Tonight's Game: Washington Wizards at Orlando Magic
by Evan Dunlap on Nov 8, 2008 7:13 PM EST
in 2008/2009 Previews
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PrintWashington Wizards at Orlando Magic, Nov 8, 2008 7:00 PM EST
| 2008/2009 NBA Regular Season | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
@ |  |
| 0-4 | 3-2 | |
| November 8th, 2008 | ||
| Amway Arena | ||
| 7:00 PM | ||
| FSN Florida | ||
| Probable starters: | ||
| Juan Dixon | PG | Jameer Nelson |
| DeShawn Stevenson | SG | Mickael Pietrus |
| Caron Butler | SF | Hedo Turkoglu |
| Antawn Jamison | PF | Rashard Lewis |
| Etan Thomas | C | Dwight Howard |
UPDATE 3: Juan Dixon replaced Antonio Daniels in the Wizards' starting lineup. I updated the lineup chart to reflect the change.
UPDATE 2: J.J. Redick is healthy enough to play tonight and will be available, reports John Denton. J.J. was active for Thursday's game against Philadelphia, but not available to play because he strained a tendon in his foot during pregame warm-ups.
UPDATE: I did a Q-and-A about tonight's game with Truth About It. Check it out. Also, Brian Schmitz reports Stan Van Gundy will go with an eight-man rotation for the foreseeable future. So much for developing depth.
The Washington Wizards are a bit of a mess right now. Their starting point guard, Gilbert Arenas, is out. Again. Their starting center, Brendan Haywood, could miss the whole season with a hand injury, leaving them with only Etan Thomas (who missed all of last season to recover from a heart ailment), Andray Blatche (who is... erratic... to say the least), and JaVale McGee (who is a rookie) to man the pivot. Despite having Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison, two All-Star forwards, in their lineup, as a team they struggle to do anything well. Entering last night's game with New York, the Wiz were 21st in eFG%, 22nd in offensive rebound rate, 26th in defensive efficiency, 27th in eFG% defense, and 22nd in defensive rebound rate. Were it not for their uncanny ability to get to the foul line--having Butler on your team really helps in that regard--they'd be an unmitigated disaster on offense. Unsilent Majority thinks coach Eddie Jordan, the longest-tenured helmsman in the Eastern Conference, needs to be dismissed. Pradamaster of Bullets Forever, SB Nation's Wizards blog, summed up last night's loss to the Knicks by saying, "We all stink. Everyone." It is, indeed, an unenviable situation in D.C.
As long as the Orlando Magic keep either Butler and Jamison in check (har har har), they shouldn't have much trouble winning this game. Despite their team's rough go of it so far, they are posting solid individual numbers. Ideally, Mickael Pietrus would defend Butler and Rashard Lewis would defend Jamison, leaving Hedo Turkoglu to defend DeShawn Stevenson. Butler does a great job drawing fouls, and Pietrus is a bit foul-happy, so we could see plenty of Keith Bogans tonight. Fine by me, I suppose; KeBo's defense has been above-average this season, and his rebounding (4.2 in 23.6 minutes) is a welcome surprise.
If the game gets out of hand--which it certainly might, and most likely in Orlando's favor--the Magic could dust off Brian Cook, Marcin Gortat, Courtney Lee, and J.J. Redick. Again, fine by me. They all need more playing time, especially the latter two; they need to get in-rhythym and boost their confidence. Or maybe I just believe too much in intangibles.
But let's not be too hubristic here; the Magic dropped a game last spring to a similarly incapacitated Wizards squad merely because nobody save for Hedo Turkoglu, who finished with a career-high 39 points, could not shoot straight; meanwhile, Jamison went bonkers with 31 points on 21 shots. Then again, if they run their offense against Washington the way they did against Philadelphia on Thursday, they'll get plenty of good looks at the basket.
Tip's at 7 on FSN Florida, which means most Magic fans in Orlando won't be able to watch the game at home. Ridiculous.
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DirecTV
… ah, the beauty of DirecTV. Brighthouse sucks … I don’t understand how anyone has it.
Senior Writer for DePaul's Scout.com website
Class of 2009 - DePaul University
Magic start the game 2-for-2 on three-pointers
The Wiz, frankly, stink at defending the three-point line.
Orlando is 6-of-8 from the field
Rashard Lewis has both of Orlando’s misses, and both came from downtown.
Pietrus travels while driving the lane for Orlando's first turnover
Dominic McGuire travels, giving it right back.
No turnovers for Orlando in the first quarter. Fantastic.
Misses a layup in transition, but Rashard Lewis cleans it up
Magic score 7 straight points. Wiz take a timeout.
Nice start for the Magic
They’re shooting the ball well and only have 2 turnovers so far
by Mike from Illinois on Nov 8, 2008 7:45 PM EST reply actions
Johnson doing well also off the bench
by Mike from Illinois on Nov 8, 2008 7:50 PM EST reply actions
Magic are getting outrebounded again 14-10 so far… and geez, that free throw shooting… just 50%. Otherwise, they’re playing well.
by Mike from Illinois on Nov 8, 2008 7:53 PM EST reply actions
Tough night for Pietrus so far
just 1 of 5 from the field for 3 points
by Mike from Illinois on Nov 8, 2008 7:57 PM EST reply actions
Nelson...
a 4/0 assist/turnover ratio! Bogans… 11 points!
by Mike from Illinois on Nov 8, 2008 8:00 PM EST reply actions
Magic shooting 57% the first half from the field
and 7 of 15 from three point range
by Mike from Illinois on Nov 8, 2008 8:03 PM EST reply actions
To be honest, I’m not gonna lose any sleep because the Magic most likely won’t sign McDyess… Battie is doing the job.
by Mike from Illinois on Nov 8, 2008 8:07 PM EST reply actions
Wow... Bogans leads the Magic with 13 points
by Mike from Illinois on Nov 8, 2008 8:09 PM EST reply actions
Outstanding first half...
dominating a struggling Wizards team by 19 points… shooting 59% from the field and 47% from three point range… also a 13/5 assist/turnover ratio. Wizards shooting just 39% from the floor.
by Mike from Illinois on Nov 8, 2008 8:14 PM EST reply actions
Let's put 'em away in the third quarter...
so SVG can empty the bench in the fourth.
by Mike from Illinois on Nov 8, 2008 8:15 PM EST reply actions
Three made free throws in a row for Howard
by Mike from Illinois on Nov 8, 2008 8:35 PM EST reply actions
72-47 lead for the Magic, by the way, with 6:20 to play in the 3rd
Dwight has 9 points so far this quarter.
79-52 lead for Orlando
And the Wizards’ lineup is Nick Young, DeShawn Stevenson, Andray Blatche, Oleksiy Pecherov, and JaVale McGee.
Garbage. Time.
I'm confident we won't blow this lead
by Mike from Illinois on Nov 8, 2008 8:49 PM EST reply actions
Magic shooting 55, the Wizards just 38 from the floor. Magic shooting 39% from three point range and are now outrebounding the Wizards by 28-25. Magic have a 17/9 assist/turnover ratio and 23 points from the bench.
by Mike from Illinois on Nov 8, 2008 8:57 PM EST reply actions
Lewis and Turkoglu are the only starters in there now for the Magic
by Mike from Illinois on Nov 8, 2008 8:58 PM EST reply actions
Tough night for Lewis scoringwise...
just 5 points on 2 of 10 FGs.
by Mike from Illinois on Nov 8, 2008 9:02 PM EST reply actions
Lewis and Turkoglu...
are a combined 6 for 22 from the floor.
by Mike from Illinois on Nov 8, 2008 9:09 PM EST reply actions
Dwight has hit 6 of his last 7 free throws
… he must be getting close to 50% now for the year… he came into the game at just 44%.
by Mike from Illinois on Nov 8, 2008 9:14 PM EST reply actions
What a game for Dwight...
31 points, 16 rebounds, 3 blocks!
by Mike from Illinois on Nov 8, 2008 9:17 PM EST reply actions
Correct me if I'm wrong...
I believe this is Dwight’s high for the year
by Mike from Illinois on Nov 8, 2008 9:20 PM EST reply actions
oh dear, looks like Cook's going to get a 1 trillion
But congrats to the Magic! I should not watch the games more often!
Nice stats for the Magic...
50% FG shooting, 33% on threes, outrebounded the Wizards 42-35, with a 21/12 assist/turnover ratio, with the bench contributing 35 points!
by Mike from Illinois on Nov 8, 2008 9:26 PM EST reply actions
It's not going to be as easy Monday night...
with a tough Portland team (even without Greg Oden). See you all then… enjoy the rest of the weekend!
by Mike from Illinois on Nov 8, 2008 9:27 PM EST reply actions
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