NJNJ Posted January 18, 2010 Report Share Posted January 18, 2010 Hey, wow, Orlando's in town . . . sort of. The sequence of events tonight will show a charter bus dropping off a bunch of tall guys at what will eventually be a full house at Staples Center, marking the first time the Lakers and Magic have played since the NBA Finals in June. But there's something strange about this Orlando team, loser of six of its last eight games, including a 102-87 loss Friday against a horribly depleted Portland team that was without Brandon Roy, Greg Oden and a host of other regulars. The Magic of last season has turned into a mystery this season. Three-point ace Rashard Lewis has yet to discover his stroke after missing the season's first 10 games because of a suspension for using performance-enhancing drugs. Dwight Howard's numbers are down across the board, his 16.8 points, 13.1 rebounds and 2.5 blocked shots surprisingly short of the 20.6 points, 13.8 rebounds and 2.9 blocked shots he averaged last season. Newcomer Vince Carter is fighting a minor shoulder separation and a major shooting slump in which he has made only 21% of his attempts the last six games he's played. Orlando (26-14) started off 17-4 but has since slipped to fourth in the Eastern Conference. Is it any wonder that 71% of respondents to an Orlando Sentinel poll said they were "extremely concerned" about the Magic's slump? (Another 24% said "moderately concerned," leaving only 5% in the "not concerned" pile.) CONTINUE READING Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newman Posted January 20, 2010 Report Share Posted January 20, 2010 (edited) The problem is that Magic work by just inside-outside and if the outside doesn't work, they break. We all know that Dwight is a monster in the paint and should attract double-team in most games, but when the shooters outside don't drain their shot then the plan wouldn't work. There is no plan B. They should let Dwight do his thing if the shooters aren't and use Pietrus and Carter's slashing ability as support. In brief, the Magic's problem is not utilizing its players' versatility and hence slowly shaping them up into one-diemensional players. Edited January 20, 2010 by Drizzy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.