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, April 11, 2008

Magic still looking for win number 50 as T-Wolves pull off stunner

Despite coming into the game on a 6 game losing streak and the worst road record in the NBA, MIN, who was a 12 1/2 pt underdog against the Magic, pulled off the upset as Ryan Gomes' two free throws with 2.9 seconds remaining put the T-Wolves up by one as they held on for a 102-101 victory as HTurkoglu's last second 3 point attempt missed badly. The Magic could not hold a 14 point 3rd qtr lead, and MIN scored 12 of the last 14 pts of the game.

The Magic started great, shooting a scalding 78% in the first qtr (14 of 18 FGs, 6 of 7 3 pt FGs) and 69% for the half as they held a 63-54 lead after two. In the second half, the Magic turned stone cold, as they shot only 37% (15 of 41 FGs, 3 of 15 3 pt FGs), while MIN shot 9 of 10 from the FT line and hit 5 of 9 from 3 pt range in the second half to lead them to the comeback win.

Four Magic players scored in double figures, led by HTurkoglu with 23 pts (8 of 18 FGs), 7 asts; DHoward 20 pts (8 of 13 FGs), 14 rebs but 5 TOs; RLewis 18 pts (7 of 15 FGs), 7 rebs, 3 blocks; and MEvans 17 pts (7 of 9 FGs). CArroyo led the bench with 7 pts, 4 asts.

Five players scored in double figures for MIN, led by Randy Foye with 25 pts and 6 rebs. Al Jefferson added 18 pts along with 11 rebs. Rashad McCants came off the bench to score 19 pts.

The statistical breakdown:

FGs... ORL 39 of 76 (51.3%) MIN 38 of 85 (44.7%) ORL 90 MIN 85
3 PT FGs... ORL 12 of 28 (42.9%) MIN 9 of 16 (56.2%)
FTs... MIN 17 of 20 (85%) ORL 11 of 20 (55%)
REBs... MIN 46 (12 offensive) ORL 37 (6 offensive)
AST/TO... ORL 25/13 MIN 14/12
BENCH... MIN 37 ORL 14

This was the Magic's first loss at home to a team currently under .500 since JAN 2nd, when they lost to NJ. The Magic have now lost 6 of their last 10 games.

In the race for the 6th seed in the East and the right to face the Magic in the playoffs, both WAS and PHI lost FRI night, while TOR won. WAS is in 5th at 41-38, while PHI and TOR are tied for 6th at 40-39.

posted by Mike from Illinois @ 10:51 PM  

5 Comments:

  • At 11:19 PM, Blogger Mike from Illinois said…

    It really bothers me that the Magic just cannot win a close game. They have lost their last six games decided by 8 or fewer points, and have not won a game decided by 8 or fewer points since FEB 2nd, when they beat the Pacers by 6 pts.

    All the starters played over 30 minutes, with Turkoglu, Howard, and Lewis playing over 37 minutes, and the Magic still could not pull the game out.

    If the Magic cannot do any better on their FTs and rebounding, they won't go very far in the playoffs no matter who they play, regardless of how well they shoot from the field.

    Losing to the Knicks and the TWolves the last week doesn't bode well with the playoffs approaching. It would be completely different if Coach Van Gundy was playing the bench and resting the starters, but the starters continue to play heavy minutes.

    Only three games remain before the playoffs.

     

  • At 9:17 AM, Blogger Lord Horatio said…

    Words can't express how utterly shocked and disappointed I was to find they'd lost last night. It seems to me that the Magic still haven't proven themselves as a mature, playoff-caliber team, and it's so saddening to have to admit that.

    Consistency is seriously lacking on all sides, but especially on the part of our forwards not grabbing those defensive AND offensive rebounds. It's so heartbreaking to have to watch them give up shooting opportunities time and time again.

    Also, although I hate to say it, I still don't have much confidence in the bench. Keyon and Arroyo are our only real weapons, and while they can do some serious damage when they bring their "A" game, they're not as reliable as they should be.

    Here's hoping they'll grab win number 50 in Chicago on Sunday.

     

  • At 3:08 PM, Blogger Mike from Illinois said…

    Despite the bad losses this week, I still have confidence that the Magic will be able to learn from their mistakes and do what it takes for success in the playoffs and at least advance to the second round.

    The Magic have been on cruise control for quite a while now, but once the playoffs start, every team is 0-0 and it's a new season with so much on the line, so the intensity and urgency should be there for the Magic.

    The Magic still will wind up with 50 wins and the third best record in the East despite the recent bad losses.

     

  • At 11:24 AM, Blogger Big Figure said…

    Mike i agree with you,but here's the problem. We give up a ton of offensive rebounds,and we dont get any on our end. So basically we get one shot and when were shooting well everything looks fine (like in the first half against the timberwolves),but when we srtuggled to hit our jumpers we struggle to score because we get no second chance points. Rebounding is a mindset,and more importantly being good at getting offensive rebounds is a specific talent that only a select few have,being able to judge the ball coming off the rim,lulling your man to sleep thinking your not going after the ball then at the last minute running past him and jumping before anybody else has left the ground,thats the trick that i've noticed from ben wallace which is why he's been so good so long in the rebounding category (rodman did that as well). The magic just dont have a player in the line-up who's sneaky and savy at grabbing rebounds. Dwight does everything with power,hedo and rashard are way to worried about getting back on defense because they both shoot so many jumpers that they dont want their man getting easy lay-ups on the other end if they miss. So that leaves jameer and mo evans as our only offensive rebound threats on MOST plays,horrible. We are what we are,were not gonna beat anybody come play-off time out working them because the teams we will have to face have proved that they can match our intensity,were gonna win doing what we do,shooting the ball alot and being solid in a few area's,getting offensive rebounds and protecting against offensive rebounds just might not be one of those area's. Sometimes it seems like were winning with smoke and mirrors masquerading around as a good team ready to make a run in the play-offs,when were not.

     

  • At 12:02 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    We must thanks the GM of the year, Mr. Otis. Figure this out, the lack of PF in our team is critical. In order to win games Howard needs to get at least 14 / 20 rebounds. We are not a physical team, we are a perimeter. We are what we are, a soft team.

     

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