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Denton: Carter Realizes He Has Support
By John Denton
April 21, 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 – In the early-morning hours of Sunday, some 15 hours before the Orlando Magic would tip off their playoff series against the Charlotte Bobcats, it dawned on Vince Carter that he wouldn’t be going at it alone in these playoffs.
While exchanging late night/early morning text messages with teammate Dwight Howard, Carter realized the pressure to perform no longer totally rested upon his shoulders. So often in the past, when he played in Toronto and New Jersey, if Carter faltered in the playoffs, so would his team.
But with the enormous amount of firepower that Orlando possesses, Carter said he could go into games knowing he has plenty of support around him. And he could suffer through a forgettable 12-point, four-of-19 shooting night as he did in Sunday’s Game 1 and still emerge victorious.
The closeness of the Magic, Carter said, has relieved the stress he always felt in the past to carry a franchise. It was always good to be, `The Man,’ but sometimes it’s good to not have to be `The Man,’ every night.
``Matt (Barnes) and I have done it, Jameer (Nelson) and Dwight and I have done it,’’ Carter said of text-messaging with teammates before big games. ``It’s not something you see that often in this league.
It’s rare that a group of guys know that they have each other’s back and we’re always making sure we’re on the same page. You can be watching TV, look down at your phone and see that it’s Dwight and then an hour or two later we’ve got everything out and understood.
``None of the teams that I have ever played on have been like this one,’’ Carter continued. ``It’s a very unique team because we have a lot of guys with a lot of ability and have accomplished the same thing. But we also just want to win, we look out for one another and we want the best for one another. You don’t get that a lot in the NBA. You’ve seen great teams in the NBA that doesn’t get along, but this is an easy bunch to be around. We laugh and joke and our free time is spent together. It’s helped us jell even better on the court.’’
The Magic were able to win 98-89 in Game 1 despite a less than stellar game from Carter, but they would like to see their prized shooting guard turn things around in Wednesday night’s Game 2. Carter said he would gladly take the same shots again that he got on Sunday, but hopes he’ll have better luck this time around.
He missed seven consecutive shots during one stretch of the second half, but made a nifty runner late in the game with the Magic offense wobbling. When he did Carter flipped his palms in the air and muttered, ``About damn time.’’ The Magic are hoping that Carter’s time to shine is tonight.
``We have four main guys that we go to a lot for scoring and rare is it that you have all four going at the same time,’’ Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. ``The focus tends to go toward the one who isn’t playing well, but the bottom line is who won the game. We’ve just got to get the ball to Vince in better spots and have him stay aggressive. I’m not sure we can depend on Rashard (Lewis) going eight-for-11 or Jameer scoring 24 in the first half again.’’
Re-energized by being in the playoffs for the first time in three seasons, Carter couldn’t wait for the regular season to end and the playoffs to begin. He hungered to a part of games that mattered again, dreaming about just this scenario last spring as he watched Orlando host the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Daytona Beach native, who has experienced something of a hero’s homecoming this season, desperately wanted to play well on Sunday in his first playoff game with the Magic. But knowing that he was surrounded by so much firepower and support helped him cope with the disappointment of Game 1.
``I just wanted the ball to go in so bad. I’m just trying to be the guy to help us get over the hump,’’ Carter said. ``I didn’t play well, but at the same time we still got the win. I just feel like if I’ll play better, we’ll play better as a team.’’
Carter, an eight-time all-star and a former Slam Dunk champion, knows that how he performs in these playoffs could go a long way to reshaping his legacy as a winner. He given great thought to how a championship would change his life and joked on Tuesday that he might be ``40 years old and still running around trying to win one.’’
But he has vowed that he’s not going to put pressure on himself in these playoffs. After all, he knows now he has more teammate support around him than at any points in his 12-year NBA career.
``(He and Howard) not playing well shows our depth and our scoring ability. We’re not going to put up the big numbers every night, but it’s about finding other ways to win,’’ Carter said. ``I’ll just play the game and not try to force anything. I play better when I just let the game comes to me. I take the good and the bad in the playoffs and I move on.’’
John Denton writes for Orlandomagic.com. His Magic ``Behind the Scenes’’ segment can be heard each week on ESPN 1080 AM. E-mail John at jd41898@aol.com.
By John Denton
April 21, 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 – In the early-morning hours of Sunday, some 15 hours before the Orlando Magic would tip off their playoff series against the Charlotte Bobcats, it dawned on Vince Carter that he wouldn’t be going at it alone in these playoffs.
While exchanging late night/early morning text messages with teammate Dwight Howard, Carter realized the pressure to perform no longer totally rested upon his shoulders. So often in the past, when he played in Toronto and New Jersey, if Carter faltered in the playoffs, so would his team.
But with the enormous amount of firepower that Orlando possesses, Carter said he could go into games knowing he has plenty of support around him. And he could suffer through a forgettable 12-point, four-of-19 shooting night as he did in Sunday’s Game 1 and still emerge victorious.
The closeness of the Magic, Carter said, has relieved the stress he always felt in the past to carry a franchise. It was always good to be, `The Man,’ but sometimes it’s good to not have to be `The Man,’ every night.
``Matt (Barnes) and I have done it, Jameer (Nelson) and Dwight and I have done it,’’ Carter said of text-messaging with teammates before big games. ``It’s not something you see that often in this league.
It’s rare that a group of guys know that they have each other’s back and we’re always making sure we’re on the same page. You can be watching TV, look down at your phone and see that it’s Dwight and then an hour or two later we’ve got everything out and understood.
``None of the teams that I have ever played on have been like this one,’’ Carter continued. ``It’s a very unique team because we have a lot of guys with a lot of ability and have accomplished the same thing. But we also just want to win, we look out for one another and we want the best for one another. You don’t get that a lot in the NBA. You’ve seen great teams in the NBA that doesn’t get along, but this is an easy bunch to be around. We laugh and joke and our free time is spent together. It’s helped us jell even better on the court.’’
The Magic were able to win 98-89 in Game 1 despite a less than stellar game from Carter, but they would like to see their prized shooting guard turn things around in Wednesday night’s Game 2. Carter said he would gladly take the same shots again that he got on Sunday, but hopes he’ll have better luck this time around.
He missed seven consecutive shots during one stretch of the second half, but made a nifty runner late in the game with the Magic offense wobbling. When he did Carter flipped his palms in the air and muttered, ``About damn time.’’ The Magic are hoping that Carter’s time to shine is tonight.
``We have four main guys that we go to a lot for scoring and rare is it that you have all four going at the same time,’’ Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. ``The focus tends to go toward the one who isn’t playing well, but the bottom line is who won the game. We’ve just got to get the ball to Vince in better spots and have him stay aggressive. I’m not sure we can depend on Rashard (Lewis) going eight-for-11 or Jameer scoring 24 in the first half again.’’
Re-energized by being in the playoffs for the first time in three seasons, Carter couldn’t wait for the regular season to end and the playoffs to begin. He hungered to a part of games that mattered again, dreaming about just this scenario last spring as he watched Orlando host the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Daytona Beach native, who has experienced something of a hero’s homecoming this season, desperately wanted to play well on Sunday in his first playoff game with the Magic. But knowing that he was surrounded by so much firepower and support helped him cope with the disappointment of Game 1.
``I just wanted the ball to go in so bad. I’m just trying to be the guy to help us get over the hump,’’ Carter said. ``I didn’t play well, but at the same time we still got the win. I just feel like if I’ll play better, we’ll play better as a team.’’
Carter, an eight-time all-star and a former Slam Dunk champion, knows that how he performs in these playoffs could go a long way to reshaping his legacy as a winner. He given great thought to how a championship would change his life and joked on Tuesday that he might be ``40 years old and still running around trying to win one.’’
But he has vowed that he’s not going to put pressure on himself in these playoffs. After all, he knows now he has more teammate support around him than at any points in his 12-year NBA career.
``(He and Howard) not playing well shows our depth and our scoring ability. We’re not going to put up the big numbers every night, but it’s about finding other ways to win,’’ Carter said. ``I’ll just play the game and not try to force anything. I play better when I just let the game comes to me. I take the good and the bad in the playoffs and I move on.’’
John Denton writes for Orlandomagic.com. His Magic ``Behind the Scenes’’ segment can be heard each week on ESPN 1080 AM. E-mail John at jd41898@aol.com.
