Orlando Magic 126, Philadelphia 76ers 105: The Morning After
by erivera7 on Mar 2, 2010 11:09 AM EST
in The Morning After
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Nelson leads Magic in 126-105 rout of Sixers
Jameer Nelson, a native of Chester, PA., continues to play well for the Orlando Magic.Asked if playing in front of his "home crowd" put a bounce in his step, the oft-injured Nelson said, "Being healthy puts a bounce in your step." [...]
Nelson has said that he is finally feeling totally healthy since returning in late December from arthroscopic knee surgery. He has been driving into the lane, where he can be effective drawing defenses and passing. -
Magic notes: Power forward Ryan Anderson can't wait for playoffs to arrive
After last night, Ryan Anderson is ready for the playoffs.Magic PF Ryan Anderson can't wait for the playoffs to arrive. It will be a new experience for the second-year player out of the University of California. "I hear it gives everybody new energy," he said. Acquired along with Vince Carter from New Jersey last summer, Anderson escaped basketball purgatory with the Nets, the league's worst team.
More after the jump.
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Denton: Magic-76ers Postgame Analysis
John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com analyzes the Magic's win.Finally fully healthy from the knee injury that set him back earlier this season, Nelson is looking more and more like the player who carried the Magic last season and made his first all-star team.
He has scored in double figures in nine consecutive games and he’s had at least 10 assists in two of those games. Nelson is aggressively attacking the paint and once there he’s either scoring or dishing to teammates for open shots.
``He just looks like he’s back to where he was early last year in terms of having his quickness and his shot,’’ Van Gundy said of his point guard. ``When he first came back, really until a week or two before the all-star break his shots were short and he was a half-step slow. Everything has come together. His leg is better and his conditioning is better now that he’s been at it for a while. You need your legs to play effectively and your quickness to get by people and he’s just playing great.’’ -
Jordan blasts Sixers after lopsided loss
Kate Fagan of The Philadelphia Enquirer comments that the Philadelphia 76ers are in a state of disarray. At the moment, things don't look good in the City of Brotherly Love.After tonight's 126-105 loss to the Orlando Magic, the apparent disconnect between the 76ers and coach Eddie Jordan appeared wider than the gaps in their defenseless defense.
Only minutes after his team allowed Orlando to shoot 15 three-pointers on 65.2 percent accuracy from beyond the arc, Jordan said his team was devoid of leadership.
Jordan said his team was sulking, lacking fight, and displaying a defeatist attitude.
"We try to address it," Jordan said of the coaching staff. "We try to get them with some more spirit and some more positive energy. And it's just hard when you don't have that sort of internal leadership." -
This mess gets messier
Allen Iverson will not return to the Sixers this season. -
Baseline to Baseline, your game recaps
Kurt Helin of ProBasketballTalk recaps Orlando's victory. - Behind the Box Score, where the Knicks don't care - Ball Don't Lie
UPDATE 1 (from Ben): Kelly Dwyer says Nelson is the NBA's "most important non-star. He's bullish on the Magic's title chances with Nelson playing as well as he did last night.
When he's average, to me, the Magic don't quite approach the level of the league's top teams. When he's on? When he's playing All-Star level ball? The Magic are a championship favorite. Not contender, favorite. I've that much faith for a Magic team with two starters dropping respective 20 and 10s.
- Sixers lose to Magic, Jrue scores career-high, EJ trashes his team - Liberty Ballers
UPDATE 2 (from Ben): jsams' recap at Liberty Ballers features not a photo of the game, but rather his Fire Eddie Jordan t-shirt design.
- Sixers Lose Game, Iverson, Dignity and Maybe Brand (Depressed Fan)
UPDATE 3 (from Ben): Brian from Depressed Fan, an aptly named Sixers blog, is "thoroughly disgusted with this franchise from the last guy on the bench to the owner" after last night's performance.
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Eddie Jordan has lost the Sixers.
Seems it occurred some time during training camp.
"This is two good games in a row for Carter -- not a full blown trend yet, but if it becomes one the Magic just got a lot more scary." ~Kurt Helin
Jameer has been making me so happy lately.
I’m glad he has been able to make a recovery from his knee injury. Even though RA has been shooting poorly lately, it seems the rumors about Bass not understanding the positions and everything is true. He looked completely lost. Maybe it’s his lack of playing time, but I think that RA should be in the line-up until he can learn where he is supposed to be and what he is supposed to be doing. Bummer for Allen Iverson though. The sixers are completely lost as a team. I feel the worst for Iguolda (?) he seems to have the most talent on that team and is being dragged down by the other players.
Agree on Jameer
He is a special player and a great leader when he is healthy. Just when some of the faithful were starting to doubt if he would return to that level. I am glad he is, because he defines what Magic basketball is about.
If Ryan Anderson can provide that depth that we saw glimpses of early, it completely solidifies us as one of, if not the deepest teams in the league.
"I have come that you may have life, and life to the max"
Bass seems to be gettin it
that and getting playing time. His defensive rotation seem better and more fluid. I think once the playoffs start, both guys will play important roles against the Cavs and Celtics.
Jameer is ballin. Seems to be makin the right play 9/10 times.
So no Battie? Bummer.
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
Bass may be getting playing time but I don't see him "getting it" on defense.
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 Stan is playing Bass to answer the defense and fit questions
He is preparing for the playoffs and evaluating an underused asset. Stan pretty well knows what he has with Ryan. I think that if Brandon does not improve soon, he will go back to the bench.
Maybe you know Judo, maybe I know Smith and Wesson.
by NC Magic Fan on Mar 2, 2010 12:15 PM EST up reply actions
Yeah, I don't put much stock in the recent PT.
Mostly because I haven’t seen any improvements from practice being carried over. Stan did this last year with Courtney Lee and Redick too. Sometimes Lee would get the PT, other times it was Redick. I think it was mostly just for team morale to say, “Hey, you can get in at any time. Be ready.”
I hate Varejao.
Good point.
We know what to expect from Anderson. The same can’t be said about Bass, so far, and this is the time for Van Gundy to figure out what he has at his disposal as the playoffs loom closer.
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
right now RA is the plug n play player.
When Bass is in you have adjust the offense, but he is a better ISO player, which could come in handy.
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Yeah, in case we want to run an isolation for our fourth scoring option.
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...
Is he really the 4th option
With Jwill, JJ, Pietrus, and Gortat??
I see P n R for Redick, but after that?
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Maybe he meant amongst the starters.
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
Yeah, he's probably the second-third option in an all-backup lineup.
Though I’d like to believe that if you were putting five backups out there, you’d at least play Ryan. Our second unit is a lot of things, but volume scorers they ain’t.
But yeah, I also think it’s stupid to rotate the lineup in a way that doesn’t put at least a couple starters out there at all times. And with the possible exception of Barnes, all our starters are better targets for a play than Bass.
(Not that I think we should be running any substantial number of isolations with anyone, mind you.)
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...
My question is...
Why did Otis sign Bass? When I first started reading this blog, I remember reading an article or comment on here about Bass not being a good fit on this team when the Magic first signed him. I don’t get it. I hadn’t really watched Bass play before this season. I thought he was gonna be this banging, rebounding, defensive 4 that we’ve lacked over the years. I tried to give him time, but he doesn’t seem to fit with our team. And, how are we gonna trade that contract: 18 million over 4 years?
The contract isn't bad.
I spoke with Mike Fisher of DallasBasketball.com, who covers the Mavericks, and he suspects that Otis Smith signed Bass because he could (not thinking about the ramifications of his fit with the Magic).
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 tend to disagree with Fisher.
I think Otis signed Bass to be the change of pace/style PF we gave up in Battie. And, he was the type of character guy that RDV/Otis prefer. I don’t know as anyone excepted him to completely fail to learn the rotations. Was the writing on the wall about that ahead of time? Didn’t he play okay defense in Dallas?
Maybe missing this issue, however, is a failure of due diligence on Otis’ part (wouldn’t be the first time)….and if so, then I suppose Fisher is right about the failure to think about the ramifications.
"This is two good games in a row for Carter -- not a full blown trend yet, but if it becomes one the Magic just got a lot more scary." ~Kurt Helin
I did not expect Bass to fail like this on defense.
But it seems to me, and it makes sense when you think about it, that Brandon is more suited as a center. We can go over the issues of him being undersized and what not, but he clearly looks more comfortable playing at center than he is at power forward (at least, in my eyes). Bass spent the majority of his time in Dallas last year at center and he played well. Now he’s playing into back-up power forward role and he’s been struggling, especially on defense. The offensive struggles I’m not surprised because Brandon is a bad fit but he hasn’t been helping himself with his issues on defense and again, I think it has to do with the position he’s playing.
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 there are lots of issue involved in testing Brandon at the 5.
First, at this point in the season, I doubt SVG wants to experiment with swapping positions for Bass. If he’s taken this long to learn the PF spot. Withas little practice time as the season affords, don’t risk the time to learn the 5.
Second, probably not real good for Gortat’s morale if Bass starts getting practice time at the 5. Marcin already feels like he wants more minutes.
Third, he’s not likely to be a better center than Gortat or Dwight. So no room at the 5.
The only spin I can think of is to give Bass time at the 5 and Gortat more time at the 4. Might make both guys happy??
Otherwise, if we are going to put Bass on the floor, then PF is the spot. I recall SVG trying Bass at the 5 in the 2nd unit a little earlier in the season. Don’t remember it working too well….probably because Lewis is only a satisfactory defender at the 4 who gets lots of help from playing with Dwight.
Hope somebody wants him this summer. GSW got mentioned in the game thread, tweet, etc, but can they afford him without moving either Biedrins (now rivaling Rashard for worst contract) or Turiaf (a poor-man’s Bass)?
"This is two good games in a row for Carter -- not a full blown trend yet, but if it becomes one the Magic just got a lot more scary." ~Kurt Helin
I agree
Bass has some positives
Contract isn’t bad
Assest for a trade in the future
Efficent mid-range shooter
Plays with energy
He is young.
He has his cons, but that’s what you get for Bass’s price tag. Compare him to the 2 35 year olds we could have signed. McDyess and Sheed.
check out the link.
Points per 36, FG%, PER, ORTG- he leads the group.
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+1
About Sheed and McDyess.
Much rather have Bass
"This is not such a bad thing to be: a deep, talented underdog with Finals experience."~Ian Thomsen on the Orlando Magic.
I think everybody feels that Jameer is our heart and soul.
I want nothing in this world more that a Magic return to the Finals and an outstanding series from Jameer Nelson in front of a national audience to silence all critics. Oh, and that would naturally lead to a championship of course.
The intensity has to go up, up! Not down...UP! -Stan Van Gundy
by cgsimone on Mar 2, 2010 12:56 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
His leadership has really started to come through also.
Getting in between players and refs when there’s a questionable call, making better decisions as a whole, making sure to feed Dwight when possible. I think the raise in Jameer’s production helps Dwight a lot, especially in their 1-5 PnR. He’s been throwing at least one alley a game to Dwight it seems in the past few weeks.
I hate Varejao.
I think Jameer's return to health has been crucial for Dwight.
Not that J-Will hasn’t been a solid backup, but even at his best, I don’t think he understands how to center the offense on Dwight.
In the preseason/early season, and again this last month, we see Jameer calling the shots, and we see an offense that employs Dwight — not only for his ability to get high-percentage shots inside, but also to act as a threat and get open outside shots for the rest of the team, set picks, etc. That’s not coincidental… Jameer has run this offense for years. He knows the rotations better than anyone, and he knows how even the non-Howard plays reflect off Howard.
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...
Jameer Nelson
Rules.
I love it when negative people get shut up.
Thank you Mr. Nelson. For the vindication you have given to those who never stopped believing in you or what you brought to the table.
"This is not such a bad thing to be: a deep, talented underdog with Finals experience."~Ian Thomsen on the Orlando Magic.
Yeah, it's been great.
In the past 10 games, he’s averaged 14.6 ppg, 7.5 assists in only 30 minutes. It’s nice for us patient people to be rewarded every now and then.
I hate Varejao.
minutes stat is important
This team is playing well and allowing it’s stars to rest.
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Having the deep bench helps.
Gortat, Williams, Redick, Anderson, Pietrus. All are capable of playing 20-30 minutes if necessary.
I hate Varejao.
Meercat has been A-MAZ-ING! (in Dwight Howard voice)
His PER has skyrocketed a point and a half to 15.5 in the past two weeks.
1-2 PNR has been ridiculously efficient.
Vince hasn’t shot under 45% in consecutive games since January… shooting a blistering 52% from the floor since then, including 53% from three.
…regression to the mean… I’ve been preaching it all season.
The real "Masters of Panic" are commenting on this blog.
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