November 13, 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.For those of you out there who thought the Orlando Magic would have an easy, breezy run to 60 wins and the top seed in the Eastern Conference heading into the playoffs, think again.
It’s been anything but simple so far for the short-handed, snake-bitten Magic. To date, they’ve gone into games with nine players more than the New York Yankees starting lineup. Injuries, illness and suspension have hit the Magic hard, and the schedule-makers certainly did Orlando no favors in Wednesday’s much-anticipated rematch against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Magic were just back from a two-game roadtrip and had played the night before in Charlotte, while Cleveland was coasting along on a four-day mini-vacation.
And now tonight, the Magic’s deep and talented roster has taken another hit. Brandon Bass has the flu and won’t face New Jersey. Combine that with Ryan Anderson’s ankle injury and Rashard Lewis’ suspension and Orlando will go into game 10 of the season with no true power forwards available.
Oh well, it’s a long, long season and eventually the Magic will be whole again real soon. Lewis will be back on Monday, and so too will Anderson. So let’s dig deep into this week’s mailbag and see what’s on the minds of Magic fans. Away we go:
QUESTION: I have watched J.J. Redick since he was a freshman in college and he deserves solid minutes. Do you think it would be better fit for him to be on another team? And by the way, yes I am a shooting guard like him and he inspired me to play basketball. -- Mike Stump
J.D.: J.J. has carved out a nice role in Orlando and I think he’s there to stay even after the Magic’s roster gets healthy again. Magic coach Stan Van Gundy trusts Redick to be in the right place and do the right thing, and that’s a big deal to the coach. He likes that Redick doesn’t gamble defensively and he is a very good ball-mover in the offense.
What Redick has to do a better job of is making open shots. He worked hard in the offseason to better his jump shot and he’s shown flashes this season of being the star shooter he was in college. As long as he’s making shots and seeking them out, Van Gundy will keep turning to him. But if Redick ever passes up an open shot – as he did when he was struggling last Sunday night in Oklahoma City – then he puts his chances of getting more playing time in jeopardy.
QUESTION: Hey John. Great to have you on the Magic’s website. Here is my question: Being that we are such a deep team at pretty much every position, and having so many players that can play multiple positions, what position would you say we have the least depth at? I keep thinking about it and I really can’t think of a position I’m not happy with. Keep up the great work! – Brian, Union Park
J.D.: Brian, thanks for the kind words. I’ve said it from the start that the Magic have a Noah’s Arc type of roster in that they have two of everything.
Like you said, they are very deep at every position. They have the league’s best center (Dwight Howard) and the best back-up center (Marcin Gortat). They have three power forwards (Lewis, Anderson and Bass), two small forwards (Mickael Pietrus, Matt Barnes), two shooting guards (Vince Carter and Redick) and three point guards (Jameer Nelson, Jason Williams and Anthony Johnson). And of course, several of those players can play two different positions.
I guess if there’s one position I’d be concerned about is point guard. Nelson isn’t exactly a finesse point guard and he’s always going to have to endure some contact with the way he drives to the hoop and runs through screens. Jameer is often a barometer as to how this team plays, and I just think the Magic can’t afford to lose him for a long stretch again this season.
QUESTION: Hey JD! Thanks for all of the great stories you are writing for the Magic’s website. I was wondering if you can tell me how Rashard Lewis has held up during his suspension. How do you think he will play coming back from being out the past couple of weeks? Will he be a starter? Will he play small forward or power forward? – Andy, Winter Park
J.D.: Lewis knew for several months that this suspension was coming, but when Opening Night got here it hit him much harder than he ever expected. He said sitting at home and watching has been much harder than he ever thought it would be.
Lewis is, maybe more so than anyone in the Magic locker room, all about team and winning. He made several sacrifices upon coming to Orlando, giving up some of his scoring and low-post play for the good of the team. So not playing as the team has struggled through injuries and inconsistency has been especially hard on him.
I think he’ll hit the ground running on Monday. He’s been at every practice, walk-through and roadtrip so far. He usually stays after practice and shoots and runs on the treadmill, so conditioning isn’t a big concern for him.
He’ll come back as the starting power forward, and that’s exactly where he should be playing. His ability to pull opposing power forwards away from the basket and hit 3-pointers is a tremendous tool for the Magic. Lewis will play some small forward to allow more playing time for Anderson and Bass, but the majority of his minutes will continue to come as a power forward.
QUESTION: I was looking at the roster and counted it three times, we only have 13 players under contract. Aren’t we allowed 15? Adonal Foyle won’t be playing for awhile yet. I know we are deep when we are healthy, but wouldn’t these 2 extra players be a good thing to have right about now? Why are we running two players short? – Brian, Orlando
J.D.: Brian, you counted correctly. When the Magic made the decision to match Gortat’s $34 million offer sheet from the Dallas Mavericks and sign Brandon Bass and Matt Barnes in free agency, it sent the Magic deep into luxury tax territory for the first time in franchise history. Orlando’s payroll is $80.5 million, meaning the Magic will be hit with a $10.6 million tax penalty.
One of the concessions of spending that kind of money was that the Magic would keep the roster at 13 players, two short of the maximum allowable. Most teams in the league are carrying 13 or 14 players this season because of similar luxury tax concerns. Once they get healthy, 13 players should be plenty for the deep, talented Magic.
QUESTION: Do you think Vince Carter will make the All-Star team this year? – Brandon Clark
J.D.: Vince has been there eight times already and I think he probably should make plans to be in Dallas in mid-February. When healthy, he’s proven himself to be a dynamic scorer and he’s still very much a fan favorite.
The competition at the guard slots in the East will be fierce, but Carter has a good chance of being a starter alongside of Dwyane Wade. Ray Allen, Rajon Rondo, Derrick Rose, Ben Gordon, Danny Granger, Joe Johnson and Gilbert Arenas will also be in the running in the East and Carter’s own teammate, Jameer Nelson, could get back there again. But as long as Vince stays healthy and the Magic keep winning, I think he’s very much in line to be a starter at the new Cowboys Stadium before approximately 100,000 fans.
QUESTION: Just wanted to say I enjoyed your honest analysis of the Magic’s performance more than I enjoyed watching the game. When is this team going to get serious about being a great team? We’ve already had Magic teams trying to win through offense alone. We all know they are talented enough to be great, regardless of being down three players. – Andrew, Orlando
J.D.: Hey Andrew I really appreciate your kind words, but please step back away from the panic button. It’s way, way early in the season and the Magic have yet to field their entire team yet, so there’s really no time to panic.
Van Gundy admits that sometimes he overreacts after games, but it’s his relentless pushing and driving that made this Magic team great last season so he isn’t going to stop anytime soon.
No, the Magic’s defense hasn’t been great yet, but there is still a long way to go in the season. In time, when the roster is whole, you will see the parts start meshing together better on both ends of the floor. I think at times the Magic’s defense has fallen off when the team has struggled shooting the ball (the Detroit loss, the OKC loss). With Lewis and Anderson back and Carter fully healthy, I truly believe the Magic will have far fewer offensive stinkers and the defense will respond.
Well, that’s all for this week. I’m still waiting for some questions from the Magic’s faithful message board posters. C’mon guys, fill the mailbag full for next week. Take care everyone. -- JD
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.
