khandor’s sports blog

Watch the following sequence of events and then identify correctly what crucial mistake the 76ers made which resulted in their loss to the Celtics [on Thursday]:

————————————-

Should they have gone “under” the pick, instead of switching?

Should they have gone “over” the pick, “shown hard” with Garnett’s defender, and then “recovered back” to their original checks?

Should they have ”trapped” the pick?

Or, should they have done something else, altogether different?

————————————-

The specific take from this corner …

The main mistake which Doug Collins made in this instance was his deployment of this specific Group of 5 players against the Quintet that Doc Rivers put on the floor:

PG – Holiday vs Rondo
OG – Williams vs Robinson
SF – Meeks vs Allen
PF – Iguodala vs Pierce
C – Young vs Garnett

which amounted to the following “Individual Match-up” categories:

For Philadelphia -> 3 Smalls [i.e. Robinson, Rondo & Allen] + 2 Mediums [Iguodala & Young]

vs

For Boston -> 3 Smalls [Robinson, Rondo & Allen] + 1 Medium [Pierce] + 1 Big [Garnett]

What Doug Collins should have done instead was use THIS specific Group of 5 players on this final possession:

PG – Iguodala [Medium] vs Rondo [Small]
OG – Williams [Small] vs Robinson [Small]
SF – Meeks [Small] vs Allen [Small]
PF – Young [Medium] vs Pierce [Medium]
C – Battie [Big] vs Garnett [Big]

… and the 76ers would have probably won this game outright, by getting a defensive stop on this possession, regardless of what specific play the Celtics decided to use.

Understanding properly how “Individual Match-ups” actually work is the key to understanding the NBA game.

———————————–

PS. If you actually watched this game on television, like yours truly did, then, you should have been able to see the look of absolute horror which came over the face of Ed Stefanski [Sixers GM] … believe it, or not, it was very much like this … when he first surveyed the floor, saw the 5 players Coach Collins sent out, from the preceding time-out, to defend against the 5 players deployed by Doc Rivers, and mouthed the following 5 words of fright and dismay: “No! What are you doing!” Right now, the 76ers might well be the best 7-15 team in the NBA, considering they have lost at least 3 games [i.e. L1, in OT; L2, in OT; and L3] in mind-boggling fashion. :-(

Related:

The Celtics game-winning pick & roll and the Sixers poor defense of it

Yet another reason to like the job which Otis Smith [GM] has done, thus far?

NBA Countdown: No. 8 Orlando Magic
Reaching the NBA Finals for the first time in 14 years and second in franchise history was a wonderful accomplishment for the Orlando Magic-but there was no guarantee a championship would follow.The Magic will go into the 2009-10 season determined to defend their Eastern Conference title but looking different than when they won it. Yes, they still have All-Star center Dwight Howard as their foundation and high-priced Rashard Lewis (who’s suspended the first 10 games of the season after testing positive for an elevated testosterone level) shooting 3-pointers, but the Magic changed their late-game, go-to guy by switching from Turkoglu to Carter.

It’s why general manager Otis Smith didn’t take any bows, or even take the time to catch his breath.

And it’s also why he made one of the boldest moves of the summer, changing his carefully crafted team chemistry by trading for All-Star Vince Carter and letting go of free agent Hedo Turkoglu, a key player in Orlando’s recent rise.

“You can’t stand still in this league,” Smith said. “If you do, you’ll be going backward.”

The Magic also added free agents in power forward Brandon Bass from Dallas and small forward Matt Barnes of Phoenix. They even added point guard Jason Williams, who last played during 2007-08 with the Heat. Surprisingly, they kept backup center Marcin Gortat by matching the offer sheet Dallas gave him.

With the Celtics adding Rasheed Wallace and the Cavaliers trading for Shaquille O’Neal, the Magic tried to keep pace with the other serious contenders in the East.

“There are less than seven teams every year that really are trying to win a championship in our league,” Smith said. “Those three (in the East) are trying to win now, as opposed to saying ‘We’re OK where we are. Let’s stay the status quo.’”

———————————–

Otis Smith was hired by the Magic on May 6, 2006.

This is what the team’s roster looked like on that day:

Augmon, Stacey F
Battie, Tony PF-C
Cato, Kelvin C
Diener, Travis PG
Dooling, Keyon G
Francis, Steve G
Garrity, Pat PF
Hill, Grant G-F
Howard, Dwight C
Kasun, Mario C
Morris, Terence PF
Nelson, Jameer PG
Outlaw, Bo PF
Stevenson, DeShawn G
Turkoglu, Hedo F

This is what it looks like today, 41 months later:

Almond, Morris G
Anderson, Ryan PF
Barnes, Matt F
Bass, Brandon PF
Carter, Vince G-F
Foyle, Adonal C
Gortat, Marcin C
Howard, Dwight C
Johnson, Anthony PG
Johnson, Linton F
Lewis, Rashard F
Nelson, Jameer PG
Pietrus, Mickael G-F
Redick, JJ G
Williams, Jason PG

This is Orlando’s record of performance, since that date:

2008-2009
59-23/.720, 1st Atlantic, 3rd Eastern Conference, NBA Finalist 
2007-2008
52-30/.634, 1st Atlantic, 3rd Eastern Conference, Lost 2nd Rd
2006-2007
40-42/.488, 3rd Atlantic, 8th Eastern Conference, Lost 1st Rd

This was their record of performance the season before Smith arrived:

2005-2006
36-46/.439, 3rd Atlantic, 10th Eastern Conference, No Playoffs

3 full seasons into his tenure with the Magic, Otis Smith should be considered as one of the best GM’s in the NBA.

================================================

By way of comparison, for the benefit of Raptors fans, this is what Toronto has accomplished under the direction of Bryan Colangelo [2-time NBA EOTY award recipient] during this same time-frame:

2005-2006 Roster [Feb 28 2006]
Araujo, Rafael PF
Bonner, Matt PF
Bosh, Chris PF-C
Calderon, Jose PG
Davis, Antonio PF-C
Graham, Joey F
James, Mike PG
Martin, Darrick PG
Peterson, Morris G-F
Sow, Pape PF
Villanueva, Charlie F
Williams, Eric G-F
Woods, Loren C

2009-2010, Current Roster
Banks, Marcus G
Bargnani, Andrea C
Belinelli, Marco G-F
Bosh, Chris PF-C
Calderon, Jose PG
DeRozan, Demar G-F
Douby, Quincy G
Evans, Reggie PF
Jack, Jarrett G
Johnson, Amir PF
Nesterovic, Rasho PF-C
O’Bryant, Patrick C
Turkoglu, Hedo F
Weems, Sonny G-F
Wright, Antoine G-F

Year #1-3
2008-2009
33-49/.402, 4th Atlantic, 13th Eastern Conference, No Playoffs
2007-2008
41-41/.500, 2nd Atlantic, 6th Eastern Conference, Lost 1st Rd
2006-2007
47-35/.573, 1st Atlantic, 3rd Eastern Conference, Lost 1st Rd

Year Prior
2005-2006
27-55/.329, 4th Atlantic, 1st Eastern Conference, No Playoffs

================================================

In the NBA, the cold harsh reality is that there are only 2 distinct tiers of teams:

Tier 1
Those few that are actually trying to win the League Championship.

Tier 2
Everybody else.

Much R.E.S.P.E.C.T. to Otis Smith for “cutting to the chase” and improving the Orlando Magic each season, thus far.

================================================

 Loading ...

When you first heard the news that New Jersey had agreed to trade Vince Carter [SF-OG] and Ryan Anderson [PF] to Orlando … in exchange for 3 pretty good but not great players, i.e. Courtney Lee [OG], Rafer Alston [PG], Tony Battie [PF-C] … did the thought occur to you that the Nets’ managerial tandem of Rod Thorn & Kiki Vandeweghe MUST know something that just isn’t common knowledge, yet? Or, perhaps, have an Ace of sorts, hidden up their collective sleeve?

As has been mentioned in this space before …

Yours truly has a great deal of confidence in the ability of specific GM’s across the NBA to assess with a fairly high degree of accuracy the talent level of elite players in this league: 

NJ Nets rookie takes over: Terrence Williams may be the Next Big Thing
Terrence Williams — for reasons that elude logic — looks like the Nets’ best player two weeks before camp opens.

Nobody wants to say this aloud for print, but they’ll go this far:

“He’s playing really well – a freak of nature athletically,” Keyon Dooling said yesterday. “In the moments I’ve watched, he’s really unique. What you don’t see from the great athletes is a high basketball IQ. But he has a nice floor game – a really nice floor game.”

Then there’s this from Mr. Reticence: “He’s really good. I worked with him some, watched him some, and I’m very impressed,” L-Frank said.

Both sounded as though they were looking over their shoulders, waiting for someone to jam a towel down their throats. Nobody wants to christen any rookie as The Next Big Thing, but everyone else we spoke to claims that T-Will the Thrill has absolutely torn up the gym.

Frank downshifted into omigod-let’s-douse-that-now speech:

“Winning the pickup game award isn’t necessarily a guarantee of success – Rodney Buford won it,” the coach said. “I think Terrence will be a very good player, but it’s early to make an evaluation. The guys like playing with him, because he’s a willing and capable passer – that’s human nature. But many young guys try to establish themselves by scoring; Terrence just makes the right plays and delivers the ball in the right position, which ingratiates you with teammates.”

———————————————

one of which happens to reside in New Jersey.

Does that mean these management teams never ever make a serious mistake when acquiring or releasing players for their franchise?

No, it does not.

What it does mean, though, is that … the individuals in charge of those specific organizations know exactly what it takes to put a solid team on the floor, and succeed in doing just that, on a consistent basis, without ever attempting to pull the wool over their fans eyes, regarding the realistic prospects for their team, in a given season … while always keeping a steady eye towards the gradual process involved with building a championship calibre team.

Those who think the following roster of players is going to be atrocious this season:

are making a serious in judgment … even if the Nets do happen to miss the playoffs, again.

There’s a definite plan in place with this franchise, as far as their player personnel is concerned, which now includes future stalwarts at four of the following five positions:

PG – Devin Harris
OG – Courtney Lee
SF – Terrence Williams
PF – ?
C – Brook Lopez 

It says here that Brook Lopez [C] will develop into one of the best Centers in the NBA during the next few seasons, at the heart of their line-up … with a solid core of talented athletic players around him … like D-Harris, C-Lee, CDR [?] and T-Will-The-Thrill, at their respective positions … to form a group that is going to be able to Rebound, Defend and Share the Ball, as a good team should.

The 5 teams in the Atlantic Division finished in the following order last season:

1. Boston Celtics, 62-20/.756, 2nd East, Lost 2nd Round 
2. Philadelphia 76ers, 41-41/.500, 6th East, Lost 1st Round  
3. New Jersey Nets, 34-48/.415, 3rd East, Missed Playoffs
4. Toronto Raptors, 33-49/.402, 13th East, Missed Playoffs
5. New York Knicks, 32-50/.390, 14th East, Missed Playoffs

At this point in the off season, the teams have made the following player personnel changes:

BOSTON CELTICS
Significant Losses
1. Leon Powe [PF], UFA
2. Mikki Moore [PF-C], UFA
3. Stephon Marbury [PG]
4. Gabe Pruitt [PG-OG]

Significant Adds
1. Lester Hudson/2nd Round Draft Pick [No. 58, overall]
2. Rasheed Wallace, UFA
3. Sheldon Williams, UFA
4. Marquis Daniels, UFA

PHILADELPHIA 76ERS
Significant Losses
1. Reggie Evans [PF], trade
2. Andre Miller [PG], UFA
3. Theo Ratliff [PF-C], UFA

Significant Adds
1. Elton Brand [PF], returns from injury
2. Jason Smith [PF-C], returns from injury
3. Jason Kapono [SF], trade
4. Jrue Holiday [PG], 1st Round Draft Pick [No. 19, overall]  
5. Rodney Carney [SF], UFA

NEW JERSEY NETS
Significant Losses
1. Vince Carter [SF-OG], trade
2. Ryan Anderson [PF], trade

Significant Adds
1. Terrence Williams [SF-OG], 1st Round Draft Pick [No. 11, overall]
2. Courtney Lee [OG], trade
3. Rafer Alston [PG], trade
4. Tony Battie [PF-C], trade

TORONTO RAPTORS
Significant Losses
1. Jason Kapono [SF], trade
2. Shawn Marion [PF-SF], UFA/Sign & trade
3. Kris Humphries [PF], trade
4. Nathan Jawai [PF-C], trade
5. Anthony Parker [OG-SF-PG], UFA
6. Joey Graham [SF], UFA
7. Roko Ukic [PG], trade
8. Carlos Delfino [SF-OG], trade

Significant Adds
1. Reggie Evans [PF], trade
2. DeMar DeRozan [OG-SF], 1st Round Draft Pick [No. 9, overall]
3. Hedo Turkoglu [SF], Sign & trade
4. Antoine Wright [SF-OG], trade
5. Jarrett Jack [PG-OG], RFA
6. Marco Belinelli [OG-SF-PG], trade
7. Rasho Nesterovic [C-PF], UFA
8. Amir Johnson [PF], trade 

NEW YORK KNICKS
Significant Losses
1. Quentin Richardson [SF-OG], trade
2. Chris Wilcox, PF-C], UFA

Significant Adds
1. Danilo Gallinari [SF-PF], returns from injury
2. Jordan Hill [PF-C], 1st Round Draft Pick [No. 8, overall]
3. Toney Douglas [PG-OG], 1st Round Draft Pick [No. 29, overall]
4. Darko Milicic [PF-C], trade
5. Sun Yue [PG], UFA

While several NBA observers seem to think the Raptors SHOULD be much improved this coming season, based on the wholesale changes made to their roster … this corner does not necessarily share that same opinion, when evaluated against the LOSSESS & ADDS of the other teams in their Division.

Q1. Have the Raptors improved, overall, from last season, relative to their competition?

A1. Maybe; maybe not … is the correct answer, at this point.

The Knicks and Nets are in re-building mode, and the Raptors SHOULD have been expected to finish this coming season in NO WORSE than 3rd place in the Atlantic Division, behind the Celtics and, possibly, the 76ers … even if they would have done “nothing” substantive to improve their team this summer.

However, given that doing “nothing” was in fact the OPPOSITE of what the Raptors decided to do this off season … i.e. see above … it SHOULD now be EXPECTED that this supposedly improved team SHOULD finish NO WORSE than in 2nd place in the Atlantic Division behind the Boston Celtics.

Once this expectation is established, what then becomes interesting is …

if the divisional standings eventually look something like this:

ATLANTIC
1 Boston
2 Toronto or Philadelphia
3 Philadelphia or Toronto
4 New York or New Jersey
5 New Jersey or New York

and the conference standings eventually look something like this:

SOUTHEAST
1 Orlando
2 Atlanta or Miami or Washington
3 Miami Atlanto or Washington
4 Washington or Atlanta or Miami
5 Charlotte

CENTRAL
1 Cleveland
2 Detroit or Chicago or Indiana
3 Chicago or Detroit or Indiana
4 Indiana or Detroit or Chicago
5 Milwaukee

and the playoff race eventually looks something like this:

Eastern Conference
1-2-3 Orlando – High End, Southeast
1-2-3 Cleveland – High End, Central
1-2-3 Boston – High End, Atlantic

4-5-6 Atlanta – Upper Middle, Southeast
4-5-6 Miami – Upper Middle, Southeast
4-5-6 Washington – Upper Middle, Southeast

7-8-9-10-11-12 Detroit – Middle, Central
7-8-9-10-11-12 Chicago – Middle, Central
7-8-9-10-11-12 Indiana – Middle, Central
7-8-9-10-11-12 Toronto – Middle, Atlantic
7-8-9-10-11-12 Philadelphia – Middle, Atlantic
7-8-9-10-11-12 Charlotte – Low End, Southwest

12-13-14-15 Milwaukee – Low End, Central
12-13-14-15 New York – Low End, Atlantic
12-13-14-15 New Jersey – Low End, Atlantic

indicating, perhaps, that the relative strength of each division may be shifting this season:

#1. Southeast
#2. Central
#3. Atlantic 

IF a scenario like this is eventually what plays out this season, then, how much will the Raptors really have improved this summer, relative to the other teams in their Division and the Eastern Conference, as a whole?

Current Odds To Win This Series
Orlando +245
LOS ANGELES -265

The first question which needs to be asked and then answered regarding this series is:

Q1. What 5-Man Unit will the Lakers use to begin Game One?

A1. Either, Option I, Option II or Option III [see below]:

Q2. Which Option actually presents the better set of individual match-ups for each team?

A2. That’s the $64,000 Question for this series.

———-

Orlando’s Perspective

Option I
Gives the Magic their best opportunity to succeed, emphasizing Turkoglu’s Size & Skill Advantage vs Ariza, plus Lewis’ Quickness Advantage vs Gasol.

Option II
Limits the Magic to Turkoglu’s Size & Skill Advantage vs Ariza.  

Option III
Chokes Off the Magic’s Offense, eliminating their Individual Advantages. 

Los Angeles’ perspective

Option I
Gives the Lakers a chance to attack Lewis in the Pinch-Post position vs Gasol; but, exposes Gasol on the perimeter vs Lewis’ superior quickness.

Option II
Allows Bynum to work vs the Magic’s back-ups; but, exposes Gasol to be attacked by Howard in Low Block Post-ups.

Option III
Exposes Gasol to attacks by Howard; BUT, also ensures that Kobe can GO TO WORK vs Lee, unfettered, while, Bynum gets to work vs the Magic’s back-ups.

———-

Despite the Lakers now being a prohibitive favourite to win this series, there is still some legitimate “value” to be had with a play on the Magic, at +245 … if Los Angeles decides to go at Orlando with its customary M.O. [Option I].

That said, however, there is nothing about this series which SPELLS the word U-P-S-E-T, given the Individual Match-ups listed above.

———-

Related:

Charley Rosen’s 2009 NBA Finals Preview

Q1. Can the Cavaliers rebound from a 1-2 game deficit to win the EC Finals vs the Magic?

A1. Yes, they can.

Q2. Can the Nuggets claw their way back from a similar deficit to vanquish the Lakers in the WC Finals?

A2. Yes, they can.

———-

Both teams are capable of orchestrating a comeback to reach the Finals this season, based on the prodigious talents of players like Lebron James, Carmelo Anthony & Chauncey Billups.

However … that specific scenario is now quite unlikely to happen.

How come?

From top to bottom, and when healthy …

The two best teams in the NBA today are the Orlando Magic and the Los Angeles Lakers, and each one is simply too good to be overcome by their respective opponents in their conference finals series, both of which are missing key elements when it comes to actually winning the championship.

What The Cavaliers Are Still Missing

* Their best 5-Man Unit has yet to play any significant time together during their series vs Orlando, i.e. PG/Gibson, OG/Pavlovic, SF/James, PF/Varejao & C/Ilgauskas

* Mike Brown needs to develop a better feel for the game, and increased dexterity, as a Head Coach

* A 2nd Marquee Player at the Guard and/or Forward position with good size

What The Nuggets Are Still Missing

* A team playing a thuggish brand of basketball will not win the NBA Championship … because the rules of the game, rightfully, will not allow it

* More poise under pressure from players not named Chauncey Billups

* At least one more year’s worth of experience which goes beyond the 1st Round of the Playoffs

———- 

Looking back on the 2008-2009 regular season schedule:

December 20, 2008, Lakers at Magic, 103-106
January 16, 2009, Lakers vs Magic, 103-109

it’s most likely that this year’s NBA Finals series will have the makings of an all-time classic … even though the current MVP may well have been eliminated from the competition, by that point.

———-

On May 19, 2009 the wagering odds to win the 2008-2009 NBA Title were as follows:

Los Angeles Lakers
Yes/+220
No/-250 

Orlando Magic
Yes/+1800
No/-2300

both of which are looking like very solid propositions with each passing day.

———-

Throughout their rosters, both teams have What it takes to win the NBA Championship this season:

Orlando Magic [59-23]
PDR – 4
PAR – 6
RDR – 9
QR -19
QIR – 5
Rafer Alston, Anthony Johnson, Courtney Lee, Tyronn Lue, JJ Redick, Mickael Pietrus, Hedo Turkoglu, Rashard Lewis, Tony Battie, Adonal Foyle, Dwight Howard, Marcin Gortat & Stan Van Gundy

Los Angeles Lakers [65-17]
PDR – 2
PAR – 14
RDR – 5
QR – 21
QIR – 6
Derek Fisher, Jordan Farmar, Shannon Brown, Kobe Bryant, Sasha Vujacic, Trevor Ariza, Luke Walton, Lamar Odom, Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum, Josh Powell, DJ Mbenga & Phil Jackson

Legend:
PDR – Points Differential Ranking; PAR – Points Allowed Ranking; RDR – Rebound Differential Ranking; QR – Qaulity Rating; QIR – Quality Index Ranking

———-

Related:

When Orlando has it going 

There’s a big difference between:

A. Those who happen to write well about the game of basketball and, perhaps, have a comprehensive knowledge about different “facts” associated with the NBA,

vs.

B. Those who can tell you with a fair degree of accuracy when a comeback like the one which happened last night, at Quicken Loans Arena, is about to occur, before it actually happends … often-times, in direct opposition to the available data on-hand, pertaining to the specific game in question … based on their Basketball Acumen.

Here’s the key part of what Kelly Dwyer, a noted basketball analyst, wrote today, re: Orlando/Cleveland, Game One:

Behind the Box Score, with the universal sign for choking
The question that all the analysts get asked in this scenario is, “could you see this coming, when the Magic were down 16?”

Well, no. Of course not. The only thing you can see coming is for one team to continue to play at the pace they’re playing at, and the other team to do the same. So, a 30-point blowout.

But what you can see is why a comeback like this could happen, even when Orlando enters the second half down 15. That’s why, when things start to get normal (LeBron doesn’t shoot 80 percent from 20 feet; Orlando isn’t the worst defensive team in the NBA), the comeback is in place. And before things get normal, you can see what it would take for the comeback to take place. Little stuff. Orlando could hang onto the ball. The defense can tighten up. Cleveland’s iffy perimeter attack, currently hot, could run cold.

———-

Which is simply not a wholly accurate assessment of the situation when you’re dealing with someone who, in fact, has a high level of accumulated Basketball Acumen.

Such a person could, and would, have been able to tell you last night … while the Cavs were suffocating the Magic in the 1st quarter … that the signs were there for this to be a special game in the history of Orlando’s franchise:

* Coming back from way down,

* On the road,

* Against the current League MVP,

* With their own starting Center having been fouled out down the stretch, due primarily to highly suspect officiating, 

* To achieve a stunning victory in Game One of the Eastern Conference Finals.

Yessiree, Bob - i.e. not Tom, Dick & Harry – they most certainly could … at least, if they are someone who knows what to LOOK FOR when watching and then analyzing How The NBA Game Actually Works, in the first place.

There are no formal courses taught in school that cover this material … and, no formal exploits in journalism which can adequately prepare you to succeed in this specific arena of activity.

All there is … is what you’ve done in ’the game’ to this point, and what you alone happen to you know about it already, based on [i] trial & error, [ii] your unique formal education, and [iii] your well-developed instinct for knowing exactly what’s about to happen next … both, on and off the court.

Yes, indeed. There’s a big gulf between those who fit properly into Category A and those who fit into Category B. 

———-

[HINT: Nowhere in that specific article do you see the names of Mickael Pietrus, Anthony Johnson, Marcin Gortat, or Tony Battie mentioned, at all ... or, Stan Van Gundy ... without whose contribution last night, no VICTORY falls the way of the Orlando Magic. That's a serious omission. Those who fit properly into Category B know that implicitly. ] 

Current Odds To Win this Series
Orlando Magic +565
CLEVELAND CAVALIERS -615

Although Cleveland has played very well to this point in the Playoffs, they do not enjoy a host of different match-up advantages vs Orlando, like they did vs Atlanta and Detroit.

In particular, the specific spots where the Cavaliers have possessed major advantages … i.e. at the PF/C positions, plus in terms of Quality Depth, overall … will not be the case in this series:

Power Forward/Center

* Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Anderson Varejao, Joe Smith, Ben Wallace & JJ Hickson is a versatile and highly effective set of Bigs. So, too, however, is the combination of Dwight Howard, Rashard Lewis, Tony Battie, Marcin Gortat & Adonal Foyle.  

Quality Depth

* The Cavs’ remaining group of Guards & Forwards: Lebron James, Mo Williams, Delonte West, Daniel Gibson, Wally Szerczbiak, Sasha Pavlovic & Tarence Kinsey is stout and highly serviceable. However, they are not a superior force, in comparison with the Magic’s corresponding group at those same positions: Hedo Turkoglu, Rafer Alston, Courtney Lee, Anthony Johnson, JJ Redick, Mikael Pietrus & Tyron Lue.

With a Series Price like THAT … Orlando [+565] is a VERY GOOD proposition.

———-

Please Note:
At the moment, the Cavaliers are +116 to NOT Win the 2008-2009 NBA Title. For those so inclined, this is a VERY GOOD proposition.

No one likes to see an NBA player sustain a serious injury of any kind.

Magic PG Nelson has torn labrum in right shoulder

However … with Mikael Pietrus [G-F] and Keith Bogans [G-F] now healthy, Orlando should use:

* JJ Redick, as their Starting PG 
* Anthony Johnson, as their primary Back-up PG [in his current role], and
* Courtney Lee, as their 3rd-string PG

since the following line-up is still plenty good enough to get the Magic to, at least, the Eastern Conference semi-finals this season.

STARTERS

1 – JJ Redick
2 – Mikael Pietrus
3 – Hedo Turkoglu
4 – Rashard Lewis
5 – Dwight Howard

KEY BENCH SUBS

1 – Anthony Johnson
2 – Courtney Lee
3 – Keith Bogans
4 – Tony Battie
5 – Marcin Gortat

RESERVES

4 – Brian Cook
5 – Adonal Foyle

EXTRAS

Jameer Nelson [injured]
Mike Wilks [injured]
Jeremy Richardson

——————

If he’s ever going to become a truly serviceable player in the NBA, at some point in his career, JJ Redick [6-4, 190] will need to adapt successfully to the Point Guard position … and, there’s no time like the present for him to accomplish this specific goal.

Otis Smith, Dave Twardzik, Stan Van Gundy and JJ Redick … the ball is your hands and the shot clock is ticking.

——————

NOTE: Option B - The Magic could always try to acquire a player like Blake Ahearn from the San Antonio Spurs or a veteran like Troy Hudson.

Easily the most impressive performance last night on the docket in the NBA was put forth by the Magic:

Magic 118, Bobcats 80
Full Play-By-Play
Box Score
Recap

If you look at that 1st Quarter demolition Orlando laid on Charlotte [an improved squad, in their own right], it’s apparent that the Magic mean business this year.

The most impressive individual lines from the perspective of this corner?

The three highlighted in bold and italicized below.

——————————————-

Field Goals			Rebounds
	pos	min	fgm-a	3pm-a	ftm-a	off	def	tot	ast	pf	st	to	bs	pts
M.Pietrus	G	24:50	5-8	1-3	2-2	0	4	4	2	4	1	4	2	13
J.Nelson	G	20:38	2-5	0-1	6-6	0	5	5	1	4	0	1	0	10
H.Turkoglu	F	24:10	2-5	1-3	4-4	1	1	2	1	6	0	1	0	9
R.Lewis	F	22:05	5-8	0-2	7-8	2	1	3	4	4	1	2	1	17
D.Howard	C	25:05	6-9	0-0	8-10	3	5	8	1	2	0	5	5	20
B.Cook		18:20	1-10	1-3	6-6	1	3	4	0	2	1	1	0	9
T.Battie		18:18	3-3	0-0	2-2	1	6	7	0	0	1	0	0	8
C.Lee		17:54	4-8	0-1	1-2	0	4	4	1	2	1	1	0	9
A.Johnson		17:14	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	7	4	0	2	0	0
A.Foyle		15:20	2-4	0-0	3-4	3	3	6	1	3	1	1	2	7
J.Redick		13:58	3-4	1-2	5-5	0	2	2	0	1	0	1	0	12
J.Richardson		12:00	0-4	0-0	2-2	1	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	2
M.Wilks		10:08	0-2	0-0	2-2	0	2	2	0	1	1	0	0	2
K.Bogans			-	-	-
M.Gortat			-	-	-
D.Jones			-	-	-
Total		240	33-70	4-15	48-53	12	37	49	18	33	7	19	10	118
			47.1%	26.7%	90.6%	Team Rebs: 5				Total TO: 19

——————————————-

If Orlando can get consistent production from their three main new additions to the line-up, like this …

* Pietrus, with a solid all-around game;
* Johnson-A, with 0 shot attempts, 7 assists and 2 turnovers; and,
* Battie, with a solid all-around game;

they are going to join the Celtics and the Pistons, as a legitimate 3rd team, in the fight for the No. 1 Seed (overall) in the Eastern Conference Playoffs this season.

[Note 1: With Keith Bogans and a healthy JJ Redick ... i.e. two improving 3PT-shooters ... coming off the bench for the Magic, there will be few, if any, gaping holes remaining in Orlando's line-up.]