Orlando Magic 118, Charlotte Bobcats 80

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:

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.