Denton: Magic-Sixers Postgame Analysis
By John Denton
October 28, 2009
Note: The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Orlando Magic. All opinions expressed by John Denton are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Orlando Magic or their Basketball Operations staff, partners or sponsors. His sources are not known to the Magic and he has no special access to information beyond the access and privileges that go along with being an NBA accredited member of the media.
ORLANDO – Once down as many as five points early on Wednesday, the Orlando Magic released their most dangerous weapon on the Philadelphia 76ers. And this time at least, that weapon wasn’t solely Dwight Howard’s muscle, newcomer Vince Carter’s explosiveness or absent star Rashard Lewis.
Instead, the Magic flexed their muscles with their tremendous depth, showing off many of their shiny, new acquisitions from a busy summer in which they re-tooled (and reloaded) a roster that got to The NBA Finals last spring.
Orlando simply overwhelmed a vastly improved Philadelphia team with contributions from all over a lineup that is arguably the deepest in the history of the franchise. And after the Magic made 55.6 percent of their shots, hit 16 of 29 3-pointers, put four starters in double-digits and got 48 points from the bench, the result was a resounding 120-106 season-opening victory for the Magic.
``This is a championship team. We have the model for what a championship should be,’’ said Magic newcomer Ryan Anderson, who scored 16 points and hit four 3-pointers as the fill-in for Lewis at power forward. ``We have so many lineups to throw at teams. If teams want to play us big, we have size. If they want to try and lock down Dwight inside, we have shooters. We just have so many weapons.’’
How good were the Magic on this night? They outscored the Sixers 41-20 in a runaway second period, they led by as many as 31 points and they hit 100 before the Sixers even broke 70 (100-69).
Oh by the way, did we mention that franchise cornerstone Rashard Lewis didn’t even play in the game?
``I’m sure ‘Shard was watching and we wanted this one for him,’’ said Howard, referring to Lewis’ 10-game suspension for violating the NBA’s substance abuse policy late last season. ``We have nine more (games) without him, and hopefully by the time that we get Rashard back we’ll be an even better team.’’
Here’s a breakdown of the game, looking back at The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.
THE GOOD
-- Howard made nine of 11 shots for 21 points and grabbed 15 rebounds. He demolished Samuel Dalembert and Marreese Speights inside when they guarded him with single coverage and he passed out to open shooters when the Sixers double-teamed.
-- Carter, finally back home near his Daytona Beach roots, didn’t have a vintage game with 15 points on five of 12 shooting, but he didn’t have to on this night. Carter talked after the game about being relieved about not having to carry the entire weight of the franchise on his shoulders any more. ``You’re surrounded by so many guys who can do so many things that it’s like heaven around here,’’ he said.
-- Reserve point guard Jason Williams gave the Magic an incredible contribution in the first half and keyed Orlando’s second-quarter surge. He made all four of his shots, three 3-pointers and his three free throws just before the horn gave him 14 points and five assists at the break.
-- Mickael Pietrus picked up where he left off in the playoffs last spring, getting to the rim several times early in the game. He also locked down Philly star Andre Iguodala much of the night, holding him without a field goal for the game’s first 23 minutes.
``We have so many weapons on this team that sometimes we don’t know which ones to use,’’ said MP, who had 13 points and two 3-pointers. ``We have a great, great team. We spread the floor and when we put Superman in the middle you have decide which one you are going to cover. Good luck.’’
-- Speights, a Tampa native and a University of Florida product, was Philadelphia’s lone bright spot with a career-best 26 points. He made 10 of 11 shots and six of eight free throws.
THE BAD
-- Ever the perfectionist, head coach Stan Van Gundy steamed about the Magic’s shoddy play in the fourth quarter. The Sixers outscored the Magic 37-20 in the fourth period. The Magic turned the ball over five times in the period and Van Gundy had to bring Jameer Nelson and Pietrus back in with 7:10 to play after the lead fell to 21 points.
-- Magic reserve small forward Matt Barnes suffered some slightly bruised ribs when he took an errant elbow to the midsection on a layup late in the second period. There was some discussion as to whether Barnes would re-enter the game after strapping a heating pad to his ribs, but he did play 6 minutes in the second half. Barnes said after the game that he was fine and would be ready to go Friday against New Jersey.
-- Philadelphia star Elton Brand, back after missing most of the past two seasons with Achilles and shoulder injuries, was woeful inside with just eight points. Brand, listed at 254 pounds, looked small inside against the Magic’s big men and had trouble finishing around the rim. Any chance Philadelphia had of stealing a win on opening night depended on Brand have a big game, and his two of seven shooting sabotaged the Sixers.
THE UGLY
-- Van Gundy was pleased with the Magic’s red-hot shooting, but some of the Magic’s defensive numbers robbed him of truly enjoying this victory. He didn’t like the fact that Philly scored 106 points, made 50 percent of its field goals and got to the free throw line 30 times. The defense has to be better to save the Magic on nights when they aren’t scoring this easily, Van Gundy said.
``Defensively, we played two good quarters,’’ he said. ``We struggled to guard them in the first quarter and then in the fourth quarter I didn’t like our effort, focus or anything. … I can’t be happy with that kind of defense and I don’t think that will get us very far as the season goes along.''
-- The game was so lopsided early on that golf superstar Tiger Woods left at halftime. Maybe he wanted to get home in time to watch the Phillies and Yankees in the World Series. Or maybe he just knew this one was about to get truly ugly.
John Denton writes for Orlandomagic.com. His Orlando Magic ``Behind the Scenes’’ segment can be heard on ESPN 1080 AM on Thursday at 5:05 p.m. Submit questions to John for his ``Ask J.D.’’ mailbag feature that will appear every Friday at AskJD@orlandomagic.com.
By John DentonOctober 28, 2009
Note: The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Orlando Magic. All opinions expressed by John Denton are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Orlando Magic or their Basketball Operations staff, partners or sponsors. His sources are not known to the Magic and he has no special access to information beyond the access and privileges that go along with being an NBA accredited member of the media.
ORLANDO – Once down as many as five points early on Wednesday, the Orlando Magic released their most dangerous weapon on the Philadelphia 76ers. And this time at least, that weapon wasn’t solely Dwight Howard’s muscle, newcomer Vince Carter’s explosiveness or absent star Rashard Lewis.
Instead, the Magic flexed their muscles with their tremendous depth, showing off many of their shiny, new acquisitions from a busy summer in which they re-tooled (and reloaded) a roster that got to The NBA Finals last spring.
Orlando simply overwhelmed a vastly improved Philadelphia team with contributions from all over a lineup that is arguably the deepest in the history of the franchise. And after the Magic made 55.6 percent of their shots, hit 16 of 29 3-pointers, put four starters in double-digits and got 48 points from the bench, the result was a resounding 120-106 season-opening victory for the Magic.
``This is a championship team. We have the model for what a championship should be,’’ said Magic newcomer Ryan Anderson, who scored 16 points and hit four 3-pointers as the fill-in for Lewis at power forward. ``We have so many lineups to throw at teams. If teams want to play us big, we have size. If they want to try and lock down Dwight inside, we have shooters. We just have so many weapons.’’
How good were the Magic on this night? They outscored the Sixers 41-20 in a runaway second period, they led by as many as 31 points and they hit 100 before the Sixers even broke 70 (100-69).
Oh by the way, did we mention that franchise cornerstone Rashard Lewis didn’t even play in the game?
``I’m sure ‘Shard was watching and we wanted this one for him,’’ said Howard, referring to Lewis’ 10-game suspension for violating the NBA’s substance abuse policy late last season. ``We have nine more (games) without him, and hopefully by the time that we get Rashard back we’ll be an even better team.’’
Here’s a breakdown of the game, looking back at The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.
THE GOOD
-- Howard made nine of 11 shots for 21 points and grabbed 15 rebounds. He demolished Samuel Dalembert and Marreese Speights inside when they guarded him with single coverage and he passed out to open shooters when the Sixers double-teamed.
-- Carter, finally back home near his Daytona Beach roots, didn’t have a vintage game with 15 points on five of 12 shooting, but he didn’t have to on this night. Carter talked after the game about being relieved about not having to carry the entire weight of the franchise on his shoulders any more. ``You’re surrounded by so many guys who can do so many things that it’s like heaven around here,’’ he said.
-- Reserve point guard Jason Williams gave the Magic an incredible contribution in the first half and keyed Orlando’s second-quarter surge. He made all four of his shots, three 3-pointers and his three free throws just before the horn gave him 14 points and five assists at the break.
-- Mickael Pietrus picked up where he left off in the playoffs last spring, getting to the rim several times early in the game. He also locked down Philly star Andre Iguodala much of the night, holding him without a field goal for the game’s first 23 minutes.
``We have so many weapons on this team that sometimes we don’t know which ones to use,’’ said MP, who had 13 points and two 3-pointers. ``We have a great, great team. We spread the floor and when we put Superman in the middle you have decide which one you are going to cover. Good luck.’’
-- Speights, a Tampa native and a University of Florida product, was Philadelphia’s lone bright spot with a career-best 26 points. He made 10 of 11 shots and six of eight free throws.
THE BAD
-- Ever the perfectionist, head coach Stan Van Gundy steamed about the Magic’s shoddy play in the fourth quarter. The Sixers outscored the Magic 37-20 in the fourth period. The Magic turned the ball over five times in the period and Van Gundy had to bring Jameer Nelson and Pietrus back in with 7:10 to play after the lead fell to 21 points.
-- Magic reserve small forward Matt Barnes suffered some slightly bruised ribs when he took an errant elbow to the midsection on a layup late in the second period. There was some discussion as to whether Barnes would re-enter the game after strapping a heating pad to his ribs, but he did play 6 minutes in the second half. Barnes said after the game that he was fine and would be ready to go Friday against New Jersey.
-- Philadelphia star Elton Brand, back after missing most of the past two seasons with Achilles and shoulder injuries, was woeful inside with just eight points. Brand, listed at 254 pounds, looked small inside against the Magic’s big men and had trouble finishing around the rim. Any chance Philadelphia had of stealing a win on opening night depended on Brand have a big game, and his two of seven shooting sabotaged the Sixers.
THE UGLY
-- Van Gundy was pleased with the Magic’s red-hot shooting, but some of the Magic’s defensive numbers robbed him of truly enjoying this victory. He didn’t like the fact that Philly scored 106 points, made 50 percent of its field goals and got to the free throw line 30 times. The defense has to be better to save the Magic on nights when they aren’t scoring this easily, Van Gundy said.
``Defensively, we played two good quarters,’’ he said. ``We struggled to guard them in the first quarter and then in the fourth quarter I didn’t like our effort, focus or anything. … I can’t be happy with that kind of defense and I don’t think that will get us very far as the season goes along.''
-- The game was so lopsided early on that golf superstar Tiger Woods left at halftime. Maybe he wanted to get home in time to watch the Phillies and Yankees in the World Series. Or maybe he just knew this one was about to get truly ugly.
John Denton writes for Orlandomagic.com. His Orlando Magic ``Behind the Scenes’’ segment can be heard on ESPN 1080 AM on Thursday at 5:05 p.m. Submit questions to John for his ``Ask J.D.’’ mailbag feature that will appear every Friday at AskJD@orlandomagic.com.
