The Rest of the Month
Orlando Magic Schedule
A quick look ahead. First nine games Magic are 7-2, they have nine games left in November in what should be a tough stretch of games. The 5-0 road warriors have six of nine on the road
Fri, Nov 16 @ New Jersey (4-4, 3-3 at home) Just got blown out by Celtics so they should play tougher against Orlando. Vince Carter signed his last contract and now seems dedicated to coasting for the rest of his career. Big shock. Carter's scoring is at 17 ppg, down from 25 last year. Beyond the big 3, they just don't seem to have that much. Howard could have another huge game. Jason Kidd leads the team in rebounding at 8.3. This is the type of game the Magic have been winning this year and should win a close one.
Sun, Nov 18 Boston (7-0, 3-0 on road) Having a great start against a mostly weak schedule. The big 3 will be on the court 39-40 minutes each and score 70% of the teams points. Their defense is the big surprise, they are at the top of the league in points allowed per 100 possessions. Their offense is #2 ranked. It can't go on forever, Magic need to score against Garnett and pull off a mild upset.
Mon, Nov 19 @ New Orleans (7-2, 3-1 at home) Off to a great start. #8 in offense, #6 in defense. Chris Paul is great but their home building is mostly empty. This will be a tough game but Magic can win here.
Wed Nov 21 @ San Antonio (7-1, 5-0 at home) #6 offense, #4 defense. Tim Duncan is allowing the offense to flow through Parker & Ginobli and concentrating on defense. He is probably the smartest NBA player. Tough team, but Howard loves playing against SA. Should be a great game with SA winning a close game.
Fri Nov 23 Charlotte (4-4, 1-2 at home) Simply a mediocre team that has suffered a lot of injuries. This is just the team that B.Hill would wind up losing to the past few years. Magic by 25.
Sat Nov 24 Miami (1-7, 1-3 at home) Were it not for the Knicks Miami would be winless. Pat Riley ruined this team starting with suspending players last year for not being in shape. The whole team is a mess. If Dwyane Wade can turn them around he is truly the best player in the NBA. This game shouldn't be close. The two worst executives on the team are Pat Riley the GM (Smush Parker?) and Pat Riley the Coach. I glory in this. Magic by 15 if Wade is still playing, by 35 if not. Afterwards, would SVG please finally rip Riley and Shaq for stabbing him in the back?
Mon, Nov 26 @Portland (4-4, 4-0 at home) Game 1 of a 5 game western road trip. Portland should be vying for the number one pick in next years draft but has been surprising. It's early, they will wind up being bad. Magic can and should win this one.
Wed, Nov 28 @Seattle (1-8, 0-4 at "home") If not for Miami, they would be winless. Horrible team, Durant will eventually be brilliant, but he is only 19 and skinny at the moment. They should only be scouting the 3 best college players for next years draft. Magic by 19.
Fri, Nov 30 @ Phoenix (6-2, 2-1 at home) They killed the Magic at home, but they have a look of a team that peaked last year in the playoffs. I'm not sure Magic can play with this team yet.
Outlook:
Pessimistic: 2-1 home, 2-4 road, 4-5 overall
Optimistic 2-1 home, 4-2 road, 6-3 overall
A quick look ahead. First nine games Magic are 7-2, they have nine games left in November in what should be a tough stretch of games. The 5-0 road warriors have six of nine on the road
Fri, Nov 16 @ New Jersey (4-4, 3-3 at home) Just got blown out by Celtics so they should play tougher against Orlando. Vince Carter signed his last contract and now seems dedicated to coasting for the rest of his career. Big shock. Carter's scoring is at 17 ppg, down from 25 last year. Beyond the big 3, they just don't seem to have that much. Howard could have another huge game. Jason Kidd leads the team in rebounding at 8.3. This is the type of game the Magic have been winning this year and should win a close one.
Sun, Nov 18 Boston (7-0, 3-0 on road) Having a great start against a mostly weak schedule. The big 3 will be on the court 39-40 minutes each and score 70% of the teams points. Their defense is the big surprise, they are at the top of the league in points allowed per 100 possessions. Their offense is #2 ranked. It can't go on forever, Magic need to score against Garnett and pull off a mild upset.
Mon, Nov 19 @ New Orleans (7-2, 3-1 at home) Off to a great start. #8 in offense, #6 in defense. Chris Paul is great but their home building is mostly empty. This will be a tough game but Magic can win here.
Wed Nov 21 @ San Antonio (7-1, 5-0 at home) #6 offense, #4 defense. Tim Duncan is allowing the offense to flow through Parker & Ginobli and concentrating on defense. He is probably the smartest NBA player. Tough team, but Howard loves playing against SA. Should be a great game with SA winning a close game.
Fri Nov 23 Charlotte (4-4, 1-2 at home) Simply a mediocre team that has suffered a lot of injuries. This is just the team that B.Hill would wind up losing to the past few years. Magic by 25.
Sat Nov 24 Miami (1-7, 1-3 at home) Were it not for the Knicks Miami would be winless. Pat Riley ruined this team starting with suspending players last year for not being in shape. The whole team is a mess. If Dwyane Wade can turn them around he is truly the best player in the NBA. This game shouldn't be close. The two worst executives on the team are Pat Riley the GM (Smush Parker?) and Pat Riley the Coach. I glory in this. Magic by 15 if Wade is still playing, by 35 if not. Afterwards, would SVG please finally rip Riley and Shaq for stabbing him in the back?
Mon, Nov 26 @Portland (4-4, 4-0 at home) Game 1 of a 5 game western road trip. Portland should be vying for the number one pick in next years draft but has been surprising. It's early, they will wind up being bad. Magic can and should win this one.
Wed, Nov 28 @Seattle (1-8, 0-4 at "home") If not for Miami, they would be winless. Horrible team, Durant will eventually be brilliant, but he is only 19 and skinny at the moment. They should only be scouting the 3 best college players for next years draft. Magic by 19.
Fri, Nov 30 @ Phoenix (6-2, 2-1 at home) They killed the Magic at home, but they have a look of a team that peaked last year in the playoffs. I'm not sure Magic can play with this team yet.
Outlook:
Pessimistic: 2-1 home, 2-4 road, 4-5 overall
Optimistic 2-1 home, 4-2 road, 6-3 overall
posted by WeRDevos @ 9:19 AM
3 Comments:
At 2:41 PM,
Matt said…
Magic had to deal with a lot of adversity, and the team is not totally acclimated to the coach's system. The team could get better as we go along. I agree with the assessment of the upcoming schedule by WR.
At 7:05 PM,
Mike from Illinois said…
A good overview of the rest of this month's schedule.
A key thing to consider is that they play the 9 games in just a 15 day period, without more than 1 day off during that time; so, the bench will probably have to produce more to help out the starters. As it turned out, the 17 pts scored by the bench was just enough to help against CLE. I'd like to see the bench average around 20-23 pts a game as the season progresses.
Another question is, how will teams adjust to the Magic as the season progresses? Last season, after the surprising 13-4 start, the Magic were a very mediocre 27-38; other teams were able to adjust to the Magic, and our head coach was clueless to change. This season, it's going to be more difficult for other teams to adjust to the Magic's new offense, because the Magic have more weapons on offense than last season, and a head coach in SVG who actually knows how to best utilize their talents, and who is a much better motivator.
I'll be happy if the Magic can go 5-4 the rest of the month to finish 12-6.
At 4:18 AM,
Mike from Illinois said…
The Nets go into the game tonight on a three-game losing streak and are coming off a 91-69 loss to the undefeated Celtics. Vince Carter is recovering from a sprained ankle and has missed the last two games. He likely won't play until next week.
NJ has really struggled in the two games Carter has been absent, shooting just 37% and averaging 75 pts.
The probable starting lineup for NJ:
G... Jason Kidd (11.2 ppg, 10 asts)
G... Antoine Wright (10.9 ppg)
C... Jason Collins (2.2 rebs)
F... Richard Jefferson (26.1 ppg)
F... Nenad Krstic (6.6 ppg)
Top reserves: Bostjan Nachbar (7.6 ppg); Sean Williams (7.2 ppg); Darrell Armstrong (3.4 ppg)
NJ is averaging just 87.5 ppg while allowing 93.9 ppg; the Magic average 103.6 ppg while allowing 97.8.
Magic have not won in NJ since APR of 2005, but should win tonight, as the Nets are really struggling offensively without Carter. The Magic are favored by 3 1/2 pts.
Post a Comment
<< Home