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Denton: Game 4 Action & Reaction
By John Denton
April 27, 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.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Orlandomagic.com writer John Denton breaks down the actions and reactions from the Magic’s 4-0 sweep of the Charlotte Bobcats in the first round of the playoffs.
The Magic won 99-90 in Game 4 on Monday night at Time Warner Cable Arena. Orlando will face the winner of the Atlanta-Milwaukee series, which is tied at 2-all. The series won’t begin at Amway Arena until Sunday at the earliest and possibly as late as Tuesday.
Second-seeded Orlando was 3-1 this season against the Hawks and 3-0 against the Bucks. The Magic’s biggest come-from-behind win of the season came in Milwaukee when they dug their way out of an 18-point hole.
Here’s a look back at the Magic’s four-game romp past the Bobcats:
ACTION: The Magic pulled off the first four-game sweep in franchise history by defending well, getting production throughout the roster and playing well late in games.
REACTION: This Orlando team is a wacky bunch what with their cheesy ``Magic Show’’ pregame routine and their locker room shenanigans, but when the ball goes in the air the Magic are a focus and determined basketball team.
They are 37-8 since the all-star break, won 20 of 23 down the stretch to surge past the Lakers for the No. 2 seed and smothered the life out of the Bobcats.
J.J. Redick said on Monday that this team is the most close-knit one he’s ever played on in four seasons and Mickael Pietrus added he’s never felt better about a group of guys who have his back whether he plays poorly (as he did in Game 3) or great (as he did in Game 4 with two mother 3-pointers and four free throws).
The family atmosphere among the Magic might explain their disdain for Jeff Van Gundy’s pick of Charlotte to win the first-round series in six games. Many in the locker room late Monday night wondered how Van Gundy could go against his brother, Magic coach Stan Van Gundy.
But that ``Us Against the World’’ theme drives the Magic. They are irked that many analysts already have the Cleveland Cavaliers penciled into The NBA Finals even though it was the Magic who smacked around the 66-win Cavs last spring. That knockdown, drag-out series will come in time, but first the Magic must take care of business against Atlanta (likely) or Milwaukee (unlikely).
ACTION: Dwight Howard endured the most frustrating stretch of games of his six-year NBA career and Vince Carter was a up and down as one of his gravity-defying drives to the rim … and still the Magic rolled.
REACTION: Many have believed all season that the Magic are the deepest team in the NBA, and this first-round series affirmed that idea.
Van Gundy wondered aloud where the Magic would have been without back-up center Marcin Gortat, who was the hero of Game 3 with two clutch free throws with 12 seconds remaining. Much of the credit for this one goes to Rich DeVos, Bob Vander Weide and Otis Smith. Mr. Devos and Vander Weide opened up the checkbook and wisely agreed to pay their backup center $35 million last summer. The move caused the Magic to pay the dollar-for-dollar luxury tax for the first time, but it gave them a top-flight backup behind the foul-prone Howard.
Smith had the smarts to know what he had in Gortat and wasn’t about to lose him to Dallas without getting anything in return. And he could have moved Gortat at the trade deadline, but wisely held onto the 7-foot shot blocker who probably could start at center for 20 NBA teams.
J.J. Redick played through the boos in Charlotte and thrived, while Pietrus once again proved to be a clutch performer in the playoffs. His fearlessness and confident shooting stroke from 3-point range makes the Magic’s bench lethal.
ACTION: And what about Howard’s woes and Carter’s inconsistency?
REACTION: Howard put on a happy face in the postgame news conference, focusing his words on the Magic’s victory in the series and the franchise’s growth. But make no mistake about it: Howard was as hot after the game as he’s been in years and is likely still steaming about his treatment by the officials.
He was on the floor just 23 minutes in Game 4, his lowest minute total in an otherwise frustrating four-game stretch. He played just an average of 26 minutes because of 22 fouls in the four games. Still, he finished with 20 blocks – just three shy of the all-time playoff record in a four-game series.
One of Howard’s complaints is that he should be given a certain leeway or benefit of the doubt for a four-time all-star and a two-time Defensive Player of the Year. Howard said he just becomes even more irked when he flips on the TV and sees that LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant are seemingly never in foul trouble.
But clearly Howard has to make some changes in his approach. He gets whacked more than any player in the league in the course of games, but he must control his temper better. He has to cease the elbowing and as he put it, ``use just 40 percent of my strength instead of all 100 percent.’’
As for Carter, he was great in Games 2 and 4 and kind of disengaged and blasé in Game 1 and 3. In his defense, Carter was hounded relentlessly throughout the series by ace defender Stephen Jackson and most of the times when he came off screens a second defender was waiting to trap him.
Carter, who has played on a host of bad teams in his 12 NBA seasons, was determined to be a big factor in the Magic closing out a series on Monday. He was locked in from the start, attacking the basket for tough shots in the lane. And he got to the free throw line nine times and angrily went back at Tyson Chandler following his nasty flagrant foul in the third period.
But going forward the Magic need that sort of effort and determination from Carter every game. He knows it, and talked after the game about his joy of finally playing in games that matter again.
Also, the Magic need Carter to break out of a 3-point shooting skid. He missed his first 15 tries of the series and finished one of 17 in the series.
ACTION: Jameer Nelson averaged a team-high 23.8 points in the series, while shooting 48.4 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from the 3-point line.
REACTION: Hornets guard Chris Paul, a North Carolina native, attended the two games in Charlotte, and he wasn’t even the best point guard in the building considering the way Nelson torched the Bobcats. (And with Muggsy Bogues around too, Nelson wasn’t the shortest point guard either.)
Nelson destroyed Raymond Felton and D.J. Augustin for two 32-point efforts and an 18-point night in the closer. It was reminiscent of two seasons ago in the playoffs when many felt Nelson would struggle against Toronto’s Jose Calderon and T.J. Ford. But Nelson dominated that series as well.
Maybe it’s time for Nelson to be included among the game’s best pure point guards. No, he’ll never win any assist titles because of his shoot-first mentality, but his ability to break down defenses off the dribble is unquestioned. In this series, he more closely resembled the All-Star from the first half of last season instead of the one who hobbled through The Finals after having shoulder surgery.
Forget the scoring for just a second. Nelson’s most impressive statistic against the Bobcats: He turned the ball over just five times in 145 minutes. He keeps up that kind of heady, efficient play and the Magic might very well be headed back to The NBA Finals.
ACTION: The Magic won’t play again until Sunday at the earliest and possibly as late as Tuesday if the Hawks and Bucks need seven games to decide their series.
REACTION: Van Gundy promised the Magic players two consecutive days off if they won on Monday and the motivation of that can’t be discounted. It is extremely rare for NBA players to get consecutive days off, so that was a carrot that the Magic chased hard.
Many of the players laughed off the notion that a long layoff could knock the team out of rhythm and bring on rust. The time off will help the players heal several bumps and bruises from a physical Charlotte series – Rashard Lewis’ knees are sore, Redick has a slightly sprained wrist and Carter’s hip is sore.
And the Magic aren’t likely to go long without getting their work in. Howard planned on lifting weights and shooting free throws on the second off day, and some of the players are already dreading a marathon practice to come on Thursday. With Van Gundy as coach, the Magic will assuredly get their work in and be very prepared for Game 1 – whenever it is against whoever it is.
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 27, 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.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Orlandomagic.com writer John Denton breaks down the actions and reactions from the Magic’s 4-0 sweep of the Charlotte Bobcats in the first round of the playoffs.
The Magic won 99-90 in Game 4 on Monday night at Time Warner Cable Arena. Orlando will face the winner of the Atlanta-Milwaukee series, which is tied at 2-all. The series won’t begin at Amway Arena until Sunday at the earliest and possibly as late as Tuesday.
Second-seeded Orlando was 3-1 this season against the Hawks and 3-0 against the Bucks. The Magic’s biggest come-from-behind win of the season came in Milwaukee when they dug their way out of an 18-point hole.
Here’s a look back at the Magic’s four-game romp past the Bobcats:
ACTION: The Magic pulled off the first four-game sweep in franchise history by defending well, getting production throughout the roster and playing well late in games.
REACTION: This Orlando team is a wacky bunch what with their cheesy ``Magic Show’’ pregame routine and their locker room shenanigans, but when the ball goes in the air the Magic are a focus and determined basketball team.
They are 37-8 since the all-star break, won 20 of 23 down the stretch to surge past the Lakers for the No. 2 seed and smothered the life out of the Bobcats.
J.J. Redick said on Monday that this team is the most close-knit one he’s ever played on in four seasons and Mickael Pietrus added he’s never felt better about a group of guys who have his back whether he plays poorly (as he did in Game 3) or great (as he did in Game 4 with two mother 3-pointers and four free throws).
The family atmosphere among the Magic might explain their disdain for Jeff Van Gundy’s pick of Charlotte to win the first-round series in six games. Many in the locker room late Monday night wondered how Van Gundy could go against his brother, Magic coach Stan Van Gundy.
But that ``Us Against the World’’ theme drives the Magic. They are irked that many analysts already have the Cleveland Cavaliers penciled into The NBA Finals even though it was the Magic who smacked around the 66-win Cavs last spring. That knockdown, drag-out series will come in time, but first the Magic must take care of business against Atlanta (likely) or Milwaukee (unlikely).
ACTION: Dwight Howard endured the most frustrating stretch of games of his six-year NBA career and Vince Carter was a up and down as one of his gravity-defying drives to the rim … and still the Magic rolled.
REACTION: Many have believed all season that the Magic are the deepest team in the NBA, and this first-round series affirmed that idea.
Van Gundy wondered aloud where the Magic would have been without back-up center Marcin Gortat, who was the hero of Game 3 with two clutch free throws with 12 seconds remaining. Much of the credit for this one goes to Rich DeVos, Bob Vander Weide and Otis Smith. Mr. Devos and Vander Weide opened up the checkbook and wisely agreed to pay their backup center $35 million last summer. The move caused the Magic to pay the dollar-for-dollar luxury tax for the first time, but it gave them a top-flight backup behind the foul-prone Howard.
Smith had the smarts to know what he had in Gortat and wasn’t about to lose him to Dallas without getting anything in return. And he could have moved Gortat at the trade deadline, but wisely held onto the 7-foot shot blocker who probably could start at center for 20 NBA teams.
J.J. Redick played through the boos in Charlotte and thrived, while Pietrus once again proved to be a clutch performer in the playoffs. His fearlessness and confident shooting stroke from 3-point range makes the Magic’s bench lethal.
ACTION: And what about Howard’s woes and Carter’s inconsistency?
REACTION: Howard put on a happy face in the postgame news conference, focusing his words on the Magic’s victory in the series and the franchise’s growth. But make no mistake about it: Howard was as hot after the game as he’s been in years and is likely still steaming about his treatment by the officials.
He was on the floor just 23 minutes in Game 4, his lowest minute total in an otherwise frustrating four-game stretch. He played just an average of 26 minutes because of 22 fouls in the four games. Still, he finished with 20 blocks – just three shy of the all-time playoff record in a four-game series.
One of Howard’s complaints is that he should be given a certain leeway or benefit of the doubt for a four-time all-star and a two-time Defensive Player of the Year. Howard said he just becomes even more irked when he flips on the TV and sees that LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant are seemingly never in foul trouble.
But clearly Howard has to make some changes in his approach. He gets whacked more than any player in the league in the course of games, but he must control his temper better. He has to cease the elbowing and as he put it, ``use just 40 percent of my strength instead of all 100 percent.’’
As for Carter, he was great in Games 2 and 4 and kind of disengaged and blasé in Game 1 and 3. In his defense, Carter was hounded relentlessly throughout the series by ace defender Stephen Jackson and most of the times when he came off screens a second defender was waiting to trap him.
Carter, who has played on a host of bad teams in his 12 NBA seasons, was determined to be a big factor in the Magic closing out a series on Monday. He was locked in from the start, attacking the basket for tough shots in the lane. And he got to the free throw line nine times and angrily went back at Tyson Chandler following his nasty flagrant foul in the third period.
But going forward the Magic need that sort of effort and determination from Carter every game. He knows it, and talked after the game about his joy of finally playing in games that matter again.
Also, the Magic need Carter to break out of a 3-point shooting skid. He missed his first 15 tries of the series and finished one of 17 in the series.
ACTION: Jameer Nelson averaged a team-high 23.8 points in the series, while shooting 48.4 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from the 3-point line.
REACTION: Hornets guard Chris Paul, a North Carolina native, attended the two games in Charlotte, and he wasn’t even the best point guard in the building considering the way Nelson torched the Bobcats. (And with Muggsy Bogues around too, Nelson wasn’t the shortest point guard either.)
Nelson destroyed Raymond Felton and D.J. Augustin for two 32-point efforts and an 18-point night in the closer. It was reminiscent of two seasons ago in the playoffs when many felt Nelson would struggle against Toronto’s Jose Calderon and T.J. Ford. But Nelson dominated that series as well.
Maybe it’s time for Nelson to be included among the game’s best pure point guards. No, he’ll never win any assist titles because of his shoot-first mentality, but his ability to break down defenses off the dribble is unquestioned. In this series, he more closely resembled the All-Star from the first half of last season instead of the one who hobbled through The Finals after having shoulder surgery.
Forget the scoring for just a second. Nelson’s most impressive statistic against the Bobcats: He turned the ball over just five times in 145 minutes. He keeps up that kind of heady, efficient play and the Magic might very well be headed back to The NBA Finals.
ACTION: The Magic won’t play again until Sunday at the earliest and possibly as late as Tuesday if the Hawks and Bucks need seven games to decide their series.
REACTION: Van Gundy promised the Magic players two consecutive days off if they won on Monday and the motivation of that can’t be discounted. It is extremely rare for NBA players to get consecutive days off, so that was a carrot that the Magic chased hard.
Many of the players laughed off the notion that a long layoff could knock the team out of rhythm and bring on rust. The time off will help the players heal several bumps and bruises from a physical Charlotte series – Rashard Lewis’ knees are sore, Redick has a slightly sprained wrist and Carter’s hip is sore.
And the Magic aren’t likely to go long without getting their work in. Howard planned on lifting weights and shooting free throws on the second off day, and some of the players are already dreading a marathon practice to come on Thursday. With Van Gundy as coach, the Magic will assuredly get their work in and be very prepared for Game 1 – whenever it is against whoever it is.
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.
