Orlando Magic Blog

Group Blog talking about the NBA 2009 Eastern Conference Champions. Due to the amazing success of the 2009 playoff run comments are now frequently deleted to kill offensive comments, incoherence, or asininity. Comments can no longer be anonymous and require either a Blogger or OpenID account.

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Dwight Howard featured in last week's SI

Hope you all got a chance to catch the very complimentary article about Dwight Howard in the Jan. 23rd issue of Sports Illustrated. Entitled "Class of the Glass", the article discussed rebounding and how it's becoming a lost art compared to 30 and 40 years ago. Among the things said about Howard: "He is a prime candidate (to average 15 rebounds a game); he has the requisite mix of instinct, desire, and athleticism. He doesn't foul out often, isn't an offensive liability, and is well-conditioned." Dwight says, "I think I can average 15 (rebounds), it could happen next year." This is well-deserved praise for Howard, and if John Weisbrod did only one good thing during his short tenure as GM, it was the drafting of Howard over Emeka Okefor.

posted by Mike from Illinois @ 12:57 AM  

3 Comments:

  • At 10:17 AM, Blogger Matt said…

    In my view, the choice was a no-brainer. The only intricate angle was to weigh the choice against the desire of the super-star Tracey McGrady to pick an immediate contributor. Since the decision had been made to trade T-Mac that became a non-issue. I give Weisbrod more credit for bringing Jameer Nelson to Orlando since there were many doubters, although I was not.

     

  • At 2:34 PM, Blogger Mike from Illinois said…

    Matt, excellent point about Jameer Nelson. In the 2004 draft, Portland picked 13th in the first round while the Magic, had the 20th pick in the first round. The TrailBlazers picked pt guard Sebastian Telfair, directly out of high school. I'm sure this angered Nelson, as he was the reigning college player of the year, and here Portland is drafting an unproven 19 yr old just out of high school over Nelson? Nelson is proving how he was overlooked in the draft, as he's averaging 13.8 pts and 4.4 assists in just over 28 minutes a game this season. Meanwhile, Telfair is averaging 9.7 pts and 3.6 assists in just over 26 minutes. Telfair will eventually be a fine player, but Nelson is way ahead of him now.

     

  • At 3:13 PM, Blogger Matt said…

    Well put Mike. I would like to add that Jameer has passed all expectations, which in turn makes that choice (not a direct one but rather through an arranged trade) a lot more credible now, and quite courageous at the time of picking.

     

Post a Comment

<< Home