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Monday, October 30, 2006

Magic Season Preview 2006

For now, Magic need to take baby steps, get into playoffs
Dwight Howard predicts the Orlando Magic can "go all the way to the championship" this season.

Play Time
Magic fans, it's now safe to invest in a Dwight Howard memorabilia collection and for Junior to permanently affix that Jameer Nelson poster to his bedroom wall.

Here's where to find the Orlando Magic
You can follow the Magic all season in the Orlando Sentinel and on OrlandoSentinel.com.

Plenty of changes in store off court
The really good seats got significantly better this season, but those sitting there aren't the only ones who will benefit from changes at TD Waterhouse Centre.

Parking isn't as simple as it used to be
If you haven't already reserved your spot and expect to drive up to one of the garages near TD Waterhouse Centre and find a parking space on an Orlando Magic game night, you're in for a big surprise.

ORLANDO MAGIC
LAST SEASON: 36-46 (Third in Southeast Division)

Picking favorite is no slam-dunk
Racing down the floor last season against the Boston Celtics, he was ready to receive an alley-oop from Magic teammate Jameer Nelson. Trouble was, Nelson's delivery was more oops than alley, as the ball drifted directly behind Dwight Howard on the break.

THE COACHES
Brian Hill, Head Coach
CARLOS ARROYO
THE SKINNY
THE OTHERS
James Augustine
TREVOR ARIZA
THE SKINNY
JAMEER NELSON
THE SKINNY Position
DARKO MILICIC
THE SKINNY
KEYON DOOLING
THE SKINNY
TONY BATTIE
THE SKINNY
KEITH BOGANS
THE SKINNY
HEDO TURKOGLU
THE SKINNY
GRANT HILL
THE SKINNY
PAT GARRITY
THE SKINNY
J.J. REDICK
THE SKINNY

If you care to know what the pro analysts over at ESPN think about the Magic, click the link below.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailydime?page=dailydime-OrlandoPreview0607

posted by OVERWADED @ 2:46 PM  

10 Comments:

  • At 3:50 PM, Blogger OVERWADED said…

    Exciting Times

    Not only are we days away from the start of the season; but we just hit our 300th post on our basketblog.

     

  • At 10:22 PM, Blogger Matt said…

    Nice digs again, Introvert316. On the 18 points of Brian Schmitz, I liked the emphasis on starting Darko now, but what was that comment about locking up Hill until 2012? Is he blind to the fact that Hill is not that high caliber of the coach to take the Magic to the championship level? He would be good enough not to mess up any chemistry or cause the loss of any major player, especially Darko.

     

  • At 2:09 AM, Blogger Mike from Illinois said…

    There seems to be a consensus among the experts that the Magic will finish around .500 and have a good shot at the last playoff spot.

    I am very optimistic, however (some people might call me foolish). I truly believe the Magic can win between 47-50 games and get home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs and make it to the second round if the following things can occur this season:

    -Dwight averages between 18-20 pts and 12 rebounds per game

    -Darko continues his rapid improvement and shows that he can be a force offensively and defensively

    -Jameer can prove that he is the real deal at PG, and Carlos the solid back-up

    -Hedo can continue his solid play of last year

    -J.J. Redick can be the 3 pt weapon off the bench the Magic desperately need

    -Garrity not being a liability for the Magic when Hill puts him in games

    -Grant Hill can stay healthy

    -Keith Bogans and Keyon Dooling giving us a good defensive presence at SG

    -Trevor Ariza getting healthy, bringing his good defense, and improving his shooting

    -BHill letting the offense run free and loose and not imposing his dictatorial style of the past

    -the team can quickly develop chemistry that it couldn't in the preseason because of all the injuries

    All right, I know that's a lot of "ifs", but I guess I have lots of faith that things will work out well for the Magic this season, and that they will establish themselves as a solid playoff team, with a legit chance at a championship within a few years.

     

  • At 2:50 AM, Blogger OVERWADED said…

    Thanks Matt. I'm right with you Mike. As you stated, most recognize the Magic as an up and coming team, but still as a .500 team and at best barely making the playoffs. Hell, most pick us 3rd in our own division. Personally, I already think we’re better than Washington. And of course, everyone in the world picks Miami to win the division. But really, would it be that surprising if the Magic won their division? The Heat rely on Shaq, Zo, Payton, and Walker who are all really aging. How much are those guys going to play this year? The Heat only won 52 games last year, 7 less than the prior when they won 59 and lost to the Pistons. Does anyone actually think that number is going to improve? I EXPECT the Magic to challenge the Heat for the division. And I don’t think I’m getting carried away in making that statement.

    The way this team is built, I really think it's going to be hit or miss. And I really don't see how this squad can miss. I think they will come together quickly. I believe we can dominate our home court. We'll obviously be better on the road because we couldn't get any worse than last year. This team has a lot of chips on their shoulders so to speak. You can go up and down the list, but pretty much every guy has something to prove, and they all have the talent and character to do it. I'm going to be bold, and say 50 wins.

     

  • At 7:36 AM, Blogger Ken said…

    Mike Bianchi has to be the biggest PUTTZ on earth. How the hell did he ever get the job of sports writer at the Slantinel?

     

  • At 9:20 AM, Blogger Matt said…

    There are worse than Bianchi out there, like Jemele Hill, with her new writing about Mutombo's incident. In my view, as long as making a fuss about race is a one way street, and there are people who are using it to advance their own political agendas, the hatred would not be replaced with love. The hope is that the new generation, mixing a lot more with each other, would be color-blind, like those who went to the game with Introvert316 who thought nothing of a big deal about it, and rather laughed at it.

     

  • At 10:44 AM, Blogger Matt said…

    I tend to share the views by Introvert316 and Mike on the team being underestimated by many sports writers. In my view, Magic falls somewhere in the range of 4-6 seed in the east, and that depends a lot on Hill’s ability to adjust on the fly. There is a conflict on the choice of team’s philosophy in starting Battie based on his defense while starting Grant at two. I do not think that Grant is weak on defense. As a matter of fact, I think he can defend just about any guard due to his height and size with the exception of those who can go off on you no matter what you throw at them. But the fact is that Grant’s strength is in an open court offense, much of it would be wasted in a half-court style of game. I still believe it is a good EXPERIMENT, but quick adjustment should be made if it does not produce expected results. I also think starting Darko would be in line with starting Grant, which is a bold adjustment in Hill’s frame of mind, but a no-brainer to me.

    The good news is that the team does not need to meet all Schmitz’s 18 points or whatever number of points that Mike has raised.

     

  • At 10:58 AM, Blogger Big Figure said…

    The one thing that excite's me is that grants game is an up-tempo/open court attacking style of play,to me there's no way BSH will be able to stand in the way of this team succeding,our success will depend on the guys themselves taking pride on the defensive end,if we rebound well,we'll run,bottom line,grant and jameer will show you just how fast they can get up court if we're clearing rebounds at the rate dwight was last year,we all know that in fourth quarters things start to slow down,so if we can continue where we left off last year with BSH's solid defensive strategy's (the only thing solid about the guy)like forcing teams baseline into our shot blockers and preaching to play defense with their feet and not there hands,we should easily make the playoffs,how high a seed is really the question.

     

  • At 2:15 PM, Blogger Mike from Illinois said…

    Alright guys, I like all your optimism regarding the Magic!

    Matt, you're right when you say that a lot depends on how quickly BHill can make adjustments if something isn't working, and his ability to adjust "on the fly".

    Introvert316, you're certainly not getting carried away when you say the Magic can challenge the Heat for first in the division. All is not well with the Heat right now... Pat Riley is upset with the lack of focus, Jason Williams is hurt, Shaq is not ready to play 35-40 minutes a game, and DWade played a full summer of basketball just about, and may not be able to carry the Heat like he did at times last season. Also, the other things that Intro mentioned come into play.

    I would be very surprised to see the Heat surpass their 52 wins from last season, and with the Magic much-improved, it could go down to the wire between the Heat and Magic!

     

  • At 8:58 PM, Blogger OVERWADED said…

    I've read a ton of bad columns, as I'm sure everyone has. I’m pretty sure Jemele Hill is guilty of the majority of those, being that I don’t think she has ever written a good piece. She is one of the most opinionated know it all writers ever and she backs it with crap. How she has a job that involves her writing anything, especially sports related is beyond me. Consider this my hate crime, because she sucks!

     

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