Denton’s Notebook – Wednesday, March 3
By John Denton
March 3, 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 – The Orlando Magic entered Wednesday night’s game six games back of East-leading Cleveland and two games ahead of the third-positioned Atlanta Hawks, and the Magic are focused on finishing the regular season strong in order to get as high a seed as possible.
Orlando won the East from the No. 3 seed last season, but had to beat Boston and Cleveland without the benefit of homecourt advantage. The Magic won a franchise record 27 road games last season, but is just four games over .500 (18-14) on the road this season. Because the Magic aren’t nearly as good on the road the mission of locking down a top-two seed in the East is even more important, Magic guard J.J. Redick said.
``Just look at our records. The last two years we were really, really good road teams, but we’re not as good away from home this year. That’s a fact,’’ Redick said. ``We’re just better at home. So seeding is really important. Against teams like Boston, Atlanta and Cleveland having any advantage that we can get is going to be key.’’
The Magic are 3-0 this season against Atlanta, 3-1 against Boston and 1-2 versus Cleveland. They are 4-2 at Amway Arena against those teams and 3-1 on the road, losing only to the Cavs just before the all-star break.
DWIGHT’S DROUGHT: Dwight Howard has one of the most dominant months of his NBA career in February, racking up a franchise-record string of 20 consecutive double-doubles and putting up monster scoring and rebounding games.
But Howard’s play trailed off somewhat of late. He had a double-single on Sunday against Miami, scoring just seven points and grabbing only five rebounds. And on Monday in Philadelphia, he scored 14 points, but snagged a season-low three rebounds in part because the Magic shot 58 percent from the field and rested their starters much of the fourth quarter.
Howard said he’s also had to undergo somewhat of an adjustment of late because teams are sending more and more defenders at him. His dominant month of February made teams adjust where guards are swiping at him and more forwards are trapping him.
``Early in the season, they would double team me. But now when I get the ball in the paint it seems like the whole team is there,’’ Howard said. ``I just have to trust my teammates, especially in the first half of games. Just kick it out and let them knock down open shots. That way, later in games they’ll be hesitant to double team me as hard.’’
ETC: The Magic teamed with Harris Corp. to honor military men, women and their families with the ``Seats for Soldiers’’ program. The Magic and Harris donated tickets to soldiers from MacDill Air Force Base, Patrick Air Force Base, Jacksonville Naval Air Station and Orlando-area military affiliates. The program included a pregame receptions for 30 soldiers from Charlie Battery 1-265the ADA who have been chosen to deploy to Afghanistan for a special mission. … Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said at this point in the season that Golden State point guard Stephen Curry would get his vote for the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award. Sacramento’s Tyreke Evans, who is averaging 20.5 points per game, is the overwhelming favorite to win the award. But Van Gundy said that Curry, who is third among rookies in scoring (15.7 ppg.), first in steals (1.83) and third in assists (5.3), is the more complete player. Said Van Gundy: ``Overall, he’s such a good player. He shoots it, passes and handles the ball so well. I told my brother (ABC analyst Jeff Van Gundy) that the game looks so easy to (Curry) and he never seems stressed. He kind of reminds me of Steve Nash even though he’s not as quick and a little more offensive minded.’’ … Van Gundy said he was delighted that the Magic scored a season-high 126 points on Monday in Philadelphia, but he added that the game ``had all the intensity of a pick-up game.’’ He was highly disappointed in the Magic’s defensive effort, especially in the first half. … When asked about Howard’s mild struggles in the past two games, Magic guard Mickael Pietrus got off a funny line. Said Pietrus: ``Ask (Howard) because his English is a lot better than mine. I could tell you in French, but I don’t think you’d be able to understand that.’’
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 DentonMarch 3, 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 – The Orlando Magic entered Wednesday night’s game six games back of East-leading Cleveland and two games ahead of the third-positioned Atlanta Hawks, and the Magic are focused on finishing the regular season strong in order to get as high a seed as possible.
Orlando won the East from the No. 3 seed last season, but had to beat Boston and Cleveland without the benefit of homecourt advantage. The Magic won a franchise record 27 road games last season, but is just four games over .500 (18-14) on the road this season. Because the Magic aren’t nearly as good on the road the mission of locking down a top-two seed in the East is even more important, Magic guard J.J. Redick said.
``Just look at our records. The last two years we were really, really good road teams, but we’re not as good away from home this year. That’s a fact,’’ Redick said. ``We’re just better at home. So seeding is really important. Against teams like Boston, Atlanta and Cleveland having any advantage that we can get is going to be key.’’
The Magic are 3-0 this season against Atlanta, 3-1 against Boston and 1-2 versus Cleveland. They are 4-2 at Amway Arena against those teams and 3-1 on the road, losing only to the Cavs just before the all-star break.
DWIGHT’S DROUGHT: Dwight Howard has one of the most dominant months of his NBA career in February, racking up a franchise-record string of 20 consecutive double-doubles and putting up monster scoring and rebounding games.
But Howard’s play trailed off somewhat of late. He had a double-single on Sunday against Miami, scoring just seven points and grabbing only five rebounds. And on Monday in Philadelphia, he scored 14 points, but snagged a season-low three rebounds in part because the Magic shot 58 percent from the field and rested their starters much of the fourth quarter.
Howard said he’s also had to undergo somewhat of an adjustment of late because teams are sending more and more defenders at him. His dominant month of February made teams adjust where guards are swiping at him and more forwards are trapping him.
``Early in the season, they would double team me. But now when I get the ball in the paint it seems like the whole team is there,’’ Howard said. ``I just have to trust my teammates, especially in the first half of games. Just kick it out and let them knock down open shots. That way, later in games they’ll be hesitant to double team me as hard.’’
ETC: The Magic teamed with Harris Corp. to honor military men, women and their families with the ``Seats for Soldiers’’ program. The Magic and Harris donated tickets to soldiers from MacDill Air Force Base, Patrick Air Force Base, Jacksonville Naval Air Station and Orlando-area military affiliates. The program included a pregame receptions for 30 soldiers from Charlie Battery 1-265the ADA who have been chosen to deploy to Afghanistan for a special mission. … Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said at this point in the season that Golden State point guard Stephen Curry would get his vote for the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award. Sacramento’s Tyreke Evans, who is averaging 20.5 points per game, is the overwhelming favorite to win the award. But Van Gundy said that Curry, who is third among rookies in scoring (15.7 ppg.), first in steals (1.83) and third in assists (5.3), is the more complete player. Said Van Gundy: ``Overall, he’s such a good player. He shoots it, passes and handles the ball so well. I told my brother (ABC analyst Jeff Van Gundy) that the game looks so easy to (Curry) and he never seems stressed. He kind of reminds me of Steve Nash even though he’s not as quick and a little more offensive minded.’’ … Van Gundy said he was delighted that the Magic scored a season-high 126 points on Monday in Philadelphia, but he added that the game ``had all the intensity of a pick-up game.’’ He was highly disappointed in the Magic’s defensive effort, especially in the first half. … When asked about Howard’s mild struggles in the past two games, Magic guard Mickael Pietrus got off a funny line. Said Pietrus: ``Ask (Howard) because his English is a lot better than mine. I could tell you in French, but I don’t think you’d be able to understand that.’’
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.
