Orlando Magic News for September 11th: Praise for All-Star Dunkers, an Evaluation of Rashard Lewis, and a Marcin Gortat Programming Note

The 10 best dunkers of the last decade

It shouldn't surprise anyone to learn that Orlando Magic All-Stars and slam-dunk champions Vince Carter and Dwight Howard rank highly on Kelly Dwyer's list of the best dunkers of the last decade. Dwyer's effusive in praising Vince's dunking acument, if not his game:

Vince Carter is annoying as hell. On that, we can all agree.

But he can dunk. And he's gotten everyone.

[Frederic] Weis. Dikembe Mutombo. Alonzo Mourning, repeatedly. The Pacers, the Celtics, the whole flippin' NBA.

Not only is he the best dunker of the last decade, he's the best of all time. And that's someone with Michael Jordan bedsheets talking.

It's annoying as hell, but VC can throw down. Bow down.

Top 50: Rashard Lewis, no. 38

SLAM lists Rashard Lewis as the league's 38th-best player, and says only Howard will surpass him in importance to this year's Magic team:

After Dwight Howard, Shard will be the second-most important piece of the puzzle this season for Orlando. Dwight will continue to do his thing, looking like the Incredible Hulk under the basket. Jameer Nelson will play his part, setting the table for everyone. As revitalized as Vince Carter may be this coming season, you can’t help but think that he’s salivating at the prospect of winning while being the third or fourth banana some nights. In many ways, Shard is the glue of this team’s core.

Marcin Gortat and Poland are playing well in EuroBasket 2009

The Orlando Sentinel has a look at Marcin Gortat's performance in Eurobasket, and lists how you can watch the next games he'll play in the tournament.