Denton: Magic-Pacers Notes
By John Denton
January 20, 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 – Orlando Magic star guard Vince Carter entered Wednesday’s game mired in the worst shooting slump of his career, but insisted that he hasn’t lost confidence in his stroke or his style of play.
In the seven games before Wednesday’s game against Indiana, Carter had made just 15 of 67 shots (22.3 percent), five of 27 3-pointers (18.5 percent) while averaging just 7.8 points per game. The poor stretch dropped Carter to a career-worst 38.6 percent overall for the season, but he said he’s unbowed by his uncharacteristically wayward shot.
``I still believe in my shot and my jump shot is going to be fine,’’ Carter said confidently. ``All of that second-guessing of yourself and thinking that maybe I should tweak this or tweak that, it’s overrated in my opinion. I’m not saying that I’m correct, but I know I can shoot the ball and I know my ability and I’m just going to keep playing through this.’’
What Carter is having trouble playing through, he said, is the left shoulder that he partially separated on Jan. 8 against Washington. He sounds almost resigned to the fact that it will be a matter of weeks, and not days, before his shoulder is 100 percent again.
``My shoulder, it’s still there,’’ Carter said. ``A little pain, I’d take that right now.’’
HOWARD HONORED: For the first time in his six-year career, Magic superstar center Dwight Howard climbed into the NBA’s top five for having the most popular jersey. Howard, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year who helped the Magic reach the NBA Finals last spring, jumped from No. 10 overall to No. 3 on the most popular jersey list.
Los Angeles guard Kobe Bryant and Cleveland’s LeBron James are the only two players ranked ahead of Howard. Chicago rookie Derrick Rose and Miami’s Dwyane Wade rounded out the top five. ``It’s a blessing and an honor and I appreciate every fan and every person who has bought my jersey and has been a fan of mine,’’ Howard said. ``It’s a real honor and I just want to thank everybody. It’s not something I thought would happen, but it’s a real honor. I want to continue to become a better player and a better person.’’
The Magic also climbed to No. 6 for a franchise for jersey sales. The Lakers, Celtics, Cavaliers, Knicks and Bulls fill out the top five in having the most popular jerseys.
ETC: The Magic organization will be honored tonight at NBA City at Universal’s CityWalk by the Coalition for the Homeless for 18 years of contributions to the community. … Orlando’s recent slump has corresponded with Matt Barnes moving into the starting lineup for Mickael Pietrus 12 games ago, but head coach Stan Van Gundy said the two shouldn’t be linked in any way. In Barnes’ 11 starts before Wednesday, he had averaged 13.9 points while shooting 55.9 percent from the floor (57 of 102) and 50 percent from 3-point range (16 of 32). Said Van Gundy: ``Matt’s played great, but the team has not. I just have a hard time equating (the struggles) to Matt’s performance because he’s been really good. He’s shooting 57 percent the last nine games and he’s been our second-leading rebounder. He’s really helping us out, but we’re just not getting enough from other guys.’’ … Van Gundy said he considered using Marcin Gortat alongside of Howard on Monday night to combat the Los Angeles Lakers big men of Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, but he decided against it when Bynum got in early foul trouble. Lamar Odom, L.A.’s top big man reserve, hurt the Magic with 14 rebounds.
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.
By John DentonJanuary 20, 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 – Orlando Magic star guard Vince Carter entered Wednesday’s game mired in the worst shooting slump of his career, but insisted that he hasn’t lost confidence in his stroke or his style of play.
In the seven games before Wednesday’s game against Indiana, Carter had made just 15 of 67 shots (22.3 percent), five of 27 3-pointers (18.5 percent) while averaging just 7.8 points per game. The poor stretch dropped Carter to a career-worst 38.6 percent overall for the season, but he said he’s unbowed by his uncharacteristically wayward shot.
``I still believe in my shot and my jump shot is going to be fine,’’ Carter said confidently. ``All of that second-guessing of yourself and thinking that maybe I should tweak this or tweak that, it’s overrated in my opinion. I’m not saying that I’m correct, but I know I can shoot the ball and I know my ability and I’m just going to keep playing through this.’’
What Carter is having trouble playing through, he said, is the left shoulder that he partially separated on Jan. 8 against Washington. He sounds almost resigned to the fact that it will be a matter of weeks, and not days, before his shoulder is 100 percent again.
``My shoulder, it’s still there,’’ Carter said. ``A little pain, I’d take that right now.’’
HOWARD HONORED: For the first time in his six-year career, Magic superstar center Dwight Howard climbed into the NBA’s top five for having the most popular jersey. Howard, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year who helped the Magic reach the NBA Finals last spring, jumped from No. 10 overall to No. 3 on the most popular jersey list.
Los Angeles guard Kobe Bryant and Cleveland’s LeBron James are the only two players ranked ahead of Howard. Chicago rookie Derrick Rose and Miami’s Dwyane Wade rounded out the top five. ``It’s a blessing and an honor and I appreciate every fan and every person who has bought my jersey and has been a fan of mine,’’ Howard said. ``It’s a real honor and I just want to thank everybody. It’s not something I thought would happen, but it’s a real honor. I want to continue to become a better player and a better person.’’
The Magic also climbed to No. 6 for a franchise for jersey sales. The Lakers, Celtics, Cavaliers, Knicks and Bulls fill out the top five in having the most popular jerseys.
ETC: The Magic organization will be honored tonight at NBA City at Universal’s CityWalk by the Coalition for the Homeless for 18 years of contributions to the community. … Orlando’s recent slump has corresponded with Matt Barnes moving into the starting lineup for Mickael Pietrus 12 games ago, but head coach Stan Van Gundy said the two shouldn’t be linked in any way. In Barnes’ 11 starts before Wednesday, he had averaged 13.9 points while shooting 55.9 percent from the floor (57 of 102) and 50 percent from 3-point range (16 of 32). Said Van Gundy: ``Matt’s played great, but the team has not. I just have a hard time equating (the struggles) to Matt’s performance because he’s been really good. He’s shooting 57 percent the last nine games and he’s been our second-leading rebounder. He’s really helping us out, but we’re just not getting enough from other guys.’’ … Van Gundy said he considered using Marcin Gortat alongside of Howard on Monday night to combat the Los Angeles Lakers big men of Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, but he decided against it when Bynum got in early foul trouble. Lamar Odom, L.A.’s top big man reserve, hurt the Magic with 14 rebounds.
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.
