Orlando Magic 118, Charlotte Bobcats 80

by Ben Q Rock on Oct 9, 2008 7:00 AM EDT in 2008/2009 Recaps Comment 3 comments

Orlando Magic rookie guard Courtney Lee jumps over Charlotte Bobcats forward Gerald Wallace to shoot a layup in the Magic's 118-80 victory.

Photo by Fernando Medina, NBAE/Getty Images

The Orlando Magic beat the Charlotte Bobcats, 118-80, on Wednesday night. The Magic held a 40-9 lead after the first quarter, in which the Bobcats shot 3-of-21 from the field and committed 6 turnovers.

I'm not sure what else there is to say, other than...

Brian Cook needs to shoot straighter. 1-for-10 from the field (and 0-for-7 from two-point range) is not going to get it done. At least he made it to the foul line. Dude took six free throws and sank them all. Useless fact: 6 free throw attempts is just one shy of tying his career high for a game.
J.J. Redick should have played more. He scored 12 points on 4 shot attempts in 14 minutes and committed only one turnover. Meanwhile, Keith Bogans didn't get off the bench. The tables have indeed turned.
Dwight Howard is ridiculous. 20 points on 9 shot attempts to go with 5 blocks. Oh, and he went 8-of-10 from the line. Holy crap, you guys.
So is Rashard Lewis. 17 points on 5-of-8 from the field. Well done, sir. He also added 4 assists and a blocked shot for good measure. He's having a fine preseason. In two games, he's a combined 13-of-21 from the field for 40 points... in 52 minutes. Instant offense!
Both teams need to wake the heck up on defense. The Bobcats and Magic combined for 68 personal fouls and 94 free-throw attempts. Were they really so gassed that they had no choice but to hack away? Curiously, despite all those fouls, only one player was disqualified. Congratulations, Hedo Turkoglu.
Jameer Nelson was nowhere to be found. The Magic shot 47.1% from the field and made 33 shots overall. How is it that Nelson, playing 21 minutes, managed only 1 assist? Anthony Johnson racked-up 7 in 4 fewer minutes. So, uh, if anyone could shed some light on that, I'd appreciate it.

Four Factors:

Team	Pace	Efficiency	eFG%	FT Rate	OReb%	TO Rate
Bobcats	99	80.8	30.9%	37.0	31.5	20.2
Magic	99	119.2	50.0%	68.6	30.0	19.2

The Magic clearly need to do a better job of handling their business on the defensive boards. At least they cleaned up their own garbage tonight; the 30.0% figure is roughly two-and-a-half times better than the 12.1% one they posted Monday night.

The preseason continues for the boys in blue-and-white this Friday when they face CSKA Moscow.

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Comments

AJ is a true point guard

he is a pass first point guard with no ego. he isn’t expected to look for his own shot which fairs well for the other four on the court. however if he and jameer were on the court at the same time, look for teams to exploit the week defense. as much as i like jameer, he will once again get beat by most point guards and shooting guards if he plays off the ball. his problem, he brings all the heart, but not enough heat to be effective. will we still win games, absolutely. the sum is greater than the whole.

by hevchv on Oct 9, 2008 8:05 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

We had a higher turnover rate against Charlotte than against Atlanta? That comes as a surprise.

Also, is a FT Rate of 68.6 a typo? My goodness.

If these two games are any indication of things to come, we still struggle on the offense glass. I’m not that concerned really, at least as along as we control the defensive glass.

As for Jameer, he is fine. It looked like he was looking for more offense this game.

'Coach, Dwight is a nice guy. Dwight don't hit anybody. But Superman will knock the crap out of you.' - D12

by Eyriq the Red on Oct 9, 2008 9:44 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

i like that aj got 7 assists. he made some very nice passes in addition to being real solid on defense. i think it’s gonna be nice to see what the team can do with a real pass first pg. it sure is the first in a long time. (Francis, Jameer, Dooling, Arroyo)

by coque429 on Oct 9, 2008 1:39 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs