Orlando Magic 121, New Orleans Hornets 86
by Evan Dunlap on Oct 13, 2009 11:51 PM EDT
in 2009/2010 Recaps
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PrintDue to a decisive edge in rebounding and three-point shooting, the Orlando Magic routed the New Orleans Hornets, 121-86, in a neutral-site game in Wichita, Kansas. Orlando sank a remarkable 19 three-pointers, and outrebounded New Orleans by a 44-25 margin. Power forward Ryan Anderson, getting his first-ever preseason start for the Magic, led all scorers with 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting (6-of-9 from three-point range). Michael Pietrus was the second-highest man, with 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting (5-of-6 on threes) in 25 minutes. He also had what might be the most eye-popping number in the boxscore: a plus/minus rating of +48, meaning the Magic outscored the Hornets by nearly two points per minute during Pietrus' time on the floor.
| Team | Pace | Efficiency | eFG% | FT Rate | OReb% | TO Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Magic | 90 | 134.8 | 75.8% | 37.5 | 27.6 | 25.6 |
| Hornets | 95.6 | 43.8% | 31.9 | 10.0 | 15.6 |
For me, the biggest takeaway from this game is defense. The Magic limited Chris Paul, the game's best point guard, to 13 points and 6 assists in 23 minutes, forcing him to shoot 2-of-8 from the field. Only David West, Julian Wright, and Marcus Thornton managed to shoot better than 50% from the field individually for the Hornets, and the rest of the team connected on 15 of its 52 shot attempts. I hesitate to read to deeply into preseason performances, but the Magic should be pleased with their defense in general. Over 5 games, the Magic have yielded 464 points in 462 possessions, for a defensive rating of 100.4; additionally, they've only allowed an effective field goal percentage of 43.8%. That's tremendous.
What isn't so tremendous, however, is the offense, or at least portions of it. Turnovers continue to derail the Magic. Look at the four factors chart above: doesn't it boggle your mind that the Magic managed 134.8 points per 100 possessions while turning it over more often than one-in-four times down the court? It makes me wonder what the victory margin would have been like were they not to waste one-fourth of their possessions. Really, think about that for a second.
Finally, how about Brandon Bass and Marcin Gortat? The Magic's reserves at power forward and center, respectively, combined for 21 points and 20 rebounds. Indeed, that twosome approximated New Orleans' entire rebounding total on its own, and they're bench players on this Magic team. Performances like tonight really illustrate Orlando's depth relative to that of the other above-average teams in the league, although we should not that New Orleans' front-line was exceptionally thin tonight, as starting center Emeka Okafor and reserve power forward Ike Diogu sat out with injuries. Still, impressive performances from Bass and Gortat, and everyone else in Magic pinstripes. What a game.
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A GREAT game indeed!
WOW! U-N-R-E-A-L… Now, Ben… what does that 48, and Gortats’ 32 +/- really mean; because I have NEVER seen anything like it in Basketball!
And look at the shooting % on 3-point shots… demoralizing…
Two things DO worry me: As you stated, those recurring turnovers… and ALMOST everyone is in it, with the possible exception of Nelson. Is it the point guards or the centers mainly? Can’t really tell from the stats… I HOPE that when it playtime, Nelson and Carter WILL put some order into this melee…
Second: What’s happening to Howard? It seems like he’s regressing; shooting less than 50% of his free throws and an average of, what… 8 points/game??? Plus, he made ANOTHER 5 turnovers tonight too! THAT is disconcerting!!!
Stil… It’s the BEST Magic game yet… and the best is yet to come!
Dwight is fine. Want to know what the "problem" is? He has so much talent around him.
Plus, he isn’t playing a ton of minutes in the pre-season so of course, his stats aren’t going to be gawdy.
I'm the other guy at Third Quarter Collapse, with a Twitter account.
"Never hate your enemies. It affects your judgement." - Michael Corleone
That's more a familiarity-based issue, than anything else.
Once the team continues to get to know each other on the court, that problem should dissipate.
I'm the other guy at Third Quarter Collapse, with a Twitter account.
"Never hate your enemies. It affects your judgement." - Michael Corleone
LOL
I'm the other guy at Third Quarter Collapse, with a Twitter account.
"Never hate your enemies. It affects your judgement." - Michael Corleone
give them time on the TOs....it's preseason
Yes, it needs fixing, but some were worried about VCs shooting % the other day, too, and he did fine on Tuesday.
Yeah, can't really overreact.
Way, way too early.
I'm the other guy at Third Quarter Collapse, with a Twitter account.
"Never hate your enemies. It affects your judgement." - Michael Corleone
Thank you Rich DeVos
Finally, how about Brandon Bass and Marcin Gortat?
And thank you Otis.
Power forward Ryan Anderson, getting his first-ever preseason start for the Magic, led all scorers….Michael Pietrus was the second-highest man…
You can beat Stan Van Gundy let his players know about that once the game was over.
I'm the other guy at Third Quarter Collapse, with a Twitter account.
"Never hate your enemies. It affects your judgement." - Michael Corleone
Wait, he beat them?
It's not a dunk unless your hand makes contact with the rim. Yeah, I'm talkin' to you, "Superman..."
by ben_gleicher on Oct 15, 2009 8:05 PM EDT up reply actions
Whoops, I meant to say bet.
I'm the other guy at Third Quarter Collapse, with a Twitter account.
"Never hate your enemies. It affects your judgement." - Michael Corleone
If there is no tv/radio/pics for a blowout preseason game...
…does it actually happen?
cue X-Files music
"My features are that of a god, its not a facade these rappers wanna be NaS"- Nasir Jones QB's Finest
Founder and only member of the Kristin Kreuk Appreciation Society, and future Husband
Still miss em: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvvgVn0gg1E
I almost went with a title like that
If a 21-year-old backup power forward scores 14 points in 2 minutes, but there’s no TV cameras around, did it really happen?
But that would’ve been too long.
Third Quarter Collapse: An Orlando Magic blog at SB Nation | Brandon Bass: "I just play hard."
LOL
I'm the other guy at Third Quarter Collapse, with a Twitter account.
"Never hate your enemies. It affects your judgement." - Michael Corleone
Ryan Anderson
Sleeper pick for MIP come the end of the season?
Check out some of my photos: My Flickr Account
LifeOfAGiant.com - Check out my blog. Photos, randomness, etc. GO!
Follow me on Twitter
Tough to predict, at this point.
I'm the other guy at Third Quarter Collapse, with a Twitter account.
"Never hate your enemies. It affects your judgement." - Michael Corleone
He won't get enough PT
It's not a dunk unless your hand makes contact with the rim. Yeah, I'm talkin' to you, "Superman..."
by ben_gleicher on Oct 15, 2009 8:36 PM EDT up reply actions
for dwight
i think with all the fame and publicity, superman lacks focus about the game. with all of his team mates getting better i think dwight is more focus on his other career. with all his promises on getting better on offense this summer i think he lacks the time for it. anyways this is just an opinion.
what we do in life echoes in eternity
I respectfully disagree.
I can not imagine the Fire that burns in that man’s heart after watching the Lakers celebrate in his House.
Dwight will be more focused than we have ever seen him once the regular season starts and someone throws the 1st punch(i.e. game with Cavs or celtics)
Keep pumpin, ain't worried bout nuttin
Busters thought we was frontin, so reload and keep dumpin
Keep Sleeping on Orlando...
Let me see if I can think of any players that are good in spite of off-season interests...
Kobe
Shaq
James
Just to name the largest player/celebrities but not to limit the amount of players that turn their attention to being one or more of the following in the off season. music label owners, rappers, business owners, commercial actors,movie actors, paid public appearances, speaking tours, book writing, music playing and humanitarian pursuits just to name a few endeavors.
Don’t read too far into a meager pre-season showing, Dwight has the hunger. He cant be blamed for being popular.
Thats me chilling with Nick Anderson
by The Magic made Lebron run off the court on Oct 14, 2009 11:38 AM EDT up reply actions
You nailed it with your last sentence.
“Dwight has the hunger, he can’t be blamed for being popular”.
I'm the other guy at Third Quarter Collapse, with a Twitter account.
"Never hate your enemies. It affects your judgement." - Michael Corleone
Sorry but your opinion is flat out wrong.
Howard is one of the hardest workers on the team, even despite all the extra-curricular activities he had during the off-season. That didn’t stop Dwight from bringing his trainers along to work out with him.
Howard is focused on one thing and that’s winning a title for the city of Orlando.
I'm the other guy at Third Quarter Collapse, with a Twitter account.
"Never hate your enemies. It affects your judgement." - Michael Corleone
Can't agree with that
Per John Denton’s interview
“Being around him during the summer, if you saw how hard he worked … he was in the gym at 5:00 in the morning much of the summer. On the days he was traveling abroad, he was in the gym”
I believe Denton – doesn’t sound like a guy who is not focused in the right direction. Until I read this I did have some concerns though!
That's precisely why I asked him because he would know more than anybody.
I'm the other guy at Third Quarter Collapse, with a Twitter account.
"Never hate your enemies. It affects your judgement." - Michael Corleone
I'm telling you guys...just wait and see...
…this season is going to be a real eye opener for the biased national basketball media.
Spreading that Calgary Flames, Montreal Expos, The U, and Orlando Magic love.
I'm proceeding with cautious optimism, but my brother said the same thing to me.
After I told him the score last night, he said, “the NBA is in for a rude awakening”. Let’s hope so!
I'm the other guy at Third Quarter Collapse, with a Twitter account.
"Never hate your enemies. It affects your judgement." - Michael Corleone
boston
i go to school in boston and keep telling my buddies that the magic have the deepest team in the league. they come back with we have rasheed wallace off the bench. man i can’t wait for the regular season. Ill be at the game in Boston in Feb.
by jwest529 on Oct 14, 2009 12:28 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Orlando's depth is insane, as long as everyone stays healthy.
I'm the other guy at Third Quarter Collapse, with a Twitter account.
"Never hate your enemies. It affects your judgement." - Michael Corleone
Surprised he didn't mention Daniels.
I'm the other guy at Third Quarter Collapse, with a Twitter account.
"Never hate your enemies. It affects your judgement." - Michael Corleone
Did anyone note the eFG%? 75.8%?
I have to image the TS% was at or near 80%, given that the team shot relatively well from the free-throw line.
I'm the other guy at Third Quarter Collapse, with a Twitter account.
"Never hate your enemies. It affects your judgement." - Michael Corleone
Im glad Ryan had a great game, but I feel like he has a shorter ceiling than everyone else does. I don’t know many PF’s that good from 3 land and offense while being a defensive beast or rebounding machine, Troy Murphy is kinda that and a great goal for Anderson to be.
I also contend the optimal lineup is Nelson, Carter, Pietrus/Barnes, Lewis, Dwight so where is Anderson? When Lewis is tired he will be great depth without changing style or dropping team play much, thats about all I see. And that doesnt even solve the problem of tough, big teams like BOS, LA maybe CLE and SAS too.
Which goes back to my projected lineup prediction from the 3QC Project a Lineup post, Bass will be more important for the defense and style he brings so long as the team adapts to it well and Bass can ball (the preseason stats are very impressive, but Ive not seen enough of his defense yet). Magic will either use Bass or Anderson only each game as the matchups dictate, but with Bass more so the Magic get more and more comfortable with a more traditional-ish lineup and so the game opponents get confounded.
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