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, November 07, 2006

Arroyo leads Magic to much-needed win

The Magic, led by another sparkling performance off the bench from Carlos Arroyo, are now 2-2 after beating WAS 106-103.

Arroyo scored 23 pts on 9 of 13 shooting, including 3 of 4 from 3 pt range. Just as important, he had 4 assists and 0 turnovers. Four other Magic players scored in double figures: HTurkoglu (18 pts), KDooling (15 pts 6 of 10 FG), TBattie (13 pts 6 of 6 FG), and GHill (10 pts). DHoward added 14 rebounds and 5 blocks, despite scoring just 7 pts. The big three for the Wizards... Arenas, Jamison, and Butler scored 24, 29, and 16 respectively.

The Magic (40-79 50.6%) outscored WAS 89-78 (36 of 79 45.6%) from the field. The Magic shot a sharp 9 of 18 from 3 pt range. WAS (25 of 34 73.5%) had the edge at the FT line (ORL 17 of 24 70.8%). WAS had a slight edge on the boards (38-37). The Magic had their best assist-to- turnover ratio of the year (20-15). WAS was 15-13. The Magic bench was dominant, outscoring the Wizards bench 50-16.

The Magic did many things better this game than the previous two games. Better ball distribution, fewer TOs, good outside shooting, and better FT shooting. Several players also stepped up their play. Arroyo, Dooling, and Bogans combined to score 18 of the 25 Magic 4th quarter pts. Overall, a nice win over a playoff team from the last few seasons.

posted by Mike from Illinois @ 1:33 AM  

14 Comments:

  • At 2:25 AM, Blogger Mike from Illinois said…

    Great to see Carlos come in after another tough game for Jameer, who had 8 pts 4 assists and 5 TOs in just 21 minutes. Nice job by Hedo and Keyon after both had poor-shooting games against ATL.

    Also nice to see Dwight not let his offensive problems (2 of 6 7 pts) affect his defense, which was superb. Dwight didn't need to score, with 5 Magic players in double figures. Darko struggled from the field (1 of 8), but did grab 7 boards.

    At least Garrity didn't see any action after his struggles of the last two games.

    We all know Jameer can play much better than he has shown so far. I would hope he stays in the starting lineup, at least for the time being. If he struggles, it's great having Carlos come off the bench and play so well (18 of 22 shooting in the last two games, and only 2 TOs).

     

  • At 9:42 AM, Blogger Matt said…

    It was an impressive win against a quality opponent despite some key players not playing up to their expected levels. I thought Carlos and Keyon were great and Grant and Dwight and Tony were solid with reservations. I thought, also, that Hill did a good job coaching:

    1 - He was patient with Jameer and Darko, as he should have been. I agree that something is wrong with Jameer, but I also agree that should not cause a loss of starting position. However, Carlos is clearly the better player, presently, thus playing minutes should be divided accordingly, as Hill did.
    2 - He did not play Garrity at all.
    3 - When Dwight could not get it going, he adjusted.

    I do not want to beat up on a dead horse, or open up a can of worms. However, Mike's research last year, on "foul or no foul" exposed the statistical flaw of not fouling. I understand that some coaches in the league, including Hill as he showed last night, think otherwise which shows their short sightedness. May be Mike should send the results of his research to Hill and the Magic organisation.

     

  • At 11:59 AM, Blogger Big Figure said…

    Great win for the guys,BSH coached well,the players played well,and we got the win,hedo was our first option which is the way it should be,dwight and grant found other ways to help the team,and the bench was solid,jameer's in a funk right now but there's no place to go but up,hopefully he'll get it going soon. Matt since you opened the can let me say,we're 2-0 when we dont foul (counting last night and last years game)how many times does it have to work,before you let it go.

     

  • At 12:24 PM, Blogger Matt said…

    Big Figure: Two times, or even ten times for that matter, of isolated events do not constitute a statistical sample. To make you happy, I hereby, consider the can of worms officially closed.

     

  • At 12:49 PM, Blogger Big Figure said…

    20% chance of hitting the game winner,there's no way i would foul,i side with the coaches on this one,teams get lucky and defy statistics when you give them more opportunities by extending the game,not an arguement just my opinion,good win for us though against the wiz,same intensity and coaching for tommorrow and we'll get another W.

     

  • At 12:51 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Carlos is having a great start for this season. Is not only one game in the 3 games that he play his been very good, better than Nelson. I think is time to start Arroyo and have Nelson coming from the bench.

     

  • At 2:15 PM, Blogger OVERWADED said…

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

     

  • At 2:16 PM, Blogger OVERWADED said…

    The Magic are 2-0 when Pat Garrity doesn't see playing time; and 0-2 when he does. I think I'm going to keep a log of the Garrity Effect.

    Brian Hill did a better job of coaching last night. But let’s face it, he's just a stubborn slow learner. Last night, he did leave the starting 5 out there for to long in the 3rd quarter. Also and only a small concern at the moment, the team was a night and day difference with Arroyo on the floor in comparison to Nelson. I'm not sure what is wrong with Nelson, but let’s hope it's resolved soon otherwise he'll be losing his starting spot. I'm still frustrated with Brian Hill in the sense that he won't force the issue on letting Dwight and Darko play together. Battie isn't doing anything special out there, and there is no reason our 2 young big men shouldn't be playing more time together. With that said, if B Hill isn't going to let that happen, at least he figured out that we have another 6-9, 6-10 guy that can move to the power forward spot and Garrity doesn't have to play. Turk ended the game playing PF, and if we're going to go small, wouldn't it make sense for that spot to be filled by Turk rather than Garrity?

    Overall, it was a nice win; a much needed win.

    Anyone that knows Arenas knew he was going to take a 30 footer at the end. The guys in the section I was in were saying, "it's over" after Bogans bumped it to a 3 point lead. I was like, hell no, I've seen Arenas drop that same shot more than a few times before. That guy lives for shots like that. Thankfully, it didn't go in.

     

  • At 3:05 PM, Blogger WeRDevos said…

    Magic 2-0 vs. playoff teams, 0-2 vs. garbage. Go figure. Whole league seems off balance as well right now. 78 games to go, but 2-2 puts them in a four way tie for 5th in the conference right now and tied or ahead of 6 of eight East playoff teams from last year.

    Not bad for a team that's underperforming at the moment.

     

  • At 3:42 PM, Blogger Mike from Illinois said…

    Matt, in all honesty, before I did my research on the "foul or not to foul" situation last season (when a team is ahead by 3 late in the game, should they foul an opponent instead of letting them take a three?), I took the opinion that it was better not to foul; however, after doing my research, I agree that it would be better to foul in that situation, putting the opposition on the FT line, after looking at the statistical numbers.

    Our coach would rather not foul in that situation. I'm happy that it worked out last night, as Arenas' long 3 fell short. Good defense in that situation will help too.

    Big Figure, good pre-game analysis yesterday about the Hill/Turkoglu situation. Hedo was a lot more effective last night.

    Also, nice job by Battie getting his offense going... 6 of 6 shooting and 13 pts.

    Like WeRDevos said, this first week of the NBA season has been really strange... a lot of things haven't made much sense so far.

    It will be interesting to follow the "Garrity Factor", as Introvert 316 called it, this season (the Magic record when Garrity plays compared to when he doesn't).

    I liked the player rotation that was used last night also. Let's see if Hill sticks with it.

     

  • At 3:48 PM, Blogger Matt said…

    I predicted the inconsistency quite consistently, and it is not surprising to me. That is why after we were all gloating from the impressive win over Chicago, I cautioned over-extension due to the lack of team consistency. The good results show the talent and depth level, while the bad ones point to the lack of discipline due to average coaching. That is why the Magic resembles the good Dr. Jekyle on one night and the evil Mr. Hyde the next. It all boils down to mix and match of available assets in the framework of a business strategy in any business environment that separates good and bad managers.

    I once said that if the team has reasonable results we are stuck with Hill, and the only way to get rid of him is for the team to fail miserably. I know that I am not ready to wish for team's failure, because it may breed other problems worse than an average coach to put up with. So, long live King Hill!

     

  • At 5:39 PM, Blogger OVERWADED said…

    Matt, you’re right unless someone pops up as a modern day Penny and the players revolt again. HAHA...

    Funny note...I've been to 3 games this season, and I've heard something’s I never thought I'd hear from the average Magic fans. The average fan, doesn't like Pat Garrity. Sometimes it's brought up, like he's still a "fan favorite", well he's not, not even close. Last night, as it was close down the stretch, I was joking and yelled “put in Garrity”, and by the fans reactions around me I thought I was going to get my ass kicked. In another instance, we were leaving the Philly game and we passed a few couples walking. They were middle age to older white couples, and they were bitching about Pat Garrity. It was worth a nice laugh and something I never thought I'd hear from some fans! At least we all know we’re not the only ones.

     

  • At 5:56 PM, Blogger Matt said…

    Interesting observation, Intorvert316 on the fans' response. I am glad that you are going to the games, being our eyes and ears. I have been buried under so many engagements that I don't anticipate going to a game soon. A modern day rebellion that you put out lightheartedly is not improbable. The problem is that it would happen only if the team fails badly that I don't think any of us wishes for.

     

  • At 6:23 AM, Blogger Ken said…

    "So, long live King Hill!"

    LOL!! Oh man, I can't quit laughing.. Good one Matt! LOL..

    But seriously, I understand what your saying.. Unless BSH commits some felony or just has a total melt-down, I don't see him going anywhere in the immediate future. And theres really no sense in risking the mental health and chemistry of the team, just to bring in a different voice.

    I'm impressed with the patience that Hill has shown with Jameer. Jameer is to good a player and competitor and should be able to work through this funk soon. I think he may be looking over his shoulder a bit at Arroyo, and putting added pressure on himself that he feels he needs to perform flawlessly while carrying the weight of the team every night. To me he seemed sort of manic, running around trying to do to much at once, instead of just letting his game come to him.

    The secret about Dwight is out. Other teams are sending their biggest and best at him. His scoring has dipped a bit because of it, but he's still a monster on the boards and 5 blocked shots is incredible. Just imagine what Dwight and Darko could do together if "king Hill" actually left them on the floor at the same time... We may get to see that at some point this season.

    I think I could be a little more supportive (but not much) of "king Hill" if I knew he didn't have Garrity sitting there on the bench at his disposal. It would be different if Garrity did just ONE thing that could be considered a positive. I wouldn't care if he was slow and couldn't play defense, as long as he knocked down a shot or 2. I wouldn't care if he couldn't shoot, but if ran the floor well and could play D then he would have some value to the team. Instead, he takes up a roster spot, eats up a chunk of salary, but produces nothing.

     

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