Denton: Pietrus Confident Team Will Evolve
By John Denton
January 19, 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 – Leave it up to Mickael Pietrus, he of the sometimes wacky, off-the-wall thoughts and carefree island persona, to put the future of the Orlando Magic in perspective. ``Trust me,’’ Pietrus said after the Magic hit the official halfway point of the season, ``the sun will shine for us again real soon.’’
The slumping Magic are looking for any ray of sunshine they can find now after a disappointing West Coast trip in which they went 1-3 to give them seven losses in the past nine games. But there were plenty of moments in Monday’s 98-92 loss to the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers to give the Magic belief that they are close to getting their season back on track.
Orlando gamely hung in the game in the first half when the Lakers were burying shots from all corners of a rocking Staples Center. And the Magic flexed their muscles just after halftime, using a 20-2 swing to take a seemingly commanding nine-point lead.
But when some familiar problems returned – an inability to get the ball to Dwight Howard, too many sloppy turnovers and defensive breakdowns – the Lakers responded with a 15-0 start to the fourth period that sent the Magic to another loss.
``I thought our guys did a good job of fighting back and staying in the game,’’ Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. ``That’s the most resolve that we have shown in a long time.’’
Van Gundy and his Magic players are loathe to settle for small victories in games where they lose, especially when there’s a championship-or-bust mentality that is pervasive throughout Orlando’s locker room.
This 9-11 stretch after the Magic had bulled through the preseason at 8-0 and bolted to a 17-4 start has been shocking to the system. But to a man, the Magic players still believe that the team has what it takes to do major damage again come April, May and June. Not even a bad 20-game stretch has derailed the thought that Orlando is still a championship-contending team.
``We know that we have enough talent in this room and a good enough coaching staff to turn this thing around and get ourselves back right again,’’ reserve guard J.J. Redick said. ``We are a good basketball team with good players and we’re not going to let one bad stretch deter us from believing that.’’
Added Rashard Lewis: ``Most definitely, I’m confident that we still have a championship-contending team. We’ve just got to keep working on building our chemistry and playing better together.’’
A Magic team that rolled through the first half of the season last year with a sparkling 33-8 record has struggled with the incorporation of five new players this season.
Vince Carter is shooting a career-worst 38.6 percent from the floor and 30 percent from the 3-pont line, has struggled as Orlando’s primary play-maker. Free-agent forward Brandon Bass has failed to crack the regular rotation, but forwards Ryan Anderson and Matt Barnes and Jason Williams have been pleasant surprises.
Again, it’s Pietrus, who perfectly put into perspective the difference between 2008-09 and 2009-10 for the Magic.
``Last year was last year and this year is this year, and that’s why we celebrated New Year’s Day,’’ Pietrus said ever so eloquently. ``We’re a totally different team than we were last year.’’
The most frustrating aspect of the first 41 games for the Magic was the inability to get their four all-stars – Rashard Lewis, Jameer Nelson, Howard and Carter – on the floor together. Lewis missed the first 10 games because of a suspension, Jameer Nelson needed 16 games off following arthroscopic knee surgery, while Carter has twice been out with ankle and shoulder injuries. In all, that foursome has played together in just 12 games and is just 5-7 in those games.
Carter, who has had his early flashes overshadowed by his prolonged shooting slump of late, admitted that the Magic will ultimately only be as good as their four all-stars mesh together. ``Coach (Van Gundy) sat us down the other day and told us that it was on us to get the team going,’’ Carter said. ``Rather than having some long meeting to talk about it, I like that he just brought us together and told us point blank. We know that this team will only go as far as we take it.’’
Van Gundy, who’s as driven as ever to win on a nightly basis, has come to the realization lately that it might simply take this team more time to mesh because of all the newness and injuries in the first 41 games. Whereas Orlando won 33 games in the first half and 26 after the midpoint last season, the Magic might just flip the script this season.
``Last year we were 33-8 at the halfway point, but at the same time we hadn’t had one injury and Courtney Lee was the only new guy we were inserting into what we were doing,’’ Van Gundy remembered. ``Now, it’s five new guys and a lot of injuries. We only won 26 games in the second half last year because we had some injuries. Now, we’ve gone through (the injuries) early and the comparisons to last year, they just don’t matchup.
``Right now it’s hard for us,’’ the coach continued. ``(The injuries) haven’t allowed us to get the momentum like we had last year where we were rolling along. You just hope that you hit it at some point down the line, but I don’t think it’s realistic right now. Of course, I expect us to be great, but it’s probably not realistic with all that we had going on with the roster.’’
Pietrus, one of the heroes of last spring’s run to the NBA Finals, will not be deterred. He is convinced that the Magic will turn around their season and be a factor in the championship chase once again. ``Every time I put on this Magic uniform and every time I step on that floor, I think championship,’’ he said. ``That’s the way all of our guys feel. We can’t stay in this situation that we’ve been in forever. I just think we’ll take that experience that we got in the past and use it to our advantage real soon.’’
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 DentonJanuary 19, 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 – Leave it up to Mickael Pietrus, he of the sometimes wacky, off-the-wall thoughts and carefree island persona, to put the future of the Orlando Magic in perspective. ``Trust me,’’ Pietrus said after the Magic hit the official halfway point of the season, ``the sun will shine for us again real soon.’’
The slumping Magic are looking for any ray of sunshine they can find now after a disappointing West Coast trip in which they went 1-3 to give them seven losses in the past nine games. But there were plenty of moments in Monday’s 98-92 loss to the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers to give the Magic belief that they are close to getting their season back on track.
Orlando gamely hung in the game in the first half when the Lakers were burying shots from all corners of a rocking Staples Center. And the Magic flexed their muscles just after halftime, using a 20-2 swing to take a seemingly commanding nine-point lead.
But when some familiar problems returned – an inability to get the ball to Dwight Howard, too many sloppy turnovers and defensive breakdowns – the Lakers responded with a 15-0 start to the fourth period that sent the Magic to another loss.
``I thought our guys did a good job of fighting back and staying in the game,’’ Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. ``That’s the most resolve that we have shown in a long time.’’
Van Gundy and his Magic players are loathe to settle for small victories in games where they lose, especially when there’s a championship-or-bust mentality that is pervasive throughout Orlando’s locker room.
This 9-11 stretch after the Magic had bulled through the preseason at 8-0 and bolted to a 17-4 start has been shocking to the system. But to a man, the Magic players still believe that the team has what it takes to do major damage again come April, May and June. Not even a bad 20-game stretch has derailed the thought that Orlando is still a championship-contending team.
``We know that we have enough talent in this room and a good enough coaching staff to turn this thing around and get ourselves back right again,’’ reserve guard J.J. Redick said. ``We are a good basketball team with good players and we’re not going to let one bad stretch deter us from believing that.’’
Added Rashard Lewis: ``Most definitely, I’m confident that we still have a championship-contending team. We’ve just got to keep working on building our chemistry and playing better together.’’
A Magic team that rolled through the first half of the season last year with a sparkling 33-8 record has struggled with the incorporation of five new players this season.
Vince Carter is shooting a career-worst 38.6 percent from the floor and 30 percent from the 3-pont line, has struggled as Orlando’s primary play-maker. Free-agent forward Brandon Bass has failed to crack the regular rotation, but forwards Ryan Anderson and Matt Barnes and Jason Williams have been pleasant surprises.
Again, it’s Pietrus, who perfectly put into perspective the difference between 2008-09 and 2009-10 for the Magic.
``Last year was last year and this year is this year, and that’s why we celebrated New Year’s Day,’’ Pietrus said ever so eloquently. ``We’re a totally different team than we were last year.’’
The most frustrating aspect of the first 41 games for the Magic was the inability to get their four all-stars – Rashard Lewis, Jameer Nelson, Howard and Carter – on the floor together. Lewis missed the first 10 games because of a suspension, Jameer Nelson needed 16 games off following arthroscopic knee surgery, while Carter has twice been out with ankle and shoulder injuries. In all, that foursome has played together in just 12 games and is just 5-7 in those games.
Carter, who has had his early flashes overshadowed by his prolonged shooting slump of late, admitted that the Magic will ultimately only be as good as their four all-stars mesh together. ``Coach (Van Gundy) sat us down the other day and told us that it was on us to get the team going,’’ Carter said. ``Rather than having some long meeting to talk about it, I like that he just brought us together and told us point blank. We know that this team will only go as far as we take it.’’
Van Gundy, who’s as driven as ever to win on a nightly basis, has come to the realization lately that it might simply take this team more time to mesh because of all the newness and injuries in the first 41 games. Whereas Orlando won 33 games in the first half and 26 after the midpoint last season, the Magic might just flip the script this season.
``Last year we were 33-8 at the halfway point, but at the same time we hadn’t had one injury and Courtney Lee was the only new guy we were inserting into what we were doing,’’ Van Gundy remembered. ``Now, it’s five new guys and a lot of injuries. We only won 26 games in the second half last year because we had some injuries. Now, we’ve gone through (the injuries) early and the comparisons to last year, they just don’t matchup.
``Right now it’s hard for us,’’ the coach continued. ``(The injuries) haven’t allowed us to get the momentum like we had last year where we were rolling along. You just hope that you hit it at some point down the line, but I don’t think it’s realistic right now. Of course, I expect us to be great, but it’s probably not realistic with all that we had going on with the roster.’’
Pietrus, one of the heroes of last spring’s run to the NBA Finals, will not be deterred. He is convinced that the Magic will turn around their season and be a factor in the championship chase once again. ``Every time I put on this Magic uniform and every time I step on that floor, I think championship,’’ he said. ``That’s the way all of our guys feel. We can’t stay in this situation that we’ve been in forever. I just think we’ll take that experience that we got in the past and use it to our advantage real soon.’’
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.
