Part 1 of a 3 part series
Changing of the Guard (Part 1 of 3)
When the Orlando Magic revamped their roster this summer, one of the first areas of concern for the team was the point and shooting guard positions. Now, as the season has reached the half-way mark, we take a look at what has - and hasn’t - worked with transformation of the backcourt so far this season.
The point guard spot was perhaps one of General Manager John Weisbrod’s biggest off-season priorities. The Magic weren’t happy with their floor generals last year, so the team used the NBA draft and a summer blockbuster trade to get a few players they were comfortable with running the team. Orlando started with the biggest player swap of the off-season, sending their lone all-star Tracy McGrady to the Houston Rockets for a pair of guards, Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley, along with big man Kelvin Cato. Francis was a legitimate answer to the team’s point woes, as he typified the guard head coach Johnny Davis would need to direct the run-and-gun offense he wanted to implement. Francis had already established himself as one of the NBA’s elite, as he was coming off of three consecutive all-star appearances and had recently joined Oscar Robertson, Magic Johnson and Grant Hill as the only players in league history to average at least 15 points, five rebounds and five assists in their first five seasons of play. That experience paid dividends immediately, as Francis stole the show in the season opener against the Milwaukee Bucks, hitting a lay-up with 0.2 left on the clock to open Orlando’s schedule with a win and set the tone for the upcoming months.
“Steve Francis is an intense competitor,” Davis said. “He is relentless with the basketball, has the heart of a lion, gives you everything he has and has really been the heart of our team. He works as hard in practice as he does in games; it has really been nice to have him on our team.”
With much of the point guard responsibilities lying on his shoulders, Francis has understandably been on the top of several Magic statistical categories, including points (21.6), assists (6.9), and turnovers (3.9). The former Maryland Terrapin has had problems in some Magic games with his rampant handle of the ball, but a lot of that can be traced back to the Magic’s fast-paced tempo and the fact that Francis is natural two-guard playing out of position.
The Magic’s other point man, Jameer Nelson, who Orlando got in a draft-night swap with the Denver Nuggets, has begun to show the exact reasons why Weisbrod lobbied so hard to obtain him. Nelson started slow, averaging just 6.4 points in only 18.7 minutes in his first month in the league. Now, the St. Joseph’s alum has started to come into his own, scoring in double figures in three of his last six games and averaging nearly nine points and two steals per contest in that same time frame (he currently ranks seventh in the NBA in steals per 48 minutes with 2.84). Nelson has erased many of the critics’ qualms about his size and his ability, as he has found many of his points coming on lay-ups as a result of his crafty moves around the basket, while his assist-to-turnover ratio stands at better than 2-to-1.
“Jameer is doing great,” back court running mate Francis said. “He is helping us out both offensively and defensively, and he is getting better with every game.”
Davis agreed with Francis on the rookie’s rapid improvement.
“Jameer is an improving young point guard with a very bright future ahead of him,” Davis said. “He shoots the ball extremely well, plays tenacious defense, really knows and understands team basketball and has just improved leaps and bounds over the years. I think Jameer has gotten comfortable with what we are asking him to do. He has confidence and he is showing that in games.”
While the point guard situation has been consistent through the season’s first 41 games, the other guard spot has undergone a recent transformation. Cuttino Mobley was a fixture in the Magic’s lineup early, and he looked as if he were on pace to better his 15.8 scoring average of last season. And while Weisbrod and Davis saw a solid contributor alongside Francis, they also witnessed a squad that gave up more points each night out than any other team in the league. A change was in order, and it came in the form of the Sacramento Kings’ Doug Christie.
“I knew (Christie) was a intense competitor, a real good distributor of the basketball who could step out to the three-point line and make shots, and someone who could make solid decisions with the ball,” Davis said of his thoughts of Christie before joining the Magic. “I’ve always admired him as a player and I am extremely happy to have him on my team.”
Christie may have been brought in by the coaching staff as a defensive-minded player, but his offense has also boosted the Magic’s back court. In his first game in front of the TD Waterhouse Centre crowd, Christie made a clutch three-pointer with 1:26 left in the game that put the Magic ahead for good against the defending world champion Detroit Pistons. Christie’s numbers (6.8 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 2.4 apg) may still be somewhat below his averages that he posted for the Kings (7.2, 3.6 and 4.4), but his teammates are already raving about his overall contributions to the court as he continues to get acclimated to the Magic’s system.
“He’s doing really well,” Francis said. “He’s doing the same thing (on both ends of the court). Offensively, he is bringing his game, and defensively he is definitely a presence.”
While Christie has the heart and hustle any coach in the league would love to have, the Magic also have capable back-ups who are ready to step in at any time and provide the same type of intensity on the court that the starters bring. Orlando came into the season with a log jam at the shooting guard position, but they soon shipped Keith Bogans off to Charlotte, leaving DeShawn Stevenson as the main back-up. Then, when Mobley went down with a groin injury, it was Stevenson who was called upon to pick up his time and responsibilities on the court. The California native has since witnessed his minutes fluxuate, going from averaging 24 minutes during a 10-game span in November to less than six in the month of January.
“Although DeShawn hasn’t gotten a lot of opportunities this year, when he has had the opportunity to play he has done well,” Davis said. “Earlier this season we had an injury to Cuttino Mobley and we started DeShawn for several games. He came in and did a wonderful job for us. He plays aggressive defense, he is very athletic, runs the floor well, and I think he is a guy who has a tremendous upside in this league.”
While the first half of the season may have already come and gone in success, the guards are now ready to end the year on a strong note and make a run at the playoffs in the Eastern Conference. And as Nelson improves, Christie continues to get acclimated to his new team and surroundings, players like Stevenson learn how to better define their roles, and Francis keeps putting up all-star numbers each night out, it’s safe to say that this team will be in good hands for the remainder of the season.
Coming Soon: Part 2: Looking Forward
Melanie Curtsinger is an intern in the Magic's Communications department.
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“Steve Francis is an intense competitor,” Davis said. “He is relentless with the basketball, has the heart of a lion, gives you everything he has and has really been the heart of our team. He works as hard in practice as he does in games; it has really been nice to have him on our team.”
With much of the point guard responsibilities lying on his shoulders, Francis has understandably been on the top of several Magic statistical categories, including points (21.6), assists (6.9), and turnovers (3.9). The former Maryland Terrapin has had problems in some Magic games with his rampant handle of the ball, but a lot of that can be traced back to the Magic’s fast-paced tempo and the fact that Francis is natural two-guard playing out of position.
The Magic’s other point man, Jameer Nelson, who Orlando got in a draft-night swap with the Denver Nuggets, has begun to show the exact reasons why Weisbrod lobbied so hard to obtain him. Nelson started slow, averaging just 6.4 points in only 18.7 minutes in his first month in the league. Now, the St. Joseph’s alum has started to come into his own, scoring in double figures in three of his last six games and averaging nearly nine points and two steals per contest in that same time frame (he currently ranks seventh in the NBA in steals per 48 minutes with 2.84). Nelson has erased many of the critics’ qualms about his size and his ability, as he has found many of his points coming on lay-ups as a result of his crafty moves around the basket, while his assist-to-turnover ratio stands at better than 2-to-1.
“Jameer is doing great,” back court running mate Francis said. “He is helping us out both offensively and defensively, and he is getting better with every game.”
Davis agreed with Francis on the rookie’s rapid improvement.
“Jameer is an improving young point guard with a very bright future ahead of him,” Davis said. “He shoots the ball extremely well, plays tenacious defense, really knows and understands team basketball and has just improved leaps and bounds over the years. I think Jameer has gotten comfortable with what we are asking him to do. He has confidence and he is showing that in games.”
While the point guard situation has been consistent through the season’s first 41 games, the other guard spot has undergone a recent transformation. Cuttino Mobley was a fixture in the Magic’s lineup early, and he looked as if he were on pace to better his 15.8 scoring average of last season. And while Weisbrod and Davis saw a solid contributor alongside Francis, they also witnessed a squad that gave up more points each night out than any other team in the league. A change was in order, and it came in the form of the Sacramento Kings’ Doug Christie.
“I knew (Christie) was a intense competitor, a real good distributor of the basketball who could step out to the three-point line and make shots, and someone who could make solid decisions with the ball,” Davis said of his thoughts of Christie before joining the Magic. “I’ve always admired him as a player and I am extremely happy to have him on my team.”
Christie may have been brought in by the coaching staff as a defensive-minded player, but his offense has also boosted the Magic’s back court. In his first game in front of the TD Waterhouse Centre crowd, Christie made a clutch three-pointer with 1:26 left in the game that put the Magic ahead for good against the defending world champion Detroit Pistons. Christie’s numbers (6.8 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 2.4 apg) may still be somewhat below his averages that he posted for the Kings (7.2, 3.6 and 4.4), but his teammates are already raving about his overall contributions to the court as he continues to get acclimated to the Magic’s system.
“He’s doing really well,” Francis said. “He’s doing the same thing (on both ends of the court). Offensively, he is bringing his game, and defensively he is definitely a presence.”
While Christie has the heart and hustle any coach in the league would love to have, the Magic also have capable back-ups who are ready to step in at any time and provide the same type of intensity on the court that the starters bring. Orlando came into the season with a log jam at the shooting guard position, but they soon shipped Keith Bogans off to Charlotte, leaving DeShawn Stevenson as the main back-up. Then, when Mobley went down with a groin injury, it was Stevenson who was called upon to pick up his time and responsibilities on the court. The California native has since witnessed his minutes fluxuate, going from averaging 24 minutes during a 10-game span in November to less than six in the month of January.
“Although DeShawn hasn’t gotten a lot of opportunities this year, when he has had the opportunity to play he has done well,” Davis said. “Earlier this season we had an injury to Cuttino Mobley and we started DeShawn for several games. He came in and did a wonderful job for us. He plays aggressive defense, he is very athletic, runs the floor well, and I think he is a guy who has a tremendous upside in this league.”
While the first half of the season may have already come and gone in success, the guards are now ready to end the year on a strong note and make a run at the playoffs in the Eastern Conference. And as Nelson improves, Christie continues to get acclimated to his new team and surroundings, players like Stevenson learn how to better define their roles, and Francis keeps putting up all-star numbers each night out, it’s safe to say that this team will be in good hands for the remainder of the season.
Coming Soon: Part 2: Looking Forward
Melanie Curtsinger is an intern in the Magic's Communications department.
