Orlando Magic News for January 26th: Mickael Pietrus Practices; Looking at Rashard Lewis', Jameer Nelson's, and Hedo Turkoglu's Chances of Making the All-Star Team
by Evan Dunlap on Jan 26, 2009 7:04 PM EST
in News
Email
PrintIf you missed erivera7's analysis of what Mickael Pietrus brings to the Orlando Magic when healthy, please make your way over to that page and read it. Great stuff. Also great: according to Brian Schmitz, Pietrus practiced today and hopes to return in time for Sunday's matinee with the Toronto Raptors.
Also from Schmitz: Magic coach Stan Van Gundy believes forward Rashard Lewis deserves a spot on the Eastern Conference All-Star team.
What do other professionals think, though? Does Lewis deserve a spot? How about Jameer Nelson? Or should Dwight Howard be the Orlando Magic's only All-Star this year? A look at what some NBA scribes around the country think, after the jump.
Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic didn't put any Magic players on his hypothetical reserve ballot; recall that none of these ballots are official because the league's coaches vote for the All-Star team.
John Hollinger of ESPN.com put Nelson on his team. He didn't put Lewis on the team, but did mention him in his explanation of why Paul Pierce should not make the team:
Yes, he's taken up the challenge of guarding top wing players and done an excellent job of it; on the other hand, [Rajon] Rondo is even better on D and outranks him in PER, and other wings who play major defensive roles (Johnson, Andre Iguodala, Rashard Lewis) also outrate him.
Kevin Pelton of Basketball Prospectus names Nelson.
Marc Stein, one of Hollinger's colleagues at ESPN.com, also named Jameer Nelson to his team.
Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel gives Nelson and Hedo Turkoglu some love.
The NBA will reveal the full All-Star rosters on Thursday night.
21 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
No Homerism intended but....
If Jameer Nelson is not on that EC reserve roster, that will be the 2nd year in a row that a Magic player would be truly snubbed from making the team. It would be a shame if he’s not voted in as a reserve.
Agreed. It's clearly obvious Nelson deserves an All-Star bid.
.. and you know what, I think he’ll get it. If he does, I’ll repeat my rationale. I really would believe it would be his performance against the Lakers a little over a week ago that may seal him a roster spot.
Senior Writer for DePaul's Scout.com website
Watching League Pass broadband
And they showed a TNT/All-Star commercial with Dwight and Jameer, with Dwight trying on various costumes for the dunk contest. Has anyone else seen this? I haven’t seen it before tonight. I tried searching for it on Youtube, but no luck, or else I would have posted it.
"Poor guy is probably out there without a flipper, swimming around in a circle, freaking out his whole family."
I still can't find a video :(
I saw it during the OKC/NJ game online.
"Poor guy is probably out there without a flipper, swimming around in a circle, freaking out his whole family."
Definitely deserves it
Jameer absolutely should be voted in on the reserve roster. He is playing some of the best basketball of his career thanks to excellent shooting and SVG’s decision to let him do it.
by Sam Rabinowitz on Jan 26, 2009 11:28 PM EST reply actions
Agreed. Welcome to 3QC btw, noticed you just joined today!
Looking forward to hearing your input as time progresses.
Senior Writer for DePaul's Scout.com website
jameer deserves it,
lewis certainly does not.
both are pretty clear cut answers, too.
www.last.fm/user/mhetrick04
Completely disagree. Rashard is just as deserving.
Comparing each player’s WARP (Wins Above Replacement Player) ..
Jameer Nelson – 5.5 WARP
Rashard Lewis 5.7 WARP
Plus .. Lewis actually holds an edge in projected eWins/Win Shares.
Jameer Nelson – projected Win Shares (9.0)
Rashard Lewis – projected Win Shares (10.1)
It’s worth repeating again. Lewis is just as deserving as Nelson in getting an All-Star spot.
Senior Writer for DePaul's Scout.com website
I'm in the middle
Rashard’s having a great year, but there are at least 4 forwards more deserving.
Try to name 4 guards who deserve to be there more than Nelson does. I’ll grant you Joe Johnson and Devin Harris.
Which 4 forwards do you deem more deserving? Just curious.
With Big Z being out with injury, Bosh will definitely get the Center reserve spot.
Granger totally deserves a Forward spot. After that, there’s no clear cut player better (statistically) than Lewis at the SF/PF position. Lewis & Pierce are neck and neck IMO (I’d give a slight edge to Pierce). There’s a plethora of other names I could drop but certainly (given the whole winning factor), Lewis & Pierce are at the top of the queue list of forwards.
At this point, I feel Boston will get two (KG, Pierce) & Orlando will get two (Dwight, Jameer). Bosh will probably get the Center spot .. Granger & Pierce will get the Forward spots .. Harris & Nelson will get the Guard spots .. after that, the two Wild-Card spots are up in the air. Personally, I’d give the two slots to VC (deserves it) & … [fill-in blank*].
*Ray Ray, Jamison, Joe Johnson, D. Lee, Okafor, Rondo all deserve a spot here. If he wasn’t hurt, this would be Big Z .. no question.
Senior Writer for DePaul's Scout.com website
WARP?
Just when I think you’ve finished, you come back with an even more obscure stat. Way to keep me on my toes.
Anyway, I think Rashard is having an All Star callibur year but he won’t get in. If Orlando was the clear No. 1 team in the east it would be different. The team doesn’t deserve three all stars, nor does Cleveland or Boston. I know this is supposed to be judged on an individual basis, but it’s not. Jameer gets in because he’s been slightly better than Rashard.
by magic fanatic on Jan 27, 2009 9:43 AM EST up reply actions
Hah. You'll like WARP.
I agree with your assessment, overall.
On a side note, here’s a link explaining fully WARP. Our friend, Kevin Pelton, is the man behind this rating system.
http://www.sonicscentral.com/warp.html
Senior Writer for DePaul's Scout.com website
Im with you on that last spot situation
That’s pretty much the team that I thought would be repping the East this ASG. With that last spot, I’d have to say that Joe Cool is the best situation there, with all due respect to Ray and ’twan.
they're not going to put a guy
in the all-star game that stands at the 3 pt line. rashard has ice runnin through his veins but he isn’t even consistent getting a good look without someone kicking him the ball. we have 3 players more valuable than him, and he’s an all-star? gimme a break man.
dude should be in the 3 pt contest, but dwight and nelson are easily our 2 mvps- i’m not sure exactly what you guys are expecting re: us being represented.
www.last.fm/user/mhetrick04
I expect Dwight & Jameer to get All-Star bids.
But you made the point that Lewis doesn’t deserve a spot, which I disagree with.
To say that he just stands around and shoot 3’s all day completely ignores his impact on the defensive side of the court. Aside from Dwight, he’s arguably the team’s second-best defender if you look at the defensive statistics that measure one’s ability.
Senior Writer for DePaul's Scout.com website
what stats?
6 rpg, .06 bpg, 1.26 steals per game?
it’s pretty tough to argue against lee being our best on the ball, perimeter defender. rashard’s been bangin bodies with big guys, sure, but that’s tough to show statistically.
you can’t really expect us to send 3 guys to a single roster (especially being 3rd in the east).
www.last.fm/user/mhetrick04
Minimum 500 minutes played:
3nd on the team in DRtg (102).
2nd on the team in Defensive Win Shares (2.7).
.. and he’s giving up only 17.8 points per 48 minutes, which is just a .1 points off the leader, which is Dwight Howard.
Doing all that while playing out of position.
Looking at per-game stats is a poor way to judge how good/bad a player is defensively.
Senior Writer for DePaul's Scout.com website
i guess i really don't know what to tell you
if you honestly believe the third best team in the east should send 3 guys to the all-star game. it’s not happening man.
www.last.fm/user/mhetrick04
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
