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Vince Carter May Move Into Sixth-Man Role
Tim Povtak of NBA FanHouse shares some interesting news regarding Vince Carter's role with the Orlando Magic in the immediate future.No one really believes that J.J. Redick is a better player than Vince Carter.
To be honest, I think moving Carter to the bench and Redick to the starting lineup would be a good move. More often than not in the NBA, it's not always about starting the five best players on a team. Sometimes the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Rather than ramble on, I'll share more of my thoughts in a write-up early next week.
But he might be a better fit now for the Orlando Magic. [...]
It was Saturday's victory that now has Magic Coach Stan Van Gundy seriously contemplating a lineup change that would include using Carter in reserve, a dramatic role change for one of the league's most popular players.
"Nobody is set (in the lineup) if you're losing,'' Van Gundy said. "You can only take losing for so long, then you do what you have to do.'' -
Orlando Magic breaks 4-game losing streak to win without Vince Carter
Brian Schmitz comments on the Magic's victory against the Hawks.The Magic had such an easy time of it that center Dwight Howard didn't play the final period. He finished with 12 points, seven rebounds, three blocks and one technical foul.
Orlando pushed the lead to 38 points in the third on Barnes' 3-point shot in Orlando's largest margin of victory this season.
"We were hungry," Howard said, adding. "We didn't eat on the plane ride home from Washington."
All kidding aside, the Magic had lost to Chicago, Indiana, Toronto and the Wizards — with only the Raptors boasting a record over .500. "Nobody is perfect. You're going to hit bumps in the road," forward Rashard Lewis said. "We put a little pressure on ourselves, especially on the offensive end." -
J.J. Redick scores 17 points as he takes the place of injured Vince Carter in the Orlando Magic starting lineup
Josh Robbins talks about how, so far this year, J.J. Redick has been a constant for Orlando and usually plays well whether the team wins or loses.J.J. Redick's consistently strong play has been one of the few constants so far this season for the Orlando Magic. Even as the team slogged through its recent four-game losing streak, Redick continued to play well. [...]
"I've said it all along: He's just a guy that I think we've come to trust," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said afterward. "He's not going to make mistakes. He's a tough guy. He's gonna compete hard."
Redick displayed his competitive streak Saturday on a relatively meaningless play long after the game's outcome had been decided. With just under 10 minutes remaining and Orlando ahead by 26 points, Redick missed a 3-pointer from the right wing. The ball started to go out of bounds, but Redick chased it down. The Magic retained possession, and Ryan Anderson drained a shot from beyond the arc.
"If I'm out there, I'm going to try to play hard," Redick said. "The score doesn't matter. I'm trying to prove myself as a player, regardless of the score on the scoreboard." -
Dwight Howard’s jump shot is real
Tania Ganguli makes note of Dwight Howard attempting a jumpshot against Atlanta and how general manager Otis Smith is encouraging him to shoot them. -
Denton: Magic-Hawks Postgame Analysis
John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com provides additional analysis.The Magic (25-12) snapped the first four-game skid of the Stan Van Gundy era in Orlando by placing seven players in double figures, hitting 12 3-pointers and exploding for 37 points in a runaway second quarter. It was enough to help the Magic spring ahead by as much as 38 points.
And finally there were some laughs and plenty of sighs relief when the game and the losing streak were complete.
``That’s about as happy as I’ve been with a regular-season win in a long time,’’ Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. ``It seemed like a month or a month-and-a-half since we had won a game. Even better is we played really well against a very good team.’’ -
Magic drown Hawks
Ken Sugiura of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution notes how the Magic have been a nightmare, matchup-wise, for the Hawks.The Hawks have lost five in a row to Orlando, whose combination of center Dwight Howard's interior presence and a fleet of perimeter shooters has confounded them. It was exactly a year ago, in fact, that the Magic crushed the Hawks by a similar 121-87 score in Orlando.
"We really struggle against this team," center Al Horford said. "They just seem to have it going every time they play against us. We have to figure it out." [...]
"We knew that coming into this one tonight, they were going to give us everything they had," said Hawks guard Joe Johnson. [...]
"Our defensive assignments, we messed up a few times, but I think more than anything, I think a lot of it was just effort," Johnson said. "They were just beating us off the dribble and pretty much getting what they wanted."