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.

Saturday, December 23, 2006

No defense for Magic in loss to GS

For the first time in 14 games, since NOV 24th against MIA, the Magic (17-11, 10-5 home) scored over 100 pts. Unfortunately, they gave up a season-high 117 pts to GS (14-14, 3-9 road), including 69 pts in the second half, in a 117-108 loss. The loss was the Magic's 7th in their last 11 games.

Star G Baron Davis dominated the game for the Warriors, with 38 pts, 9 asts, 4 steals. Off the bench, Mike Dunleavy Jr scored 21 pts on 9 of 14 shooting, and Monta Ellis added 18 pts. Dunleavy and Davis combined to shoot 6 of 9 from 3 pt range. TAriza led the Magic with 23 pts, followed by JNelson (returning from injury) with 22 pts on 8 of 13 shooting, but only 1 ast and 4 TOs. GHill added 21 pts, 7 asts, 6 rebs. DHoward had a double-double with 15 pts, 13 rebs. KDooling led the reserves with just 9 pts.

GS (40-83, 48.2%) outscored the Magic (39 of 82, 47.6%) from the field 89-80. GS shot 9 of 24 from 3 pt range, while the Magic shot just 2 of 10 from long range (Diener 1 of 5). Both teams shot 28 of 37 from the FT line. The Magic outrebounded GS 46-37. GS had the better AST/TO ratio of 18-13, compared to 19-17 for the Magic. The GS bench dominated the Magic bench 47-25.

Brian Hill after the game: "We didn't have an answer for Baron tonight. We tried playing him straight up, we tried switching on him, it really didn't matter what we did, he beat everything we threw at him." Magic play in CLE SAT night.

posted by Mike from Illinois @ 12:22 AM  

12 Comments:

  • At 12:51 AM, Blogger Mike from Illinois said…

    I attended Game 3 of the 2002 NBA playoffs between the Magic and the then Charlotte Hornets. Baron Davis dominated that game big time as the Hornets went on to win. Over 4 1/2 years later, he's doing the same thing to the Magic, this time as a member of the Warriors.

    I had some trouble with Hill's rotation this game concerning TBattie and Darko. Battie played 25 minutes and scored 2 pts with 5 rebs. Darko played just 19 minutes and scored 7 pts with 9 rebs. Battie should never get more playing time in a game than Darko, especially when Darko is obviously having a better game.

    Nice to see Jameer shoot the ball well in his first game back, but he's got to improve on a poor AST/TO ratio of 1-4. Carlos had 4 asts in just 17 minutes, but 3 TOs also. Great job by Grant with 7 asts, and just 1 TO, and Trevor with the career-high 23 pts.

    Travis just didn't have it shooting-wise, with just 5 pts on 1 of 5 3 pt shooting. You still have to stick with him, though. Too bad Redick has been stuck on the end of the bench the last few games.

     

  • At 9:17 AM, Blogger Matt said…

    This was a game that Magic could not win mainly because they run into a hot shooting team. The question was whether you defend GS and keep their points down while get your average points, or run with them, and the Magic chose the latter. The difference was the 3-point shooting that gave an advantage of more than 20 points to GS, and in order to overcome that deficiency you have to do a lot better in other aspects of the game, including low turnover, FG and FT percentage.

     

  • At 1:20 PM, Blogger Big Figure said…

    Pathetic,i said before the game that matching up would be the difference,and boy was it. Mike you should have had "BIG" problems with the rotations as i did,seeing this magic team play with bsh as the coach is down right tough to watch,the fact that JJ redick and keith bogans combined for 0 minutes just kills me,a ton of minutes go to players that contribute very little (carlos,battie,dooling),some nights they play well,but most of the time you can find very little contribution in the box score,we have the most clueless coach in the world and at the end of every post from here on out no matter the success or failure of this team i will type,FIRE BRIAN HILL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

     

  • At 1:48 PM, Blogger Big Figure said…

    I left the last post without giving my opinion on some issue's,(1)I couldnt figure out why carlos has moved so much as a player?why would jerry sloan a very respected coach in this league let go of such a talent? why wouldnt larry brown play him any minutes? After watching carlos the last 20 games im starting to see why,and i like carlos. Carlos cant jump,carlos is very slow,not just slow,very slow,he has almost no quickness what so ever,it seems like he's moving around with ankle weights on,carlos hasnt beaten anybody off the dribble without the assist of a pick all season,carlos doesnt get to the free throw line "AT ALL",and you would think that someone with so little athletic ability would be a better three point shooter but he isnt a good three point shooter either,he doesnt move the ball up the court very fast at all,and last night his defense was just down right horrible,baron davis got by him at will because carlos has no foot speed. So after saying all that,i asked myself why did we all fall in love with carlos? After some analysis,i realized that the steve francis era was so traumatizing to us all,that carlos was a breath of fresh air,jameer was hurt when carlos was aquired,and steve was turnover prone his whole career,so him coming in and being just solid/not turning over the ball was what we all wanted to see,so he gave us what we needed at that time and did it with class,him just being steady was all we wanted from that position and he gave it to us (plus some of his tricky ball handling moves which is carlos's only attribute),but now that teams have seen carlos with this cast,every team is virtually making him seem average,those tricky ball handling moves arent tricking anybody anymore and they damn sure aint leading to baskets.

     

  • At 1:51 PM, Blogger Big Figure said…

    Oops i almost forgot,FIRE BRIAN HILL!!!!!!!!!!!!

     

  • At 2:08 PM, Blogger Big Figure said…

    Issue (2)In my opinion carlos and keyon are taking minutes away from travis and JJ,or our coach is just stupid with this senoirity complex and feels like he has to give the minutes to keyon and carlos becuase they are veterans to an extent and have been here longer,to me trav and JJ should get all the back up point guard and shooting guard minutes,keyon should be used as a defensive point guard,and i think carlos will either be traded or some team will pay him pretty good to come in and be that same stability that he gave to us,but trav and JJ are ready and need to be playing together in the back court with the second unit,oh and carlos is 6ft2 and i'd be willing to bet he cant dunk,he'd help out another team way more than he's actually helping us(last year was different),has carlos been good,sure,but trav would be better with those minutes,same thing goes for keyon and JJ,but at least keyon can dunk,which is why i think keyon has value for this team,just not the second team shooting guard,JJ or keith should be in that position.

     

  • At 2:09 PM, Blogger Big Figure said…

    Damn i forgot again,FIRE BRIAN HILL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

     

  • At 2:40 PM, Blogger atma brother #1 said…

    Good game!

    Recap: Warriors 117, Magic 108- We Got the Magic Streak!

     

  • At 5:16 PM, Blogger OVERWADED said…

    Everyone has valid points. I think Mike pointed out my feeling for the most part, but big figure hit home in regards to B Hill.

    First, the rotation, which I always have a problem with. Darko isn't getting into foul trouble the way he was in the beginning of the season. You can see his confidence growing slowly, besides at the free throw line. He continues to put up better numbers than Battie, yet continues to play less minutes off the bench; explain this to me?

    Second, rotating 3 point guards (actually 4 with Dooling), IS NOT going to work. I know Diener earned some playing time, but a decision needs to be made. Nelson was playing a pretty solid game last night, especially on the offensive end, yet his time was basically divided among 3. That will not work.

    Third, I'm going to say we'll continue struggling with Ariza and Hill on the floor at the same time. The only way it works is with strong defense and getting on the break. And that usually only happens for the short time Darko and Dwight spend together on the floor. If the game goes into any kind of half court offense, we'll struggle A LOT. Hill and Ariza basically do the same thing, and neither spread the floor. The teamed looked like a "cluster-f" in the 4th. Travis was some what of an answer, as they had to respect his shooting, but he's a defensive liability at times. Last night he was a waste of space on the defensive end, and actually on the offensive end. What I'm getting at, the guy I think could have helped out a whole lot last night was Redick. From what I've seen, his defense isn't bad, he has a lot more size, and he can obviously shoot the ball. Why he was given a chance in a couple games, and dropped right back to the end of the bench all over again is just retarded.

    If not Redick, why not Bogans?

    Four, I'm tired of B Hill's Battie/Dooling kick. They are both players that give a little energy, but that's it. Sometimes they put up some numbers, but as you guys stated, it's few and far between. They are great players for a solid 10 minutes, any more than that is taking away valuable minutes to players who can impact the game much more.

    Fifth, we have a deep team, which should be an awesome thing. But I'm really starting to question that with a coach like ours. He's clueless how to use guys and how to divide the minutes.

    My final thought, Brian Hill is a moron.

    And I often find myself thinking awful thoughts in regards to what has to happen go get this clueless guy out of here... Unfortunately, nothing will happen, and this is the douche Orlando will continue to call "coach"; and I'm sure we'll be stuck with for years.

     

  • At 6:24 PM, Blogger Matt said…

    I hate to mention that I predicted the shortcomings with Hill. I understand that with all positives going on, it was hard for some negatives to take hold. However, the long-term prospects of the team is on the line, and I would like to renew my inquiry about Otis Smith's role. I tried it once before, and did not get much traction on it. Obviously Garrity is not used, since Bo is proven much worthier than him at PF, so why not use J.J.? It seems that in every game our trouble has been when opponents pack-up inside and dare us to beat them from the perimeter. Travis is good at 2 when he does not have to guard a strong guard like Baron Davis. His job is to spread the floor and make the shots, and if he does, we could put up with some of his defensive liabilities. I, actually, like to see him hit the weight room a bit more. J.J. is bigger and stronger but needs more playing time to build confidence, and that is exactly why he needs some minutes on the floor. I think Carlos could be a decent back up, provided his job description is spelled out. You cannot expect him to be the floor general, so to speak. That brings me back to my earlier comment that the team sometimes lacks a good sense of direction that should come from the coach.

     

  • At 7:46 PM, Blogger OVERWADED said…

    I don't think any of us are "fans" of Brian Hill. I think we tend to shut up from time to time because we feel there isn't much we can do. The subject of Brian Hill is like beating a dead horse. With that said, this dead horse still deserves more beatings. Has anyone ever seen what Bruce Willis did to that guy in Sin City? Yeah, a beating like that...

    Last week when we beat the Cavs, G Hill, Diener, Darko, and Redick all plays valuable roles. Tonight, I'm predicting a loss. I think Hill will be tired, Diener will play a lot less, Darko will not get 30+ minutes, and Redick probably won't play. The Cavs, by 9...

     

  • At 10:34 PM, Blogger OVERWADED said…

    Hill scored 5 meaningless points in the finals seconds. If he wouldn't have done that, he would have ended with 8 points. Diener played 9 minutes and never got into the flow of the game. You can say the say the same for Darko who only played 14 minutes. And there is only 1 more in Redick, who of course didn't play. Take into consideration G Hill's 5 meaningless points in the finals seconds, and we could have lost by 8. I hate to say I told you so, but it's pretty sad when a random fan like myself can pick something like this, especially for the fact that the Magic should have won this game, and they would have, if they had a capable coach.

     

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