done a much better job of driving the ball into the paint and getting his teammates involved. Plus, his shot is finally falling. Carter averaged 18.6 points per game on 51.5% shooting, highlighted by Carter‘s 48-point performance on February 8th against New Orleans. He is not only taking less shots but he’s taking much better shots.
Carter is still going to be called upon to make plays down the stretch in games and as of late, he’s done a good job of doing that. If Carter keeps getting into the paint and continues to make good decisions with the ball, that remorse should disappear.
NAS: Judging from his per 40 minute numbers, it looks like Ryan Anderson is a player, but he’s also been racking up some DNP-CDs it appears. Is it just a result of the numbers game in Orlando, or are the other reasons he’s not getting PT?
It’s a mix of both. Anderson has struggled at times defensively and that has prompted Stan Van Gundy to turn to Brandon Bass in certain situations to provide a spark on that end, which is the cause for Anderson‘s recent string of DNPs. Anderson was a starter early in the season because of the suspension of Rashard Lewis, but now Lewis is playing heavy minutes. In fact, Van Gundy recently said that Lewis was going to play even more. Without consistent playing time, Anderson’s shot hasn’t been falling like it was earlier this season.
Remember also that Anderson is also a very young player – he’s 21, is in his second year of the league and is trying to find a role on a team who has their sites set on a championship.
Anderson is a better player than I originally thought. His rebounding (Anderson has a rebounding rate of 12.3%) and ability to get to the basket (34% of his shots have been close, dunks or tips) are better than most thought.
Anderson’s youth, Bass’ athleticism and Rashard Lewis’ extended minutes are the reasons that Anderson’s minutes have been limited.
NAS: Besides Cleveland, do you see any other legitimate threats to the Magic in the Eastern Conference as we head into the playoffs? Any first round match-ups that could pose a problem?
It’s too early to completely rule out the Boston Celtics. It does however, seem like the Magic are better equipped to deal with them this season. The Magic have used their depth and at times they have matched Boston’s size (playing Howard alongside Marcin Gortat) to wear Boston down, which has resulted in two come-from-behind Magic victories in their last two games against the Celtics.
Sure, the Celtics are old, Rasheed Wallace has been a terrible signing and KG’s knees look like they can fold at any time, but if Boston enters the playoffs with their starting five of Kendrick Perkins, Kevin Garnett, Paul Piece, Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo intact, they are still a dangerous team.
Atlanta is another team that is much improved and you can’t rule them out, but Orlando has dominated the Hawks this season, blowing them out in all three meetings so far. The Hawks have no answer for Dwight Howard and the Magic have good athletes and great depth to match the Hawks in that department.
From talking to the players, it is obvious that the Magic would prefer not to have to deal with Dwyane Wade in the postseason. John Salmons has also been a great addition for the Milwaukee Bucks, who have been playing very well lately. The Magic have played more consistent basketball lately and if they do that in the first round, they shouldn’t have anything to worry about, but if they don’t they will be in for a fight. Remember, the Philadelphia 76ers took the Magic to six games last year (even though it did take two buzzer-beaters).
Video Breakdown: Games 8, 9, & 10
Nov 16, 2009 Chris Douglas-Roberts, Josh Boone, Nets vs. Heat, Nets vs. Magic, Nets vs. Sixers, Terrence Williams, Trenton Hassell, Video Breakdown, Xs and Os
So I have been a little behind in terms of breakdowns but we are catching up right here and now. We are going to be looking at some stuff from the game against Philly, @ Orlando, and @Miami. As of right now, a lot of the stuff you are going to see here is going to look like nit-picking (especially with how well the team has been playing despite being limited), but if some of the bad stuff seen here continues as people start coming back, it could be a problem. This is going to be a big one, get those reading glasses on:
Thoughts on the Game: Nets Keep it Close Until the Fourth
Nov 14, 2009 2009-2010 Regular Season, Nets vs. Magic, Thoughts On the Game
GameFlow, Orlando Magic Daily, Howard the Dunk, Third Quarter Collapse
There appears to be a pattern developing for the depleted Nets, aptly named the “frenzy unit” by Mike Fratello during last night’s 88-72 loss against Orlando Magic down in Florida. The Nets, which was up to 9 live bodies with the addition of a very haggard and fatigued looking Chris Douglas-Roberts, has gotten off to a strong start in each of their last four games, seemingly lulling the opposition to sleep, to keep the game amazingly close until the fourth quarter. Yes, in the first half last night, you could say there was something “off” about the Magic, but we also heard about how there was something “off” with the Celtics last week, and with the Philadelphia 76ers twice the past week. Could it just be that the Nets, for at least three quarters, are doing good things on the court, like playing decent team defense, and not settling for ridiculous low percentage shots?
Where last night seemed to deviate from the previous three games was how the Magic were able to truly pull away in the fourth, finally hitting some of their three-pointers, and capitalizing on some sloppy play on the offensive end by the Nets. Prior to that, the Nets were either up, or were within single digits for most of the night. With about 8:30 left in the game, Jason Williams hit a three to put the Magic up 13, and the shot just felt like a definitive turning point. Chris Douglas-Roberts was then blocked by Marcin Gortat on the other end of the court, and old friend Vince Carter hit a three to drive the lead up to 16. Just so nobody got their hopes up, Rafer Alston, who overall had a great night with a 20-10-10 to notch his first career triple-double, committed a bad pass to CDR, turning the ball over, and essentially sealing the game for the Magic, who never looked back from there.
Speaking of Alston, while a lot of the focus in these two early match-ups against the Magic has been on Vince Carter and Courtney Lee (who was out with his groin injury last night) playing against their former teams, it was Rafer who looked like he had a chip on his shoulder last night. On the Nets’ very first offensive set of the game, he took the ball strong to the hoop drawing the foul and sinking the free throws. With about 54 seconds left in the half, Alston had a jump ball with Dwight Howard. Rather than actually attempting the jump, Rafer backed off the from the tip and directed his teams to the other end of the court, where Mickael Pietrus was cheating out ahead of the pack. Bobby Simmons got to the other end quickly and met Pietrus’ attempt with a blocked shot. It was a nice subtle bit of leadership by Rafer.
Unfortunately, Brook Lopez’s string of good games came to a resounding halt last night as he went 1-12 from the field, scored 4 points, and sported an unsightly -26 in the +/- department. There is just something about Dwight Howard that brings out the very worst in Brook Lopez. While I’m certain you could say that about a number of NBA centers when they match-up with Howard, but Brook can’t get any sort of position in the post against him, while allowing himself to get emotionally out-of-whack. As noted in the quickie recap last night, Brook got clobbered by Howard towards the end of the first quarter, but didn’t get the foul call. When he ran back down to the other end of the court, he whacked Howard in clear view of the refs and picked up his second foul – a stupid foul. Lopez then berated the refs all the way back to the bench, though in his special-kind-of-way, avoiding a technical foul. Lopez never seems to get T-ed up in those situations, so I wonder if he’s just yelling quotes from Star Wars or Transformers to avoiding pissing off the refs.
On the flip-side, Brook’s foul trouble got us a Sean Williams sighting last night, and I hope he showed Lawrence Frank enough to get his number called more often going forward. Sean Williams was a presence on defense, blocked a shot, had two steals, grabbed four boards, drew two charges, and in one of my favorite plays of the game, got Vince Carter to commit an incredibly entertaining foul at the 6:01 mark in the second, where Swat was setting a screen, and VC tried plowing into Williams to break through it, and eventually wrapped his arm around him to try and move Sean. Williams just stuck with the play and didn’t react, and there was almost a Rodmanesque zen-like quality to how he stood there during the screen while VC lost his mind. I know Williams has done this before – looked good for a game or two and then followed it up with some boneheaded games to get himself out of the rotation, but after an 0-9 start and a ton of injuries, could Lawrence Frank do any worse than let him play a few games consistently to see if this guy is finally getting it?
Let’s look at a couple of more key plays and some final bullets after the jump: Read the rest of this entry »
Quick Recap: Orlando Magic 88, New Jersey Nets 72
Nov 13, 2009 2009-2010 Regular Season, Nets vs. Magic, Quick Recap
The New Jersey Nets (0-9) continued their losing streak against the Orlando Magic ( 7-3) 88-72 in Orlando tonight. Overall, the Nets played well defensively, but their lack of a second option (I consider Brook the first, but he struggled tonight) with Devin and Courtney out.
- Rafer Alston led all Nets scorers with 17 points he also had 10 assists and 10 rebounds for his first career triple double.
- Welcome back Chris Douglas-Roberts who had 5 points in 18 minutes after coming back with swine flu. His shot looked fine, but you could tell he was winded out there. I am hoping that he is used a bit tomorrow to help get his legs back so he can be 100% for Tuesday.
- Sean Williams made an appearance tonight, and besides a moving screen he played pretty well. Even taking a charge late in the first half.
- Bobby Simmons chipped in with 15 points with 6 rebounds.
- Trenton Hassell had 13 points in more than 40 minutes of play.
- Dwight Howard led all scorers with 26 points and 12 rebounds.
- I love Brook Lopez’s emotion, but he needs to control it. Late in the first, he was tackled in the lane, didn’t get the call and went ahead and just walloped Dwight, getting his second foul and forcing him out of the game.
Game 9 Preview Vs. Orlando Magic
Nov 13, 2009 2009-2010 Open Thread, 2009-2010 Regular Season, Game Preview, Nets vs. Magic
Just something quick on Wednesday’s game. I thought it was funny how the game ended basically the same way as the first Sixers game ended. Go for the win, misexecute (just made that word up), miss a two to tie the game. Foul the Sixers, have them miss one of two, and not even get a game winning attempt up. The Nets are a young team, but they need to learn from their mistakes the first time, not repeat them over and over. Twice now, the Nets haven’t been able to even get an attempt at a basket in the final seconds. For once though, this one isn’t on Lawrence Frank, he is really scraping from the bottom of the barrel, and they players are just failing to execute right now. I just wish we had Devin to attempt some of these buzzer beaters though.
—
Alright, now lets turn our attention to tonight’s game. It’s a shame that Courtney Lee doesn’t get to play against his former team in Orlando, but Rafer Alston does. I know the PER says otherwise, but in my opinion Rafer has done a solid job playing point, and we aren’t losing games because of him (well, maybe besides Wed. night). Tonight though, tonight could be a different story, he could go all shot-happy on us tonight, should be interesting. Oh and CDR is back in uniform tonight, though probably not starting. Late word is that Brandon Bass isn’t active tonight (flu), in addition to Ryan Anderson (ankle) and Rashard Lewis (suspension). It is going to be interesting to see who plays tonight at the 4 for them.
Nets Projected Starting Lineup
- PG – Rafer Alston
- SG – Trenton Hassell
- SF – Bobby Simmons
- PF – Eduardo Najera
- C – Brook Lopez
Magic Projected Starting Lineup
- PG – Jameer Nelson
- SG – Vince Carter
- SF - Mickael Pietrus
- PF – Matt Barnes
- C – Dwight Howard
Their Mismatches
Vince Carter vs. Trenton Hassell - Vince Carter was on his way to a huge game before he got hurt in New Jersey. You know he is going to want to do that again. While Trenton Hassell was a defensive stopper for a long-time in the league, age is starting to catch up with him though. He hasn’t been the best defensively so far this season, but maybe that has to do with the crazy minutes he is logging.
Our Mismatches
Our 4s vs. Matt Barnes – If Matt Barnes does in fact start tonight, we will be in the rare position of our 4s having the advantage. Both Najera and Boone are bigger than Barnes, and they both look to have the advantage on paper against them. Let’s see if they can use it.
Matchup Of The Night
Brook Lopez vs. Dwight Howard - Dwight Howard got the best of Brook last time, pushing him way out of the block and not letting him get any position. Brook has been playing well as of late though. If Brook wants to be mentioned among the NBA’s best big-men, he needs to play well against the best. Right now, Dwight Howard is the best.
Keys To Victory
Defend The Three – This one is easy. The Magic are the best three point team in the league, and we are one of the worst defending the three. Hopefully we can get up for the challenge and close out hard on their shooters.
Get Dwight In Foul Trouble – Dwight Howard is so important for what the Magic do both offensively and defensively. On the offensive end, you always got to know where he is, and that allows the other Magic players to get open looks. On the defensive end, Howard erases a lot of mistakes. If he isn’t on the court, we got a chance.
Box Out - I mentioned it earlier, but three point shots usually come of the rim funny and lend themselves to long bounces. If the Nets don’t box out, they will give this dangerous 3 point shooting team more shots at the basket.
Prediction
Current Prediction Record: 4-4
Man, my gut was almost right on Wed. You would think with all of the stuff I feed it, it would treat me right. Anyway, I don’t need my gut to tell me about this won. Magic win.
Bloggers Talks: Orlando Magic
Nov 13, 2009 Bloggers Talk, Nets vs. Magic
An added treat. Yes, I know tonight is a road game, but we love the Orlando Magic match-up so much, we decided to do another Blogger’s Talk. We’re back with Andrew Melnick from the Magic blog, Howard the Dunk.
NAS: The Magic are off to a solid start despite some early injury woes. What does that say about their depth?
Melnick: It says that the Magic have excellent depth and without, they would be in some trouble. We knew the Magic would have to show off their depth early with the suspension of Rashard Lewis for 10 games, but they have had to play games without Vince Carter (ankle), Ryan Anderson (ankle), Mickael Pietrus (flu-like symptoms) and Anthony Johnson (personal reasons). The entire Magic team and especially Dwight Howard, have had a lot of problems staying out of foul trouble. To be 6-2 after all of that, it shows that the Magic have an incredibly deep team.
NAS: What are your impressions of Jason Williams off the bench at the point so far?
Melnick: Jason Williams has been better than I thought. He’s been very good as the backup to Jameer Nelson. He’s playing a little under 20 minutes per game and has been very effective. He has been solid from the outside shooting the 3-pointer (38%) and has an excellent assist-to-turnover ratio (4.6 to 1). Magic Head Coach Stan Van Gundy likes the way that Williams plays in a close game but he thinks that he gets too fancy in a less-than-tight game.
Williams has led some key runs and has been able to help Orlando extend leads while running with the second unit. He hasn’t shown many signs of rust, which is pretty surprising considering that he did not play in the NBA last season. Overall, I am very happy with Williams’ play so far.
NAS: There’s been a lot of talk about the Magic struggling on the defensive end so far. Any insight as to what’s the issues there?
Melnick: Well, first and foremost, the Magic have not been healthy. They’ve been missing Rashard Lewis, who is an underrated defender at the Power Forward position. Dwight Howard has not been able to defend the paint quite the way he likes because he has not been able to avoid foul trouble.
Magic Head Coach Stan Van Gundy blames their suspect defense on a lack of intensity, effort and intelligence. Van Gundy went so far as to call the Magic the worst defensive team in the league after Sunday night’s blowout loss in Oklahoma City against the Thunder.
At times the Magic play very good defense. In fact, on Tuesday night the Bobcats exploded in the third quarter and scored 30 points to cut what once was a 15-point Magic lead to six. Orlando then held the Bobcats to just 10 points in the game’s final quarter.
Van Gundy pointed out that Celtics finish games and play good defense for 48 minutes – they keep their intensity level up throughout the entire game. The Magic simply do not have enough effort on defense right now. Dwight Howard has been in foul trouble and has grown frustrated too quickly – he is not the same player the won Defensive Player of the Year last season right now. He is not rebounding and blocking shots like he should and at times looks apprehensive on the defensive end. Jameer Nelson has now let an opposing Point Guard have their way with him three games in row (Westbrook, Felton, Mo Williams). These are things that did not happen last season. Luckily, these are all correctable problems.
NAS: How is the return of Rashard Lewis going to affect Orlando’s rotation? How do you think it should affect the rotation?
Melnick: Rashard Lewis will be the starting Power Forward and I think that is absolutely the right move. He was an All-Star at the position; he creates matchup problems and I said earlier, is an underrated defender.
The starting lineup should consist of Jameer Nelson, Vince Carter, Dwight Howard, Rashard Lewis and either Matt Barnes and Mickael Pietrus. Right now it looks like Barnes has the edge and I like that move – Pietrus is better suited to come off of the bench. He provides instant scoring and is the perfect player to spark Orlando’s second unit.
Obviously, this is going to mean both Ryan Anderson and Brandon Bass will have reduced roles. Bass has started three games during Anderson’s absence after Anderson started the first six games of the season. Ryan Anderson can present several of the same matchup problems that Lewis creates because of his ability to shoot the 3-pointer. Bass is more of an inside player although he is an excellent shooter from the baseline.
Orlando’s second unit would be Jason Williams, J.J. Redick, Marcin Gortat, Pietrus (or Barnes) and either Bass or Anderson. I’m assuming Van Gundy will play whichever player present the biggest matchup problem for the opponent on that particular night. If that is the case, I would be very happy about it. I think that is exactly how the Magic should handle their rotation once Rashard Lewis returns.
Game 9 Scouting Report
Nov 13, 2009 Nets vs. Magic, Opponent Scouting Reports
Game 9 @ Orlando (6-3)
Projected Starting Lineup
1. Jameer Nelson | 6′0″ | 183 lbs | 29.1 MPG | 13.9 PPG | 5.8 APG | 44.8% FG | 44.8% 3 | 85.7 FT
With Jameer Nelson getting hurt right before the all-star break, everyone seems to forget about him. Not the best shooter, but he is a terrific point guard. Great at getting the ball in shooter’s hands and setting them up. Great running the pick and roll. The Nets must crowd him and not let him see the court. Usually you wouldn’t crowd a poor shooting PG, but he isn’t the quickest guy either, so he won’t blow by you (hopefully. I am looking at you Devin!)
2. Vince Carter | 6′6″ | 198 lbs. | 26.4 MPG | 18 PPG | 2.2 APG | 44% FG | 40.6% 3 | 84.6% FT
This guy looks familiar huh? When he gets it going, he is one of the toughest guys to defend in the league. Loves the pull up jumper, and will take it more often that driving. Another guy you need to crowd and force to drive, because he is less comfortable doing that. Must attack him offensively also. Force him to play D, tire him out, and hopefully his shots will fall short. Was on his way to a very big day in NJ, but got hurt, expect him to finish what he started this time around.
3. Matt Barnes | 6′7″ | 226 lbs. | 30.2 MPG | 9.7 PPG | 6.4 RPG | 39.2% FG | 20 % 3 | 78.3% FT
Aggressive guy who can play defense with the best of them. Little surprised by his lack of minutes in game one. He can hit the three too.
4. Brandon Bass | 6′8″ | 250 lbs. | 23.6 MPG | 9.8 PPG | 3.2 RPG | 53.9% FG | 0% 3 | 85.7% FT
Physical banger inside. High-motor guy who despite being a little undersized can attack the glass. Great offensively in the post, and will outwork you there. Doesn’t really fit in with Orlando’s shooting style, which is why he is better off the bench. Starting because of the injury to Ryan Anderson.
5. Dwight Howard | 6′11″ | 265 lbs. | 31.2 MPG | 18.4 PPG | 10.6 RPG | 64.7% FG | 0% 3 | 62.9% FT
Dwight Howard is on his way to being the most dominant big man in the NBA. Doesn’t have a polished post game, but that doesn’t matter, he can out muscle and out-athletic just about any big man in the league. On the defensive end, he has great help instincts and can block a lot of shots. Poor free-throw shooter, foul him instead of allowing an easy dunk.
Bench
G. J.J. Redick | 6′4″ | 190 lbs. | 30.8 MPG | 12.3 PPG | 2.7 APG | 41.5% FG | 41.9% 3 | 89.3% FT
Knock down shooter. Can’t leave him open, like Ryan Anderson, you need to close out hard on him and make him dribble. He had a couple starts when Vince Carter was hurt and played pretty well in those starts, that could be enough to boost his confidence and turn him into a knock-down shot maker like he was at Duke.
G/F. Mickael Pietrus | 6′6″ | 198 lbs. | 29 MPG | 8.6 PPG | 2.9 RPG | 35.1% FG | 36% 3 | 61% FT
Team’s 6th man last year, now starting. Not a knockdown three point shooter, but he can hit the wide open ones, so you need to close out on him. Will attack the basket more than he shoots, so be careful when closing out. His best attribute is on the defensive end though. He is a great on the ball defender and can force anyone he plays against into a bad shot.
C. Marcin Gortat | 19.8 MPG | 4.9 PPG | 5 RPG | 45.2% FG | o% 3 | 66.7% FT
Dwight Howard’s main backup. A solid player who can start for a number of teams, but he is backing up Dwight. He is a guy who can log serviceable minutes backing up Dwight.
G. Jason Williams | 6′1″ | 180 lbs. | 18.9 MPG | 5.2 PPG | 4.3 APG | 49% FG | 36.4% 3 | 77.8% FT
Experienced backup point who can do just about everything out there. He can get in the lane and create for others and he can knock down the three. Age has slowed him down a bit, and you need to attack him when he is on the defensive end. Force the coaching staff to take him out because of his lack of offense. Had 8 assists against the Nets last game.
F/C. Anthony Johnson | 6′3″ | 195 lbs. | 6.3 MPG | 1 PPG | 1 APG | 50% FG | 0% 3 | 100% FT
Journeyman backup point. With Jayson Williams now in Orlando, he won’t be getting too many minutes.
F. Ryan Anderson | 6′10″ | 240 lbs. | 24.8 MPG | 15 PPG | 5 RPG | 46.4% FG | 43.6% 3 | 75% FT
Out for tonight’s game.
F. Rashard Lewis | 6′10″ | 230 lbs. | No Regular Season Stats
Serving the ninth game of his 10 game suspension.
C. Adonal Foyle | 6′10″ | 270 lbs. | No Regular Season Stats
Out. Injured.
Offensive Tendencies:
This team loves shooting the 3 ball and they make a ton too, last game they shot 29 of them, hitting on more than 50%. Don’t be surprised if this team takes a three on a 3 on 1 fast break. If an open three isn’t there, the second option is getting the ball down low to Dwight Howard. The ball usually gets to him on the low post, and if no double comes, he makes his move to the basket. If the double comes, he is unselfish enough to kick it out and they are one of the best at moving the ball around to get the open three.
Defensive Tendencies:
With shot-eraser Dwight Howard playing behind them, the other Magic players love playing up on the basketball. They go for steals in the passing lane and try to take the ball from the ballhandler. They like to funnel guys attacking the basketball to Dwight and let him block the shot.
Keys To Victory:
Getting Dwight Howard in foul trouble. If he is off the court, it is one less thing to be worried about stopping. Also, close out on the three point shooters. This is a great 3 point shooting team, and if they are open, they will make them. We need to secure the rebounds too, 3 point shots are tough to read off the rim, and if we don’t box-out we will give the Magic numerous three-point shots, and that isn’t something we want.