Tonight's Game: Toronto Raptors at Orlando Magic - J.J. REDICK TO START
by Ben Q Rock on Nov 18, 2008 6:28 PM EST
in 2008/2009 Previews
62 comments
Toronto Raptors at Orlando Magic, Nov 18, 2008 7:00 PM EST
RED-ALERT ULTRA MEGA UPDATE: J.J. Redick will make his first career start tonight for the Orlando Magic, according to the Orlando Sentinel's Brian Schmitz. Mickael Pietrus will miss the game with bruised ribs. Adonal Foyle will replace Pietrus on the active roster.
| 2008/2009 NBA Regular Season | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
@ |  |
| 5-4 | 7-3 | |
| November 18th, 2008 | ||
| Amway Arena | ||
| 7:00 PM | ||
| Sun Sports | ||
| Probable starters: | ||
| Will Solomon | PG | Jameer Nelson |
| Anthony Parker | SG | J.J. Redick |
| Andrea Bargnani | SF | Hedo Turkoglu |
| Chris Bosh | PF | Rashard Lewis |
| Jermaine O'Neal | C | Dwight Howard |
First thing's first: there's a chance that Jose Calderon, the Toronto Raptors' star point guard who is ailing with a sore right hamstring, could still play tonight. He did some drills yesterday and will undergo treatment today. The Magic would much rather he sit tonight's game out. His backup, Will Solomon, played capably against the Miami Heat on Sunday night, but he's still shaky at best. The more the Magic see of him, and the less of Calderon, the better.
Second: the Raptors are a changed team from when the Magic defeated them in the playoffs. They removed all traces of purple from their logo, unveiled a sleek black alternate uniform, and put a nifty new third logo at the center of their home floor. But the changes they made were more than cosmetic: consider the trade in which they obtained center Jermaine O'Neal, a six-time All-Star. While he's not contributing much offensively--just 12.9 points per game on 40.4% shooting--he's anchoring the defense and, more importantly, rebounding. Yet for all the beefiness he's added to the Raptors' front line, they're still 29th in offensive rebound rate and 20th in defensive rebound rate this season. Furthermore, their opponents are getting 28% of their shot attempts close to the basket--the same percentage as last year--and they're making 51.1% of them. Those numbers will improve in time, and I believe the acquisition of O'Neal will turn out to be a net positive for Toronto in the final analysis.
The front lines of both teams will be under great scrutiny tonight. Orlando's trio of Hedo Turkoglu, Rashard Lewis, and Dwight Howard presents mis-matches galore, but the Raptors may have found a way to negate those mis-matches: by going tall themselves. Sunday against the Heat, they started 7'00" Andrea Bargnani, drafted first overall in 2006 as a center in the Dirk Nowitzki mold, at small forward alongside Chris Bosh (6'10") at power forward and O'Neal (6'11") at center. John Hollinger of ESPN wrote that it's tallball, not smallball, that's fashionable now. The strategy, surprisingly to me, worked, and Raptors beat reporter Doug Smith says all signs point toward the Raptors continuing to use it this season. How the Magic handle the Raptors' height will be interesting. Bargnani stands no chance to guard Turkoglu on the perimeter, but likewise Turkoglu is ill-suited to guard Bargnani when he posts up, as he did successfully against Miami. Perhaps more problematic for Orlando is the chore of having to defend Bosh, who has eaten Howard's lunch several times in their head-to-head matchups. He also outplayed Howard in the Olympics. I hope Dwight is sufficiently motivated to exact some revenge.
Indeed, we'll learn a lot about the Magic tonight. This game is their biggest of the season to date. A victory, especially a blowout, would go a long way toward proving their streak of seven wins in eight tries is not a fluke.
Tip's at 7 on Sun Sports, so buy this shirt while there's still time. Go Magic.
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Jermaine O’Neal’s defense was impressive in the first quarter. Could be a tough night if he keeps that up.
I think the perimeter guys need to penetrate more. Especially Hedo. that’s where all the joy came from in the playoffs last season. Bargnani at SF was let off the hook in the first quarter on too many possessions, he can’t guard Hedo.
Great run by the Magic to close the half. You could see that one coming. They’re in good position to win this game now.
Toronto will be a bit deflated, and got perhaps the best half of basketball they’ve gotten from O’Neal. It might be hard for them to repeat some of that quality from the first half.
They came turning the ball over like they did, the Raptors have no shot. Lately we have been a second half team. We’ll see if that trend continues.
by magic fanatic on Nov 18, 2008 8:13 PM EST up reply actions
Rashard and Jameer are killing it at the half
Rashard is 4-6 and 2-2 from beyond the arc. He’s got 10 points and three steals.
Jameer is 5-9 and leading the team in points with 11. Both of them are playing great.
Magic go on a 18-8 run to close the first half
Nice job by the Magic to tie the game.
by Mike from Illinois on Nov 18, 2008 8:21 PM EST reply actions
The Raptors really miss Calderon at the point
Six turnovers from Solomon so far!
by Mike from Illinois on Nov 18, 2008 8:26 PM EST reply actions
J.J. is doing really well
10 points… 3 boards and a steal… not bad for a guy pressed into an emergency start!
by Mike from Illinois on Nov 18, 2008 8:33 PM EST reply actions
Turk only 2 of 11 shooting so far
… but does have 6 assists and 3 steals.
by Mike from Illinois on Nov 18, 2008 8:42 PM EST reply actions
And that's what is kind of great this year
Say what you want about the bench, but at least we don’t live and die by three players this season.
by magic fanatic on Nov 18, 2008 8:43 PM EST up reply actions
Magic are 5-11 from the three :))
Raptors are 0-9. I like that the Magic have taken fewer three attempts—it shows they realized the threes aren’t falling and they need to make better decisions by driving to the basket.
listening to the Toronto tv crew
Comparing Orlando’s make up to the championship Spurs teams. I like.
Magic had an 11 point lead cut to six
Hopefully they can hang on in the fourth.
by Mike from Illinois on Nov 18, 2008 8:51 PM EST reply actions
Nice free throw shooting by the Magic
16 of 21… just under 80%.
by Mike from Illinois on Nov 18, 2008 9:07 PM EST reply actions
Bargnani
For a number one draft pick like he was three years ago, Andrea Bargnani has been a huge disappointment for them. His stats tonight… 1 for 7… 3 points.
by Mike from Illinois on Nov 18, 2008 9:13 PM EST reply actions
Five points in a row by the Raptors
…Magic need to finish them off here in the last two and a half minutes.
by Mike from Illinois on Nov 18, 2008 9:17 PM EST reply actions
yay! :3
I thought it was a well-played game. Toronto kept struggling up, but instead of folding, the Magic recovered and shot the ball. I liked what I saw tonight.
Nice win for the Magic
They had their best game shooting threes… 11 for 23! They were also able to force 21 Toronto turnovers and were able to overcome a huge game from Bosh.
Tough back-to-back coming up… at indiana Friday and at home against Houston Saturday.
by Mike from Illinois on Nov 18, 2008 9:28 PM EST reply actions
Three Magic players scored 22 points
… Nelson, Lewis, and Turkoglu. Turk had 16 fourth quarter points if I’m not mistaken.
by Mike from Illinois on Nov 18, 2008 9:30 PM EST reply actions
I hate to say I told you so, but...
After we lost to the Blazers everyone here was complaining and saying all sorts of bad stuff about the bench, Rashard, Reddick, etc. I told you all to calm down because we still won four out of five games, loses are bound to happen. I told ya’ll they would win four out of five again and what happened? Feels good to be right.
Anyway, good win against a team with a terrible point guard. I’m enjoying the win but lets face it, they gave us the game.
Turk was on fire in the fourth, but what is new. Rashard played well and so did Jameer. JJ also stepped up when he got the call, something most Magic fans love to see. I’m happy, I hope they can beat Indiana on the road. Not expecting a win against Houston the next night though, that is asking for a bit much I think.
Your Orlando Magic have won 8 of their last 9!!!!!
Hey, lowered expectations means not being as let down later down the road.
Coping mechanism and all that. Because basketball is srs bsns ;)
If the Magic keep up this level of play, yes they will do very well, but it’ll be hard. I hope (and think) they can do it.
by TheGiantSquid on Nov 18, 2008 9:38 PM EST up reply actions
Damn
… Bosh was in beast mode tonight.
Nice win for the Magic, albeit its not as impressive since Calderon was hurt. Still, a win’s a win.
Senior Writer for DePaul's Scout.com website
Class of 2009 - DePaul University
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