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.

Friday, December 21, 2007

Another embarrassing home loss for Magic

Ahead by 1 pt at the half over UT, the Magic (18-10, 5-6 home) completely fell apart in the second half as UT (15-13) outscored the Magic by 20 pts in the second half en route to a 113-94 rout over the Magic to break a 7 game road losing streak for the Jazz.

Six players scored in double figures for the Jazz, led by a career-high 28 pts by Paul Millsap. Carlos Boozer added 24 pts.

Four players scored in double figures for the Magic, led by HTurkoglu with 27 pts (7 of 16 FGs); DHoward added 20 pts (8 of 12 FGs), 13 rebs; RLewis 12 pts (5 of 10 FGs); and KBogans 11 pts (4 of 10 FGs). MEvans led the bench with 7 pts.

The statistical breakdown:

FGs... UT 42 of 79 (53.2%) ORL 35 of 77 (45.5%) UT 87 ORL 79
3 PT FGs... ORL 9 of 27 (33.3%) UT 3 of 6 (50%)
FTs... UT 26 of 34 (76.5%) ORL 15 of 24 (62.5%)
REBs... UT 40 ORL 37
AST/TO... UT 25/13 ORL 21/19
BENCH... UT 50 ORL 20

The Magic have now lost 6 of their last 8 games, including 4 losses in a row at home. The Magic have not won at home since NOV 24th. The Magic are only 3 games ahead of the surprising Hawks in the SE. Things only get tougher, as the Magic play at BOS SUN evening.

posted by Mike from Illinois @ 10:43 PM  

12 Comments:

  • At 3:09 AM, Blogger OVERWADED said…

    So yeah, tonight the Magic pretty much did the opposite of what we wanted them to do.

    I honestly don't feel the need to discuss much of this game; SVG summed it up perfectly in his post game. If you haven't heard or read it already, I recommend it. Here is the link:

    http://www.nba.com/magic/news/quotes_122107.html

    Up next, the Boston Celtics, who will still be bitter about the Magic handing them their 1st loss of the season, and the Pistons handing them their 1st home loss of the season on Wednesday.

    The Celtics are a ridiculous home team. They've played a ton at home, and dominated. The loss to Detroit was their 1st. Considering they have one of the best home records in the league, and we have the best road records, it should make for a decent game...even though I expect a loss.

    To put a positive spin on the game, I think the Magic will hang tough until the 4th. But by the way they’ve played since the west coast road trip ended, I just can't picture them pulling the game out.

    I hope to be proven wrong.

     

  • At 3:12 AM, Blogger Mike from Illinois said…

    Some comments from a furious Stan Van Gundy after the game:

    "We're absolutely frightened of contact - frightened. We won't put our body in front of anybody driving the ball to the basket. We don't screen anybody, we won't block anybody out. It's a soft team, and until they change the results won't change."

    " I feel bad for our fans," Van Gundy continued. "I would have booed a lot louder than that... and I hope they will, if they put out the same effort the next time we're here."

     

  • At 3:49 AM, Blogger Mike from Illinois said…

    Well, we don't have Brian Hill to blame anymore.

    I think it was Big Figure who said that a loss is a good thing if it leads to much-needed change in the lineup and player rotation. Maybe this will be the loss that leads to that change.

    This is the same starting five who started the season 16-4. Other teams have now adjusted to the Magic (attack them and go to the basket on them because they are soft defensively). The Jazz shot only 6 3 pt FGs compared to 27 3 pt FG attempts for the Magic.

    Greg Anthony of ESPN said he thinks the Magic should have Turkoglu coming off the bench, because he and Lewis are such similar players, and Turk would bring instant offense off the bench. Not a bad idea, but then who would you start at SF?

    Also, if Lewis's neck is still bothering him, he needs to sit out for a while, until his neck gets better and he can play like he's capable of playing.

     

  • At 7:17 AM, Blogger Matt said…

    I am baffled by Coach Van Gundy's furious comments. If he feels that the team needs some defensive mind set, he needs to start from the PG. Next he needs to address at least one of the two SF or PF positions in terms of inserting players who are more defensive minded. For a while the team tried successfully to outshoot opponents and the opponents were trying to stop the Magic's offensive machine. Now the whole league has found out that the only way to beat the Magic is to do it at their own game, namely running at them. This has to come to an end. In my view, Keyon has to start at PG. Hedo should go to the bench and Rashard had to start at SF. If Rashard is struggling with neck injury, then Hedo should start at SF until Rashard is fully recovered. Foyle has to start at PF.

     

  • At 10:51 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    WOW!! well guys another blowout home loss to a team that was really hurting on the road. Like overwaded said SVG had the right idea at the post game press conference, we should of booed a whole lot louder after seeing what can be a great team play with absolutly no desire to win!!!! The starting lineup definetly needs a makeover and i completely agree with all you gents, it starts at the point!!!! Jnelson once again has proven that he is way too inconsistent and that he is probably the best "backup" point in the league!!!! Keyon too me just fits the offense a little bit better and definetly has a better sense of smell for the basket, but i want to go back and reiterate he fits Van Gundy's offense better because if we were in a traditional half court setup offense then Arroyo would be the man for the job(even after that horrible 4th quarterhe played yesterday)due to his solid pass first mentality, but since we are not in that type of offense Keyon is defenitly the man at the point at this moment in the season. I sincerely believe that nelson's productivity would go up if the pressure of running the team falls off him and he worries more about working on attacking the goal and dishing it to the open man!!!! Bogans needs to stay put and continue working hard on guarding the opposite teams best backcourt scorer. Now, call me crazy but at the 3 and 4 positions we desperately need a big shake up and i believe that it comes in drastic measures, the magic's offense is run and gun right? OK..... well if it is lets get quickness on the floor, if you think about up and down type offenses you automatically think phoenix and d'antoni starts marion at the 4 and grant hill at the 3. well to me, i think we should blueprint off that and start lewis at the 4 and Mo evans at the 3. Yes, i said it, hedo would be the perfect 6th man off the bench coming in and taking the scoring load off of dwight and obviously attract the defensive double team like he has been doing as of late. Evans brings alot of speed to the lineup and great quick hands on defense. Now i say this predecting that 118 million dollar man gets out of his still active shooting slump. Well there you have it! One last thing before i forget starting Foyle at the 4 would be catastrophic, because he clogs up the middle and dwight would not be able to to free lance on offense like he has been doing as of late. Why do you think that Foyle is Dwights backup????? tehy cannot play together Foyle is too much of a "wannabe" 5. Anywayz gents it has really been a pleasure finding this and blogging, finally i found a site of guys who know what the hell is going on!!!HA! well we will see tommorow!

     

  • At 11:51 AM, Blogger Big Figure said…

    I like SVG more and more everytime time i hear him speak,he tells it like it is and to be quite honest he's talking to otis. The more he calls out his team the more it becomes clear he doesnt think changing the line-up will help our team toughness,i was listening very carefully to his press conference and when he was asked the question whether or not he was thinking of changing the lineup his response was "show me somebody who deserves to be called on". Basically saying nobody on our bench deserves to become a starter. So he's basically calling out his team to the media because he doesnt want to sugar coat anything and act like his team isnt soft,that way he wont be to blame at the end of the day,otis put the team together so he's the only one who can bring in some toughness and we have tradeable piece's especially the way hedo's playing. SVG did his job,he changed the culture of our team offensively something Brian hill wasnt able to do,but the guys on this team have to take some individual pride and show some grit on the defensive end and im not sure some of the guys on our team have the mental make-up it takes to be a gritty defender. So i think SVG's next move is to fully keep trying to get a defensive mentality out of his guys,i dont expect the rotation to change much because the one thing he can always fall back on is the fact that he has a young team that has only been playing in this offensive system for 30 games and if they can catch their stride again they'll be in good shape,a little better than 500% basketball the rest of the way and the magic can win 50 games.

     

  • At 12:17 PM, Blogger Big Figure said…

    Obviously last nights game was a joke,same ole story from our point guard position. Jameer has effectively been outplayed by the last 5 opposing point guards,i mean he even played bad in the win we had against houston. We arent getting leadership from that position at all,its basically like jameer is a non-factor on either end of the floor and that cant happen as a point guard. There was a few times where jameer watched his guy go right by him to the basket,it was so obvious that even the collor commentators stated it to the listening audience. 4pts? So were not getting any offense either! And this is our starter. What i wanted SVG to be asked at his press conference is whether or not he's happy with his point guard play? I wouldve loved to hear what his answer to that question specifically wouldve been,but i have a sneaky suspicion that he wouldve answered it saying "i wasnt happy with anyones play",not calling out a specific position but rather the whole team. I truely beleive that jameer would make a great back-up,but we actually need a different set of skills running the type of team we have. With three point shooting at the 2 3 and 4,and a center that can create a double team,you need a point guard who can defend and run your offense. He doesnt have to be a high assist guy because you want to run your offense through dwight anyway and let him get the assist if double teams come,he just has to be able to defend and take care of the ball and go up against the likes of chauncey billups in the eastern finals,i think we all would agree that keyon would hold up alot better with starters minutes against bigger elite point guards.

     

  • At 12:34 PM, Blogger Matt said…

    There is truth to all you are saying with minor different angles to some issues that could make the difference. I agree with Big Figure about Coach implying that with the assets that he has got he cannot do much tinkering. After all this team has won on offense and changing the team's mindset to a defensive one - even if possible - might still come at the expense of offense. There is a small widow there which makes a difference, though. Unless somebody tells me that Jameer is that much better on offense than Keyon is, why not make that switch to solidify the parameter defense? I agree that on PF and SF positions it gets a lot dicier simply because we do not have the proper assets in those positions. But the PG position could definitely be tinkered with.

     

  • At 1:05 PM, Blogger Big Figure said…

    Yeam matt that was his implication,and i personally dont agree with him. As we both have stated for a while keyon should be starting,why not give him a look with the starters? Upgrading your defensive integrity seems like a no-brainer to me,if it doesnt work you always have the alternative but at least give it a shot for crying out loud. That extra defensive presence could make all the difference. Keyon's been in the league longer,he's the more experienced player which leadership is something we need from that position,also setting a tone defensively at the front of your defense always makes the guys behind you work even harder,plus he's physically capable of playing with some of the better point guards around the league,i dont know how SVG can keep jameer on the floor.

     

  • At 4:23 PM, Blogger OVERWADED said…

    “We had a team-wide effort of guys getting their ass kicked”.

    Stan said our offensive players are capable of playing defense, as are our defensive players, but neither of them are. He’s questioning the entire team’s effort and how much they’re actually willing to compete (Dooling and Evans included).

    When he was asked about changing the lineup, he said only two guys played hard enough tonight (Augustine and Foyle), and followed by saying I wish somebody would give me a reason to go to them. In other words, NOBODY has impressed him enough, including Dooling.

    Still, I wouldn’t mind seeing SVG give Dooling a shot. If anything, maybe it’d light a fire under Nelson. But if Dooling is going to continue playing point guard, he needs to learn how to get other players involved. Right now, he’s playing very offensive minded, and even though his defense has been better than Nelson’s and Arroyo’s, he doesn’t get anyone else involved on the offensive end. I think that is what Stan sees right now with Dooling, a guy who is playing point guard, and who’d be putting up close to 20 shots a night if he was playing 40 minutes. That’s just not what this team needs from the point guard position. We need a leader, someone willing to defend and get everyone involved; period.

    The point is Stan wants everyone to play harder and tougher. He did say we did that for a while earlier in the season, that we’re capable, and we’re just not doing it anymore.

    Something has to change in one way or another...

     

  • At 11:45 AM, Blogger Matt said…

    With the Holiday Seasons upon us, I wish each and everyone of you the best of the best for the Holiday Season. As a team, we established one of the best Magic blogs out there. We are passionate, yet fair; critical, yet constructive and respectful.

    I have not been able to see any of the games but your posts are filling me in. I have been too busy to check into satellite possibilities. The dishes are up there on the roof, but we have only limited cable possibilities. Next week I am going to assign someone to look into satellite options. I am here to establish a community college that will open doors to 4000 students by April of next year. I am delighted about the opportunities but the obstacles are many which require dedication and persistence to overcome. I hope I will be able to serve a nation in need. I hope for the best but prepared to face the worst.

     

  • At 3:04 PM, Blogger Big Figure said…

    Merry christmas to you guys and the rest of your families. Matt take care,cant wait for you to get back and resume your role with us here,everybody have a happy holiday!

     

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