Tampa Bay Sports Blog

As expected, the Magic took care of the hapless New York Knicks in convincing fashion. You could get the sense early on that this was going to be a good old fashion shellacking. The Magic came out with good energy, executed well and ultimately wore down a decimated Knicks line up. Depth was a big factor again for the Magic, with Brandon Bass and Matt Barnes picking up the slack on an off night for Vince Carter. Dwight Howard was his usual self, overpowering opponents and claiming his domain inside the painted area. While Rashard Lewis continues to be extremely effective with his long range accuracy since his return from suspension.

Watching this game and others around the association tonight made me seriously contemplate the state of the NBA. Six out of the ten games on the slate for tonight’s action were blow outs, with the Atlanta Hawks leading the way with an impressive 146-115 drubbing of the Toronto Raptors. As many teams, such as the Knicks, jockey for salary cap relief for the impending free agent class of 2010, we the fans, are left to watch a lackluster product to say the least. The Eastern Conference actually has 10 of it’s 15 teams sporting sub .500 records. With the inept New Jersey Nets off to an NBA Record worst start at 0-18. Jay Z will need to become one heck of a salesman to pursuade Bron Bron to join the pitiful Nets.

As a native New Yorker, it is hard to comprehend the current state of the New York Knicks. They do not have a single player on their roster who would even warrant any legitimate basketball fan purchasing a ticket to watch them go through the motions. Instead of instituting a meaningless dress code for the players, why doesn’t David Stern demand that franchises field competitive teams? I’m shocked some slick talking New York City Attorney hasn’t sued the New York Knick organization for performing fraudulent business practices. How can you charge people a premium ticket price for the mediocre talent they carelessly assembled? While pushing hope like some low life TV evangelist, that they somehow have a legitimate shot at acquiring Lebron James. Who mind you, has yet to win anything of significance, unless you count his High School Championships. Which I’m sure 90 percent of NBA Players can claim to have won as well.

Now let’s get back to the Magic, who are playing excellent basketball and staking their claim as the top team in the East. Already collecting wins on the road in Boston and Atlanta, two out of the three other serious title contenders in the conference. I can’t stress enough, the significance of the Magic’s ability to get contributions from different players on any given night. We’ve already witnessed the likes of Jason Williams, Mickael Pietrus and reserves Anthony Johnson, Brandon Bass and Ryan Anderson provide much needed contributions on nights when the Magic needed a player to step up.

As good as things have gone over the last ten games or so, there’s still a lot to improve on. I’d still like to see Vince Carter, Dwight Howard and Rashard Lewis play more aggressively and start to impose their dominance on opponents. Coaches are always instructing players to take what the defense gives them, however, players of their stature are game changers and need to be more assertive, especially when attacking the rim. Success in sports, such as it is in life, is due in large part to a certain mentality or mind set. And I still think the Magic lack a killer instinct that is going to be critical if they have championship aspirations.

Technorati Tags: Atlanta Hawks, Brandon Bass, David Stern, Dwight Howard, LeBron James, Matt Barnes, NBA, New York Knicks, Orlando Magic, Rashard Lewis, Toronto Raptors, Vince Carter

The Orlando Magic continued their winning ways tonight against the lowly New York Knickerbockers. Concluding an impressive road trip in which they did what a championship caliber team is suppose to do; win games against inferior opponents. Each game saw the Magic get behind early then fight back with their superior talent and depth. All this while actually playing short handed, minus All-Star point guard Jameer Nelson, still out with a knee injury.

After losing a heartbreaker to the Miami Heat on Thanksgiving, the Magic showed a lot of character, going on the road and getting the job done. I have been somewhat hard on newcomer Vince “Cupcake” Carter, since his arrival in Orlando. Mainly, because, he continues to underachieve by most peoples standards for a guy with his god given ability and sheer talent. However, since his arrival in the NBA, he has yet to play with a legitimate title contender, so I’m going to take this into consideration, and give him a chance to lose some of the bad habits he’s picked up in his 12 year career with poor performing clubs.  Through all of that, he still manages to carry the brunt of the offensive load while Rashard Lewis regains his composure after being suspended for the first 10 games of the regular season.

Another bright spot continues to be the play of the inspired JJ Redick. It is becoming clearer with each game why Otis Smith held onto Redick while some including JJ himself felt he should be dealt. Not only has he found his collegiate stroke which had been missing in his first couple of seasons. Now he has improved defensively and is even showing the ability to put the ball on the floor when pushed off the 3 point line. With the off season additions of Matt Barnes and Brandon Bass, who also stepped up big in Milwaukee, the Magic have become one of the deepest teams in the NBA. This bolds well  for them when playing a grueling regular season and will prove to be the difference when it comes to seedings in the Playoffs. With the other 3 elite teams in the Eastern Conference, Boston, Cleveland and Atlanta, playing inconsistent and showing transparent flaws in the early goings, the Magic continue to get stronger and are exemplifying a cohesive unit able to withstand the ups and downs of the long haul.

Not to be lost in all the praise for Vinsanity and the other the role players, is the continued resurgence of Dwight Howard as the games premier dominant center imposing his will on all comers. Howard needs to continue to assert himself more as a leader and defensive juggernaut if the Magic are going to fulfill expectations. With that being said, I sincerely believe the Magic need to add another piece to the puzzle if they have serious title aspirations. Memo to Otis Smith: Iverson is still ripe for the taking. Jason Williams is not going to hold up much longer and despite Anthony Johnson’s nice showing against the Atlanta Hawks, he is not a legitimate force on the 2nd unit. If there is any merit to the cliche there’s “Strength in Numbers”, then the Magic need to be proactive in addressing their need for a spark plug to get their motor going. This team is still not where it should be and a little A.I. could do a lot in the way of helping the Magic reach their full potential.

Technorati Tags: Allen Iverson, Anthony Johnson, Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Brandon Bass, Cleveland Cavaliers, Dwight Howard, Jameer Nelson, jason williams, JJ Reddick, Matt Barnes, Mickael Pietrus, Milwaukee Bucks, NBA, Orlando Magic, Otis Smith, Rashard Lewis, Vince "Cupcake" Carter, Vince Carter, Vinsanity

The Orlando Magic and Diwght Howard got back on track last night with an impressive road victory against the up and coming Atlanta Hawks. More importantly, Dwight Howard finally found his offensive game and played with aggresiveness we haven’t since yet in the beginning stages of this season. Hopefully, this is indicative of what we can expect from Mr. Howard and the rest of the Magic from here on out.

It is expected for a team who reached the NBA Finals just six months ago to suffer a bit of a letdown when embarking on another long regular season. So I give the Magic a pass for some of their lethargic play early on. They’ve still managed to pick up some nice road wins in Boston, Toronto and now Atlanta. They say winning starts with defense and that has been the one consistent formula the Magic have put on display. Lead by Mickael Pietrus who has done an excellent job against some of the biggest names in the game, such as Paul Pierce, Dwayne Wade and Joe Johnson. Pietrus is also contributing on the offensive end with some very timely long distance shooting. Hopefully, he starts attcking the basket more, which will make the Magic even more dynamic offensively.

The most impressive aspect of last nights victory was the way the Magic fought their way back into the game in the second half, rather than mailing it in and blaming it on a tough back-to-back road game. Apparently, coach van Gundy challenged his team during his halftime pep talk and they definitely responded. So much for the notion he is losing his team.  With Orlando’s depth at several positions, they should be able to combat fatigue and the occasional off nights by their starters. Evident last night  with Anthony Johnson, who I owe a sincere apology to, putting up 17 points to make up for Jason Williams ineffectiveness.

Again, I can’t stress enough how important Dwight howards tenaciousness is needed to keep the Magic rolling. Every team plays off their best player and while Orlando may have other All-Star caliber players, Howard is clearly the emotional leader of the team. He set the tone in the second half and the rest of the Magic follwed suit. If this continues, the magic could be headed for anpother trip to the finals. Up next is the Milwaukee Bucks and rookie phenom Brandon Jennings. Without Jameer Nelson, this will be a tough assignement for the Magic backcourt. Can’t help but think what might have been had the Magic reached out and grabbed Allen Iverson after he cleared waivers. I guess I’ll have to settle for “White Chocolate” vs. the next “A.I.”.

Technorati Tags: Allen Iverson, Anthony Johnson, Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, brandon jennings, coach Van Gundy, Dwayne Wade, Dwight Howard, Jameer Nelson, jason will, joe johnson, Mickael Pietrus, Milwaukee Bucks, NBA, Orlando Magic, paul pierce, Stan Van Gundy, Toronto Raptors, Vince Carter

Orlando capped of their 4-0 road trip last night with another convincing win, a 106-88 victory in Denver. The Nuggets are a good team but the Magic turned it up in the fourth quarter to run away with it. Turk, Nelson and Lewis took it to the Nuggets combining for 77 of the Magic’s 106 points. This win was impressive because of the night before. After the game they played the night before against the Lakers, you could see a letdown game coming. They didn’t let that happen and are establishing themselves as THE force to be reckoned with in the NBA. They have the best road record in the league and have done so while beating teams like the Lakers, Nuggets, Spurs, Hawks and so on in their buildings.

That Laker game was everything I thought it would be by the way. Jameer Nelson stepped up again with 28 points, which included 15 in the fourth quarter. Howard showed Andrew Bynum that he still has some growing up to do as he dominated the paint despite getting into early foul trouble. It was an outstanding game and I come away even more impressed than I already was. It was nice to see Jameer hit the big shots in the fourth, especially as Kobe missed. Everything is going pretty well right now, hopefully they’re not peaking too soon, and I am now looking forward to the future match-ups with the Celtics, Cavs and Pistons.

Technorati Tags: Andrew Bynum, Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Courtney Lee, Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons, Dwight Howard, Hedo Turkoglu, Jameer Nelson, Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers, Orlando Magic, Rashard Lewis, San Antonio spurs

What we have seen so far from the Orlando Magic this season has been remarkable so far and all of us fans should be excited for what may be to come. The Magic are now sitting atop the NBA along with Boston and the Lakers as the first teams to clinch the 30 victory mark and don’t look to be slowing down at all. I’ts been an awesome sight to watch this year and it has been highlighted the last week with an impressive road victory in San Antonio last night and the absolute destruction of Atlanta on Friday.

Last night’s 105-98 victory over the Spurs really set them apart as the leagues best road team and has helped them let everyone know that they’re for real and need to be in the conversation as one of the best in the NBA right now. If they keep this pace up they should be considered elite, but they need to show and prove in the playoffs to really make their mark.

There are a few things different this season than in the past that make me believe that this team is ready to snag a title and I’ll go through them quickly.

• The emergence of Jameer Nelson as a better floor captain and scorer is probably the biggest improvement in the team this season. Nelson is on pace to set or match career highs in FG %, PPG, FT %, rebounds, steals and 3 pointer %. Nelson has probably set himself up for the most improved player award at least.
• The recent addition of Courtney Lee to the starting lineup is going to do nothing but help this team that has been lacking at the SG position for some time. Lee is an animal defensively, is lightning fast and will do enough offensively to keep the job he has earned. His scoring will slowly improve as he gets more time, but I wouldn’t expect too much from him there with Lewis, Howard, Turk and Nelson doing most of the damage.
• Rashard Lewis looks like he finally understands how talented he is and has improved his game on both ends of the floor. I have dogged Lewis in the past for not driving the lane enough and I must stop that now. He could probably go to the hoop more, but with Lee in the lineup, it’s not near as necessary as before. Lee will be aggressive inside so Lewis can light it up from the outside and these guys really seem to understand that and are playing very well together.

All of these things coupled with coach Stan Van Gundy’s relentless defensive approach has set this team apart from the rest of the league and should have this team believing they can take down Boston as NBA Champs.

Technorati Tags: Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Courtney Lee, Hedo Turkoglu, Jameer Nelson, Los Angeles Lakers, NBA Championship, Orlando Magic, Rashard Lewis, San Antonio spurs, Stan Van Gundy

The Magic invited the Wizards into Orlando last night for what has become common occurrence, a loss. Granted these are the Gilbert Arenas-less Wizards, but they are an NBA team none the less. Caron Butler went off for 29 points but got little help as the Magic’s balanced scoring and good defense carried them throughout. Hedo looks to be shaking off the hideous slump he’s been in the last couple games as he scored 22 on 6 of 12 shooting to lead the Magic to the 89-80 win.

Dwight Howard chipped in his usual double double with 15/16 and the good offensive numbers pretty much end there. Lewis and Nelson had 26 combined on 9 of 29 combined shooting, though they hit 4 of 10 from down town. It looks like they may be headed toward a little slump themselves but I actually would like to see that. I personally would like to see the slumps go up and down until the end of the season and have everyone get hot for the playoff run, but maybe I’m being too optimistic. My favorite thing about tonight’s game was that Courtney Lee got the start. I’m developing an Evan Longoria like man-crush on this guy and really want to see him getting more action. He’s lightning quick and very aggressive on both ends of the floor. He really plays the type of ball that need more of here and he could definitely be the guy to compliment Turk in driving the lane and drawing some fouls while Nelson and Lewis drop bombs from the outside.

This was a nice warmup game for the Magic as they head to Atlanta to take on the Hawks, who are only 4 games behind the Magic and hold the fourth best record in the Eastern Conference. Atlanta seems to be the team everyone forgets about when they’re talking about the Eastern Conference, but these guys are tough and they always give us a tough game, so the Magic better be ready.

Technorati Tags: Atlanta Hawks, Caron Butler, Courtney Lee, Dwight Howard, Evan Longoria, Gilbert Arenas, Hedo Turkoglu, Jameer Nelson, Orlando Magic, Rashard Lewis, Washington Wizards

The Magic beat the T-Wolves on Wednesday (I know it’s late but I’ve been working!) and seem to keep having things fall just right in spite of the injuries that have ravaged them. Wednesday’s game was great in a different way though. Turk, Dwight and Lewis did their usual in combining for 68 of the Magic’s 100 point night, but a new face stepped in and took advantage of his opportunity to show and prove. Introducing Courtney Lee! Lee had yet to play 30 minutes or get double digit points in his glorious 14 game career. That’s over now as Lee stepped up to play 34+ minutes and dropped 19 off the bench to help beat the Wolves 100-89. Now I’m not declaring this guy the next big thing yet, but he looked very good the other night and it’s nice to see this guy get the anti-Reddick treatment in his rookie season. Maybe the Magic are more forced now to play this guy than they were to play JJ in his rookie campaign, but it was in the back of my head coming in that maybe they were going to do the same thing with C-Lee. Nope! Now we need to move forward.

The Magic had the Thunder at home and kept piling up the wins against a bad team by beating them 98-89. Jameer Nelson came back and picked up where he left off with points 15 on 6 of 10 shooting, which included 3 for 3 from the arc. Howard was especially dominant with 21/23 and helped offset bad shooting nights by Lewis and Turkoglu who went 10 of 32 combined. Keith Bogans also made his return and scored 9 points on 3 of 6 shooting, all three pointers by the way, in a balanced effort from the bench. I would’ve liked to see a little more than 10 minutes for Courtney, but it’s hard to argue with another victory. The Magic now sit at 14-5 on top of the Southeast, 2 games ahead of Atlanta, as they head out on an extremely tough 5 game West Coast swing. We could be singing an entirely different tune about things at this point next week, but let’s hope this road trip goes well as it could be a huge confidence boost to an already good team and set things up for an impressive season.

Technorati Tags: Atlanta Hawks, Courtney Lee, Dwight Howard, Hedo Turkoglu, Jameer Nelson, JJ Reddick, Keith Bogans, Minnesota Timberwolves, Oklahoma City Thunder, Orlando Magic, Rashard Lewis