Denton: Magic-Heat Notes
By John Denton
November 25, 2009
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 – Vince Carter has played for the Orlando Magic for 15 games and there’s one thing that he’s already figured out: He likely won’t be having any holidays at home with his family anytime soon.
And as Carter pointed out, that’s a good thing.
``Ryan (Anderson) asked me if I had ever played a game on Thanksgiving before and I just told him that when you are on a good team you don’t have the holidays off,’’ Carter said with a laugh. ``When you are on a bad team you get all the holidays off that you want. That’s just the way it works.’’
Because of the Magic’s popularity after reaching the NBA Finals last spring they are scheduled to appear on national television on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. The Magic will be Atlanta Thursday night for Thanksgiving and host the Boston Celtics on Christmas Day. It’s the second consecutive year that the Magic will play on both holidays.
To complete the holiday theme, Orlando will also play in Minnesota on New Year’s Day. Magic superstar center Dwight Howard, who will get to spend Thanksgiving with his family today in his native Atlanta, said he actually likes playing on holidays because it means the Magic are getting some national notoriety.
``It’s fun, but the only bad thing is we don’t get to be at home with our families,’’ Howard said. ``Playing on Christmas, Thanksgiving and New Year’s I think it’s good.’’
STACKED DECK: The Magic are none too pleased that Thursday’s showdown in Atlanta comes under less than ideal circumstances for them.
The Magic will be on the back end of a back-to-back, while the Hawks will have rested four days since playing their last game. It’s the second time those circumstances have unfolded this season.
Orlando played in Charlotte on Nov. 10 and then had to play Cleveland the next night. The Cavs came into the game very well rested, having been off for four days.
Magic coach Stan Van Gundy, who is none too pleased about having to play on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day a second year in a row, wondered why the Magic have been in this precarious predicament twice already six weeks into the season. Said Van Gundy: ``There are 1,200 games this year and twice it’s happened to us.’’
And the coach had this to say about playing on the holidays: ``Thanksgiving was always a good day to have your family together and sit down together to dinner, which always meant a lot to me because with my dad coaching and my brother and I playing there were a lot of nights we didn’t eat dinner together,’’ Van Gundy said. ``Thanksgiving was a day we could usually count on having our family together. That’s what Thanksgiving should be, but (NBA schedule-maker) Matt Winnich and David Stern don’t agree. … We’re hoping that one of these years that we’ll get either Thanksgiving or Christmas (off).’’
CLOSE FRIENDS: Howard has plenty of close friends on other NBA teams, particularly Toronto’s Chris Bosh, Utah’s Carlos Boozer and Los Angeles’ Josh Powell. Howard has always been consistent when asked if there was any player on another team that he’d like to play with, he’s always said it would be Miami’s Dwyane Wade.
Wade something very similar on Wednesday morning, telling AOL Fanhouse that it’s Howard and not LeBron James that he thinks most about. Wade said his desire is to once again play with a dominant center after he and Shaquille O’Neal won a NBA championship in 2006.
The two superstar players became close friends in 2008 when they played on Team USA’s Olympic team. They’ve also filmed several T-Mobile commercials together and worked together in the movie ``Just Wright,’’ last summer. The two had an animated hug before Wednesday’s game.
``He’s a real good guy and I enjoy being around him,’’ Howard said. ``He’s laid back and just wants to win and that’s what it’s all about. He’s not cocky or anything. He’s a great person.’’
PULLING FOR THE NETS: Carter and Anderson, who were traded to the Magic from New Jersey in June, said they have been commiserating from afar for the winless Nets.
New Jersey dropped to 0-14 Tuesday night with a loss to Denver. They were set to play in Portland late Wednesday night. They are approaching the NBA record of 17 consecutive losses to start a season, a dubious mark held by the Los Angeles Clippers and the Heat.
``I watched them (Wednesday) night and I always keep up with them. I know they are in a tough, tough situation,’’ Carter said. ``I’ve been a part of a tough stretch in Toronto, not quite as bad as this in New Jersey, and I can somewhat understand what they are going through. You pull for those guys to just get a win.’’
Anderson keeps in contact with Nets center Brook Lopez and he said many of the Nets players are taking the losing streak particularly hard.
``I’m still really close with a couple of the guys and they are great friends of mine. It’s hard to watch,’’ Anderson said. ``I know that they are really talented, but they have so many new guys. When they came (to Orlando on Nov. 13) I talked to a couple of the guys I could tell that it’s a rough time for them. I know they will break out of this funk sometime soon because they have a lot of talent.’’
ETC: Howard was named the NBA Cares Community Assist Award Winner for December and was given a plaque before the game. Howard was honored for his involvement in helping to create a state-of-the-art game room for teenagers at Florida Hospital. As part of his ``Dwight Howard’s Big Change for Kids’’ program, Howard contributed $30,000 to fund the game room that will include video games, board games and educational tools. … Magic COO Alex Martins, community ambassadors Nick Anderson and Bo Outlaw, Stuff and the Magic Dancers will serve Thanksgiving breakfast to homeless men, women and children at the Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida on Thursday morning. The Magic will provide more than 600 meals for the Coalition residents. … Magic starting point guard Jameer Nelson, who underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee to repair torn meniscus on Nov. 18, was back with the team Wednesday night and sitting on the bench. Nelson is expected to miss four to six weeks of action, but could return earlier.
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 DentonNovember 25, 2009
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 – Vince Carter has played for the Orlando Magic for 15 games and there’s one thing that he’s already figured out: He likely won’t be having any holidays at home with his family anytime soon.
And as Carter pointed out, that’s a good thing.
``Ryan (Anderson) asked me if I had ever played a game on Thanksgiving before and I just told him that when you are on a good team you don’t have the holidays off,’’ Carter said with a laugh. ``When you are on a bad team you get all the holidays off that you want. That’s just the way it works.’’
Because of the Magic’s popularity after reaching the NBA Finals last spring they are scheduled to appear on national television on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. The Magic will be Atlanta Thursday night for Thanksgiving and host the Boston Celtics on Christmas Day. It’s the second consecutive year that the Magic will play on both holidays.
To complete the holiday theme, Orlando will also play in Minnesota on New Year’s Day. Magic superstar center Dwight Howard, who will get to spend Thanksgiving with his family today in his native Atlanta, said he actually likes playing on holidays because it means the Magic are getting some national notoriety.
``It’s fun, but the only bad thing is we don’t get to be at home with our families,’’ Howard said. ``Playing on Christmas, Thanksgiving and New Year’s I think it’s good.’’
STACKED DECK: The Magic are none too pleased that Thursday’s showdown in Atlanta comes under less than ideal circumstances for them.
The Magic will be on the back end of a back-to-back, while the Hawks will have rested four days since playing their last game. It’s the second time those circumstances have unfolded this season.
Orlando played in Charlotte on Nov. 10 and then had to play Cleveland the next night. The Cavs came into the game very well rested, having been off for four days.
Magic coach Stan Van Gundy, who is none too pleased about having to play on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day a second year in a row, wondered why the Magic have been in this precarious predicament twice already six weeks into the season. Said Van Gundy: ``There are 1,200 games this year and twice it’s happened to us.’’
And the coach had this to say about playing on the holidays: ``Thanksgiving was always a good day to have your family together and sit down together to dinner, which always meant a lot to me because with my dad coaching and my brother and I playing there were a lot of nights we didn’t eat dinner together,’’ Van Gundy said. ``Thanksgiving was a day we could usually count on having our family together. That’s what Thanksgiving should be, but (NBA schedule-maker) Matt Winnich and David Stern don’t agree. … We’re hoping that one of these years that we’ll get either Thanksgiving or Christmas (off).’’
CLOSE FRIENDS: Howard has plenty of close friends on other NBA teams, particularly Toronto’s Chris Bosh, Utah’s Carlos Boozer and Los Angeles’ Josh Powell. Howard has always been consistent when asked if there was any player on another team that he’d like to play with, he’s always said it would be Miami’s Dwyane Wade.
Wade something very similar on Wednesday morning, telling AOL Fanhouse that it’s Howard and not LeBron James that he thinks most about. Wade said his desire is to once again play with a dominant center after he and Shaquille O’Neal won a NBA championship in 2006.
The two superstar players became close friends in 2008 when they played on Team USA’s Olympic team. They’ve also filmed several T-Mobile commercials together and worked together in the movie ``Just Wright,’’ last summer. The two had an animated hug before Wednesday’s game.
``He’s a real good guy and I enjoy being around him,’’ Howard said. ``He’s laid back and just wants to win and that’s what it’s all about. He’s not cocky or anything. He’s a great person.’’
PULLING FOR THE NETS: Carter and Anderson, who were traded to the Magic from New Jersey in June, said they have been commiserating from afar for the winless Nets.
New Jersey dropped to 0-14 Tuesday night with a loss to Denver. They were set to play in Portland late Wednesday night. They are approaching the NBA record of 17 consecutive losses to start a season, a dubious mark held by the Los Angeles Clippers and the Heat.
``I watched them (Wednesday) night and I always keep up with them. I know they are in a tough, tough situation,’’ Carter said. ``I’ve been a part of a tough stretch in Toronto, not quite as bad as this in New Jersey, and I can somewhat understand what they are going through. You pull for those guys to just get a win.’’
Anderson keeps in contact with Nets center Brook Lopez and he said many of the Nets players are taking the losing streak particularly hard.
``I’m still really close with a couple of the guys and they are great friends of mine. It’s hard to watch,’’ Anderson said. ``I know that they are really talented, but they have so many new guys. When they came (to Orlando on Nov. 13) I talked to a couple of the guys I could tell that it’s a rough time for them. I know they will break out of this funk sometime soon because they have a lot of talent.’’
ETC: Howard was named the NBA Cares Community Assist Award Winner for December and was given a plaque before the game. Howard was honored for his involvement in helping to create a state-of-the-art game room for teenagers at Florida Hospital. As part of his ``Dwight Howard’s Big Change for Kids’’ program, Howard contributed $30,000 to fund the game room that will include video games, board games and educational tools. … Magic COO Alex Martins, community ambassadors Nick Anderson and Bo Outlaw, Stuff and the Magic Dancers will serve Thanksgiving breakfast to homeless men, women and children at the Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida on Thursday morning. The Magic will provide more than 600 meals for the Coalition residents. … Magic starting point guard Jameer Nelson, who underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee to repair torn meniscus on Nov. 18, was back with the team Wednesday night and sitting on the bench. Nelson is expected to miss four to six weeks of action, but could return earlier.
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.
