Denton: Magic-Bucks Postgame Analysis
By John Denton
February 2, 2010
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 – Jameer Nelson and Mickael Pietrus were out injured, Dwight Howard picked up two quick fouls and the Orlando Magic faced an early 12-point deficit, meaning they were going to sink or swim Tuesday night with Vince Carter.
And the star shooting guard picked a perfect time to break out of his month-long shooting slump.
Carter had his best stretch in weeks on Tuesday, leading the Magic in virtually every category in the first half and finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists as Orlando thumped the Milwaukee Bucks 99-82 before a sold-out crowd at Amway Arena.
Carter’s aggression was evident from the start as his first four baskets came on hard drives to the rim. Over the past week, Carter had received advice from all corners – Rashard Lewis talked to him on the bus Sunday night; Howard insisted that he keep shooting even if he was missing; even a couple of boyhood friends from Daytona Beach send inspirational text messages. But in the end, it was Carter listening to the voices inside his own head.
``I had been rushing out there on the court and not shooting my shot,’’ Carter said, looking back on the 14 games in January when he shot just 28 percent from the floor. ``I just told myself, `Do what you tell everybody else to do out there … follow through, shoot the ball on the way up and have confidence.’ I figured that was a pretty good place to start.’’
The Magic (33-16) didn’t get off to a great start on Tuesday, falling behind 16-4 and seeing Howard head to the bench in foul trouble. But Carter carried the Magic through their rough start on the offensive end and Howard returned to help limit Milwaukee to just 10 points in the second quarter.
``We needed to pick it up defensively, obviously,’’ said Magic forward Matt Barnes, who had 11 points, seven rebounds and a blocked shot. ``I know that coach (Stan Van Gundy) prides his team on defense and we went through a point where we were struggling, we weren’t playing defense and we weren’t putting out the effort. Now, I think we’re back on our defense and it’s showing.’’
Orlando won for the seventh time in the past eight games. The Magic have two days off before hosting Washington on Friday. The Magic then close the first half of the season with games against Boston, New Orleans, Chicago and Cleveland. Now, Howard said, is the time for the Magic to make their move up the standings and distance themselves from the rest.
``We’re really gelling now as a team and we want to take care of the rest of our games between now and the all-star break and come back after that as the best team in the NBA,’’ said Howard, who had 22 points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots. ``We really want to finish off this stretch with all wins. We want to be a dominant team from here on out.’’
THE GOOD
---- Carter was coming off a Detroit game in which he had scored just two points and didn’t play at all in the fourth quarter as Van Gundy opted for J.J. Redick instead. In fact, he had played just 1 minute, 25 seconds in the fourth quarter of the past three games.
But he looked like a different player on Tuesday night, attacking Milwaukee’s Charlie Bell off the dribble to get in the paint time and again. When he wasn’t scoring in there, he was finding teammates for open jump shots. Basically, he played like the dynamic eight-time all-star the Magic had been looking for when they traded for him last June.
``I believe in my game and I believe in my shot and I just tried to stick with what I’ve always done,’’ Carter said. ``Some of the frustration just comes from everybody always harping on it. I just told myself to play your game and everything would be fine. … I’m not big on stats and the stuff that has been done in the past, but what I took out of it was that I just had to be myself and do what I always do.’’
Lewis, who weathered a tough shooting night and had 13 points, has been on Carter to remain aggressive and not doubt himself so much through this shooting slump.
``I talked to him on the bus the other night in Detroit and told him that he had to believe in himself because we still believed in him,’’ Lewis said. ``On this team we have so many guys that he might not get shots every night, but he had to just keep playing through it. It just seemed to me like he was passing up open shots and driving in to take a tougher shot. I told him even if he missed three, four or five shots to just keep on shooting.’’
---- Howard got in early foul trouble, picking up two fouls in his first six minutes in the game. But he came back into the game with a vengeance in the second quarter, scoring nine points and grabbing three rebounds.
But his biggest impact came on the defensive end of the floor where he blocked three shots and changed at least a half-dozen others with his massive wingspan and tremendous jumping ability.
Howard’s presence in the paint helped hold the Bucks to 10 second-quarter points, tying for the fewest the Magic have allowed in a quarter this season. (Orlando held Sacramento to 10 points in the fourth quarter three weeks ago). Milwaukee, which led by as much as 12 points early in the game, made just four of 21 shots (19 percent) in the second period.
---- With confidence seemingly oozing out of his every pore, Redick continued his streak of torrid shooting.
He made four of five shots and three of four 3-pointers. Defenses respect his shot so much so now that he got fouled on yet another 3-point attempt and got to the free throw line for three attempts.
``What’s changed for him is that he knows that he’s going to be in there every night,’’ Van Gundy said. ``When your playing time is inconsistent and you’re not making shots you’re going to put pressure on yourself. He’s a point now where he can relax.’’
THE BAD
---- Nelson had hoped to play Tuesday night after going through the morning walk-through, but he informed Van Gundy before tip-off that he didn’t feel comfortable playing because of the lingering soreness and pain in his left knee.
Nelson had surgery on the knee in November and he’s struggled in the weeks since with lingering swelling and pain. He said he hyper-extended the knee in Sunday’s win in Detroit, causing a new sort of pain.
Playing into the decision to withhold Nelson might have been the fact that the Magic are off on Wednesday and practice on Thursday before returning to game action Friday against Washington.
There was little drop-off with veterans Jason Williams playing 33 turnover-free minutes. He scored 11 points, grabbed five rebounds, handed out five assists and had three steals.
THE UGLY
---- Milwaukee point guard Brandon Jennings could be hitting the famed ``rookie wall,’’ now 47 games into his first NBA season. The rookie point guard, who has been the Eastern Conference’s Rookie of the Month in November, December and January, struggled through his third straight poor game.
He missed six of his seven shots and played passively most of the game. He did get into the lane a couple of times early in the night, but Howard was there to deter him from shooting the ball. Milwaukee coach Scott Skiles ultimately pulled Jennings, opting instead for Luke Ridnour (13 points).
``Once Howard got those two quick fouls in the first quarter I thought we were going to be able to push the lead and really get after them,’’ Jennings said. ``But they have a lot of other weapons.’’
John Denton writes for Orlandomagic.com. His Magic ``Behind the Scenes’’ segment can be heard each week on ESPN 1080 AM. Submit questions to John for his ``Ask J.D.’’ mailbag feature that will appear every Friday at AskJD@orlandomagic.com.
By John DentonFebruary 2, 2010
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 – Jameer Nelson and Mickael Pietrus were out injured, Dwight Howard picked up two quick fouls and the Orlando Magic faced an early 12-point deficit, meaning they were going to sink or swim Tuesday night with Vince Carter.
And the star shooting guard picked a perfect time to break out of his month-long shooting slump.
Carter had his best stretch in weeks on Tuesday, leading the Magic in virtually every category in the first half and finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists as Orlando thumped the Milwaukee Bucks 99-82 before a sold-out crowd at Amway Arena.
Carter’s aggression was evident from the start as his first four baskets came on hard drives to the rim. Over the past week, Carter had received advice from all corners – Rashard Lewis talked to him on the bus Sunday night; Howard insisted that he keep shooting even if he was missing; even a couple of boyhood friends from Daytona Beach send inspirational text messages. But in the end, it was Carter listening to the voices inside his own head.
``I had been rushing out there on the court and not shooting my shot,’’ Carter said, looking back on the 14 games in January when he shot just 28 percent from the floor. ``I just told myself, `Do what you tell everybody else to do out there … follow through, shoot the ball on the way up and have confidence.’ I figured that was a pretty good place to start.’’
The Magic (33-16) didn’t get off to a great start on Tuesday, falling behind 16-4 and seeing Howard head to the bench in foul trouble. But Carter carried the Magic through their rough start on the offensive end and Howard returned to help limit Milwaukee to just 10 points in the second quarter.
``We needed to pick it up defensively, obviously,’’ said Magic forward Matt Barnes, who had 11 points, seven rebounds and a blocked shot. ``I know that coach (Stan Van Gundy) prides his team on defense and we went through a point where we were struggling, we weren’t playing defense and we weren’t putting out the effort. Now, I think we’re back on our defense and it’s showing.’’
Orlando won for the seventh time in the past eight games. The Magic have two days off before hosting Washington on Friday. The Magic then close the first half of the season with games against Boston, New Orleans, Chicago and Cleveland. Now, Howard said, is the time for the Magic to make their move up the standings and distance themselves from the rest.
``We’re really gelling now as a team and we want to take care of the rest of our games between now and the all-star break and come back after that as the best team in the NBA,’’ said Howard, who had 22 points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots. ``We really want to finish off this stretch with all wins. We want to be a dominant team from here on out.’’
THE GOOD
---- Carter was coming off a Detroit game in which he had scored just two points and didn’t play at all in the fourth quarter as Van Gundy opted for J.J. Redick instead. In fact, he had played just 1 minute, 25 seconds in the fourth quarter of the past three games.
But he looked like a different player on Tuesday night, attacking Milwaukee’s Charlie Bell off the dribble to get in the paint time and again. When he wasn’t scoring in there, he was finding teammates for open jump shots. Basically, he played like the dynamic eight-time all-star the Magic had been looking for when they traded for him last June.
``I believe in my game and I believe in my shot and I just tried to stick with what I’ve always done,’’ Carter said. ``Some of the frustration just comes from everybody always harping on it. I just told myself to play your game and everything would be fine. … I’m not big on stats and the stuff that has been done in the past, but what I took out of it was that I just had to be myself and do what I always do.’’
Lewis, who weathered a tough shooting night and had 13 points, has been on Carter to remain aggressive and not doubt himself so much through this shooting slump.
``I talked to him on the bus the other night in Detroit and told him that he had to believe in himself because we still believed in him,’’ Lewis said. ``On this team we have so many guys that he might not get shots every night, but he had to just keep playing through it. It just seemed to me like he was passing up open shots and driving in to take a tougher shot. I told him even if he missed three, four or five shots to just keep on shooting.’’
---- Howard got in early foul trouble, picking up two fouls in his first six minutes in the game. But he came back into the game with a vengeance in the second quarter, scoring nine points and grabbing three rebounds.
But his biggest impact came on the defensive end of the floor where he blocked three shots and changed at least a half-dozen others with his massive wingspan and tremendous jumping ability.
Howard’s presence in the paint helped hold the Bucks to 10 second-quarter points, tying for the fewest the Magic have allowed in a quarter this season. (Orlando held Sacramento to 10 points in the fourth quarter three weeks ago). Milwaukee, which led by as much as 12 points early in the game, made just four of 21 shots (19 percent) in the second period.
---- With confidence seemingly oozing out of his every pore, Redick continued his streak of torrid shooting.
He made four of five shots and three of four 3-pointers. Defenses respect his shot so much so now that he got fouled on yet another 3-point attempt and got to the free throw line for three attempts.
``What’s changed for him is that he knows that he’s going to be in there every night,’’ Van Gundy said. ``When your playing time is inconsistent and you’re not making shots you’re going to put pressure on yourself. He’s a point now where he can relax.’’
THE BAD
---- Nelson had hoped to play Tuesday night after going through the morning walk-through, but he informed Van Gundy before tip-off that he didn’t feel comfortable playing because of the lingering soreness and pain in his left knee.
Nelson had surgery on the knee in November and he’s struggled in the weeks since with lingering swelling and pain. He said he hyper-extended the knee in Sunday’s win in Detroit, causing a new sort of pain.
Playing into the decision to withhold Nelson might have been the fact that the Magic are off on Wednesday and practice on Thursday before returning to game action Friday against Washington.
There was little drop-off with veterans Jason Williams playing 33 turnover-free minutes. He scored 11 points, grabbed five rebounds, handed out five assists and had three steals.
THE UGLY
---- Milwaukee point guard Brandon Jennings could be hitting the famed ``rookie wall,’’ now 47 games into his first NBA season. The rookie point guard, who has been the Eastern Conference’s Rookie of the Month in November, December and January, struggled through his third straight poor game.
He missed six of his seven shots and played passively most of the game. He did get into the lane a couple of times early in the night, but Howard was there to deter him from shooting the ball. Milwaukee coach Scott Skiles ultimately pulled Jennings, opting instead for Luke Ridnour (13 points).
``Once Howard got those two quick fouls in the first quarter I thought we were going to be able to push the lead and really get after them,’’ Jennings said. ``But they have a lot of other weapons.’’
John Denton writes for Orlandomagic.com. His Magic ``Behind the Scenes’’ segment can be heard each week on ESPN 1080 AM. Submit questions to John for his ``Ask J.D.’’ mailbag feature that will appear every Friday at AskJD@orlandomagic.com.
