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

For those of you less educated folks out there who may not be familiar with the old idiom “feast or famine”, it means; either too much of something or not enough of something.

If you’re a fan of the Orlando Magic, you probably already know where I’m going with this. Yes, that “something” I’m referring to is EFFORT.

The Magic have been wildly inconsistent through the first half of this season, and much of that has to do with the lack of effort and intensity they bring to the court on any given night.

After returning home from a disastrous road trip that concluded with a disconcerting loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, in what was ’suppose’ to be a chance to avenge their defeat in the NBA Finals last season. The Magic apparently channeled their inner “Gooch”(pardon my reference to the old sit-com “Different Strokes” and the character who routinely harassed poor Arnold “what you talkin’ bout Willis”) and took their aggression out on two clearly overmatched opponents in the Indiana Pacers and Sacramento Queens…..Oooops, I meant Kings.

Before moving on, I’d like to address the Laker game if I may. I was honestly expecting Orlando to at least come out of the locker room ready to play and show some pride. Laker fans are notorious for showing up late to games, much like the Magic this season who usually get going around the 2nd quarter. So it would have been a great opportunity to take the crowd out of the game and build some momentum.

Unfortunately, the Magic chose to do things the hard way, waiting until the 3rd quarter to find their shooting touch. At this point, the Lakers already imposed their will on the game and simply dusted the Magic off in the fourth quarter, despite a lackluster performance by Kobe Bryant who has been hampered with an injured finger. As much as I hate Kobe (and believe me that hate runs deep…lol..), I have to give him respect for his willingness to play hurt. I wish Vince Carter had that kind of resolve.

The lone bright spot in the Magic’s loss to the lakers, was the 1st half performance of Dwight Howard. Superman was very aggressive, attacking offensively and even displayed a nice feathery touch on a few face up jumpers off the glass. Why the Magic went away from Howard in the second half is a mystery to me? Instead, they reverted back to chucking 3 pointers, a total of 33 on the night to be exact. When will Stan Van Gundy realize this Rick Pitino “Ken-Chucky Wildcat” approach is not going to get it done?

Wednesday nights game against the Pacers was another opportunity for revenge from their last meeting in Indiana where Roy Hibbert had a career night against Howard and company. Howard clearly seemed to remember as he dominated and showed why he is considered one of the best centers in the game. When Dwight plays physical and stays aggressive, there isn’t a player out there who should be able to guard him.  Matt Barnes also had a very productive game with 10 points and a rather impressive 16 boards for the slightly built Forward. Following the Game, Barnes summed things up perfectly stating “We(The magic)need to be the hunters more instead of just the hunted”.

Last nights game against Sacramento was much to do about nothing. So I will keep it short. Aside from Tyreke Evans “Rookie of The Year” campaign, the Kings have nothing left to play for this season. That was very apparent as the Magic took it to the Kings from start to finish. Dwight Howard was impressive once again, especially at the free throw line, where he was a shocking 11-12. If he continues to improve on his free throw shooting as he has of late, it will be increasingly difficult for teams to foul him.

As a former basketball player, I can tell you from my experience, it is much easier to shoot uncontested 3 pointers, compared to shooting with a hand in your face. Which is what happens when the Magic play inside out, as opposed to just coming down and spotting up. If you allow Dwight Howard to draw a double team and then kick it out to the open man, you will get better looks and ultimately, shoot a higher percentage. The Magic are loaded with great shooters, such as Rashard Lewis, JJ Redick and Ryan Anderson, who should benefit from Dwight’s re-emergence as an offensive force.

Even in the blow out wins against Indiana and Sacramento at home, the Magic are still relying far too heavily on the deep ball, and are not getting enough from their starting back court. Vince Carter, injured or not, has to play better on both ends of the floor and start taking better shots. As for Jameer Nelson, I’m afraid diagnosing his problems aren’t quite as easy. His outside shooting has been terrible, and the same can be said for his decision making and leadership. Since his return from knee surgery, he hasn’t had the same explosive quickness to get by opposing players, and his confidence seems shaken. The team plays much more fluidly when being run by back up Jason Williams. Maybe, the Magic need to insert Williams back into the starting role and give Jameer a chance to regain his form against the opposing teams second units.

Tonight Orlando heads back on the road to take on the “Red Hot” Charlotte Bobcats. Yes, you heard me right, I said the Charlotte Bobcats are currently the NBA’s “hottest” team, having won 9 of their last 10 games. Since acquiring Stephen Jackson from Golden State, the Bobcats have been playing much better basketball. And similar to last years Magic team with Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu, the Bobcats are giving opponents fits with the mismatches their line-up of Stephen Jackson, Gerald Wallace and Boris Diaw create.

I would love to see the Magic try and play Gortat alongside Dwight Howard, similar to the Lakers approach with Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol. I’m just curious to see how teams would be able to defend, especially, with the shooters the Magic possess on the perimeter.

Let’s see if the Magic can carry their  home dominance with them on the road.

Technorati Tags: Andrew Bynum, Boris Diaw, Charlotte Bobcats, Different Strokes, Dwight Howard, Gerald Wallace, Indiana Pacers, Jameer Nelson, jason williams, JJ Reddick, Kobe Bryant, Marcin Gortat, Matt Barnes, Orlando Magic, Pau Gasol, Rick Pitino, Roy Hibbert, Ryan Anderson, Sacramento Kings, Stan Van Gundy, Stephen Jackson, The Gooch, Tyreke Evans, Vince Carter

Rafer Alston came over to the Orlando Magic last week in their big trade deadline deal and looks like he’s going to fit in nicely. He has played two games, starting one, and helped the Magic get victories against the Heat and Bobcats. Alston is a true point guard and increase scoring opportunities for everyone else. The deal came shortly after the Tyronn Lue deal and that’s what leaves me scratching my head. It’s obvious at this point that the Magic threw everything they had into the Alston deal and are counting on him to lead them to the promised land.

Prioritizing these things, I like the Alston deal. It will help the team this year and should help in the next season or two, assuming that Alston takes the back seat to Nelson next year with a good attitude. The Lue deal still irks me and is one of the dumbest moves the team has made to date. Lue already played here and didn’t work out. He is younger than Anthony Johnson yet looks less athletic. He wasn’t an upgrade over Johnson and dealing away Keith Bogans for him was completely stupid and was a knee jerk reaction to Jameer Nelson going down that shouldn’t have happened.

All that being said, every team makes dumb decisions sometime and the Magic at least made the deal for Alston to attempt to fix things. I would still rather see Bogans coming off the bench in playoff time, but that doesn’t matter now. The one thing we all need to see is how well Alston plays against Boston, Cleveland and Detroit. Those are the teams that matter and that is the only thing that will show us how well this deal will work out.

The Magic head to Chicago tonight and I’ve got a feeling we’re gonna see another big game from Dwight so tune in and see if I’m right.

Technorati Tags: Boston Celtics, Charlotte Bobcats, Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons, Dwight Howard, Jameer Nelson, Keith Bogans, Miami Heat, Orlando Magic, Rafer Alston, Tyronn Lue

   The Orlando Magic have won three straight now on the road after they beat the Charlotte Bobcats 90-85 on Sunday. It was a game that could have been ugly had everyone not stepped up forDwight Howard who was the focus of the Bobcats and ended up fouling out after only playing 7 plus minutes in the second half. Howard only scored four points on 4 of 6 free throws and was 0 for 3 from the field. Tony Battie played well in Howard’s absence with 9/7 and played great defense in helping limit Emeka Okafor to 8/9 who also was in foul trouble all night. Turk ended up with 20/4 despite shooting 6 of 15. Hedo drew fouls driving the lane and ended up 8 of 9 at the free throw line to offset his poor shooting. Rashard Lewis played decent on both ends and finished with 17/6 in spite of his poor shooting, 6 of 16. Lewis hit some big three’s along with Mickael Pietrus, who had a line of 18/4 while shooting 7 of 13. Pietrus has been improving offensively and we can only hope that he continues to do so. Jameer Nelson had 15/5 and Keith Bogans contributed 7 points off the bench. The Magic had to win this one with defense and Howard added five blocked shots to his league lead before fouling out. It wasn’t pretty, but it works.

Technorati Tags: Charlotte Bobcats, Dwight Howard, Emeka Okafor, Hedo Turkoglu, Jameer Nelson, Keith Bogans, Mickael Pietrus, Orlando Magic, Rashard Lewis, Tony Battie