Orlando Magic 117, Golden State Warriors 90: The Morning After
by erivera7 on Mar 4, 2010 8:00 AM EST
in The Morning After
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Orlando Magic notebook: Golden State’s C.J. Watson plays in Amway Arena for first time since last summer’s trade talk
Josh Robbins notes that C.J. Watson made his first appearance in Amway Arena since this past summer when general manager Otis Smith tried, but failed, to acquire him as a free agent.Wednesday offered Golden State Warriors PG C.J. Watson his first opportunity to play at Amway Arena since the Orlando Magic tried to acquire him in a sign-and-trade deal last summer.
The Warriors declined the Magic's offer for the 25-year-old Watson, who was a restricted free agent at the time.
Watson eventually accepted Golden State's $1 million qualifying offer for the 2009-10 season instead of a more lucrative multi-year deal with the Warriors. That decision will enable Watson to become a restricted free agent again once this season ends.
"I just let it end up in God's hands," Watson said. "I'm here with the Warriors, so there's really no reason to talk about last summer or anything like that." -
Stan Van Gundy marvels at Don Nelson’s longevity
Head coach Stan Van Gundy praises a peer.
More after the jump.
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Stan Van Gundy was jovial after Magic win over Golden State
Matt Humphrey shows the happy side of Van Gundy. -
Denton: Magic-Warriors Postgame Analysis
We're talking about injuries, man.The Warriors have been so beset by injuries this season that they once again dressed just eight players Wednesday night. Golden State lost starting forward Brandon [sic] Wright in training camp, and things just proceeded to get worse.
The Warriors entered Wednesday having lost 345 player games due to injury. The Warriors have dressed nine of fewer players 28 times now this season. They lead the league in time missed because of injury and have already shattered the mark set last season by the Washington Wizards.
Golden State was without Monta Ellis, Corey Maggette, Andris Biedrins, Raja Bell, Anthony Randolph, Vladimir Radmanovic and Wright on Wednesday night. -
Anthony Morrow gets his 3-point stroke back, but Golden State Warriors fall to Orlando Magic
Marcus Thompson II of the Oakland Tribune chronicles the play of Anthony Morrow.Other than the fact that it came to an end, there wasn't much positive to take from the Warriors' 117-90 loss to the Orlando Magic on Wednesday.
Not even the team's new mantra about playing together, working hard, yada, yada, was enough to smooth the edges of the unadulterated shellacking Golden State received from the Magic. Orlando, which got 28 points and 12 rebounds from center Dwight Howard, never trailed and led by as much as 30 points.
But if you're reaching for something, there was this: Warriors guard Anthony Morrow started knocking down 3-pointers again. -
Silver lining in ugly defeat
Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle also talks about Morrow, who has been one of the brighter spots on the Golden State Warriors this year. -
Three Thoughts after Magic's 117-90 Win over Warriors
Philip Rossman-Reich of Orlando Magic Daily shows how dominant the Orlando Magic were against the Warriors in last night's game.No Warriors player had a positive plus-minus rating. Not only that, none of them had a plus-minus rating greater than -10. C.J. Watson had a -11 rating this evening, tops for his team.
Plus-minus rating can be a fishy stat sometimes, but taken collectively as a team this shows Orlando simply had this game from start to finish. There were no holes in the way the Magic played. Golden State's eight guys played the whole game and not one combination of them could slow Orlando down tonight. -
Baseline to Baseline, your game recaps
Matt Moore of ProBasketballTalk recaps the Magic's win.Best shot in this one happened before the game even started -- during warm ups Dwight Howard hit a left-handed jumper while sitting down in the front row next to general manager Otis Smith. Golden State hung around for 18 minutes, until Vince Carter and the rest of the Magic got serious. Orlando tightened up their defense, took away the transition shots (and threes). Not that this game was ever, ever in doubt. Favorite play of the night came in the third quarter, when Howard made the steal then led the break himself (and got the assist).
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play of the night
D12 pushing the ball up the court, looking like some genetically-engineered point guard of the future dribbling a softball, and then finishing with the easy dish and bucket. I couldn’t believe how fluid and comfortable he looked, not just bringing the ball up the court, but actually pushing the pace.
University of Tennessee : Where Schadenfreude Happens
by rco3 on Mar 4, 2010 9:42 AM EST reply actions 1 recs
I think everyone got a kick out of Dwight's dish to Barnes for the slam, but perhaps nobody more than Dwight himself
Of course, Real Winners don’t have fun while on the court, so we should probably be upset about that.
He can have fun.
But it also requires a really cartoonish underbite and some chest thumps. Cause you know, that’s what mature grown ups do in a professional setting.
The intensity has to go up, up! Not down...UP! -Stan Van Gundy
No, only Brett Favre can have fun while playing.
When it’s him, it’s unbridled passion and love of the game. It’s refreshing. With Dwight, it’s questionable.
I hate Varejao.
As a lifetime Green Bay Packers fan,
I must agree fully with this comment.
The intensity has to go up, up! Not down...UP! -Stan Van Gundy
"He's like a kid out there!"
Why is it Favre celebrated while Howard derided for this mentality? Different sports, different people, sure. I get that.
Favre's won the big one
Dwight hasn’t.
by eltharion_doa on Mar 5, 2010 12:00 PM EST up reply actions
He's also lost a lot of big ones.
The amount of interceptions he’s thrown is like 10 times the amount of free throws Dwight has missed. Okay, I’m done exaggerating now.
I hate Varejao.
Genetically-engineered point guard of the future dribbling a softball.
I can’t tell you how perfect that description of Dwight Howard leading the break is.
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 was at this game last night.
Dwight had been listening to the Dog Whisperer I think because he definitely “established dominance”. Vince seemed incredible but his minutes were held back a little in the first half because he picked up some fouls and it was clear Stan wanted to rest him a little in the second half due to the back to back. It almost looked like he was in for another 40 point night the way he was playing in the first half.
The intensity has to go up, up! Not down...UP! -Stan Van Gundy
Yeah, Carter was on a roll.
That’s cool you went to the game. I’m sure you had fun.
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
If Otis had managed to obtain CJ Watson, I guess it would prove one thing about the Warriors front office
They sure know how to develop good role players for other teams.
Even though the Hippopotamus lacks a stinger for a tail, a truly wise man would rather be sat on by a bee. ~ Banacek
I'm not sure about Wright, but I was really hoping that Otis was going to make a move for Randolph last year when it was rumored he was available
With the right system and the right coach, that guy is going to be amazing.
Even though the Hippopotamus lacks a stinger for a tail, a truly wise man would rather be sat on by a bee. ~ Banacek
Sick burn from the editor.
I, too, would love to trade an injured veteran to the Warriors for Randolph.
I hate Varejao.
Put Watson and Morrow on the Magic and I'm 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
In theory, the Warriors are the Magic's farm team.
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
we have pietrus foyle and barnes already, why not a couple more
it is painfully obvious the only thing don nelson cares about is getting 7 more wins and then he is done
I don't care for Watson at all -- we've gone over this -- but Morrow is good.
If we don’t manage to hang on to JJ, there aren’t a lot of guys out there I’d rather have in the backup PG spot.
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...
Backup SG. Sorry.
(Though Redick’s averaging just about as many assists per minute as Watson.)
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...
I think Watson would fit well with the second unit.
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
In what position?
The more we’ve seen of Watson, the more it’s apparent that he can’t run an offense. His assists per minute are actually down this year, after being already unacceptable last year. I know the Warriors’ offense is weird, but it’s my contention that a guy with legitimate point guard skills should be averaging more than an assist every eleven minutes no matter WHERE he is. Play him at SG the whole game, he should beat an assist per 11 minutes. Watson’s not doing that.
Could he learn? Possible, though doubtful. (After three years with the Warriors, he probably has a lot of bad habits to overcome. And that’s assuming he even has the skills and the court vision to begin with.) But given how much this current Magic team runs their offense through the PG position, we don’t want a guy who might maybe become competent at passing one day. We want a guy whose passing/game management are his strong suit.
And even if we didn’t, what does Watson do well to make up for it? He’s not a great outside shooter — he looked good last year, but this year, he’s shooting 33.9% from beyond the arc. He’s probably better than that, but he’s not as good as the 40.8% we saw last season. I’m going to assume he’s not a plus defender; that might not be fair, but it is an assumption I am making. So… we’re left with a decent shooter who’s a poor passer, and his best skill is driving the lane. Does that sound like the Magic’s kind of point guard to 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...
He's not much of a point guard, according to the numbers.
But he is an efficient player on offense, his eFG%, TS%, and Offensive Rating are all above-average so Watson has that going for him. Clearly Stan Van Gundy and Otis Smith see something in the kid because they were interested in him before signing Williams.
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 feel like that was based on the assumption that Carter could run the offense part-time, though.
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...
i like anthony randolph's potential
would be sort of confusing where he’d end up though in the lineup.
Randolph wouldn't fit on the Magic.
I’m a little skeptical of Randolph anyway — while he’s got solid per-minute stats, his shooting percentage is suspiciously low. Something about him reminds me of a Tyrus Thomas/Stromile Swift kind of player… skinny, athletic PFs whose understanding of the game is lacking. (Yes, Randolph is better than those two. Still.) And between his 6’10", 210-lb. frame and the fact that he’s already battled injury in both of his seasons, I can’t count on him to stay healthy. Hope he does, of course… but not confident enough in it to want him on my team.
But yeah. He’s a PF who can’t shoot the three. How many of those do we need to try out before it becomes apparent to everyone that that won’t work on this team?
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...
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