Denton: Magic-Cavaliers Postgame Analysis
By John Denton
November 11, 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 – Cleveland guard Mo Williams looked rather foolish in last spring’s Eastern Conference Finals when he boldly predicted that the Orlando Magic couldn’t beat the Cavaliers four times -- only to watch that very thing happen.
Williams made another brash prediction before Wednesday night’s regular-season rematch between the Magic and the Cavs. And, for this one time at least, Williams was true to his word.
``Ya’ll ready for a show tonight?’’ Williams asked after joining Cleveland head coach Mike Brown for his pregame session with the media. ``We’re (darn) shore gonna give you one.’’
The unquestioned stars in the game were Orlando’s Dwight Howard and Vince Carter and Cleveland’s Shaquille O’Neal and LeBron James, but it was Williams who stole the show with a near perfect first half. Williams made his first nine shots to get Cleveland off to a roaring start and the Cavs throttled a tired and short-handed Magic team 102-93 Wednesday night at Amway Arena. Williams finished with 28 points.
As much as anything, this was a scheduling loss for the Magic. Orlando played on the road in Oklahoma City on Sunday and won in Charlotte on Tuesday as Cleveland was resting in Central Florida. The Cavs had four days off before the game, and clearly was the more rested and ready team.
The Magic (6-3) sorely missed forward Rashard Lewis, who was out for the ninth game of his NBA-mandated 10-game suspension. It was Lewis who torched the Cavs for 18.3 points and 15 3-pointers in the Eastern Conference Finals last spring. He is set to return to the Magic’s starting lineup on Monday.
Magic coach Stan Van Gundy wanted nothing to do any excuses, simply pointing out that ``we’re not a very good team right now.’’
``Forget all of the excuses and everything else … to a man, as a group and as a coaching staff, we’re just not very good,’’ Van Gundy said. ``That could be a very good starting point if we’re honest enough and we quit with all of the excuses and quit thinking that it’s going to come as we go. Then, maybe we’ll start making some improvement because it’s just a broken record again.’’
Orlando won’t see the Cavs again until Feb. 11, the day before the NBA All-Star break. The two teams play twice in February and again during the final week of the regular season. By then, both teams should be whole and look more like playoff powers on another collision course for the spring.
Here’s a look back at the good, the bad and ugly from Wednesday’s loss for the Magic:
THE GOOD
---- James was as good late in the game as Williams was early on, scoring 36 points mostly on long-range, contested jump shots over Matt Barnes and Mickael Pietrus.
James seemed snuffed out each Magic push in the second half, hitting one fade-away jump shot after another in the final two periods. He said Cleveland wanted this game more, in large part because of the Cavs past failures in Orlando.
``We haven’t had too much success in the past here,’’ James said. ``To get a road win early in the season like this in a hostile is a really good win for us. It is all about trust. Everybody covers for each other and that is what it’s all about.’’
---- Williams, who shot just 37.1 percent against the Magic last spring, came out scorching from the start. He hit all nine of his shots in the first half, including four of four from 3-point range early on. As equally as damaging were Williams’ four first-half assists. He routinely got in the lane and dished to flashing cutters for dunks or easy baskets.
``Mo put a lot of pressure on himself last year in the playoffs. He was never in that position and did not know how to handle it,’’ James said. ``He used that as motivation and came into this game, settled down and proved a lot of doubters.’’
---- Reserve center Marcin Gortat was one of the few defensive bright spots for the Magic, doing an admirable job of leaning on O’Neal in the low post. He was on the floor for 33 minutes and grabbed eight rebounds to go with his six points.
``That’s like a train coming at you facing Shaq,’’ Gortat said. ``Dwight is big, but Shaq really uses his body. He controls his body and his moves. Shaq is out there using his body perfectly.’’
---- Carter showed no ill-effects of the ankle injury that kept him out of four games while trying to keep the Magic afloat with his offense. He scored 29 points on 11 for 23 shooting.
Carter said offense is the least of the Magic’s concern right now. He said improvement won’t come until Orlando shows more grit and toughness defensively.
``Whenever we decide as a unit that enough is enough and it’s time to be one of the elite teams, you’ll see it,’’ Carter said.
THE BAD
---- A horrible stretch just before the half ultimately ruined a Magic rally and paved the way for the loss.
Orlando got within eight points of Cleveland’s lead with 1:33 to play in the second quarter, but a particularly ugly stretch cost the Magic dearly. Four fouls and an inbounds pass turnover allowed Cleveland to balloon its lead back up to 66-51 by halftime.
Van Gundy was irate that Vince Carter was out of position on the in-bounds play and that Mickael Pietrus didn’t properly block out on one of Cleveland’s free throw attempts.
Fumed Van Gundy: ``When you’re not focused on the game, it’s pretty easy for a team to make a run on you.’’
---- Cleveland used O’Neal to go right at Howard, and the Magic center picked up two fouls in the first 2:18 of the game. A third foul came early in the second period when Howard tried to defend Williams on the perimeter. Remarkably, he played another seven minutes of the second period without picking up a fourth foul, but the whistles and Cleveland’s double teams took Howard out of his game early on.
``We just didn’t play like ourselves,’’ said Howard, who had just three field goal attempts and finished with 11 points, seven rebounds and one blocked shot. ``We all have to look ourselves in the mirror and determine what kind of team we’re really going to have this season. We have to come back from this and be much better.’’
THE UGLY
---- Van Gundy pointed out the lack of production from Howard and Nelson, saying that the team will start to play better once the team’s captains produce more.
Point guards Russell Westbrook (17 points, 10 assists), Raymond Felton (18 points, four assists) and Williams (28 points) have had stellar games against the Magic. Dribble penetration has been a big problem for the Magic, especially off pick-and-roll plays.
Howard, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, has blocked just one shot in the past three games. Also, Howard has double-figure rebounds in just two of the past six games.
``I know a lot of things fall on me and Dwight,’’ Nelson said. ``We accept the challenge and we need to step it up. But it’s not just two individuals; it’s everybody to a man.’’
---- It became quite clear last spring in the playoffs that Cleveland center Zydrunas Ilgauskas has lost quite a bit of his skills. On Wednesday, he looked dismal against the Magic once again. He missed all six of his shots, committed five fouls and turned the ball over three times.
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 DentonNovember 11, 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 – Cleveland guard Mo Williams looked rather foolish in last spring’s Eastern Conference Finals when he boldly predicted that the Orlando Magic couldn’t beat the Cavaliers four times -- only to watch that very thing happen.
Williams made another brash prediction before Wednesday night’s regular-season rematch between the Magic and the Cavs. And, for this one time at least, Williams was true to his word.
``Ya’ll ready for a show tonight?’’ Williams asked after joining Cleveland head coach Mike Brown for his pregame session with the media. ``We’re (darn) shore gonna give you one.’’
The unquestioned stars in the game were Orlando’s Dwight Howard and Vince Carter and Cleveland’s Shaquille O’Neal and LeBron James, but it was Williams who stole the show with a near perfect first half. Williams made his first nine shots to get Cleveland off to a roaring start and the Cavs throttled a tired and short-handed Magic team 102-93 Wednesday night at Amway Arena. Williams finished with 28 points.
As much as anything, this was a scheduling loss for the Magic. Orlando played on the road in Oklahoma City on Sunday and won in Charlotte on Tuesday as Cleveland was resting in Central Florida. The Cavs had four days off before the game, and clearly was the more rested and ready team.
The Magic (6-3) sorely missed forward Rashard Lewis, who was out for the ninth game of his NBA-mandated 10-game suspension. It was Lewis who torched the Cavs for 18.3 points and 15 3-pointers in the Eastern Conference Finals last spring. He is set to return to the Magic’s starting lineup on Monday.
Magic coach Stan Van Gundy wanted nothing to do any excuses, simply pointing out that ``we’re not a very good team right now.’’
``Forget all of the excuses and everything else … to a man, as a group and as a coaching staff, we’re just not very good,’’ Van Gundy said. ``That could be a very good starting point if we’re honest enough and we quit with all of the excuses and quit thinking that it’s going to come as we go. Then, maybe we’ll start making some improvement because it’s just a broken record again.’’
Orlando won’t see the Cavs again until Feb. 11, the day before the NBA All-Star break. The two teams play twice in February and again during the final week of the regular season. By then, both teams should be whole and look more like playoff powers on another collision course for the spring.
Here’s a look back at the good, the bad and ugly from Wednesday’s loss for the Magic:
THE GOOD
---- James was as good late in the game as Williams was early on, scoring 36 points mostly on long-range, contested jump shots over Matt Barnes and Mickael Pietrus.
James seemed snuffed out each Magic push in the second half, hitting one fade-away jump shot after another in the final two periods. He said Cleveland wanted this game more, in large part because of the Cavs past failures in Orlando.
``We haven’t had too much success in the past here,’’ James said. ``To get a road win early in the season like this in a hostile is a really good win for us. It is all about trust. Everybody covers for each other and that is what it’s all about.’’
---- Williams, who shot just 37.1 percent against the Magic last spring, came out scorching from the start. He hit all nine of his shots in the first half, including four of four from 3-point range early on. As equally as damaging were Williams’ four first-half assists. He routinely got in the lane and dished to flashing cutters for dunks or easy baskets.
``Mo put a lot of pressure on himself last year in the playoffs. He was never in that position and did not know how to handle it,’’ James said. ``He used that as motivation and came into this game, settled down and proved a lot of doubters.’’
---- Reserve center Marcin Gortat was one of the few defensive bright spots for the Magic, doing an admirable job of leaning on O’Neal in the low post. He was on the floor for 33 minutes and grabbed eight rebounds to go with his six points.
``That’s like a train coming at you facing Shaq,’’ Gortat said. ``Dwight is big, but Shaq really uses his body. He controls his body and his moves. Shaq is out there using his body perfectly.’’
---- Carter showed no ill-effects of the ankle injury that kept him out of four games while trying to keep the Magic afloat with his offense. He scored 29 points on 11 for 23 shooting.
Carter said offense is the least of the Magic’s concern right now. He said improvement won’t come until Orlando shows more grit and toughness defensively.
``Whenever we decide as a unit that enough is enough and it’s time to be one of the elite teams, you’ll see it,’’ Carter said.
THE BAD
---- A horrible stretch just before the half ultimately ruined a Magic rally and paved the way for the loss.
Orlando got within eight points of Cleveland’s lead with 1:33 to play in the second quarter, but a particularly ugly stretch cost the Magic dearly. Four fouls and an inbounds pass turnover allowed Cleveland to balloon its lead back up to 66-51 by halftime.
Van Gundy was irate that Vince Carter was out of position on the in-bounds play and that Mickael Pietrus didn’t properly block out on one of Cleveland’s free throw attempts.
Fumed Van Gundy: ``When you’re not focused on the game, it’s pretty easy for a team to make a run on you.’’
---- Cleveland used O’Neal to go right at Howard, and the Magic center picked up two fouls in the first 2:18 of the game. A third foul came early in the second period when Howard tried to defend Williams on the perimeter. Remarkably, he played another seven minutes of the second period without picking up a fourth foul, but the whistles and Cleveland’s double teams took Howard out of his game early on.
``We just didn’t play like ourselves,’’ said Howard, who had just three field goal attempts and finished with 11 points, seven rebounds and one blocked shot. ``We all have to look ourselves in the mirror and determine what kind of team we’re really going to have this season. We have to come back from this and be much better.’’
THE UGLY
---- Van Gundy pointed out the lack of production from Howard and Nelson, saying that the team will start to play better once the team’s captains produce more.
Point guards Russell Westbrook (17 points, 10 assists), Raymond Felton (18 points, four assists) and Williams (28 points) have had stellar games against the Magic. Dribble penetration has been a big problem for the Magic, especially off pick-and-roll plays.
Howard, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, has blocked just one shot in the past three games. Also, Howard has double-figure rebounds in just two of the past six games.
``I know a lot of things fall on me and Dwight,’’ Nelson said. ``We accept the challenge and we need to step it up. But it’s not just two individuals; it’s everybody to a man.’’
---- It became quite clear last spring in the playoffs that Cleveland center Zydrunas Ilgauskas has lost quite a bit of his skills. On Wednesday, he looked dismal against the Magic once again. He missed all six of his shots, committed five fouls and turned the ball over three times.
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.
