Because of his strong play of late, Carlos Arroyo may soon start at point guard for the Magic.
Photo by Terrence Vaccaro, NBAE/Getty Images
- Fairly surprising news from John Denton that Carlos Arroyo and J.J. Redick may soon nab the starting guard spots from Jameer Nelson and Keith Bogans. Nelson was already suffering from a sore shoulder and a sore wrist before he received an upsetting text message after last night's game that has left his status for tomorrow night against the Lakers in doubt. His loss is Carlos' gain, as the Puerto Rican sensation has played spectacularly in relief of Nelson. Meanwhile, Bogans has struggled with his shot, and Redick has made the most of his minutes lately. Denton adds that a change won't be immediate:
It’s hard to imagine a coach being so eager to change things considering the Magic have played this season. But Van Gundy is determined not to let the Magic get content [....]
I’d be shocked if the lineup is different come Sunday night. But if it is, Arroyo and Redick are the candidates most likely to get promotions. - The Magic's official team schedule lists the December 14th tilt against the Charlotte Bobcats as being televised on ESPN. That's new, as far as I know.
- One Western Conference executive told ESPN's Marc Stein that he expects the Magic to win a title within the next five seasons:
"They have so much more offensive firepower than anyone in the East besides the Celtics, and those guys [in Boston] aren't going to be able to do it forever. And the big guy [Howard] in Orlando is just going to get better and better."
- Mike From Illinois and Big Figure, who write for Orlando Magic Blog, break down Rashard Lewis' recent struggles in the comments section of this post.
- Advanced metrics also illustrate Rashard's struggles. His 15.83 PER is 4th on the team and 90th in the league, where he's surrounded by such luminaries as Kyle Lowry and Jason Maxiell.