Anez: Five Good Minutes With Otis

Posted by Scott Anez, Monday, Feb. 14, 2011, 8:45 AM
Five Good Minutes With Otis

Scott...What is your take right now on that state of your Orlando Magic?

Otis...Well, we're still learning how to play, Scott. We're still a young team--young in terms of time together. We still haven't had alotta games together. When you are playing against teams like the Celtics and Lakers, teams that have been together for years--that maturity shows. So I think as the season unfolds you'll start to see us play a lot better basketball. I just think we're coming along nicely and hopefully we'll peak at the right time.

S...Can this team make a run at the Celtics or the Heat in the East--or are you even concerned with playoff seeding right now?

O...I am more concerned with how we're playing than anything else. Where you land, you're gonna have to win some games on the road in this whole thing. You hope to get up as high as you can get. But right now, I am more concerned with how the Orlando Magic are playing as opposed to how other teams ahead of us are playing. At this point, that's not a big concern.

S...What did the losses to the Celtics and the Heat tell you about where you stack up vs. the East's best?

O...Scotty, if we don't shoot the ball well, we're not any good. That's what it told me. When we don't shoot the ball, we're not very good. We tend to become one-dimensional when we're not shooting well. Dwight has had some big games and is playing very well. But, in order for us to win at the level which I think we're capable of, we have to make shots and if we make shots we become a much harder team to defend and teams can't just zero in on Dwight.

S...The trade deadline is right around the corner, Otis. Do you expect to make any deals prior to the deadline?

O...I don't know, Scott. It's hard to say yes or no right now. We're always looking to get better. That goes without saying. To what level? I don't know...You look and you make calls. You return calls and see what happens. We'll see...

S...Is it a concern to you that Dwight Howard's minutes are piling up here late in the season?

O...If he was 38, maybe. But he's actually 25. Yes, his minutes are piling up, but if we can make shots, I think his minutes will decrease. If we're not making shots, his minutes increase, games get tougher and we have to have him on the floor. I don't care who his backup is, if we don't start making shots, we're gonna be a little outta sync there.

S...Dwight's been an absolute beast. He's putting up MVP-like numbers. You have to love his look right now.

O...Well, he's a beast most nights regardless of who's defending him. He's really dialed in on the offensive end. On the defensive end, he's zoned into what we're doing and he keeps the opposing team from driving to the basket. As soon as he goes out of the game, I don't care who we're playing or who's behind him, the opposing team starts driving to the basket almost instantly. He's dialed into what we're doing on both ends of the floor. Let's just hope we can start making some shots here.

S...What about Gilbert Arenas. Off the court, his personal life has crept back into the headlines again. On the court, it looks like he's playing better of late. What kind of place is Gilbert in right now?

O...Well, he's better. He's not where he's gonna be in another month or so. I understand it's a process--and I actually understand the process so I am a little bit more forgiving than most. He's working at it. He's just got to keep progressing and attacking--and if he does that--he's pretty good. We just have to get him back to that level and in order to do that, we've got to get him away from all of the other distractions. As I said before, I don't care who you are, if you're were once a leader of a team and revered and played at a high level and you have your jersey on the building...then the next day they take it down for making a dumb mistake--and I'm not condoning what he's done--and then they beat him down for five or six months--then he gets traded and he has to move. Then you go through some personal issues with your girlfriend/fiancee and it's all public knowledge--you're not the same person. I don't care who you are. You have to be pretty much made of steel to overlook those things. He's done a good job of coming in and fighting but he's not where he needs to be. He knows that. And hopefully we'll get him to that point at some point in time. He's not necessarily going to be 100% this year. I don't see that happening.

S...Do you expect Gilbert to get to that 100% mark next season?

O...I expect that at some point in time next season he'll get to 100%. I am not expecting him to be that player that he's been in the past right now. Like I told him, my objective is for you not to hurt us. We're pretty good without you hurting us--we'll be OK if you go out and just give us minutes right now.

Anez Sez is solely the opinion of Scott Anez and does not reflect the views of the Orlando Magic or the NBA.READ MORE FROM ANEZ>>>