Orlando Pinstriped Post

Off-Day Open Thread: Should We Worry about Rashard Lewis?

2010-03-15T18:00:36Z

As noted in last night's recap of the Orlando Magic's loss to the Charlotte Bobcats, forward Rashard Lewis has struggled mightily lately. He's not having a great season overall, sure, but he's been especially ineffectual since the All-Star break, averaging 11.6 points on 51.3% True Shooting, and 3.8 boards in 33.1 minutes. He laid an egg last night against Charlotte, missing 6 of his 7 shots--many of them wide-open--and grabbing just 2 rebounds in 34 minutes. In the last week, he played 110 minutes and managed 11 rebounds, which is almost exactly the rate at which Boston's Brian Scalabrine, who's about as mobile as the basket stanchion is, has boarded this season. And after last night's loss, coach Stan Van Gundy expressed concern about Lewis' lack of energy lately.

Unsurprisingly, Lewis--who made waves earlier this year by refusing to re-enter a game because Ryan Anderson, his backup, was playing so well--is saying the right things about putting the team first and his individual needs second. From Josh Robbins of Orlando Sentinel:

"It's a team," he said. "It says ‘Magic' on the jersey and not ‘Lewis' on the front of the jersey."

And from Tim Povtak of NBA FanHouse:

"I'm a veteran now on a good team, a team competing for a championship. It's loaded. Sometimes you have to sacrifice for that. As long as we're winning, I'm comfortable with it.''

Check that last part again: "as long as we're winning." Lewis spoke up earlier this season about not getting enough touches, and one wonders if he might voice his frustration again if Orlando goes through another rough patch.

So my question is two-fold: how concerned are you with Lewis' recent poor play? And to what extent are you worried about his attitude toward taking on a diminished role this season?

An optimistic argument goes something like this: around this time last year, his productivity had a similar decline, and he bounced back in time to play quite well in the postseason. Odds are he makes it two years in a row; betting against Lewis to deliver in key situations during his Orlando tenure has proven unwise.

The pessimistic outlook? He's 30 years old and taking more jumpers (and, consequently, fewer foul shots) with each passing year. And he's owed in excess of $60 million over the next three seasons.

T-Mobile Player of the Week: Dwight Howard

2010-03-15T16:00:37Z

This post is sponsored by T-Mobile.

The Orlando Magic improved to 47-21 last week after going 3-1, due in large part to Dwight Howard's stellar play at both ends of the floor. He's our T-Mobile Player of the Week yet again.

Dwight Howard	Pts	Rebs	Ast	Stl	Blk
Dwight Howard	22.3	13.0	2.8	0.5	2.0
	FG%		3FG%		FT%
	80.0		0.0		58.6
	eFG%				TS%
	80.0				77.0

Howard led the Magic in scoring and rebounding three times and shot an incredible 80% from the field. His averages would have improved were it not for the Magic's blowout win over the Chicago Bulls on Thursday night, in which his services were required for just 20 minutes.

Howard's excellent week overshadowed another strong performance from Vince Carter, who provided efficient offense (19.3 points, 65.6% True Shooting, just 2 turnovers in 131 minutes) from the perimeter when the Magic needed it, with Rashard Lewis struggling to get involved and Jameer Nelson becoming more of a distributor.

Finally, he surpassed Tracy McGrady for 2nd place on the Magic's all-time scoring list yesterday in defeat. He can realistically overtake Nick Anderson for the top spot two seasons from now, provided he averages 20 points per game and does not miss many games.

Charlotte Bobcats 96, Orlando Magic 89

2010-03-15T06:34:23Z

More photos » John Raoux - AP

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In a potential first-round playoff preview, the opportunistic Charlotte Bobcats exploited the Orlando Magic's lack of rest and depth and ended Orlando's 8-game winning streak Sunday night by a final of 96-89. Stephen Jackson tallied a game-high 28 points and dished 6 assists for Charlotte, whose offense rolled along despite the absence of All-Star small forward Gerald Wallace. Orlando's Dwight Howard shot 12-of-14 for 27 points and pulled down 15 rebounds, while Vince Carter tallied 23 points and 6 assists, and spot-starter Mickael Pietrus drained 5 three-pointers en route to a 20-point outing. But those 3 players proved to be Orlando's only reliable scorers, and the Bobcats handily outrebounded the Magic, 46-34, to win rather impressively.

Team	Pace	Efficiency	eFG%	FT Rate	OReb%	TO Rate
Bobcats	86	111.8	50.0%	28.0	32.4	17.5
Magic	84	106.3	53.5%	16.7	20.9	17.9
Green denotes a stat better than the team's season average; red denotes a stat worse than the team's season average.

Tonight's game was the third in four nights for the Magic, who'd played less than 24 hours earlier in Washington, D.C. The lack of energy was especially apparent early, with the Bobcats moving the ball around the perimeter and getting wide-open looks on nearly every possession, when they weren't busy turning the ball over, as is their wont. The Magic can't blame a lack of rest for this loss, though. As coach Stan Van Gundy said, "we weren't very good at anything today." Howard added, "You never want to use fatigue as an excuse because we’re NBA players and we train to do our jobs, but we were a little tired."

In these sorts of short-rest situations, reserve players have to take on additional responsibility. At home, the Magic's bench should have been able to best Charlotte's, which is among the weakest in the league in terms of talent. With Pietrus in the starting lineup, the bench lacked its usual spark. J.J. Redick missed 4 of his 6 shots and didn't shoot any free throws; ditto for Jason Williams, though he at least managed to sink two three-pointers. Brandon Bass looked oddly tentative all day and missed all of his shot attempts as well. A discouraging performance from a usually solid group.

I think the Bobcats had the right idea in this game: attack the Magic's tired defense. Jackson and point guard Raymond Felton had their way with Orlando's backcourt, combining for 44 points on 32 shots thanks to 13 free-throw attempts. Charlotte was the more aggressive team. Even Howard, usually a stout defender in all circumstances, had his problems, twice losing track of Theo Ratliff on his rolls to the hoop, which resulted in a slam for the 36-year-old veteran both times. Orlando's defense is among the best in the league, while the Bobcats' offense is among the worst. Even accounting for the lack of rest, Orlando should have been able to limit Charlotte more.

If you're looking for a positive, it has to be Carter, who continues to play extremely well. Calm and in-control, Carter asserted himself early and never really let up. This locked-in version of Carter is the one Orlando had in mind when it traded for him, and the one they hope to have in the postseason. His off-ball defense can still use some work--I know Stephen Graham's not a world-beater, but you've got to honor his shot more than that, but overall, Carter's been tremendous.

This loss is one the Magic should be able to shake off, especially after beating the Bobcats in the first three meetings; as Magic TV play-by-play man David Steele said, it's hard to beat a good team four times in one season. Orlando was not up to that task today, which is disappointing but not necessarily alarming. What's becoming a problem, though, is Rashard Lewis' recent stretch of horrid play. The twelfth-year forward grabbed just 11 rebounds in 110 minutes last week, averaged 6.8 points per game on 45.2% True Shooting, and struggled defensively. He's far, far below replacement level right now, and Van Gundy's lamented his lack of energy of late, too. This slump is something that bears watching going forward.

Post-Game Media Availability: Not a Well-Played Game

2010-03-15T02:52:50Z

More photos » John Raoux - AP

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Coming into tonight’s game, the Orlando Magic were on an eight-game winning streak and looking to tie a franchise-record for most consecutive regular season wins with nine. But catching the Charlotte Bobcats, a team without All-Star forward Gerald Wallace, on a back-to-back proved to be too much for the Magic. After the game, head coach Stan Van Gundy bemoaned Orlando's poor play. For the Magic, it was just one of those nights.

I was able to speak with Van Gundy amongst the media, as well as Mickael Pietrus, and Dwight Howard. Here’s what they had to say:

Stan Van Gundy:

Could you talk about Mickael Pietrus’ performance tonight?

I thought M.P. played well, yeah. I thought M.P. … on the offensive end, I thought M.P., Vince [Carter], and Dwight [Howard] all played well but it was pretty much a three-man show. Nobody else could really get anything going and so it’s just not enough.

More after the jump.

Mickael Pietrus:

With shots not falling for Jameer Nelson or Rashard Lewis, did you feel the need to be more aggressive on offense?

Oh, no, just trying to play my game. I mean, they called my name and I tried to be extra-focused on that end of the floor to help my team so hopefully we come back strong on Wednesday [against the San Antonio Spurs].

Do you see the Charlotte Bobcats as a possible playoff matchup? Or are you even thinking about that, at this point?

No, we’re not thinking about that. We’re thinking about the way we’re playing, how we have to share the ball inside and out, and then the most important thing for us is try to get into a rhythm – all of us – going into the playoffs.

On Wednesday, do you guys plan on changing up anything?

No, I mean, we didn’t change anything when we were winning games. I mean, we just have to do the same thing and have fresh legs.

Could you talk about Stephen Jackson’s impact on the Bobcats? That’s a former teammate of yours.

That’s why they traded for him because he’s a great player. He’s going to get it done, no matter what people are going to say. He’s going to get it done and I played with him in Golden State and he’s a great player. He’s really carried the Bobcats through the season.

You’ve talked about being on the All-Defensive team in the past. Does that remain a goal of yours?

Yeah, that will always be my goal, to make it to the [All-NBA First team] defensively. I’m trying to focus on that but I can help my team in many ways. On offense, on defense, I’m just trying to enjoy my time on the floor and do everything I can to win games because in the NBA, it’s not easy.

Dwight Howard:

Could you talk about Charlotte’s defensive gameplan, aside from them double-teaming you in the post? Was there anything else that caught your eye?

That’s about it. That’s about it. I think we just missed a lot of shots tonight. We didn’t do well, as a team, rebounding and we didn’t capitalize on just the little things. Overall, if we would have just made some of those shots and gotten some of those rebounds, it would have been a different outcome.

Do you see more and more teams gambling by doubling you in the post and forcing your teammates to make the shots from the perimeter?

Well, they have been doing it all season. They would rather us shoot threes than get their bigs in foul trouble. We understand that. Guys are going to knock down shots. I think M.P. came out tonight and had an excellent game without Matt [Barnes] being in the lineup and we’re just going to move forward from there.

Do you think officials have a quick trigger with you, with regards to technical fouls?

Well, I think sometimes, as a ref, they may feel as if we’re trying to show them up when that’s not the case sometimes. We all understand that they make mistakes also, and our emotions sometimes get the best of us. Sometimes I think there are techs that shouldn’t be techs but we just have to abide by the rules.

I know it seems cliché but was tonight an off-night?

You’re going to win some, you’re going to lose some. We’re not going to win 100% of the games. We expect to win, we want to win but we all understand that these are NBA players, they’ve been playing in this league for a while, and you never can get too up when you win and you never can get too down when you lose.

Tonight's Orlando Magic Game: vs. Charlotte Bobcats

2010-03-14T20:00:42Z

The Orlando Magic can clinch a playoff spot and tie a team record with their 9th straight win if they defeat the Charlotte Bobcats tonight in what could be a playoff preview of sorts. I say "of sorts" because All-Star small forward Gerald Wallace will sit out with a sprained left ankle, and he'd most assuredly play a big role in a potential first-round matchup. Additionally, the recently signed Larry Hughes is recovering from a hand injury suffered earlier this season with the Knicks and will not be available for at least a week. So essentially the Bobcats are spotting the Magic two rotation players today. But will that advantage lead to a franchise record-tying win?

UPDATE: Orlando's Matt Barnes is day-to-day with a sprained left big toe and won't play tonight. Mickael Pietrus will start in his place. Barnes had yet to miss a game this year.

2009/2010 NBA Season
	@
33-31 (9-23 away) Won 5		47-20 (27-6 home) Won 8
March 14th, 2010
Amway Arena
6:00 PM
Fox Sports Florida
Probable Starters
Raymond Felton	PG	Jameer Nelson
Stephen Jackson	SG	Vince Carter
Stephen Graham	SF	Mickael Pietrus
Boris Diaw	PF	Rashard Lewis
Theo Ratliff	C	Dwight Howard
Previous Meetings
November 10th: Magic 93, Bobcats 81
November 16th: Magic 97, Bobcats 91
January 23rd: Magic 106, Bobcats 95 (OT)
Advanced Stats
90.7 (26th)	Pace	92.6 (16th)
103.8 (25th)	ORtg	110.0 (8th)
102.7 (5th)	DRtg	102.6 (4th)
Game Officials
Scott Foster
Bennie Adams
Gary Zielinski

As Tom Ziller writes, the Bobcats' margin for error without Wallace is "minuscule", largely because he's among the few players on the team who can score. Stephen Jackson, Raymond Felton, and even struggling second-year guard D.J. Augustin will have to assume more responsibility on offense, which is where the Bobcats are weakest. Charlotte's just one-tenth of a point per 100 possessions worse than Orlando on D, which is why they could be dangerous in the playoffs. With Theo Ratliff, Tyson Chandler, and DeSagana Diop up front, the Bobcats have three defenders who can handle Dwight Howard reasonably well one-on-one, which in turn helps them cover the Magic's shooters. This strategy worked in the last meeting, albeit with different personnel checking Howard, as he scored just 10 points.

So it again looks like Jameer Nelson and Vince Carter will have to step up for Orlando to win this one. Otherwise, given the Bobcats' iffy offense, we could see a score somewhere in the 86-80 range, which favors Charlotte. Without Wallace, the Bobcats' perimeter defense weakens, which is why Carter should be especially aggressive.

Pre-Game Media Availability with Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy

2010-03-14T21:03:37Z

More photos » Nell Redmond - AP

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Before the Orlando Magic face off against the Charlotte Bobcats in tonight's game, I was able to speak briefly with head coach Stan Van Gundy amongst the media.

Here's what he had to say:

With the rotation in tonight's game, will you allocate some of the minutes at the small forward position to Vince Carter?

Yeah, Vince and J.J. [Redick] have played ... we went down the stretch last night with those two guys in so that's not a problem. We can move Rashard [Lewis] over there, too.

What's the key to game-planning against a Larry Brown-coached defense?

Well, I don't know about ... they're a good defensive team and I think when you play good defensive teams, you're generally going to have to make more passes, get to your second and third options, and things like that. I think the one thing that they do is that they will trap you coming across half-court at various times and you have to be alert for that but other than that, it's just a good, solid defense. Not a lot of tricks to what they do other than the traps. It's just they get down [the court], they work hard, they got tough guys that put pressure on the ball, they got size inside to protect the basket. I mean, it's a solid defense.

Jameer Nelson Sparks the Orlando Magic's Second-Half Success

2010-03-14T16:00:25Z

More photos » Nick Wass - AP

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The Orlando Magic have won eight straight games, their longest streak since the 2005/06 season and the longest active streak in the NBA. And no team has played better ball than the Magic over the last month, with Orlando drilling its opponents by an average of 14.5 points over that stretch. Each player deserves a share of the credit, as does the coaching staff. But to me, one player in particular has keyed the Magic's improvement since the break: point guard Jameer Nelson.

Here's a look at how his numbers have improved, UPDATE with his stats from last season added for comparison:

Jameer Nelson pre- and post-All-Star break splits, 2009/10 NBA Season
	Pts	Ast	TO	PPR	TS%
Pre	11.6	4.8	2.1	4.1	52.3%
Post	15.1	7.1	2.2	8.7	59.3%
2008/09 Season	16.7	5.4	2.0	5.2	61.2%

The break helped Nelson recharge his batteries, so to speak, and it's paying off with better percentages from the floor. More impressively, he's turned into an assist machine relative to his usual abilities. Prior to this season, Nelson split ballhandling duties with Hedo Turkoglu in Stan Van Gundy's offense, which robbed him of some assist opportunities. For most of his pre-Van Gundy career, he was regarded as a point guard with a shoot-first mentality and without great floor vision; the 1.5 Pure Point Rating he posted in his first full year as a starter did little to inspire confidence in his ability to run an offense. With Turkoglu in Toronto and Vince Carter not assuming that same playmaking role, Nelson's doing a little more than he used to, and proving to be one of the best pick-and-roll players in the game: data from Synergy Sports show Nelson produces 1.04 points per possession in all pick-and-roll situations, which puts him in the league's 86th percentile.

It makes sense that he'd get plenty of assists with this particular team, given that he has 3 three-point shooters beyond the arc or the league's best center in the paint awaiting a pass at any time. But it might be a mistake to assume that just anyone could post these sorts of numbers. Chris Paul, Steve Nash, Jason Kidd, Rajon Rondo, and Deron Williams are the only players to best Nelson's post-break Pure Point Rating over the entire season, while Paul and Nash are the only ones to combine a better Pure Point Rating with more efficient shooting. When Eddy and I write that Nelson's played like an All-Star lately, we mean it. He's getting it done, and that his rise has mirrored the Magic's is no coincidence.

Kelly Dwyer's called Nelson "the most important non-star in the NBA," and with good reason. With Nelson producing the way he has of late, Orlando's taken its offense into another gear, with over 118 points scored per 100 possessions since the break. That offensive potency, combined with the Magic's elite defense, will make Orlando exceptionally dangerous in the postseason. And it all starts with Nelson, the man running the show.

Where a Winning Streak Happens

2010-03-14T12:00:26Z

More photos » Phelan M. Ebenhack - AP

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Via Tania Ganguli of the Orlando Sentinel:

"Early in the season we all knew it was going to be a roller coaster ride for us," [Dwight] Howard said. "Win a couple games, lose here and there. We understand that. Now we're learning to play with each other to get better going into the playoffs. I think we can get a lot better"

"We're playing pretty good basketball. Hopefully we can continue to keep it up but at the same time stay humble knowing that if we don't play the way we played these last eight games we could slip and lose somewhere."

If the Orlando Magic defeat the Charlotte Bobcats in tonight's game, they will tie a franchise record with nine straight wins, most recently achieved in 2001.

Orlando Magic 109, Washington Wizards 95

2010-03-14T03:50:10Z

More photos » Ned Dishman - NBAE/Getty Images

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Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic's second unit helped the Magic overcome an early 15-point deficit against the lowly Washington Wizards to win their 8th straight game, 109-95, in runaway fashion. Howard scored 28 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, while backup shooting guard J.J. Redick scored 10 of his 18 points in the second quarter to ignite Orlando's once-stagnant offense. With Howard in the middle, Redick and Jason Williams in the backcourt, and Brandon Bass and Mickael Pietrus up front, Orlando scored on 13 of its first 14 possessions of the second quarter, turning a 33-20 deficit into a 50-45 lead before coming up empty on another possession. The Wizards' roster is mostly bereft of talent after two significant trading deadline deals, and they could only rely on three players to deliver offensively tonight, which was their third game in as many nights. Andray Blatche continued his post-All-Star break brilliance with a game-high 32 points, while 10-day contract signee Shaun Livingston scored 18 with 8 assists in his best all-around performance since attempting to recover from the gruesome knee injury that nearly ended his career 3 years ago. Al Thornton rounded out Washington's cast of double-figure scorers with 15 points, and that trio accounted for almost all of Washington's offense before it threw in the towel.

Team	Pace	Efficiency	eFG%	FT Rate	OReb%	TO Rate
Magic	87	124.6	57.0%	24.1	41.7	19.4
Wizards	87	109.4	50.0%	15.9	22.5	11.5
Green denotes a stat better than the team's season average; red denotes a stat worse than the team's season average.

Of the Magic's 8 straight wins, this one is likely their least impressive, given that they let one of the league's least talented teams score 33 points against them in the first quarter in its third game in as many nights. Rashard Lewis picked up two quick fouls trying to check Blatche, which pressed Brandon Bass into duty much earlier than expected. He didn't fare any better against Blatche than Lewis did--Blatche scored 15 points in the first quarter--but he held his own on the offensive glass. The second unit's outstanding second-quarter play overshadowed any of the bad from the first quarter, and the starters re-grouped for a strong early third-period run which basically decided the game. Howard and Jameer Nelson connected on a series of transition alley-oops, and Howard had his way in the low post against whomever the Wizards put against him. None of this is news: Washington's a poor defensive team with no one up front who can realistically challenge Howard. Its double-teams enabled him to find cutters on their way to the rim, which helped him post 5 assists. It's what you should expect from Howard, which speaks to how dominant he is: 11-of-13 shooting for 28 points in 37 minutes is to be expected. Yeah.

So the real takeaway here, in a mid-March game against a lottery opponent, is this: the bench bailed out what was a poor first effort from the starters. Redick's uncanny ability to draw shooting fouls on the perimeter, thanks to that ball-fake of his, proved invaluable today. That he managed to shoot well away from the foul line--5-of-9--was icing, really. Orlando needed his efficiency from the wing, as Vince Carter needed 18 shots to score 18 points and failed to get to the foul line for the first time in three weeks.

Bass? Statistically and otherwise, tonight was his most active game in a Magic uniform: 16 points and a season-high 9 rebounds (4 offensive) to go with a career-high 5 turnovers. He's obviously much more comfortable knowing that backup power forward slot is his and his alone, for now. Coach Stan Van Gundy said after the game that Bass is "still learning what we're doing defensively," but also praised his energy and called him "instrumental" to the Magic's success tonight. Though I have my doubts that he and Howard are a viable everyday combination at the power positions, they excelled together tonight due to Washington's lack of size, as well as the Wizards' tendency to pay Howard too much attention.

Going forward, the Magic must curb their turnovers, having committed 17 tonight in a low-possession game. But right now, the team is really rolling, winning by an average of 18.1 points during its streak.

Tonight's Orlando Magic Game: at Washington Wizards

2010-03-13T22:00:23Z

The Orlando Magic will look to extend their winning streak to 8 games tonight when they visit Verizon Center to take on the cellar-dwelling Washington Wizards, who've lost 6 straight. Washington has the distinction of being the only Eastern Conference team not to fall to Orlando yet this season, having won each of the first two matchups after surmounting double-digit deficits. But those wins came before the Wizards cleaned house by shipping out Antawn Jamison, Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood, and others at the trading deadline. Further, tonight marks Washington's third game in as many nights due to its having to play a make-up game on Thursday. It would seem that the Magic indeed have all the advantages.

2009/2010 NBA Season
	@
46-20 (19-14 away) Won 7		21-42 (12-21 home) Lost 6
March 13th, 2010
Verizon Center
7:00 PM
Sun Sports / NBA TV
Probable Starters
Jameer Nelson	PG	Randy Foye
Vince Carter	SG	Mike Miller
Matt Barnes	SF	Al Thornton
Rashard Lewis	PF	Andray Blatche
Dwight Howard	C	JaVale McGee
Previous Meetings
January 8th: Wizards 104, Magic 97
February 5th: Wizards 92, Magic 91
Advanced Stats
92.6 (15th)	Pace	92.0 (18th)
109.8 (8th)	ORtg	104.5 (22nd)
102.5 (3rd)	DRtg	109.1 (19th)
Game Officials
Ed Malloy
Brian Forte
John Goble

The Wizard on whom the Magic need to focus is Andray Blatche, who's blossomed since the Wizards' roster-clearing trades, with per-game averages of 23.9 points, 10.3 rebounds, and 56.2% True Shooting, which recall those of perennial All-Star Chris Bosh. And it may surprise you to learn that he leads the entire NBA in points per post-up possession. Rashard Lewis and Brandon Bass have to attend to Blatche, whose range extends to 15 feet, not unlike Bosh. And if he sneaks free inside and draws Dwight Howard's attention, JaVale McGee figures to benefit. He dunked eight times against Atlanta on Thursday, which beats Lewis' season-long total by three.

Apart from Blatche, though, the Wizards have little offense. In theory, Mike Miller could average 20 points per game on a lottery team, but he's continued his puzzling trend of refusing to shoot even when incredibly wide-open, with his usage rate less than two-thirds what it was just three seasons ago. Al Thornton, Randy Foye, and Nick Young are all inefficient, perimeter-oriented chuckers, as long two-pointers comprise 39.2% of their combined shot attempts. We should acknowledge, though, that Foye has caught fire against the Magic twice this year, and Young can get hot in a hurry. But overall, this is a team without much firepower, and one Orlando's defense should handle easily.

The Magic have spent much of the season giving away big leads to bad teams, and ultimately losing. But not during this winning streak, during which they've raced out to, and subsequently maintained, huge leads against bottom-feeding teams. Jameer Nelson has noticed a change in attitude, telling the Orlando Sentinel, "It's a lot more serious and especially now. Everybody is focusing in on everything." Tonight's game will put his assertion to the test.

Word of the Day: Serious

2010-03-13T13:00:32Z

More photos » John Raoux - AP

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serious (adj.) - concerned with work or important matters rather than play or trivialities

Via Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel:

The Magic franchise record for consecutive victories is nine, set twice, in 1994 and in 2001.
A victory against the Wizards would match the second-longest winning streak in Magic history, when the 2005-06 team won eight in a row.

"We're just trying to get better — no matter who we play at this point," center Dwight Howard said. "We just want to continue to do the things that are going to make us a lot better going into the playoffs. "Our goal is to win a championship."[...]

"There's not much joking around," point guard Jameer Nelson said. "It's a lot more serious and especially now. Everybody is focusing in on everything."

Dwight Howard's slideshow video. A visual look at Superman's career.

2010-03-12T22:35:29Z

Dwight Howard's slideshow video. A visual look at Superman's career.

Orlando Magic News for March 12th: A Look at How the Magic Have Performed Lately; Statheads Unite

2010-03-12T22:17:53Z

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Are the Magic as good as they have seemed since the All-Star break?
Tania Ganguli explains why the Orlando Magic have played so well lately.

Magic Coach Stan Van Gundy talked about the team’s preparation reaching a new level lately. Jameer Nelson seconded that.

"We’re preparing better; we do everything better right now," Nelson said. "… Individually we’re getting better. Early in the season we really didn’t have too many guys play together too often. Vince [Carter] goes out, Rashard’s [Lewis] out, you had guys go out. We start getting playing time together, practice time, we start jelling a little better."
Are Statheads the NBA's Secret Weapon?
David Biderman of the Wall Street Journal notes that teams with statisticians, a group which includes the Magic, are succeeding on the court. (via TrueHoop)

According to interviews with every team, The Wall Street Journal found that half the league's teams this season have at least one of these statisticians who helps make in-game, draft-day and trade-deadline decisions. Many of these teams are among the NBA's best. The list accounts for all six division leaders, including the Orlando Magic and Dallas Mavericks, who have a data analyst traveling with the team. These 15 teams that have invested heavily in statistics have combined to win 59.3% of their games this season. The 15 teams without such analysts have won 40.7% of their games, and only three—the Phoenix Suns, Utah Jazz and Atlanta Hawks—are on pace to make the postseason. Houston Rockets' general manager Daryl Morey, one of the pioneers of statistical analysis in the NBA, says more teams will soon come over to the quant side.

More after the jump.

NBA's statistical revolution bringing real change, more winning
Rob Mahoney of ProBasketballTalk says that the statistical revolution in the NBA is an example of the future of sports. A natural evolution.
Boston Hoops Road Trip: Sloan, Celtics and More
M. Haubs of The Painted Area paints a beautiful picture of what the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference was like. A must-read.

After attending on Saturday, I believe Sloan is more than a conference on advanced statistics - a more precise definition would be that it's a conference on New Ideas in Sports.

Certainly, advanced statistics accounts for a significant chunk of the new ideas currently in the basketball vanguard. But I was fascinated by how often the conference was about more than stats, such as when Mark Cuban talked about how advances in psychological testing, and personalized medicine - tailored to the individual athlete - were things that he was anticipating in the next 20 years. The Sloan Conference was really about what's next in sports, about what potential innovations which might give players and franchises and leagues an edge.
Context just as important as numbers in world of stats
John Schuhmann of NBA.com provides his thoughts on the Sloan Conference, as well.

Dismissing the numbers is ludicrous. Relying on them solely is ludicrous, too. To get a true understanding of the game, both an open mind and an understanding of context is needed to make it all work.
By the way, an advanced statistics dictionary should be available at Orlando Pinstriped Post in the next few days or so. I'll make an announcement when its posted on the site.
Stan Van Gundy Gives Players 'Dr. BBQ's Big-Time Barbecue Cookbook' To Read During Road Trip
UPDATE (from Ben): Another classic story from The Onion.
Stan Van Gundy and Statistics
UPDATE 2 (from Eddy): On the APBRmetrics forum, Schuhmann crunches the numbers and shows that the Magic are the second-best team in the NBA in transition defense. Why? Head coach Stan Van Gundy doesn't put a premium on the offensive rebound. Instead, he wants the Magic to get back in transition and prevent easy baskets. It's a philosophical reason that has worked for Orlando.
Dwight Howard does Men's Health
UPDATE 3 (from Eddy): Dwight Howard is on the cover of Men's Health. Check it out.

T-Mobile Trivia Firedrill: Win Tickets to See the Orlando Magic and the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday

2010-03-12T18:00:25Z

This post is sponsored by T-Mobile.

It's time to give away a few more tickets to an Orlando Magic home game, courtesy of T-Mobile. At stake tonight? Tickets to see the Magic host the San Antonio Spurs next Wednesday, March 17th. Ordinarily, we conduct our giveaways with much more notice, but due to some extenuating circumstances that won't be the case. Please pay special attention to the rules, which follow the jump. But first, today's question.

Will Dwight Howard attempt more than or less than 7.5 foul shots in the Magic's game against the Charlotte Bobcats on Sunday, March 14th?

And now the rules:

In each installment of the T-Mobile Trivia Challenge, we'll ask a question relating to a forthcoming Magic game and give you the chance to win tickets to a different Magic home game with a correct response.
If there is a tiebreaker question, you must answer it as well. I will disqualify all entries that do not address both questions.
We have four tickets to give away, but don't want the winners to have to go on their lonesome. Thus, two winners with the correct response will each receive two tickets to the game, which will allow them to bring a guest. The seats are located in section 122, row F.
Respond to the question(s) in the comments section of this post, preferably without any ornamentation or additional text. Do not comment more than once, because a) that's unfair and b) I'll disqualify you. At the end of the comment period, I will close the comments section and our ticket coordinator will pick the winners at random by drawing two numbers.
We ask that only people who are able to attend the game enter their responses.

You have from now until Sunday's tipoff--that's 6:00 PM on Sunday, March 14th--to post your response. I'll close the comments at that time. We'll announce the winners on Tuesday. Either I or our ticket coordinator will contact the winners via email with further instructions on how to obtain the tickets.

Please bear everything written above in mind before submitting your answer.

Again, you have until Sunday's tipoff to submit your answer. My apologies for the very, very short notice. Have fun.

Announcing the Winners of Our 13th T-Mobile Trivia Challenge

2010-03-12T17:00:47Z

This post is sponsored by T-Mobile.

It's time now to announce the winners of our latest T-Mobile Trivia Challenge. The two winners will each receive two tickets to the Orlando Magic's game against the Charlotte Bobcats this Sunday.

Everyone who responded correctly to the trivia question had his or her name entered into a random drawing. Here's the question we asked:

Which team will grab the first rebound of the second quarter when the Magic play the Bulls tomorrow?

Orlando's J.J. Redick corralled Jannero Pargo's missed jumper on the Bulls' first possession, which must have pleased the 39 of you who picked the Magic in this contest. Our winners are shyro25 and OrlandoRays. Congratulations. We've already gotten in touch with them, but thought we'd share the good news with the community.

Keep reading OPP for your next chance to win Magic tickets.

Orlando Magic 111, Chicago Bulls 82: The Morning After

2010-03-12T13:00:29Z

More photos » John Raoux - AP

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The Orlando Magic pound the undermanned Chicago Bulls on Tuesday night, stretching their season-high winning streak to seven games.
Vince Carter realizes that the playoffs are near.

There are 16 regular-season games remaining for the Orlando Magic. Although they haven't officially clinched a postseason spot, you can see the pending playoffs written all over Vince Carter's game face. [...]

"Been a while but I've been there [to the playoffs] and I know what it takes," Carter said. "You have to take the necessary steps to get there. Right now we're playing out best possible basketball and it doesn't matter the opponent." [...]

Carter looked invigorated. Maybe it was the playoff push. Then again, maybe it was something else. "I think had too much Red Bull before the game," he laughed.
Orlando Magic are set to scout the teams they might play in the first round of the NBA playoffs.
Brian Schmitz writes that the scouting staff for the Orlando Magic is going to start to scout possible first-round opponents as the regular season winds down.

The club went into Thursday night's game against the Chicago Bulls positioned as the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference playoff race. If they held the spot, they would begin the postseason facing the No. 7 seed, which is currently a grab-bag of possibilities.

Toronto, Charlotte, Milwaukee, Miami and the Bulls are all in the mix at No. 7. The Magic might have to see how the season plays out before knowing their opponent.

"You just don't know the way teams are bunched down there," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. "We'll start watching them more and more intensively."

More after the jump.

Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose injured his left wrist when he collided with Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard for the second time in the teams’ last two games
Dwight Howard wishes Derrick Rose, a fellow adidas-endorsed basketball player and friend, a speedy recovery.
Magic vets to Derrick Rose: Be smart when attacking big men
Tania Ganguli gathers the thoughts of several Magic players, as they explain why Rose should be smart next time when attacking the basket against Howard or other big men in the NBA.
Derrick Rose hurts wrist in 111-82 loss
Head coach Vinny Del Negro chimes in on the play that led to Rose's injury.
Injuries play havoc with Chicago Bulls rotation
Fred Mitchell of the Chicago Tribune notes that the Bulls' rotation is becoming slimmer with each injury to one of its starters.
Sprained wrist sidelines Rose
John Jackson of the Chicago Sun-Times describes the uphill battle Chicago had to face against Orlando in last night's game.

Entering their game Thursday against the Orlando Magic, the Bulls knew they would face an uphill climb playing without center Joakim Noah (plantar fasciitis in left foot) and small forward Luol Deng (strained muscle in right calf).

But when point guard Derrick Rose went down with a sprained left wrist late in the first quarter -- courtesy again of a hard foul by Magic center Dwight Howard -- the Bulls' task went from an uphill climb to an uphill climb on a sheet of ice while carrying a piano.
Howard says Rose injuries not his fault
One word: Classy.

Before the game, Rose met a 13-year-old fan from nearby Kissimmee who recently wrote a letter to him detailing how he nearly died in a bicycle accident and how looking at a poster of Rose above his bed helped him focus on getting better.

Rose took photos with Isaiah Walter and his family and took him into the locker room to meet the rest of the Bulls.
1. The Orlando Magic's One Major Flaw
Jon Barry of ESPN.com wants to talk about Hedo Turkoglu some more.

While watching the Magic clobber the Bulls by 29 points on Thursday for their seventh consecutive victory, I started thinking about the differences between this season's Orlando team and the one that reached the NBA Finals a year ago. What stands out to me is the fact the Magic might struggle in the playoffs without Hedo Turkoglu around to initiate the offense. Yes, he is playing poorly in Toronto, but he was Orlando's top player in the playoffs last year. He was their best playmaker.

In the playoffs when teams crank it up on defense, you need guys who can create on their own. You have to be able to create off the dribble. I don't see many guys on the Magic who can do that.
Bulls' nightmare comes true
Nick Friedell of ESPN Chicago explains that the Bulls are having a rough go of it lately with injuries to three of their starters.
Savage & Cohen: Magic-Bulls Postgame Analysis
Dan Savage and Josh Cohen of OrlandoMagic.com provide analysis of the Magic's win.
Behind the Box Score, where Portland is all over the place
Kelly Dwyer of Ball Don't Lie recaps Orlando's victory.
Baseline to Baseline (last night's game recaps)
Kurt Helin of ProBasketballTalk "spares you the gory details" of yesterday's game.

Orlando Magic 111, Chicago Bulls 82

2010-03-12T08:52:45Z

More photos » Fernando Medina - NBAE/Getty Images

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With injuries to Luol Deng and Joakim Noah, the cards were already stacked against the Chicago Bulls when they faced off against the Orlando Magic in front of a nationally-televised audience. Losing Derrick Rose to a wrist injury near the end of the first quarter, when he attacked the basket and collided with Dwight Howard, just exacerbated the discrepancy of talent between two teams heading in completely opposite directions. The Magic won the game by a score of 111-82, extending their winning streak to a season-high seven games.The Bulls' six-game losing streak is slowly taking the team out of the playoff picture with 16 games to go in the regular season. Vince Carter led Orlando with an efficient 23 points (8-13 FG, 2-5 3PT). Rookies Taj Gibson, with 12 points (6-10 FG) and 9 rebounds, and James Johnson, with 13 points (5-9 FG) and 3 steals, played relatively well for Chicago.

Team	Pace	Efficiency	eFG%	FT Rate	OReb%	TO Rate
Bulls	93	88.6	42.2%	14.5	20.5	15.1
Magic	90	123.6	61.6%	37.7	35.5	23.4
Green denotes a stat better than the team's season average; red denotes a stat worse than the team's season average.

If there’s one thing that’s been different about the Magic during their current win streak, it’s that the team is going for the kill against inferior teams. Orlando has been notorious this year for building up big leads, letting opponents hang around, and then lose games it has no business losing. Lately, though, the Magic have been putting teams away. Last night was another example of that.

In the first half, Orlando executed its offense to near perfection. A lot of 4-out/1-in offensive sets with Howard, a lot of pick and rolls with Carter, and more.

It was clear that Chicago’s strategy against Howard when he was on the low block was to double-team him. The gameplan worked a few times, as Howard turned the ball over here and there. But overall, Howard did a great job of passing and scoring in the post. Sometimes Howard would pass the ball, to a cutting Matt Barnes, for example. Other times Howard would go baseline, away from double-teams, and either score or draw the foul on a Bulls defender. That’s smart basketball.

For Carter, he could do no wrong on offense.

SECOND QUARTER
- [10:29] Carter three-point 25’ jump shot (J.J. Redick assist)
- [9:49] Carter 12’ turnaround jump shot
- [8:30] Carter 7’ running bank jump shot
- [7:59] Carter 6’ driving hook shot
- [6:13] Carter 14’ turnaround fadeaway jump shot
- [5:15] Carter 5’ hook shot

One word: Diversity.

That’s what stands out the most about how Carter scored. Oh, and Carter did all of his scoring while at small forward. With Mickael Pietrus out for the evening with a strained neck, Carter assumed some responsibilities at that position and things turned out well for him. Carter got his points from an assortment of plays, like the 3/4 pick and roll with Brandon Bass, the 3/5 pick and roll with Marcin Gortat, the 1/3 pick and roll with Jameer Nelson, etc. That’s a ton of pick and roll variety, by the way. Nevertheless, Carter did his thing, whether it was in the post, around the perimeter, or at the rim.

With the Magic up by 34 at halftime, the remainder of the night allowed the team’s bench to play extended minutes. Out of the six Orlando reserves who saw time on the floor, Bass and Gortat made the most of their opportunities. Bass had 13 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 blocks, while Gortat had 7 points, 11 rebounds, and 2 blocks. Each player had a signature highlight in the game, too. For Bass, he got a monster block on Acie Law, ran down the court on the fast break, and was rewarded with the layup off a nifty pass by Anthony Johnson. For Gortat, he had two alley-oop dunks.

Ryan Anderson got some playing time, also, at power forward and at small forward with Pietrus out. It should be noted that when Anderson played the four, Bass played the five.

All in all, it was an impressive victory for Orlando. Yes, Chicago was out-manned, out-gunned, out-everything but a win is a win. And Orlando needs ‘em all, as it looks to continue to outpace the Atlanta Hawks and the Boston Celtics for the #2 seed in the Eastern Conference.

The Magic will have a chance to extend their winning streak to eight games when they face off against the Washington Wizards on Saturday night.

Post-Game Media Availability: Taking Care of Business

2010-03-12T05:52:44Z

More photos » John Raoux - AP

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Another game, another win.

With a victory against the Chicago Bulls, a depleted team that lost All-Star point guard Derrick Rose to injury near the end of the first quarter, the Orlando Magic extended its winning streak to a season-high seven games. Like its game against the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday, the Magic took care of business in the first half and coasted to a blowout win. There’s not much else to say, other than Orlando is beating teams it should beat and doing it in impressive fashion.

I was able to speak with Stan Van Gundy amongst the media, as well as Vince Carter, Jameer Nelson one-on-one, Brandon Bass, and Dwight Howard.

Here's what they had to say:

Stan Van Gundy:

Could you talk about the bench, in terms of what they were able to bring to the table?

I thought they brought good energy I thought, particularly in the second quarter … and then I thought in the third quarter, we were really stumbling and not playing very good basketball and I thought Jason [Williams] got us going again so yeah, I was happy. I’m just happy. I think our guys – all of them – are coming in the game with a solid approach, really trying to play consistently from night-to-night and so I’m happy with that.

More after the jump.

Vince Carter:

Could you talk about the screen and roll with you and Jameer and what it makes it so effective on the court?

I mean, his ability to score as well. You have to respect it and we’re just trying to make teams try to have to make a quick decision on the fly. We try to switch it up and give it a different look every time so it doesn’t look like the same play. I mean, they know it’s coming and that’s fine, it’s just us executing.

Do you try to force the switch or what do you do?

It’s up to them. We just talk about it leading up [to the play] and just reading what’s there. Next time we run it, we kind of have an idea of how we want to attack it the next time and we just try to take what the defense is giving us.

Jameer Nelson:

I just got done talking to Vince about the screen and roll with you and him. Could you talk about what makes that play so effective?

Well, you have two guys that can score the ball so they have to make a decision whether or not to guard myself. A lot of teams switch so as a smaller guard, I just want to try to draw the double-team or vice-versa so you just try to play off of it and play your game.

Do you try to force the switch?

No, you don’t try to force the switch. I mean, my pick and roll is live so if they don’t help, I just turn the corner but nine times out of ten, teams are switching it so even if the guy doesn’t switch, [Vince] has the advantage.

Vince’s post-up game is an underrated aspect of his offense. Could you talk about that and his passing ability?

Well, normally you’re going to have an advantage in the post. He’s so good down there. He’s a great passer and he scores down there so teams are going to need to double or just let him go one-on-one and he makes great plays.

Brandon Bass:

You got a lot of minutes tonight. Are there any differences when you play the 4 or the 5, with regards to your responsibilities on the court and such?

Nah, you just … you got to rebound more, you have to be a defensive presence so like blocking shots, not let people into the paint, so you just got to play like a bigger man. That’s what I got to do when I’m out there and inside but it’s the same with anything … just defense and rebound.

Given the time of year, do you guys start to think about seeding and all that for the playoffs?

Nah, we’re just trying to play the best basketball going into the playoffs. We ain’t really looking into the seeding. We got to play somebody. We’ll be ready.

When you first came here from Dallas, is this the type of role you envisioned having with Orlando?

Yeah, I thought that early on this would be my role here but I’m cool with this role here, just bringing a lot of energy and playing defense, rebounding, and just bringing a lot of intensity out there because I think we can use that. The same way with Matt Barnes out there … Matt Barnes out there with the first group, I could be the one in the second group that just brings a tremendous amount of energy.

You’re like that glue guy. I know it sounds cliché but that seems to be what you can bring to the table.

Right, because we got a lot of shooters. We have so many shooters that I just want to be able to help us in any way I can.

Dwight Howard:

Could you talk about Jameer and Vince and how they have been playing very, very well lately?

They’re playing great. They’re playing great. Hopefully they can continue to keep that up. Hopefully they can continue to get better with Jameer and Vince and be more consistent, especially on the defensive end and also Jameer and Vince on the offensive end. When they hit shots, they’re attacking, they’re passing, [those are] all the things that we need to do for us to win.

You talk about them attacking. How much more dangerous does that make your team on offense?

When those guys attack, the guys have to make decisions whether they will stay with me and leave both of them or coming to them and leaving me open. It’s tough because you got the shooters all around and they’re attacking, you don’t want to leave them but also you got to take away something … if you take away something, then you try to exploit the next option.

Stan says that you should definitely be the Defensive Player of the Year. Does that mean a lot to you, to have the chance to win the award for a second consecutive year?

It does. I really pride myself in trying to be the eraser for our team and I think I have done a pretty good job all year of blocking shots and protecting the basket.

Do you think there’s some aspects, defensively, that some people don’t really appreciate?

Yeah, people don’t really understand. As a big, especially for me, my job is to help the guards on the pick and rolls, be the help when somebody rolls to the basket, be there to protect so guys don’t get easy layups. Just the small things and a lot of people just see the overall picture, the blocked shots, but it’s the little things that go into it.

Tonight's Orlando Magic Game: vs. Chicago Bulls

2010-03-12T00:02:39Z

2009/2010 NBA Season
	@
31-32		45-20
March 11th, 2010
Amway Arena
8:00 PM
TNT
Probable Starters
Derrick Rose	PG	Jameer Nelson
Kirk Hinrich	SG	Vince Carter
James Johnson	SF	Matt Barnes
Taj Gibson	PF	Rashard Lewis
Brad Miller	C	Dwight Howard
Previous Meetings
January 2nd: Bulls 101, Magic 93
February 10th: Magic 107, Bulls 87
Game Officials
Eddie F. Rush
Matt Boland
Kane Fitzgerald

Orlando Magic News for March 11th: New Ways to Work Out; A Look at Jameer Nelson's Passing Ability

2010-03-11T19:27:09Z

More photos » John Raoux - AP

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The Orlando Magic are finding new ways to keep their workouts competitive
Amanda Angel of ESPN the Magazine explains a workout routine the Orlando Magic conduct that helps with its defense. The purpose of the Velcro is to remain intact, which signifies good defense.

Joe Rogowski has a bag of tricks and isn't afraid to use it. "Yeah, I incorporate gimmicks," says the Orlando Magic strength and conditioning coach. To take the drudgery out of defensive workouts, Rogowski straps resistance bands around the waists of two players -- in this case, forwards Ryan Anderson and Rashard Lewis -- and links the bands with Velcro. He then designates one guy as an offensive player and the other as defensive. Next he has them go through a series of sprints and shuttle runs, with the offensive player setting the pace and making sudden moves.
NBA HD: Adjusting How We Measure and View Assists
Tom Haberstroh of Hardwood Paroxysm takes a look at how assists are measured and creates a new metric, weighted assists per game, which rewards players who distribute the basketball to high efficiency areas: at the rim and beyond the three-point line. Jameer Nelson rates well in weighted assists per game.
Orlando Magic Dunk-In
Video of Magic players dunking before a game. (via TrueHoop)

More after the jump.

Derrick Rose impressed Stan Van Gundy during the All-Star game
Head coach Stan Van Gundy praises Derrick Rose for his serious approach to the 2010 NBA All-Star Game.
Thursday Morning Shootaround
Benson Taylor of The Baseline notes that Orlando is surging.

Trending up

The Magic probably won't catch the Cavs in the East, but they are making a late-season push, having won eight of their last night games. In his last five games, Jameer Nelson is averaging 16.4 points, 7.4 assists and just 1.4 turnovers.
Book it: Cleveland vs. Orlando in East Finals
George Diaz eliminates the Boston Celtics as a threat to win the Eastern Conference championship due to age and other factors.

I feel bad for my buddy Doc Rivers, but his team has no prayer of making a deep run in the playoffs this season. Remember the pre-season chatter, when it was all about whether the Magic, the Cavs or the C’s would emerge as the Beast from the East?

Cancel one of the choices. This dogfight is down to Orlando and Cleveland.