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.

Wednesday, February 01, 2006

Magic in for tough game against Clippers

The much-improved LA Clippers, on the second game of a 6 game road trip, come to Orlando with a 25-17 record. They are 8-3 in their last 11 games and have beaten the Magic 4 out of the last 5 games, including a 90-73 thumping (without Elton Brand) on Jan. 10th in LA. The Clippers are 5-11 all-time at TDW. The 73 pts was the second-lowest pt total for the Magic this season.

Brand will be ready tonight, and he is coming off a 31 pt performance against the Heat Monday night in a close 118-114 loss. He is averaging 24.6 pts and 10.4 rebs per game. Cuttino Mobley, Sam Cassell and Chris Kaman also average in double figures. Mobley, traded by the Magic last season to Sacramento (in one of the worst trades ever by the Magic), is having a good year averaging 16.4 pts. Former Magic player Corey Maggette is averaging over 21 pts, but is injured and out indefinitely.

The Clippers are 2 pt favorites (www.pinnaclesports.com) to beat the Magic. A key stat: the Clippers are just 2-12 when allowing the opponent 100 pts or more. The Magic are coming off 2 disappointing losses where they were badly outplayed and outcoached. The Magic have to regain their focus and execute the game plan much better. Coach Hill has to get the team ready to play this game, as he did a very poor job of that the previous 2 games. Jameer Nelson should return for the Magic, and he will provide much-needed help. How will Francis perform against his best friend Mobley? Can the Magic keep Brand under control? The Magic are now 2 and a half games behind the Wizards for the last playoff spot.

posted by Mike from Illinois @ 3:47 AM  

7 Comments:

  • At 1:08 PM, Blogger Matt said…

    Here comes another high octane offensive team that doesn't defend well, although at 95.3 points allowed per game, LAC is not as bad as PHO and SAC on the defensive end. We need to duplicate the game against PHO; good defense with a controlled aggressive offense. By controlled aggression I mean being aggressive without turning the ball over. Regardless, the emphasis should be more on defense than offense. We cannot go small on the front court since Brand and Kayman are capable scorers, but we can go small on the back court when cassell is out. As Mike said we need Hedo to come up with a big game. We also need Keyon to perform solidly especially on the defensive end.

     

  • At 2:37 PM, Blogger Mike from Illinois said…

    According to the Sentinel, Jameer Nelson most likely will be held out of tonight's game, and will not play until Friday. That means Dooling, Garrity and Diener will really have to step up off the bench and play much better than they have the previous 2 games.

     

  • At 5:13 PM, Blogger Matt said…

    Where is everybody? We need our devoted contributors to contribute on the games' days. Tonight's game is important in a sense that the game in ATL could not be penciled in. Not only that we have to turn around and play BOS the next night at home. If we have any chance of making a decent record in February, all these 3 games should go to the win column.

     

  • At 6:44 PM, Blogger Matt said…

    Pete, you sound like you have lost all hopes for anything positive to come out of this season. We need to air our views to bring about the changes that we feel have to be made. I believe that we shape the future based on our choices and actions. I encourage all to Keep airing our views.

     

  • At 7:04 PM, Blogger WeRDevos said…

    Is it me, or are the Magic coming across as gun-shy in the paper?

    Holding Jameer out extra time because of what happened to Dooling. Hill not coming back until he can't imagine having any ghost of a pain in his groin. Does anyone on this team play through pain anymore?

    Makes me really miss guys like Harpring and Armstrong. Lord knows they could sure use Nelson tonight, even on one foot.

     

  • At 7:12 PM, Blogger Matt said…

    I think they want to milk Steve the best they can. In order to win this game they need shooters (like Diener) not ball distributors and penetrates (like jameer).

     

  • At 7:22 PM, Blogger WeRDevos said…

    At a minimum Nelson is now the 3rd best player on a team that doesn't go much beyond 3 deep. He needs to play.

     

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