Tampa Bay Sports Blog

It was NASCAR night in Charlotte, where the Orlando Magic needed overtime to eventually outpace the Bobcats 106-95.

The Magic earned the right to take their victory lap with some timely 3 point shooting and tough defense in the overtime period.

Yesterday, I called for better production from the Magic’s starting backcourt and Jameer Nelson and Vince Carter definitely responded. Nelson led the way with 21 points and 7 assists, while Carter chipped in 21 points and 5 assists to go along with his stellar defense against All-Star candidate Gerald Wallace.

The Magic used there outside shooting to build a decent cushion going into the fourth quarter, then suffered a cold spell and allowed the Bobcats to crawl back into the game. Unfortunately, as good as Jameer Nelson was offensively, his defense down the stretch against D.J. Augustin could have cost the Magic the game.  This is becoming a very unwelcome trend with Jameer allowing opponents to go off on him.

The biggest story line for the Magic, at least from my perspective, is the outstanding play of Dwight howard, who is finally looking like the player who carried the Magic to the Finals last season. Howard was huge, snatching a game high 20 boards and swatting away 7 shots. Dwight sets the tone for the Magic, and lately, he looks like a man on a mission, displaying a tenacity that was missing most of the season.

The move to Matt Barnes in the starting line-up over Mickael Pietrus is continuing to pay dividends as well. While his numbers don’t always jump out at you while perusing the box score, his effort and intensity are clearly evident when watching him play. The same can be said about JJ Reddick, whose hard work and dedication have helped him become a consummate pro. Otis Smith’s decision to hold onto Reddick looks like a brilliant one.

Now it wouldn’t be right if I didn’t use this or any other opportunity to blast off on good ol’ Rashard Lewis. Sure, he had what appeared to be a nice game with 18 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists. However, he took 13 three’s and made only 4, a couple of which came when the Magic already had the game in hand. Excuse me if I’m missing something, but on what planet is it ok for a 6′10″ power forward to jack up 13 three point shots? Mercury, Juptiter, Venus or maybe Uranus? I’m not sure about those places in the solar system, but here on Earth, this simply isn’t acceptable. Dude, drop a shoulder and drive the lane, trust me what doesn’t kill you will make you stronger. At this point, some girl push-ups might even be an improvement. Rashard apparently got gypped out of his “Roid Rage”, while he was using performance enhancers, since I’ve never seem him express anything remotely close to aggression.

As much as you fall in love with them when there going down, you cannot simply rely on 3 pointers to be the focal point of your offense if you want to win consistently. Last night the magic hoisted 39 three’s and while it helped Orlando build their lead, it also almost cost the Magic the game.

With that being said, there are still a lot of positives for the Magic to build on, and if Dwight Howard continues his ascent back to last years form, the Magic should be in great shape the rest of the way.

Technorati Tags: Charlotte Bobcats, D.J. Augustin, Dwight Howard, Jameer Nelson, JJ Reddick, Matt Barnes, Mickael Pietrus, Orlando Magic, Otis Smith, Rashard Lewis, Vince Carter

The Magic took their show on the road hoping to capitalize on the momentum of their blowout victory against the surging Atlanta Hawks last Saturday.

Things began nicely, with a convincing win in Sacramento against the injury riddled Kings.

Then reality struck once again on Wednesday night in Denver as the Nuggets dissected the Magic en route to a 115-97 trouncing over Orlando. Playing short-handed without their leading scorer Vince “Cupcake” Carter for the secong straight night, Orlando simply had no answer for the physical play of the Nuggets. Dwight “The Coward” Howard struggled mightily against the likes of Kenyon Martin and Chris “Birdman” Andersen, managing a meager 8 points on 1-7 shooting. A far cry from the 30 points and 16 rebounds he collected the night before in Sacramento.

In what may have been the funniest sound bite I’ve ever heard from a player came from Dwight Howard after the loss to Denver in which he stated “the Nuggets took away the inside game and FORCED the Magic to shoot jump shots”. Excuse me if I’m missing something here, but have you ever seen anyone having to force Rashard Lewis, Vince Carter, Ryan Anderson or JJ Redick(let me stop here, before I name the rest of the roster) to shoot a jump shot?

In the last three games including last nights loss to the Blazers, which I will get to momentarily, the magic took 27,31 and 30 three point shots. So what was so different about the Nugget game as far as the game plan Dwight?

Now we move on to last nights debacle in Portland against the Brandon Roy-less Blazers. Portland came out strong building an 11 point first quarter lead, taking advantage of Orlando’s ritual of slow starts, and never looked back. Without Roy, the Blazers looked to Andre Miller and Steve Blake to lead the charge and also got a strong outing out of Martell Webster who scored 24 points(more than twice his average of 10 a game) and 9 boards. While Dwight Howard managed only 11 points playing against Juwan Howard. Yes, Juwan Howard is actually still in the NBA; amazing isn’t it?  Vince Carter, finally back after suffering a debilitating(wink wink) sprained shoulder, was a non factor, while his backcourt mate, Jameer Nelson, continued to get lit up by opponents point guards. First Chauncey Billups had his way with Jameer “The Steer”, then came Andre Miller( the slowest man on earth, getting paid to run) and Steve Blake to take advantage of the Magics fearless leader . The Tattoo on Jameer’s back reads ” All Eyes On Me”, and if that is the case, there are a lot of people out there witnessing him getting used and abused night in and night out.

Rashard Lewis remains MIA, and is either unable to adjust to playing with his new teammates(especially Vince Carter) or is simply missing his medicine. Remember, Lewis A.K.A. Mr. Softy, was suspended for violating the NBA’s banned substance list for the first 10 games of the season. Rashard is making close to max money and is playing himself into a possible reserve role. Look at what the Philadelphia 76ers did with their version of an overpaid, underachieving player in Elton Brand, who is currently coming off the bench. In the last two games Lewis has scored a total of 15 points and collected a staggeringly low 4 rebounds. The man is 6′10″ 230 pounds, plays power forward and manages to grab 4 boards in a combined 50 plus minutes of action. Pardon me while I scroll through my trusty thesaurus for alternative words for PATHETIC!

The fact is the Magic are a soft, finesse, jump shooting team masquerading as title contenders. Now if this is what they aim to be as an organization; let me be the first to issue a mea culpa: Mission accomplished.

Unfortunately, we all know this isn’t true. The Magic were successful last season because they played much better defensively, and Howard and others asserted themselves more both offensively and on the glass.

Chemistry is a key ingredient, one often overlooked by fans and GM’s alike, who simply look at players numbers and highlights and fall in love with the idea of having them on their team. This Magic team is severely lacking leadership and a sustained consistency. There is a phrase ”The whole is greater than the sum of its parts“. However, when it comes to the Magic, it seems the parts just don’t fit, and it’s time to start assessing the value of each individual piece of the puzzle. The trade market is plentiful this year with all the impending free agents and economic turmoil that has plagued the NBA this season.

If the players aren’t going to be aggressive on the court; management needs to step up and get aggressive off the court.

New Orleans is a prime example of a team suffering crippling losses financially; maybe the Magic can swoop in and pilfer Chris Paul away from the Hornets. Another option to look into is Chris Bosh. Toronto is almost certainly going to lose Bosh at seasons end, and the Magic and Raptors were able to orchestrate deals this past off season, so there is a good working relationship there.

At this point, anything the front office can do to bring about change will be welcome by Magic fans. In most cases the coach is usually the easiest target, and with Stan Van Gundy’s approach wearing on his players, I’m sure there wouldn’t be too much resistance to him being ousted.

The Magic face the lakers Monday night in Los Angeles, a rematch of last years NBA Finals, and I can only imagine what lies in store for them. One things for sure there will be plenty of Kobe Beef on the menu. Vince Carter better rest that shoulder and get ready to do battle, or else, things could get ugly. I’m almost certain we will be seeing a lot of Mickael Pietrus if things start going south early.

Technorati Tags: Andre Miller, Brandon Roy, Chris Andersen, Denver Nuggets, Dwight Howard, Jameer Nelson, JJ Reddick, Kenyon Martin, Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers, Marcin Gortat, Martell Webster, Mickael Pietrus, Orlando Magic, Portland Trailblazers, Rashard Lewis, Ryan Anderson, Stan Van Gundy, Steve Blake, Toronto Raptors, Vince "Cupcake" Carter, Vince Carter

Kudos to Coach Stan Van Gundy for making the prudent decision to insert Matt Barnes into the starting line-up replacing Mickael Pietrus.

The move gives the Magic a much more aggressive/active player to help combat their inability to start games with a high level of intensity. Barnes is a tireless worker on the glass and gets out and runs the floor hard on every play. Hopefully, this type of play can rub off on his fellow teammates.

Orlando has been plagued by slow starts at the beginning of games, to go along with their woeful low post scoring and extreme reliance on 3 point shots.

It’s unfortunate that the Magic needed to suffer a couple of losses to serve as the impetus for change. However, it is better late than never.

The move also illustrates Van Gundy’s commitment to winning and not just being satisfied with the status quo. The Magic have a tremendous wealth of talent and ultimately it is up to the coaching staff to utilize it most effectively.

I’m still waiting for Marcin Gortat to be given a permanent spot in the rotation and a larger role in the Magics offensive scheme. Dwight Howard has regressed severely and clearly cannot be counted on to shoulder the load up front.

Technorati Tags: Dwight Howard, Marcin Gortat, Matt Barnes, Mickael Pietrus, Orlando Magic, Stan Van Gundy

After watching a frustrating, yet understandable loss at Utah last week, followed by another heartbreaker the following night in Phoenix against the Suns, I decided to take a few days off to see how the Magic would respond.

As expected, they returned home Monday night and won and ugly game against the very physical Indiana Pacers. Followed by an unimpressive dismantling of the feeble Toronto Raptors last night.

I think we can all agree that a couple of victories at home against the Indiana Pacers and Toronto Raptors is not quite an accurate barometer of where this Magic team is at.

So I waited on the outcome of tonight’s rematch against the Miami Heat, who narrowly escaped Orlando’s Amway Arena with a victory less than a month ago, courtesy of a last second put back shot by Michael Beasley off an errant D Wade Jumper.

Before giving out my humble assessment of this Magic Team as presently constructed, I want to go on record as having taken into account the Magic are playing 3 games in 4 nights after returning from a long West Coast road trip.

Having said that, I was still completely frustrated by the performance the Magic put on against the Miami Heat tonight. They were simply out-hustled, out-muscled and out-manned. They showed absolutely zero signs of life and continued to struggle against teams who have any low post presence. Amazing, we actually consider Jermaine O’Neal, Udonis Haslem, Dorell Wright, Michael Beasley and Jamaal Magloire a formidable front line. Where have all the good Big Men gone?

Dwayne Wade was efficient and continued his dominance of the Magic, which previously hadn’t always coincided with a Heat victory, pouring in 25 points to go along with 7 assists.

Dwight Howard, who usually has monster games against the Heat, was held pretty much in check, even though he did attempt to assert his aggressiveness. Unfortunately, it wasn’t nearly enough, especially, when none of his teammates bothered to step up. Which is abnormal for the Magic, who usually find contributions from the bench on off nights by the Superstars.

Vince “Cupcake” Carter is starting to show his complacency once again and seems to be losing the desire to attack the rim. I guess with the rest of the Magic jacking up 3 pointers, it can be contagious. Carter and Lewis average  a mere 4.4 and 2.9 free throws per game respectively. Rather startling when compared to slow footed and athletically challenged JJ Redick who averages 2.3 free throws per contest, coming off the bench in a limited role.

What boggles my mind is why Stan Van Gundy refuses to utilize either Brandon Bass or Marcin Gortat. Both have played well when called upon and have also demonstrated a willingness to play physical. Something you will NEVER hear me saying about Rashard Lewis, who seems immune to going anywhere inside the arc.

With Vince Carter,  Rashard Lewis , Mickael Pietrus and Company continuing to hoist up 3’s at will, the Magic are non-existent on the offensive glass

Jameer Nelson will be back in a week or so, however, I’m not sure that will be enough to keep the Magic in the NBA’s upper echelon with the Lakers and Celtics.

If the Magic aren’t going to incorporate Brandon Bass or Marcin Gortat in their regular rotation, they should look to trade one of them for a player who better fits whatever coach Van Gundy is trying to do. Which at this point I can’t quite figure out. The Magic have no identity and are living and dying by the long range jump shot.

The Magic aren’t getting it done on the defensive end and that is in direct correlation with their lack of sustained intensity and effort. Isn’t that a reflection on the coaching staff?

I’ve said it all along and will continue to harp on the fact that the Magic need to address the deficiencies in their roster if they are planning on a repeat of last seasons successful playoff run. They need a rebounding power forward and a low post scoring threat. On second thought, the Magic already have both of those types of players in Brandon Bass and Marcin Gortat. Maybe they should actually insert them into the game.

With the economy in the toilet and many teams bracing for the worst, and let us not forget the impending 2010 free agent class, there are key players available and deals to be had. Otis Smith needs to come off his wait and see approach to things and start being aggressive.

Technorati Tags: Brandon Bass, dorell wright, Dwayne Wade, Dwight Howard, Jameer Nelson, Jermaine O'Neal, Marcin Gortat, Michael beasley, Mickael Pietrus, Orlando Magic, Otis Smith, Rashard Lewis, Stan Van Gundy, udonis haslem, Vince "Cupcake" Carter

In what would best be described as a shoot out between the Magic and Golden State Warriors, two clearly unevenly matched teams, saw the Magic prevail in relatively easy fashion. Yes, the Warriors kept it close with great offensive performances by Monta Ellis and a career night from Anthony Randolph. Unfortunately, that simply was not enough to derail the Magic who continue to stay on their winning track.

Once again, Dwight Howard was plagued with foul trouble, which doesn’t really concern me anymore. Since the Magic seem to play just as well, if not better, with him riding the pine. Vince Carter is showing that he can still carry a team at this stage of his career, at least offensively. Heck he even dished out seven assists and grabbed 5 boards. Mickael Pietrus also came up big against his former compadres with a season high 22 points and Rashard Lewis chipped in a quiet 20 points.

Another bright spot for the Magic continues to be the steady play of Jason Williams. True, the Warriors were able to expose the Magics lack of speed in the backcourt, with the slow footed JJ Redick and aging Jason Williams. However, Jameer Nelson will be back soon enough to help address one of the few flaws in the Magics arsenal.

The Magic are fortunate to have 2 nights off before taking on the Clippers, which will be a nice respite before taking on Utah and Phoenix in a grueling back to back stretch.

Technorati Tags: Anthony Randolph, Dwight Howard, Golden State Warriors, Jameer Nelson, jason williams, JJ Reddick, Los Angeles Clippers, Mickael Pietrus, Monta Ellis, Orlando Magic, Phoenix Suns, Rashard Lewis, Utah Jazz

The Orlando Magic take on their Florida Rivals the Miami Heat tonight at Amway Arena. If recent history holds true to form, Dwayne Wade will have a monster game, and the Magic will prevail. This game should serve as a barometer of where Vince Carter is defensively and also serve as a great opportunity for Dwight Howard to get back on track offensively. Howard usually has big games against the Heats smaller line-up, averaging a double-double in the last 12 games in the series.

Wade, who’s career average is a cool 30 points per game against the Magic, has been feasting against all his Southeast Division foes over the last 3 seasons. Hopefully, Vince Carter is reminded of this by head coach Stan “I’m a Nicer Man” Van Gundy, and accepts the challenge of thwarting Wade on the defensive end of the floor. If not, expect Mickael Pietrus to get the nod. JJ Redick has continued to make strides but is clearly no match for Wade.

Jason Williams, who has performed more than adequately while Jameer Nelson continues his usual injury Hiatus, gets a chance to face his former team, where he was the starting point guard on their championship team. Williams has been adept at finding his teammates and even better at not turning the ball over, averaging just 1 a game in his 3 starts. I will root for anyone who can keep Anthony Johnson glued to the pine. Watching him play is almost as uncomfortable as remembering Carl Lewis singing the “National Anthem”.  I guess Johnson is a hell of a locker room guy, Dwight Howards best friend, or has serious dirt on Otis Smith. Otherwise, what could explain how he is still on the roster?

Miami is coming into the game banged up, with starters Mario Chalmers, Quentin Richardson and Jermaine O’neal battling injuries.  Let’s hope the Magic come out of the gate strong and pounce on a clearly weaker Miami Heat team. These are the games that help define how a team is going to play the rest of the year.

Technorati Tags: Anthony Johnson, carl lewis, Dwayne Wade, Jermaine O'Neal, JJ Reddick, mario chalmers, Miami Heat, Mickael Pietrus, Orlando Magic, Otis Smith, quentin richardson, Stan Van Gundy, Vince Carter

The finals have been good on both ends this year and there has been a lot of discussion and debate over a lot of crap. I think it’s time for me to toss my opinions out there on the whole thing and I really don’t care what anyone thinks. I’ll start with the Lebron/Kobe debate.

Kobe is still better than Lebron for one reason. He is a closer.  In my opinion, there is way too much talk about sharing the ball, game ending shots and officiating in these games. The thing that still stands out to me is this. Kobe finishes games like Lebron doesn’t right now. The ball sharing argument is stupid to me because of this. When it is time to finish off a game, you’re best player needs to do it. Kobe shares the ball early in the game but in the last couple minutes, when it matters, he has it and finishes things off. Lebron doesn’t finish games this way. He is still looking to dish the ball even though he is rolling right through the lane and that is a sign of a guy who doesn’t think he can do it. He hit the big three at the end of game 2, but he should have taken charge of that game way before that. Jordan, Bird, Magic, and Kobe have all done that consistently. Win or lose, you die with your star in the NBA. There are occasions where someone else MUST take the shot because the defense takes you out, but there shouldn’t be so much doubt with a guy like Lebron.

Now I’ll talk about the Magic. They are better than I thought behind guys I didn’t think would do it. First off, Rashard Lewis is way tougher than I ever thought and it’s time for me to bow down to him and take back every negative thing I’ve said about him. He has shown some serious nads on both ends of the floor that warrant some major ass-kissing. Without Lewis this team isn’t here.

Next up is Rafer Alston. Alston has shown some cold-blooded toughness that I think most of us didn’t think he had. I went back and realized that he has done this before with Houston and understand now that I underestimated him beyond belief.

Mickael Pietrus is an animal. There may be no bigger free-agent signing when it is all said and done than this guy. He has been great on both sides of the floor in the playoffs and has now made himself invaluable to this team.

Time to dog guys out now. Dwight Howard has shown no inside offensive game and is proving to be a young guy looking to find himself. With his size you would expect him to overpower people in a Shaq-like manner, but no. With his athleticism you would expect quicker less clumsy moves in the paint, but no. He has done decent on the defensive end but has been getting into foul trouble and losing his head too much. I expected a lot more from Dwight in this series against Lebron, but haven’t gotten it.

Hedo Turkoglu has proven that it’s not necessary to bring him back. Most, including myself, have made a lot of Turk’s ability to be the man in the fourth quarter for the Magic and that he is needed to make this offense work. He has proven in the playoffs that it is Lewis and not himself that is the most vital cog in the Orlando offense. His low FG% will always be over played because of the role he plays in the offense, but his poor decisions and turnovers late can’t be overlooked in the playoffs. He is flopping and complaining too much at the end of games, taking too many poor shots and not working the middle the way he should be. Thank god Rashard Lewis can make clutch three’s at the  end of these games or the Magic wouldn’t be where they are.

The bottom line with these NBA playoffs to me is this. The Nuggets and the Magic are the two best teams left even though it’s closer than made out. The Lakers will beat the Nuggets because Kobe can finish. The Magic will beat the Cavs because Lebron can’t. The Magic match up better against the both the Cavs and the Lakers so I will predict the Magic winning the title. It won’t surprise me if the Lakers win because of the Kobe factor, but I would be shocked to see the Cavs or the Nuggets come back.

The NBA is a strange world but I do think the Magic take the trophy home. It’s not a homer thing either, I just feel them doing it.

Technorati Tags: Cleveland Cavaliers, Denver Nuggets, Hedo Turkoglu, Kobe Bryant, Larry Bird, LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers, Magic Johnson, Micheal Jordan, Mickael Pietrus, NBA, NBA Championship, Orlando Magic, Rafer Alston, Rashard Lewis

The Magic jumped out to a big lead early and held on late to beat the Celtics in game one. Both teams are fighting injuries with Courtney Lee and Kevin Garnett down and this set up opportunities for some others to step up. The Celtics had no one to step up in Garnett’s absence against the Magic and they exploited that enough to win game one. From what I saw though there are some huge holes out there that the Magic can take advantage of and really take hold of this series.

We really shouldn’t expect Rafer Alston to do what he did to Rajon Rondo last night in every game, but he needs some props for what he did. Rondo still had 14 points and 8 dimes, but Alston helped force Rondo into seven turnovers last night and that was great. Alston was all over Rondo and this could be a short series if he keeps that up.

Mickael Pietrus stepped up off the bench with 17 crucial points and played with the toughness and intensity that this team needs. Let’s not forget that Pietrus was a starter earlier on the season until an injury allowed Lee to take over, so this shouldn’t be a surprise.

My last thought on things is this. The Celtics have no answer for Rashard Lewis with Garnett out and that should lead to Lewis having some big games in this series. If Boston keeps matching Davis up with Lewis, he will go off. Lewis is too quick and athletic for Davis to handle and that should lead to more opportunities for both Lewis and Turk.

It is troubling that the Magic let another big lead dwindle down to five, but it was in Boston and it’s not anything to freak out about yet, but we’ll see.

Technorati Tags: Boston Celtics, Courtney Lee, Hedo Turkoglu, Kevin Garnett, Mickael Pietrus, Orlando Magic, Rafer Alston, Rajon Rondo, Rashard Lewis