Orlando Magic 96, Boston Celtics 94
by Ben Q Rock on Jan 29, 2010 2:43 AM EST
in 2009/2010 Recaps
135 comments
The Orlando Magic flipped their own script against the Boston Celtics on Thursday night, rallying from a deficit that reached as many as 16 points to win by a 96-94 final due to a dominant 4th quarter. Rashard Lewis scored 23 points to lead Orlando, and made the winning basket with 1.3 remaining off a broken play that began with J.J. Redick scrambling to pass to Vince Carter 40 feet from the basket. Center Dwight Howard proved to be the real difference in the game for Orlando. On a night when it missed 18 of its 24 14 of its 20 three-point attempts, Orlando had no choice but to force-feed Howard in the post against the single-coverage of Kendrick Perkins, Rasheed Wallace, and Kevin Garnett. Howard, who has struggled to score against the Celtics, responded with an eye-popping array of finishing maneuvers. He shot 8-of-12 from the field and, to my recollection, did so without so much as attempting a dunk. Nothing came easy for Howard tonight, but it didn't matter: he still managed to put the ball in the cup. In any case, Orlando overcame a considerable deficit, at full strength, against a contending team, at home, while spotting its opponent 18 points from beyond the three-point arc. That's quite the victory.
| Team | Pace | Efficiency | eFG% | FT Rate | OReb% | TO Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Celtics | 87 | 107.7 | 55.4% | 16.2 | 16.7 | 17.2 |
| Magic | 86 | 111.6 | 47.3% | 35.6 | 39.5 | 18.6 |
| Green denotes a stat better than the team's season average; red denotes a stat worse than the team's season average. | ||||||
And here's where my sophisticated analysis comes in: the game really boiled down to the teams' ability to make shots. Boston hit almost everything it put up, no matter the situation. Hot shooting was about the only thing that put the Celtics up big. Ray Allen made each of his first 7 shots, for instance. Wallace, shooting 29.8% for the season on three-pointers, made his first 3 attempts from beyond the arc; fittingly, he airballed his game-winning attempt. Rajon Rondo, a career 24.3% three-point shooter, made one while falling into Orlando's bench as the shot-clock expired to stop a 7-0 Magic run. The Celtics' second quarter really sums up their entire game nicely: they made 5 three-pointers and a layup in the period, which accounted for their only points. Lots of treys, the infrequent foray inside, and very few foul shots for Boston, which fell into a trap that sometimes claims the Magic, namely the tendency to fall in love with the long ball.
Contrast that approach with Orlando's tonight, which was to work the ball inside to Howard, if for no other reason than the three-pointers just wouldn't fall. Lewis threw the Celtics a curve, so to speak, by voluntarily passing up the three-pointer in order to drive the ball against the gimpy Garnett. Lewis' willingness to put the ball on the floor, and ability to pull-up off the dribble without any hesitation, really boosted Orlando's offense tonight.
There are even bigger developments than that one from the Magic's perspective, however. Trailing by 11 points to start the 4th quarter, coach Stan Van Gundy elected to play Howard and his backup, Marcin Gortat, together, with Gortat manning the power forward slot. Ordinarily, this lineup is a disaster on offense due to both players' lack of range, which shrinks the defense. In a game in which Orlando needed to score quickly if it hoped to win, I questioned the wisdom of such a pairing. Boy, was I wrong. Gortat was content to stay out of the way on offense, which enabled the Magic to continue running post-ups for Howard on the left block. The Gortat/Howard tandem was key defensively in cleaning up point guard Jason Williams' frequent mistakes, namely his consistent yielding of driving lanes to Rondo, arguably the league's fastest player.
But there's another point: with the game on the line, Van Gundy called upon Williams, and not the starter Jameer Nelson, to run the show. Again, it proved to be a solid move. Williams hit two three-pointers in the fourth quarter, pushed the tempo when appropriate, and generally didn't screw up. Nelson didn't have a bad game by any means--his 10-point burst to bail out a flagging Magic offense in the first quarter looks pretty important in retrospect--but Williams was at the helm when Orlando made the game competitive again, and Van Gundy trusted him to keep it going. At times, notably with Lewis and Ryan Anderson, Van Gundy will go with the player with the better track record as opposed to the one actually playing better now, what Eddy's magicfanintn's termed the "reputation vs. production" approach. Tonight, Van Gundy did something different by sticking with the veteran over the recent All-Star. Nelson did see the floor in the 4th quarter, but only to defend three-point marksman Eddie House on the Celtics' final possession.
Carter was also conspicuously absent for much of the 4th quarter, and apparently with good reason. When finally subbed in for the first time, he could not drive by the considerably slower, heavier Wallace, who managed to poke the ball away for a turnover. Rondo dove onto the ball and called timeout, which prompted the Amway Arena crowd to boo Carter. He finished with 6 points on 2-of-13 shooting, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 turnovers. The improved decision-making he displayed in last week's games must have been a mirage, because he didn't look like a very willing passer tonight. I estimate he missed Gortat on an open roll to the rim at least 3 times tonight, with each instead resulting in a contested, off-balance look for Carter. Another game to forget for Orlando's highest-paid player and nominal "go-to guy," who became a mere spectator as Orlando went to Howard and Lewis down the stretch.
Orlando's defense looked good tonight, too. Poor rotations and pick-and-roll defense helped the Celtics reverse the ball to an open three-point shooter in the first half, but for much of the second, that pick-and-roll defense tightened up. And the "roll"? Boston could forget about it. As Tom Haberstroh of Hoopdata.com pointed out on Twitter, the Celtics missed 12 of their 20 shots at the rim tonight, bumping their season total to 30 misses in 50 rim attempts versus the Magic. Nothing easy inside for the Celtics, due in large part to Howard and Gortat, who combined to tally 7 blocked shots.
For the rest of the season, I doubt we see Howard and Gortat play together very often, or Lewis at small forward. But those rotational tweaks worked tonight, a credit to Van Gundy and the players. For me, though, the biggest wrinkle tonight was Howard's ability to finish difficult shots against the stout Perkins. If the Magic can begin counting on Howard to create for himself down low, against elite defenders like Perkins, then they'll be in excellent shape for the next decade. Nevermind the rest of the season. With apologies to Lewis, Howard gets the game-ball tonight, with Gortat also earning kudos for playing Garnett, a future Hall-of-Famer, to a virtual draw.
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I think it only worked tonight because Paul Pierce is the only SF just as slow as Rashard, so he doesn't really become a defensive liability.
It wouldn’t really work against the likes of the Hawks or the Cavs IMO.
NBA Championship or bust in '09-10!!!! GO MAGIC!!!!
Yes, I agree.
But like someone said, it could be something to try against the Lakers too.
Magic Fan since the 1992-1993 Season.
by North of the South on Jan 29, 2010 12:17 AM EST up reply actions
maybe not against the hawks, but we usually do well against them anyways wihtout tinkering our rotation
i think against cav, it could be helpful….cavs sometimes play big with combo of either shaq, z or anderson….i think that lineup would be good against them
Completely disagree.
Lewis is a matchup nightmare for the Cavaliers at power forward.
I write for Orlando Pinstriped Post and have a Twitter account.
"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat
Agreed that Lewis is a matchup nightmare at PF
If they play Z at the 4, Lewis has vastly superior foot speed, and Z’s not quick enough to play help defense if Lewis has him at the perimeter. If it’s Sideshow Bob, he’s shown a huge vulnerability to Lewis’ jab step and pump fakes. Varejao’s quicker than Z, but doesn’t seem to have the skillset to handle Lewis.
At SF, Lewis is playing against James. Bad idea. Lewis isn’t quick enough to defend James, isn’t as strong, and can’t afford to get into foul trouble, and James is able to defend Lewis better than Z or Varejao. Much better to throw Barnes/Pietrus/the kitchen sink at Lebron.
"When you make your final stand
I'll be right there
I'll never leave
And all I ask of you is
Believe"
Exactly.
I write for Orlando Pinstriped Post and have a Twitter account.
"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat
hey E, you tweeted earlier that ESPN knows how to make a big Magic win against an elite team inconsequential…i try to avoid watching ESPN as much as possible and avoided watching last night because i knew they probably wouldn’t give the Magic their due respect. but what actually happened? how inconsequential did they make it seem?
Spreading that Calgary Flames, Montreal Expos, The U, and Orlando Magic love.
It wasn't the television coverage, it was the online coverage.
For a few hours after the game was over, ESPN acted as if the win didn’t exist.
I write for Orlando Pinstriped Post and have a Twitter account.
"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat
The big story today on Sportscenter was Boston losing.
Then getting ready for the Boston-LA game.
Boston losing, see? Not Orlando winning.
I could care less about the coverage. I don’t even watch a lot of television.
I write for Orlando Pinstriped Post and have a Twitter account.
"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat
It's just funny at this point to me. Doesn't even really rile me up.
I was laughing listening to Reggie Miller act like Dwight just worked in a running hook shot into his repertoire. They only talk about the Magic if there’s some “rift” between Stan and the team. Next week on some nationally televised game, the pre-game show will consist of talking about how Dwight doesn’t have a post game and the Magic live and die by the three. It’s a broken record.
All watching TV does is really rot your teeth.
No mistakes in the tango, darling. Not like life. Simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get all tangled up, you just tango on.....
Oh, hes in the laegue two and Jayson Thomson and that Boggins dude on Milwokee, and Occur for the Jizz. Its a talented laegue.--Kfan in Korea
Basically.
I write for Orlando Pinstriped Post and have a Twitter account.
"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat
so sad. makes me want the Magic to win it all that much more. so ESPN has to cover it. :)
Spreading that Calgary Flames, Montreal Expos, The U, and Orlando Magic love.
You want the Magic to win so ESPN will tell you how much they love the Magic?
That seems very unbalanced and stupid to me.
No mistakes in the tango, darling. Not like life. Simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get all tangled up, you just tango on.....
Oh, hes in the laegue two and Jayson Thomson and that Boggins dude on Milwokee, and Occur for the Jizz. Its a talented laegue.--Kfan in Korea
And KingJafi.
I totally understand your POV because a long time ago I used to share it. It’s just that, if nothing else, I think ESPN is basically pointless when you have a place like OPP. (And I didn’t think highly of ESPN opinion before I discovered blogs.)
Maybe that’s just me.
No mistakes in the tango, darling. Not like life. Simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get all tangled up, you just tango on.....
Oh, hes in the laegue two and Jayson Thomson and that Boggins dude on Milwokee, and Occur for the Jizz. Its a talented laegue.--Kfan in Korea
True and true.
Just take it in stride and enjoy the laughs when the Magic make them eat crow. Honestly, I’d rather have them ignore the Magic than continue to perpetuate ignorant claims some “analysts” have.
Twin Towers!
Was that Olajuwon and Sampson out there? Sick!
LT Style, Electric Glide
"It's all part of the plan." Jeff Moorad and The Joker in the Dark Knight.
"Just because you went to the Finals last year, you can’t go out on the floor and expect teams to lay down. We got no heart. You can only make so many excuses. Everybody has to come and play hard, not just one or two guys."-Matt Barnes
If not bench, (cause if they haven't by now, then they wont) at least limit his minutes.
So he wont get rusty, and can heal himself at the same time.
Magic Fan since the 1992-1993 Season.
by North of the South on Jan 29, 2010 12:22 AM EST up reply actions
Carter did have a bad game but i think he was trying to do too much by himself again
he needs to think like he was the last couple games, he is great guy in our system he just needs to make the full adjustment to our system!!! PLEASE CARTER< WENEED YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm just going to repeat this line - the All-Star break should do him some good.
I write for Orlando Pinstriped Post and have a Twitter account.
"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat
Hopefully, this win will be the spark the team needs to carry through to the end of the season and into the playoffs.
Especially if we can carry this over to a win over the Hawks on Saturday night.
NBA Championship or bust in '09-10!!!! GO MAGIC!!!!
by malars on Jan 29, 2010 12:11 AM EST reply actions 2 recs
Well, we've got almost half a season to go.
And several more big games before then.
It's a good thing Larry Bird's initials weren't MJ. '80s basketball was confusing enough -- Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Marles Jarkley, Mominique Jilkins... Makeem Jolajuwon...
Nothing is a guarantee with his Magic team but yeah, hopefully this is the spark the rest of the year.
I write for Orlando Pinstriped Post and have a Twitter account.
"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat
Carter is clearly not right
He appeared to hurt hs shoulder against the Grizz, and then again right before the half in this game. He needs to be sat for 2,3, 5 or 10 games until he be competent on the court.
by Half-man Half-gortat on Jan 29, 2010 12:15 AM EST reply actions
Like I said for a million times it seems, the All-Star break should do him some good.
I write for Orlando Pinstriped Post and have a Twitter account.
"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat
I'm tired
Of watching Carter lie on the floor rolling around game after game. I’m tired of watching him turn into a black hole when the ball is thrown to him. I’m tired of watching him stunt Lewis’ productivity, of watching him turn a team into an iso fest. And I’m getting very tired of seeing him in a Magic uniform. Experiment over.
by telka on Jan 29, 2010 12:25 AM EST via mobile reply actions
i agree
"Blue and white...ignite...BOOOM! - Dwight Howard
by magic12ball on Jan 29, 2010 12:43 AM EST up reply actions
he shut down pierce
its really weird to see vince play such fantastic defense and such awful offense. its a flip of the script really, tho hes never been as bad a defender as his rep
by nickswarriors16 on Jan 29, 2010 9:39 AM EST up reply actions
When he's motivated, Carter can be a net positive on defense.
For people trashing him for his offense, ya’ll can’t deny that he’s been competing hard on the defensive side of the ball. There were a few times when he really got into Pierce’s head.
I write for Orlando Pinstriped Post and have a Twitter account.
"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat
Good God, I would have booed at Vinsanity too if I were there.
Am I the only one’s whose blood starts boiling as soon as he touches the ball, because I know there’s going to be an off-balanced, janky looking shot? Yes, Hedo would take wackadoodle shots every now and then, but he would also drive to the basket and make 3’s, or AT LEAST drive the offense and alley-oop to Dwight.
The Magic definitely need to make a trade and get rid of VC. If there was only some way to get Turk back, who’s not doing that hot in Toronto. Maybe a three-way team exchange?
Or how about VC to New York for Nate Robinson (and whatever other players are needed for salary purposes)? No one will touch VC now though…
And please, let’s see some more Twin Towers action! i’ve been saying this all season since the Magic signed Gortat to a big contract. You just have to give them some games to work it out. With Gortat’s passing skills and Dwight’s newfound “range”, it’s gotta work at least against the big frontlines in the league.
And finally, why on earth did SVG sub VC back in to the game at the end??! Really Stan, what made you think that Vince would at last pull out a decent play?
by A-lo on Jan 29, 2010 1:05 AM EST reply actions 1 recs
The last play was designed for Vince, I really can't get it how SVG have so much trust on VC.
Luckily, they defended him well. And Shard bailed out SVG. Shard could have dunked the ball, it would definitely looked pretty. :D
Look at SVG's postgame comments on NBA...It'll clarify that...
I see where you’re coming from, but Van Gundy’s reasoning was correct in that situation.
Yeah, probably. He was right with that, Vince can definitely run the clock.
But the previous occasion were he subbed VC for JJ, were VC didn’t play almost the entire 4th quarter, then VC turned it over as a result (and got booed for it). I didn’t really think that was a good play by SVG. But i hear yah, he definitely have a reason on that last play going to VC.
yeah it seems that SVG is playing the odds...
…even in the Sentinel he says that VC been in that situation 100s of times so he comfortable giving him the ball. Honestly though, I just don’t see the point. I don’t appreciate the crowd booing VC though. That’s not fair.
Spreading that Calgary Flames, Montreal Expos, The U, and Orlando Magic love.
the only reason i can think of is the fact that he leads the league in gamewinning shots in the last few years
look it up, i think hes second or third now, bc kobe/lebron have moved ahead, but even this year his percentages seem to go way up at the end of games (excludng the memphis game, and i maintain only the first of those was a bad shot. and svg also said it was a poorly designed play, which it was. pierce might be one of the best defenders of an entry pass in the league, at least for SF’s. remember how hard vince had to work to get that shot against the celts the first time?
by nickswarriors16 on Jan 29, 2010 9:42 AM EST up reply actions
Agreed!
He has become the Zach Randolph of perimeter players. Its a black hole; once he gets the ball, he’s shootin!
LT Style, Electric Glide
"It's all part of the plan." Jeff Moorad and The Joker in the Dark Knight.
"Just because you went to the Finals last year, you can’t go out on the floor and expect teams to lay down. We got no heart. You can only make so many excuses. Everybody has to come and play hard, not just one or two guys."-Matt Barnes
Hey, that's not fair.
…to Zach Randolph.
It's a good thing Larry Bird's initials weren't MJ. '80s basketball was confusing enough -- Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Marles Jarkley, Mominique Jilkins... Makeem Jolajuwon...
Vince Carter isn't going anywhere.
As for the final play, I agree with Van Gundy, you play the odds and the odds are that Carter succeeds.
I write for Orlando Pinstriped Post and have a Twitter account.
"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat
Man that felt good!!
There were a lot of positives in this game: JJ coming though when it counts, Dwight’s offensive and defensive dominance, Rashad’s big offensive game, Gortat’s 17 foot bank shot (I actually giggled after that play) … even Barns showing Dwight that he’s got his back after he was hackled by Pierce…
But what I loved most was the aggressiveness and resilience the team displayed; When the threes weren’t falling they buckled up on defense, attacked the basket and went to the line often, resulting in a handful of Boston players ending up in foul trouble, and ultimately making it easier for Dwight to operate in the paint late in the game … The vigor and resilience the team showed tonight reminded me of the mental clout Orlando displayed on the regular last season, and hopefully a sign of good things to come..
Vince stunk up the joint though….. I can’t find words to describe how severely his last turnover altered my wellbeing..
Fact: I have never met a Magic player, cheerleader or fan in person...
You nailed it with one word, resilience.
This was a type of game last year’s Magic would have won.
I write for Orlando Pinstriped Post and have a Twitter account.
"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat
Reminds me of...
…the Lakers game in LA last January.
It's a good thing Larry Bird's initials weren't MJ. '80s basketball was confusing enough -- Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Marles Jarkley, Mominique Jilkins... Makeem Jolajuwon...
Similar, given the caliber of opponent.
I write for Orlando Pinstriped Post and have a Twitter account.
"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat
I'll just go ahead and take credit.
I think I coined the reputation versus production thing in the comments here: http://www.orlandopinstripedpost.com/2010/1/20/1261366/a-quantitative-look-at-the-orlando#29183317
"I’ll go into practice and strangle every single one of them." Kobe's plan to get his teammates engaged after they lost the season series to the Cavs. Leadership.
The ironic thing about Vince not being a willing passer...
is he was the only one in the first half who had an assist.
The intensity has to go up, up! Not down...UP! -Stan Van Gundy
by cgsimone on Jan 29, 2010 1:12 AM EST reply actions 1 recs
LOL
I write for Orlando Pinstriped Post and have a Twitter account.
"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat
Interesting Hollinger tweets on Carter. Love the first one (last in this post) about D. lol.
Magic going offense-defense with Carter and Gortat right now. it’s defensible. RT@AMas92 @johnhollinger why on earth is he back in the game? about 2 hours ago from web
Second smattering of boos I’ve heard for Carter tonight, after he twice fails to get past a 300-pound Rasheed Wallace. about 2 hours ago from web
Lazy play by Vince to end quarter — he elected to stay under basket by me and watch House’s 3 rather than run back. 73-61 Cs, feels worse about 3 hours ago from web
Vince still can’t find the basket with a GPS and three sherpas, but I haven’t seen him this pumped up on D since, well, ever. about 4 hours ago from web
"I’ll go into practice and strangle every single one of them." Kobe's plan to get his teammates engaged after they lost the season series to the Cavs. Leadership.
And, Matty Barnes in Pierce's grill.....?
Nice.
"I’ll go into practice and strangle every single one of them." Kobe's plan to get his teammates engaged after they lost the season series to the Cavs. Leadership.
Loved that too.
I’ve always said that’s an in-tangible that Barnes brings; no BS from nobody.
LT Style, Electric Glide
"It's all part of the plan." Jeff Moorad and The Joker in the Dark Knight.
"Just because you went to the Finals last year, you can’t go out on the floor and expect teams to lay down. We got no heart. You can only make so many excuses. Everybody has to come and play hard, not just one or two guys."-Matt Barnes
I clapped.
I write for Orlando Pinstriped Post and have a Twitter account.
"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat
Heh. LOL.
"I’ll go into practice and strangle every single one of them." Kobe's plan to get his teammates engaged after they lost the season series to the Cavs. Leadership.
by magicfaninTN on Jan 29, 2010 2:21 PM EST up reply actions
I don’t think the Magic need to trade Vince…I do think he should take a reserve role until he can get healthy and play the way SVG needs him to play… I mean come on, he wasn’t playing bad in preseason and he had a great game in Boston. He’ll get back to being productive, hopefully before the playoffs! How about Dwight finally showing up Perkins and Wallace… How about Barnes sticking up for Dwight!?! That was my favorite part of the game. Enough is enough! Barnes is probably the biggest aquisition for the Magic in my opinion! He brings energy, hustle and toughness. I didn’t see much hacking after that.
by jonathan.rivera84 on Jan 29, 2010 1:14 AM EST reply actions
Yeah, Barnes is the type of guy the Magic have needed for years.
Someone that is willing to step up for his teammates and be an enforcer, of sorts.
I write for Orlando Pinstriped Post and have a Twitter account.
"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat
I agree with Hollinger…the last couple of games Vince has been playing decent defense. And he’s been getting pumped up. You can tell his shooting slump is all mental and part health. He slaps his hands together everytime he makes a shot lol, he’ll come around.
by jonathan.rivera84 on Jan 29, 2010 1:15 AM EST reply actions
Yeah, it’s almost as if he’s out there pushing to hard trying to prove something.. and the fact that his shots are not falling further clouds his judgment, resulting in him forcing things even harder. That’s one vicious circle I hope he snaps out of sooner than later…
Fact: I have never met a Magic player, cheerleader or fan in person...
Like I said, the All-Star break should do him some good.
I write for Orlando Pinstriped Post and have a Twitter account.
"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat
Okay.....that should just go in your sig. :-)
"I’ll go into practice and strangle every single one of them." Kobe's plan to get his teammates engaged after they lost the season series to the Cavs. Leadership.
by magicfaninTN on Jan 29, 2010 2:21 PM EST up reply actions
The Magic missed 14 of their 20 three point attempts
…according to the nba.com box score, not 18 of 24 three pointers as was mentioned in the recap. Other than that minor glitch, good analysis as always.
A few random stats…
The Celtics outscored the Magic 82-70 from the field thanks to their outstanding three point shooting, but the Magic outscored Boston 26-12 from the FT line.
The Magic shot 12 of 16 in the fourth quarter, including 4 of 5 on threes, and 7 of 9 from the FT line.
D12 was 5 of 6 from the field and 1 of 2 from the FT line in the fourth.
Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett combined to shoot 5 of 20 from the field for 18 points.
Magic starting frontline outscored Boston’s starting frontline 47-22 and outrebounded them 24-12.
"Orlando Magic... 2009 Eastern Conference Champions"
by Mike from Illinois on Jan 29, 2010 2:15 AM EST reply actions
Some very telling stats there. Good stuff.
by derekk on Jan 29, 2010 2:20 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
this VC thing really really needs to get addressed. Like really….really really someone please do something and get this guy out of here…We should have paid Turk the 10mil he wanted AND the 17 mil were paying VC just for us not to have to bear watching carter wear a magic jersey
you know i was discussing this with a friend of mine and he brought up a good point which is that initially paying Turk that money would of been fine for the first two years but that contrary to VC who would be off the books in two years…you still have to pay Turk for 3 more years. in a salary cap world that’s a tough pill to swallow especially if Hedo become ineffective. with that said, it is a shame Turk is no longer on the team…i cant say it enough.
Spreading that Calgary Flames, Montreal Expos, The U, and Orlando Magic love.
The season isn't over.
Carter isn’t going to shoot like he has for the rest of the year, it’s just not happening.
I write for Orlando Pinstriped Post and have a Twitter account.
"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat
But, please, oh please, don't let it get WORSE instead of better.
It will be interesting to see if he improves with a little time to rest the shoulder.
"I’ll go into practice and strangle every single one of them." Kobe's plan to get his teammates engaged after they lost the season series to the Cavs. Leadership.
by magicfaninTN on Jan 29, 2010 2:23 PM EST up reply actions
Calm down man
VC will help when he gets back to form. He was playing very well until the injuries slowed him down.
I don't, it has it uses but not all the time.
I write for Orlando Pinstriped Post and have a Twitter account.
"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat
VC doesnt deserve to wear Magic blue. Send him to NY or back to NJ.
"Blue and white...ignite...BOOOM! - Dwight Howard
Give it some time.
I write for Orlando Pinstriped Post and have a Twitter account.
"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat
Too bad this isn't a Don Nelson team
Otherwise, Bass would probably be behind Anthony Johnson & JJ Redic for power foward as well.
Even though the Hippopotamus lacks a stinger for a tail, a truly wise man would rather be sat on by a bee. ~ Banacek
After how Gortat played at power forward? Bass will be lucky to see any playing time.
I write for Orlando Pinstriped Post and have a Twitter account.
"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat
Wow… Yep.. Well I can still find reasons to use him, he’s more offensive, has more range.. But gortat plays better D, can still hit some short/mid range shots too. I think Bass is more athletic and mobile, but Gortat also seems quite mobile and his better length, true center and blocking skills make him at PF with Dwight at C very, very good.. And I saw no real loss on the offensive side. The Magic offense has been no powerhouse anyways, I hope to see the twin towers more.
by derekk on Jan 29, 2010 6:08 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
i was all for bass until the memphis game
he really stunk up the plavce and i believe him coming in was actually the horrible turning point in that game
Bass can be shipped for useful piece?
His only crime it would seem it not playing…
"Memphis then used a pick-and-roll to get Conley free and he drove past Shaquille O'Neal for the go-ahead layup."
Well, he has to be not playing for a reason though. It's probably more than just a depth issue.
NBA Championship or bust in '09-10!!!! GO MAGIC!!!!
even if its a fit issue, he can still be useful somewhere else
he didnt lose all his ability, there are teams out there that could use him
by nickswarriors16 on Jan 29, 2010 10:21 AM EST up reply actions
He's not playing because Anderson is better than him.
And now with what Gortat did at power forward last night? Bass will be lucky to play, at all.
I write for Orlando Pinstriped Post and have a Twitter account.
"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat
You guys need to ease off of VC
The dude has been playing hurt. I see a lot of the people who are talking smack about Carter talked the same smack about Hedo. I still think Carter will be key for us down the stretch, a lot of times when players change teams they take a year to get acclimated, I just hope that he gets healthy by the playoffs and everyone gets on the same page. If you notice, Carter is playing very good defense, but is tentative to shoot the ball. Nelson is in the same boat, once those two get healed up and in a groove, we’ll be fine. I do wish we would run some better plays on offense though. No assists in the first half isn’t all the player’s fault, the coach needs to step up and change some things to get the offense flowing better.
Carter will figure it out, eventually. At least he should.
I agree that the angry mob needs to take it easy on Vince for now.
I write for Orlando Pinstriped Post and have a Twitter account.
"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat
And I think all of the Magic's problems
Can be traced to one single thing, the official Magic blog Third Quarter Collapse. Losing Hedo and Lee didn’t do it, it was the name change. Damn you editors!
Agreed. It probably threw the team off
I have it on good authority* that at least 8 players read this blog.
- The “good authority” is actually my overactive imagination.
Even though the Hippopotamus lacks a stinger for a tail, a truly wise man would rather be sat on by a bee. ~ Banacek
The one thing that really pissed me off last night is just how loud those Celtic fans were at the Arena.
It reminded me of a high school game where one side of the gym rooted for home school and the other side roots for the away school. The Magic crowd was ultimately louder but still the Cs fans were pretty loud and were in good numbers. It was more than the playoffs last year for sure. At least 99% of them were smashed drunk by the middle of the 3rd quarter and comatose in the 4th.
I thought I’d never say this, but thank God for JJ. If this guy’s confidence keeps going up and he starts feeling like he’s in college again…it might be worth running late game plays to him until the rest of the league catches on. The guy was pretty much lights out at Duke.
Spreading that Calgary Flames, Montreal Expos, The U, and Orlando Magic love.
Again, Northeast transplants.
I write for Orlando Pinstriped Post and have a Twitter account.
"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat
i lived in boston for 3 years when i was in law school and lived 3 blocks from the Fleet Center err BankNorth Garden err TD Garden so i had constant exposure to these fans. i went to every magic game (with some piece of magic gear) and they were never really obnoxious like they are at Amway. granted this was when the celtics were the worst team in the league…but i just get a feeling these celtics fans at magic games are transplants as you point out that think they need to be act like annoying and abrasive jerks cause that’s what us floridians picture or expect from boston fans.
Spreading that Calgary Flames, Montreal Expos, The U, and Orlando Magic love.
I went to the Celtics game last year that we lost at home.
It was the worst sporting experience of my life. I had 4 Celtics fans sitting directly behind me. They were basically to normal Boston sports fans what the cast of “Jersey Shore” is to normal people from Jersey. Wasted, obnoxious, screaming profanity when there was this family with small kids right in front of me, spilling beer all over the place (including my ex’s jacket).
Didn’t help that we lost and they just started yelling “SCOOOAAAWWWWBOOOAAAWWWD” in the most obnoxious Boston accent possible in the 4th quarter.
Vince Carter has been playing awful, but we gotta keep him
He is a player that can take over the game when everyone else isnt playing well. Like on christmas day, dwight rashard and nelson were all struggling, and vc carried us to a close game. He is another weapon we can have, thats why the magic are good we have so many weapons. i just wish we wouldnt run pick and roll with him so much. Last night we had great balance on offense i thought, except when vc isnt playing well we should have given the ball to dwight or rashard more. overall it was a great win for us to comeback
Well, with the game in the balance, Howard got a steady diet of post-ups and he delivered.
Against Perkins and Wallace, no less. That’s encouraging and a potential game-changer in the matchup.
I write for Orlando Pinstriped Post and have a Twitter account.
"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat
I think that may have been
the most important aspect of the game. I think Dwight finally had something positive to build off of after playing either of those two guys. Perkins and Wallace get into Dwight’s head more than anyone else in the league, so if he can get confidence against them, then teams like the Lakers should be easier to handle
so much more than a big mid-season win against a contender
after the rough streak, we really needed this.
I agree, this was a win the Magic needed.
I write for Orlando Pinstriped Post and have a Twitter account.
"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat
That stretch in the 1st quarter where Jameer Nelson took over and scored 6 straight points.
We need Meer to do that more often, then sustain it through an games.
NBA Championship or bust in '09-10!!!! GO MAGIC!!!!
I think the injuries
just made us do a full circle, at the beginning of the year we were pretty awesome, once Nelson and Carter get rest and healthy, I think we have a great chance to peak at the right time with a mountain size chip on the shoulder from all the people who dismissed the Magic (I personally have never recovered from the Washington Wizards being forecasted as finishing above the Magic).
A couple of other observations...
Our end of quarter defense was awful, except when it counted I guess (though Sheed did get a good look). Also, for the first time in a while (especially against the Celtics), it seemed that a majority of the loose balls were falling our way. It was nice to see…
NBA Championship or bust in '09-10!!!! GO MAGIC!!!!
Wallace got a good look, but he's exactly the person you wanted shooting the ball.
It wasn’t Allen or Pierce.
I write for Orlando Pinstriped Post and have a Twitter account.
"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat
I will still vote for Ryan Anderson - Dwight Howard combo
If they really want range, I think Ryan Anderson moving up to the PF and Lewis moving to SF will be a great combo. Not to take away from Gortat..they both played well last night and caught the Celtics off-guard but I really see a lot of potential with Anderson.
As for VC…I really feel bad for the guy right now. Even my 76 year old mom was booing him last night. She didn’t know even know his name but she said with the game on the line, “don’t give the ball to that guy wearing a shirt underneath…he’s not good!” I really got a kick out of that. I hope VC gets over this slump soon or after the All-Star break. I just don’t get it why they’re still playing him a lot…it’s obviously he’s not 100% healthy with his shoulder. He always appears hurt. Redick is doing a pretty good job manning the G position.
LOL.
"don’t give the ball to that guy wearing a shirt underneath…he’s not good!"
"I’ll go into practice and strangle every single one of them." Kobe's plan to get his teammates engaged after they lost the season series to the Cavs. Leadership.
by magicfaninTN on Jan 29, 2010 11:44 AM EST up reply actions
Orlando can do a variety of things with the lineup, just depends on the matchup.
Yeah, if the Magic need some extra offense, a Lewis/Anderson/Howard front line could work. But like we saw last night, if the Magic need some extra defense, a Lewis/Gortat/Howard front could work too.
As for Carter, the All-Star break should do him some good.
I write for Orlando Pinstriped Post and have a Twitter account.
"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat
Hey E,
Curiousity- Why was J-will running the Twin tower lineup- Was he better or was nelson slumping?
Official head of the Eric Berry bandwagon.
Buc'em- Your source for everything buccaneer.
by Some other guy who does not care on Jan 30, 2010 9:41 AM EST up reply actions
Stan just didn't want to disrupt the chemistry that was going on with that line-up.
Nelson had a fantastic first quarter to get the team starter. Kinda disappeared from there, but it wasn’t like he was playing poorly. Williams took better care of the ball, that was about it.
Didn't want to disrupt the rhythm of the lineup on the court.
I write for Orlando Pinstriped Post and have a Twitter account.
"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat
Gotta wonder what the other players think of VC
From most of the posts on this site and the boos VC received last night, it’s apparent that many of the fans don’t believe VC is an asset to the team. I’m one. He’s a ball hog that takes too many stupid circus shots to be fitting in well with the rest of the Magic offensive approach. He’s a shoot first kind of guy that doesn’t appear to want to play team basketball. 2-13 last night. Geeez! It’s been half a season and he’s failed to learn that he’s just a single piece of the team. Guys with the talent of Lebron can’t take their team to a championship solely on the play of one player – and VC isn’t young nor the caliber of Lebron. It sure looks like we play better team ball when he’s not in. It would be interesting to know what the other players really think of his game. I wonder if they were cheering the fans booing?
I wish I was in the locker room to find out why, but alas, I'm in Chicago.
Tough to say. It’s a bit surprising that Carter hasn’t passed the ball as much as he’s been known to.
Welcome to OPP, btw!
I write for Orlando Pinstriped Post and have a Twitter account.
"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat
This could be the game
that really gets the team going. They put up a stinker against Memphis, but otherwise they have won 3 of 4.
-Vince. Ugh. Just making horrible decisions with the ball.
-Loved Dwight’s energy throughout the game. Even after foul trouble, he was always focued on D.
-Barnes is so crucial to this team right now. His toughness is something the whole team needs.
-JJ, Gortat, and JWill played great.
LT Style, Electric Glide
"It's all part of the plan." Jeff Moorad and The Joker in the Dark Knight.
"Just because you went to the Finals last year, you can’t go out on the floor and expect teams to lay down. We got no heart. You can only make so many excuses. Everybody has to come and play hard, not just one or two guys."-Matt Barnes
Stinker against Memphis? Orlando practically gave that game away.
At least the Magic were competitive, unless some of the team’s other efforts in recent times.
I write for Orlando Pinstriped Post and have a Twitter account.
"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat
I think there were two points that were withdrawn from Eddie House (correctly withdrawn after seeing the replay) by the referees for two point shots that were previously scored as threes
They really made the difference.
As much as I love Vince, he really sucked this game offensively. Defensively, well, I thought he played very good.
I have never ever seen Vince play this bad and it absolutely is a mental thing. It’s not the injuries, it’s mental.
One thing I would like to add: Howard was making some free throws in practice and shot 87%. While this is also mental, it is at the same time a matter of conditioning. Put Howard on 6 suicides and then put him to shoot 10 free throws. Then repeat. See how his percentage goes down. They really should think about this.
Dwight practices on his free-throws after practices are over, to serve that purpose with fatigue.
I write for Orlando Pinstriped Post and have a Twitter account.
"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat
I get what you're saying.
I write for Orlando Pinstriped Post and have a Twitter account.
"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat
side note: the officiating was pretty bad last night on both sides of the ball
Spreading that Calgary Flames, Montreal Expos, The U, and Orlando Magic love.
they were letting both teams play hard so i can't see much to complain about as relates to the officiating
we shot a lot more freethrows because they were content to shoot lots of perimeter shots and they got some really stupid fouls. i remember we had 4 team fouls on them in the 2nd quarter within 3 minutes and about the same period of time in the 3rd quarter so we started becoming aggressive. we “only” shot 20 threes which is pretty low by our standards.
I think the two missed dunks by KG were just as, if not more, important than the two points taken away from House.
NBA Championship or bust in '09-10!!!! GO MAGIC!!!!
Great recap Ben.
No mistakes in the tango, darling. Not like life. Simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get all tangled up, you just tango on.....
Oh, hes in the laegue two and Jayson Thomson and that Boggins dude on Milwokee, and Occur for the Jizz. Its a talented laegue.--Kfan in Korea
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