Looking Back: 2005-06 Season Review
By Matthew Gardner
Before the focus shifts to the next season, here's a month-by-month look back at how the 2005-06 season played out for the Orlando Magic:
OCTOBER
As the Magic came together in Jacksonville for training camp at the University of North Florida, the
team is introduced to some new faces - including in the coaching ranks. Brian Hill - the winningest
coach in Magic history - returned for his second stint in Orlando and ready to lead the squad back
into the playoff picture. Keyon Dooling joined the organization during the summer, making the quick
jaunt from Miami to help provide some backcourt help. Also, Bo Outlaw made his return to Orlando for
the first time since the 2001-02 season as the squad looked to Bo's defensive presence and hustle
mentality to help energize the team. With the 2004-05 squad showing a rather dismal performance in
stopping the offensive efforts of its opposition, 'D' becomes the focus of training camp.
As the team made it through training camp and the preseason, the Magic were struck with some bad news as the regular season approached. Starting forward Grant Hill was diagnosed with a sports hernia - an injury that would require surgery, followed by 3-6 weeks of rehab. This unfortunate event came just one season after it appeared the injury bug was a thing of the past for Hill. After years of lost basketball due to ankle surgeries, Hill returned to top form in 2004-05, playing in 67 games and averaging 19.7 ppg en route to being named a starter for the Eastern Conference at the All-Star Game.
With Hill sidelined, the team began the season with a starting lineup consisting of Dwight Howard, Hedo Turkoglu, Tony Battie, DeShawn Stevenson and Steve Francis.
NOVEMBER
The regular season got underway on November 2nd at the TD Waterhouse Centre with the Magic hosting
the Indiana Pacers and featuring the long-awaited return of Ron Artest to the NBA. Artest returned
without incident and Indiana pulled away from Orlando in the second half to take the season opener.
The Magic would start the season 0-3 before picking up back-to-back road victories at Houston and
Oklahoma City. After dropping an overtime contest at home against Cleveland, Orlando picked up its
first home victory of the season on November 15 - defeating Charlotte by eight.
In that victory at Charlotte, Dwight Howard recorded an impressive feat by becoming the youngest player in NBA history to snag a 20-20 game - torching the Bobcats for 21 points and 20 rebounds.
At 3-6 and looking to shake its slow start to the season, the Magic put together a Thanksgiving-week turnaround at home - defeating Washington, Portland and Miami before grabbing a road victory at Boston to move one game above .500 at 7-6. It would be the last time Orlando would hold a winning record for the remainder of the season.
DECEMBER
The Magic closed out the month of November and opened December with a road trip. After taking their
winning streak to four games with the win at Boston, Orlando fell in its next five contests - losing
at Memphis and Milwaukee before returning to the TD Waterhouse Centre and dropping games to San
Antonio and Chicago.
After breaking the streak with a victory at home against Denver, Grant Hill made his season debut in New York - scoring seven points in 22 minutes of action in his first game after sports hernia surgery. Two nights later, Hill led a heroic effort with 28 points in Dallas as a late Magic rally forced overtime before falling to the Western Conference power.
With a 2-8 record entering the final week of December, Orlando went on a post-Christmas tear at home - defeating Milwaukee, New York and Minnesota to end the year. And with a 12-15 record and shouting distance of a playoff spot, the Magic entered the New Year with renewed hope that a post-season spot was in reach.
JANUARY
A brutal schedule awaited the squad for the start of January, with eight of the next 10 games on the
road. The Magic struggled to come together away from O-Town, losing seven of its first eight to start
2006 with the lone win coming in a home game against Charlotte. In addition, Grant Hill started
experiencing pain in his abdominal area - resulting from the sports hernia surgery and began sitting
out some games due to soreness. The team's frustration began to show in their first West Coast road
trip during this stretch. Reserve guard Keyon Dooling was ejected and later suspended by the league
for five games for his involvement in a fight with Ray Allen in Seattle. The next day, starting guard
Steve Francis was suspended for conduct detrimental to the team and sent home - missing the final two
games of the road trip. After returning home, the Magic reinstate Francis and the team pulls things
together to win five straight games - including overtime contests against Sacramento and at
Philadelphia to move to 18-22 overall and still within reach of a playoff spot.
The bad news this time around came in the form of another injury as Jameer Nelson became sidelined with a sprained right mid-foot - an injury that would sideline him for the next 20 games.
FEBRUARY
The Magic finished January with a loss on the road at New York and another at home against
Philadelphia - a slide that wouldn't end for much of February. The team opened the fourth month of
the season with a loss at home against the Los Angeles Clippers and at Atlanta before picking up one
of only two victories in the month against Boston. And after losing their next six games before the
All-Star break to fall to 19-32, the Magic decided it was time to begin building for the future. The
club traded Kelvin Cato and a future protected first round draft choice to the Detroit Pistons for
Carlos Arroyo and Darko Milicic. Arroyo would give the team a true point guard and add depth to the
backcourt, while Milicic - a former No. 2 overall pick - would finally get a chance to demonstrate
his abilities after two-and-a-half seasons buried on Detroit's deep bench.
Despite missing out on a chance to compete in his first All-Star game, Dwight Howard competes for the sophomore squad in the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge Houston. Jameer Nelson is also invited to play, but is unable to compete due to the mid-foot injury.
The squad convenes from the All-Star break in Cleveland where Arroyo and Milicic take part in their first practice session with the new team. Two nights later - with the trade deadline approaching - the Magic deal Francis to the New York Knicks for Trevor Ariza and the expiring contract of former Magic star Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway. The move adds another young talent to the roster in Ariza, while also freeing up some future cap space with Hardaway's contract ending at the end of the season.
Magic fans get their first look at the team's newest additions - Arroyo, Milicic and Ariza - on Feb. 24 as the team returns home for the first time since the All-Star break and pick up a 102-89 victory against Seattle. With the new players still learning and working their way into the Magic lineup, the team embarks on their second West Coast trip - a venture that wouldn't produce a victory (0-5) and leave the squad 20 games under .500 at 20-40, but one that would become a bonding experience and set the stage for an incredible turnaround.
MARCH
After an unsuccessful voyage out West, where the team extended its road losing streak to 13 games,
the team is glad to return to the TD Waterhouse Centre. Upon returning home, the Magic snap a
six-game overall losing streak with a dominating 102-73 win against Cleveland. The win against the
Cavaliers turned out to be bittersweet for the squad. After scoring two points in just eight minutes
on court, Grant Hill is unable to continue playing due to the constant abdominal pain. It would be
the last action he would see - finishing the season averaging 15.1 ppg in 21 games of action.
The night after the Cleveland victory, the team returned to the TD Waterhouse Centre and topped Golden State, but their road woes wouldn't be cured just yet as a 14th consecutive loss would come at Indiana. Home victories against Utah and Boston gave the team four wins in five games, but the team continued to find no luck away from Orlando as losses to Atlanta and Charlotte set a club record for consecutive road defeats with 16.
Steve Francis made his first return to Orlando since the mid-February trade on March 22, but was held to only two points as the Magic rolled past the Knicks, 111-87. The road streak was finally snapped in the game that followed as Orlando topped Philadelphia. Interestingly enough, the Magic's previous road victory on Jan. 26 also came in the City of Brotherly Love.
With Milicic and Arroyo getting significant minutes and Ariza starting to work his way into the second unit, Orlando began showing signs of a brand new team. The team closed out the month of March in impressive fashion, topping Dallas at home to give them nine victories in their last 13 games.
APRIL
Building off of March's turn of events, the Magic began to turn some heads at the beginning of April
after home wins against playoff-bound Milwaukee and Detroit were followed with a road win in Miami.
The team continued its late surge for a playoff spot by defeating Atlanta and Toronto and surprising
the defending champion San Antonio Spurs on the road. Those victories put Orlando just three games
out of a playoff berth in the Eastern Conference with three games remaining - putting significant
pressure on Chicago and Philadelphia leading into the final week of the season.
With postseason hopes on the line and the 76ers in town, the Magic refused to give up hope - topping Philadelphia, 102-97 and keeping their playoff push alive another day and bringing their home winning streak to 12 games - the teams best home streak since winning 13 in the 1998-99 season. Howard put together his best game of the season against Philly, scoring a season-high 28 points and recording an NBA season-best (and career high) 26 rebounds. However, Chicago defeated Miami the following day - making it mathematically impossible for Orlando to secure a postseason berth. The team ended its eight-game winning streak and home streak against Chicago in an overtime contest before ending the season with a loss at Indiana.
Despite a 20-40 record in late February, the Magic pulled together to finish the season on a 16-6 run - a remarkable turn of events that saw the team come close to a playoff berth.
Matthew Gardner is a writer for orlandomagic.com
Before the focus shifts to the next season, here's a month-by-month look back at how the 2005-06 season played out for the Orlando Magic:
OCTOBER
As the Magic came together in Jacksonville for training camp at the University of North Florida, the
team is introduced to some new faces - including in the coaching ranks. Brian Hill - the winningest
coach in Magic history - returned for his second stint in Orlando and ready to lead the squad back
into the playoff picture. Keyon Dooling joined the organization during the summer, making the quick
jaunt from Miami to help provide some backcourt help. Also, Bo Outlaw made his return to Orlando for
the first time since the 2001-02 season as the squad looked to Bo's defensive presence and hustle
mentality to help energize the team. With the 2004-05 squad showing a rather dismal performance in
stopping the offensive efforts of its opposition, 'D' becomes the focus of training camp.
As the team made it through training camp and the preseason, the Magic were struck with some bad news as the regular season approached. Starting forward Grant Hill was diagnosed with a sports hernia - an injury that would require surgery, followed by 3-6 weeks of rehab. This unfortunate event came just one season after it appeared the injury bug was a thing of the past for Hill. After years of lost basketball due to ankle surgeries, Hill returned to top form in 2004-05, playing in 67 games and averaging 19.7 ppg en route to being named a starter for the Eastern Conference at the All-Star Game.
With Hill sidelined, the team began the season with a starting lineup consisting of Dwight Howard, Hedo Turkoglu, Tony Battie, DeShawn Stevenson and Steve Francis.
NOVEMBER
The regular season got underway on November 2nd at the TD Waterhouse Centre with the Magic hosting
the Indiana Pacers and featuring the long-awaited return of Ron Artest to the NBA. Artest returned
without incident and Indiana pulled away from Orlando in the second half to take the season opener.
The Magic would start the season 0-3 before picking up back-to-back road victories at Houston and
Oklahoma City. After dropping an overtime contest at home against Cleveland, Orlando picked up its
first home victory of the season on November 15 - defeating Charlotte by eight.
In that victory at Charlotte, Dwight Howard recorded an impressive feat by becoming the youngest player in NBA history to snag a 20-20 game - torching the Bobcats for 21 points and 20 rebounds.
At 3-6 and looking to shake its slow start to the season, the Magic put together a Thanksgiving-week turnaround at home - defeating Washington, Portland and Miami before grabbing a road victory at Boston to move one game above .500 at 7-6. It would be the last time Orlando would hold a winning record for the remainder of the season.
DECEMBER
The Magic closed out the month of November and opened December with a road trip. After taking their
winning streak to four games with the win at Boston, Orlando fell in its next five contests - losing
at Memphis and Milwaukee before returning to the TD Waterhouse Centre and dropping games to San
Antonio and Chicago.
After breaking the streak with a victory at home against Denver, Grant Hill made his season debut in New York - scoring seven points in 22 minutes of action in his first game after sports hernia surgery. Two nights later, Hill led a heroic effort with 28 points in Dallas as a late Magic rally forced overtime before falling to the Western Conference power.
With a 2-8 record entering the final week of December, Orlando went on a post-Christmas tear at home - defeating Milwaukee, New York and Minnesota to end the year. And with a 12-15 record and shouting distance of a playoff spot, the Magic entered the New Year with renewed hope that a post-season spot was in reach.
JANUARY
A brutal schedule awaited the squad for the start of January, with eight of the next 10 games on the
road. The Magic struggled to come together away from O-Town, losing seven of its first eight to start
2006 with the lone win coming in a home game against Charlotte. In addition, Grant Hill started
experiencing pain in his abdominal area - resulting from the sports hernia surgery and began sitting
out some games due to soreness. The team's frustration began to show in their first West Coast road
trip during this stretch. Reserve guard Keyon Dooling was ejected and later suspended by the league
for five games for his involvement in a fight with Ray Allen in Seattle. The next day, starting guard
Steve Francis was suspended for conduct detrimental to the team and sent home - missing the final two
games of the road trip. After returning home, the Magic reinstate Francis and the team pulls things
together to win five straight games - including overtime contests against Sacramento and at
Philadelphia to move to 18-22 overall and still within reach of a playoff spot.
The bad news this time around came in the form of another injury as Jameer Nelson became sidelined with a sprained right mid-foot - an injury that would sideline him for the next 20 games.
FEBRUARY
The Magic finished January with a loss on the road at New York and another at home against
Philadelphia - a slide that wouldn't end for much of February. The team opened the fourth month of
the season with a loss at home against the Los Angeles Clippers and at Atlanta before picking up one
of only two victories in the month against Boston. And after losing their next six games before the
All-Star break to fall to 19-32, the Magic decided it was time to begin building for the future. The
club traded Kelvin Cato and a future protected first round draft choice to the Detroit Pistons for
Carlos Arroyo and Darko Milicic. Arroyo would give the team a true point guard and add depth to the
backcourt, while Milicic - a former No. 2 overall pick - would finally get a chance to demonstrate
his abilities after two-and-a-half seasons buried on Detroit's deep bench.
Despite missing out on a chance to compete in his first All-Star game, Dwight Howard competes for the sophomore squad in the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge Houston. Jameer Nelson is also invited to play, but is unable to compete due to the mid-foot injury.
The squad convenes from the All-Star break in Cleveland where Arroyo and Milicic take part in their first practice session with the new team. Two nights later - with the trade deadline approaching - the Magic deal Francis to the New York Knicks for Trevor Ariza and the expiring contract of former Magic star Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway. The move adds another young talent to the roster in Ariza, while also freeing up some future cap space with Hardaway's contract ending at the end of the season.
Magic fans get their first look at the team's newest additions - Arroyo, Milicic and Ariza - on Feb. 24 as the team returns home for the first time since the All-Star break and pick up a 102-89 victory against Seattle. With the new players still learning and working their way into the Magic lineup, the team embarks on their second West Coast trip - a venture that wouldn't produce a victory (0-5) and leave the squad 20 games under .500 at 20-40, but one that would become a bonding experience and set the stage for an incredible turnaround.
MARCH
After an unsuccessful voyage out West, where the team extended its road losing streak to 13 games,
the team is glad to return to the TD Waterhouse Centre. Upon returning home, the Magic snap a
six-game overall losing streak with a dominating 102-73 win against Cleveland. The win against the
Cavaliers turned out to be bittersweet for the squad. After scoring two points in just eight minutes
on court, Grant Hill is unable to continue playing due to the constant abdominal pain. It would be
the last action he would see - finishing the season averaging 15.1 ppg in 21 games of action.
The night after the Cleveland victory, the team returned to the TD Waterhouse Centre and topped Golden State, but their road woes wouldn't be cured just yet as a 14th consecutive loss would come at Indiana. Home victories against Utah and Boston gave the team four wins in five games, but the team continued to find no luck away from Orlando as losses to Atlanta and Charlotte set a club record for consecutive road defeats with 16.
Steve Francis made his first return to Orlando since the mid-February trade on March 22, but was held to only two points as the Magic rolled past the Knicks, 111-87. The road streak was finally snapped in the game that followed as Orlando topped Philadelphia. Interestingly enough, the Magic's previous road victory on Jan. 26 also came in the City of Brotherly Love.
With Milicic and Arroyo getting significant minutes and Ariza starting to work his way into the second unit, Orlando began showing signs of a brand new team. The team closed out the month of March in impressive fashion, topping Dallas at home to give them nine victories in their last 13 games.
APRIL
Building off of March's turn of events, the Magic began to turn some heads at the beginning of April
after home wins against playoff-bound Milwaukee and Detroit were followed with a road win in Miami.
The team continued its late surge for a playoff spot by defeating Atlanta and Toronto and surprising
the defending champion San Antonio Spurs on the road. Those victories put Orlando just three games
out of a playoff berth in the Eastern Conference with three games remaining - putting significant
pressure on Chicago and Philadelphia leading into the final week of the season.
With postseason hopes on the line and the 76ers in town, the Magic refused to give up hope - topping Philadelphia, 102-97 and keeping their playoff push alive another day and bringing their home winning streak to 12 games - the teams best home streak since winning 13 in the 1998-99 season. Howard put together his best game of the season against Philly, scoring a season-high 28 points and recording an NBA season-best (and career high) 26 rebounds. However, Chicago defeated Miami the following day - making it mathematically impossible for Orlando to secure a postseason berth. The team ended its eight-game winning streak and home streak against Chicago in an overtime contest before ending the season with a loss at Indiana.
Despite a 20-40 record in late February, the Magic pulled together to finish the season on a 16-6 run - a remarkable turn of events that saw the team come close to a playoff berth.
Matthew Gardner is a writer for orlandomagic.com
