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, November 03, 2007

Strong 4th qtr leads to big win for Magic over WAS

The Magic (2-1) looked to be in trouble heading into the 4th qtr, trailing 67-64 to WAS after the Magic scored just 14 3rd qtr points. However, the Magic held the Wizards to 5 of 25 FG shooting in the 4th, and the Magic hit 15 of 16 FTs in the quarter to win going away 94-82, as the Wizards are 0-3 for the first time since 1992.

The Magic had four of their five starters score in double figures, led by HTurkoglu with 25 pts (8 of 16 FGs), 8 asts, and 7 rebs; RLewis 18 pts (8 of 15 FGs), 8 rebs; DHoward 17 pts (7 of 11 FGs), 15 rebs, 3 blocks; and JNelson 17 pts (3 of 6 3 pt FGs), 7 rebs. KDooling scored 7 pts to lead the reserves. The big three of WAS was held to a combined 53 pts... Caron Butler 23 pts, Antawn Jamison 20 pts, and "Agent Zero" Gilbert Arenas just 10 pts.

The Magic (33 of 77, 42.9%) outscored WAS (31 of 89, 34.8%) from the field 76-68. The Magic hit on 10 of 30 3 pt FGs, while WAS was just 6 of 23. The Magic (18 of 21) also had the edge at the FT line (WAS 14 of 20). WAS had the edge rebounding 50-46. The Magic had the better AST/TO ratio of 21/14, with WAS at 15/15. The WAS bench had a 14-9 advantage over the Magic bench.

A nice win for the Magic, as they showed they can bounce back on the road against a division opponent after a bad loss. Magic get two days off before resuming at rebuilding MIN TUE night.

posted by Mike from Illinois @ 11:49 PM  

8 Comments:

  • At 12:08 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Through three games, Turk has been our best player. We desperately need help on the boards, though.

     

  • At 12:47 AM, Blogger Mike from Illinois said…

    Great job by the Magic starters; they all played between 36 and 43 minutes. Bogans, with 8 pts, was the only starter not to score in double figures, but he contributed 5 rebs, 3 asts, and just 1 TO in 41 mins.

    It looks like that SVG is going to rely heavily on his starters for now, but he will have to play the bench more than he is now as the season goes on, especially with the heavy schedule coming up.

    I know that last season one of our worries was about J.J. Redick being buried on the end of the bench by Brian Hill, that he would lose much of his confidence. Well, he didn't play at all against WAS, so I hope he's not losing any confidence, as I'm sure he'll be called upon in the coming days.

     

  • At 9:37 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Seems SVG is leaning towards a shortened rotation of only 8-9 players.

    The starters played a lot of minutes last night. Dwight mentioned in the post-game that some of his teammates were tired by the 8 minute mark and he just told them to buckle down.

    It's only 3 games into the season, and you would hope that the players do not get worn down as fatigue can lead to injuries.

    However, the bench has been putrid the past 2 games.

     

  • At 11:14 AM, Blogger Big Figure said…

    Well we're 2-1 so thats good,but i havent been able to watch as i still have brighthose. I recently had direct tv out and they said they cant install because there's a huge tree blocking the signal,so im screwed! But hearing the guys on the radio i guess is better than nothing,they do a good job.

     

  • At 12:57 PM, Blogger WeRDevos said…

    What is wrong with Arenas? If he stays this bad the Magic win the Southeast easily.

    Big, rent a chainsaw. :)

     

  • At 3:16 PM, Blogger Mike from Illinois said…

    From today's entry on Brian Schmitz's Basketblog:

    Magic Coach Stan Van Gundy said he has tinkered with the club's rotation for Tuesday night's game against the T-Wolves, but he wouldn't volunteer any information after Monday's practice at Georgetown University.

    "I'm not going to tell (the media) before I tell them (the players)."

    He most likely will stick with the formula he used Saturday night, using Keyon Dooling as his back-up point guard to Jameer Nelson.

    Van Gundy, however, will stick with the same starting lineup: center Dwight Howard, small forward Hedo Turkoglu, power forward Rashard Lewis, shooting guard Keith Bogans and Nelson.

    The Magic worked on defense most of the practice, and Van Gundy emphasized making his team tougher.

    Shooting guard J.J. Redick sustained a back injury --- believed to be back spasms --- while coming down after a lay-up attempt. He walked out gingerly, needing to pause as he was escorted to the team bus by trainer Tom Smith.

    He's likely out for the game against the T-Wolves.

    Power Forward Pat Garrity sprained his right ankle during the practice and said he was in more pain than usual. "I've done it before, but this hurts," said Garrity, who likely will be a game-time decision.

    The Magic are already short big men, and if Garrity can't play, second-year forward James Augustine or veteran Bo Outlaw could be called upon.

     

  • At 4:15 PM, Blogger OVERWADED said…

    I read that the "tinkering" could involve the starting lineup.

    The rumor was for Foyle to move into the starting rotation and Turk to go to the bench.

    I kind of hope not; I've liked the way Hedo, Shard, and Dwight have played together. Actually, I like our entire starting lineup.

    The major problem has been the bench production and rotations.

    Garrity is a "regular" in a shortened rotation, which means the Magic need to find another big man.

    Dooling has an undefined role as of today. Stan is doing a great job, but it bothers me seeing Dooling at the 2 spot.

    However, when he plays the 1, we lose some depth, because in turn, Arroyo gets benched.

    Last, there are Ariza and Redick, who have both been MIA. I'm surprised with both situations. Ariza is getting about 5 minutes a game, if that. Redick isn't even playing.

    Three games in and our bench play has consisted of Foyle, Garrity, and Dooling. In the first two games we saw Arroyo. Regardless if Arroyo is playing or not, we can’t seriously think those four will cut it.

    So, I'm not sure what the plan is here. It's obvious that we need another big men, because Garrity shouldn't be getting meaningful minutes. Then there is the backup point guard spot; who will win the job? Last, Ariza and Redick, they must become a regular part of the rotation; because as it stands right now, the Magic have plenty of players to make a deal with. (Garrity, expiring contract...one of Dooling or Arroyo...Redick...Ariza)

    Now I don't expect anything to happen. The point it, we have to get more out of our bench in one way or another.

     

  • At 3:43 AM, Blogger Mike from Illinois said…

    Nice touch with the Magic wallpaper!

    OVERWADED, I agree with everything you said in your last post, especially the part about the bench production and rotation.

    It's going to be a lot to ask for the starters to play the heavy minutes night in and night out like they did against WAS, especially with such a busy schedule coming up. The bench will have to be utilized more than it is now and perform better than it is now.

    I hope Redick's back injury isn't serious, and that he will be available soon.

     

Post a Comment

<< Home