November 2004 Archives

The final score, 117-101, and box score do not really tell the whole story here. The Magic played a horrible game. There was no effort at all in the first half - but I did like what I saw in the the second. They attempted a comeback, but the deficit was just too much on this night. When you look at the stats, the Magic did a lot of things well. Rebounding especially was good. Dwight Howard posted another double-double tonight. Six Magic players scored in double figures. But, Steve Francis and Grant Hill failed to reach their averages. The Magic are missing the 3rd scorer, who is still sitting out with a strained groin. Take your time, make sure its good - because we will need you.

When you get down 17 points in the first half, it's hard to dig yourself out. One bright note, Mario Kasun came in and played some decent ball.

Box Score

The Orlando Magic compete against their old coach tonight at 7pm. The Boston Celtics come into town along with their new coach, Doc Rivers. They will be playing in the second game of a back-to-back, so we should be able to pick this one up. Celtics have also lost their last 4 games. Hopefully Cuttino Mobley will be back on the court tonight.

Game started off a little slow, but this was still an exciting game. I was a little tired from being in Atlanta the night before, but I woke up for the fourth. The crowd was going crazy in the fourth as Grant Hill was keeping us in the game. Steve Francis got going towards the end - he is just amazing to watch. He wants that shot at the end and he plays hard on every play. Francis was in foul trouble in the third, and Jameer Nelson played a solid game while he was on the bench. I almost felt like Johnny Davis was resting Francis up for the final quarter. Jameer flat out wore Iverson down.

Dwight Howard had a double-double tonight, with 12 points and 10 rebounds. I'm not sure if it is by design or not, but the past two games - it has looked as if the Magic were going to Howard more early in the games on the offensive end. Maybe they are trying to get him some looks early before the game gets too involved. Help build up his confidence and skillset a little?

Grant Hill added 29 points and Steve Francis finished with 26 points.

One last note, it sure is nice leaving the O-Rena (yes, it will always be that to me) and having fans acting silly outside. The first game of the season, people were still cheering outside. This game, fans were playing around and enjoying the win.

Box Score

Steve Francis gets his rematch as the Orlando Magic face Allen Iverson and the Philadelphia 76ers tonight at 7pm. The last meeting between these two teams was a fluke. I expect the Magic to take care of business tonight and look for Francis to have a big game.

Magic win an exciting game over the Lakers despite Kobe Bryant's 41 points. The final score was 122-113. Steve Francis and Grant Hill went off tonight. The Franchis scored 32 points, dished out 9 assists and grabbed 8 rebounds. Hill added 27 points and 12 rebounds. Rookie Dwight Howard pulled in 15 huge rebounds as the Magic outrebounded the Lakers 50-32. The Magic bench was absolutely huge tonight, scoring 54 points compared to 13 for the Lakers. Hedo Turkoglu and Pat Garrity had 23 and 21 points respectively.

Box Score

Magic play the Los Angeles Lakers tonight at 7pm. The Magic are starting to look pretty good. Look for this to be an exciting game, as Kobe Bryant playing 1 on 5 would be just as entertaining. Dwight Howard is showing a great ability to rebound and defend. Both Grant Hill and Steve Francis are looking good as well.

Magic lose a tough game, 106-96 to the Washington Wizards. I thought the Magic played fairly well in the first half, despite the fact we were missing Kelvin Cato and Cuttino Mobley to injuries and Dwight Howard and Tony Battie were in early foul trouble. At the start of the third, Washington went up by 13-14 points, but the Magic rattled off 19 unanswered points to make a game out of it. In the end, we didn't have enough interior defense or rebounding to steal this game. Howard had another 10+ rebound night. Steve Francis and Grant Hill played very well, scoring 20+ each. Turnovers were a big factor, 20 total for the team. In order to win these kind of games, we have to get out turnovers down to 10 or so. Wizards did a good job in the second half. They stepped up on defense (what little there was) and kept shooting the ball. Wizards also shot 13 more free throws than the Magic - definitely a difference in the game.

Box Score

Magic play the Wizards tonight at 7pm. The game is on Sunshine. A reminder for those not in Central Florida. You can still see the Magic on the DISH network if it is blacked out. There are 2 channels for Sunshine programming. Magic will be playing the second game of a back-to-back. Hopefully they will come out with a little more energy than they did against the Bobcats. Washington is 2-2, but they are a dangerous team. They still have a few injured players that will not be playing tonight.

Questionable for the Magic tonight are Cuttino Mobley and Kelvin Cato. Both players sustained injuries during last nights game against the Mavericks. Mobley went out in the first half with a strainged groin and tried to come back in the second half but didn't stay in the game long. Kelvin Cato appeared to of twisted his ankle late in the second half.

Magic win tonight, 94-74 over the Dallas Mavericks. I thought the Magic played an excellent game tonight. The defense was good, especially against the big-name players. Dwight Howard had another impressive showing tonight with 15 points and 11 rebounds. More telling about how good this kid is, he held Dirk Nowitzki to just 20 points. D-How did a good job defending Dirk on the perimeter. The majority of Dirk's points came when Howard was on the bench from foul trouble.

Steve Francis nearly missed a triple-double. The Franchise racked up 16 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists. The last assist attempt was a missed alley-oop to Howard in the closing minutes.

Grant Hill looked really good tonight. Hill kept the team calm as the Mavericks started to make a small run in the fourth. Minus the turnovers, Hill stats show good numbers on the night, 17 points and 9 rebounds. Hedo Turkoglu had a solid performance off the bench with 19 points.

The good and the bad. Magic held the Mavs to 29% shooting, while shooting 41%. Magic pulled down 56 rebounds. Did we ever get 56 rebounds in a game last year? Four players in double figures in points, 2 players in double digit rebounds. Yes, that's right - two, count em, two players had double-doubles tonight. 23 assists for the Magic, compared to 10 for the Mavs. 12 steals and 7 blocked shots. Ah yes, interior defense and we're sharing the rock. The only negative things, 20 turnovers and 7% 3-point shooting. We have good three point shooters on this team, we need to get them going. At any point in the third or fourth, the Magic could have blown the game up with 1 or 2 threes. The crowd was into everyone that was launched. I am not too worried, I know Garrity will get his rhythm back soon and his shot will be automatic.

One last note, Jameer Nelson played a solid game and knocked down a couple timely shots.

Box Score

Magic face the Dallas Mavericks tonight at 7pm. Look for the Magic to rebound from their loss on Saturday night. Dallas is known for their up-tempo style of play and lack of interior, or any, defense. Game is televised on Sunshine.

The Magic looked really tired tonight. Dwight Howard was very slow up and down the court. Howard was also in foul trouble most of the night. The few times that he and Emeka Okafor were matched up, I thought that Howard played better defense. Okafor seemed to be more active on the floor tonight. Magic lose this game big, but I expect better effort in future games against the Bobcats.

Box Score 

Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic face Emeka Okafor and the Charlotte Bobcats tonight for the first time this season. In what will be the battle for rookie of the year, Howard and Okafor will have plenty of playing time against one another. I watched Okafor the other night, and he is no doubt, a good player. But I like D-How in this matchup. I might be a bit biased, hard to tell. But, Howard is just unbelievable at times. When he jumps, or extends his arms - I am amazed at how big he his.

With the last two wins being close calls, and Charlotte being an expansion team - I call the Magic by 8. This should be a fairly exciting game to watch. With our defense not quite where it needs to be and the fact we are playing an expansion team - I expect this to be a fast paced, high scoring game.

Another great win by the Magic. Steve Francis rebounded a Pat Garrity 3-point attempt and made a short layup to put the Magic up 90-89. With less than 3 seconds left, the Hornets had one more chance to steal the game, but Stacey Augmon blocked the last shot.

The Magic looked tired. I don't think they played with as much energy, but that can be expected after the big opening night. Dwight Howard appeared to be sluggish at times, but that could be me expecting too much. Howard still played a great game and grabbed 10 rebounds for the second consecutive night.

The Magic had a small lead in the third, which if you remember from last year - the third quarter is when they would come out flat and get behind. Even though they have lost leads going into the fourth quarter, I like the fact that one, they have the lead and two, they don't get down about losing the lead. They pickup the intensity and play hard until the final whistle. That's why the Franchise has hit two game winning shots. Just playing hard until the end.

Grant Hill looked a bit off tonight, but he still managed to hit a few timely baskets. Cuttino Mobley was trying to get involved in the game, but you can tell he was forcing some shots. I think towards the end, Mobley was holding the team together offensively. We all know this guy can score, I can't wait until he gets comfortable in the offense. Hedo Turkoglu had a great game off the bench, scoring 21 points. We will need nights like that from the Turk.

I am looking for this team to really start showing some offensive power in the next 5 games. It is there. They have about 5 guys that can light up the scoreboard at anytime. Our defense needs to tighten up a bit and players rotate better. Offensively, we need to run the ball more than we have - but I am satisfied with the way things are coming together.

Box Score

The Magic face Darrell Armstrong and the Hornets tonight starting at 8pm. I believe the game is on UPN for the local viewers. This should be a tough game on the road for the Magic. While the Hornets are far from the best team in the West, they usually give the Magic a difficult time. While many think the Magic will lose this game cause they just aren't ready yet, I will take the effort they give. I say Magic by 4.

"Just because we're two up-and-coming superstars in the league doesn't mean we're going to win every game," McGrady said. "There are a lot of new faces on this club. We're still trying to feel each other out."

McGrady has the potential to be one of the greatest players in the game. But he lacks drive. I don't like Kobe Bryant anymore than the next guy, but at least the guy is determined to win. Don't get me wrong, I'm not bashing McGrady because he doesn't play for Orlando anymore - I just expected to see something different out of this kid.

New team, new players and we hear the same thing from McGrady. I'll take my chances with the team we have now. Yes, McGrady was exciting to watch while he was here - but our team now is more exciting than it has been in 4 years.

I believe. I believe. What a great game to start the season off with. The entire team played great tonight. Dwight Howard had a monsterous jam on a breakaway. This kid can flat out jump. Steve Francis had a couple dunks tonight as well, but one in particular sticks out. Somewhere in the third, he flat out jumped over the defensive player and dunked the ball.

With the Bucks up 90-89, Grant Hill hit a short jumper to put the Magic up by one. Bucks came down, and Michael Redd hit a lucky bank shot to put the Bucks up by 1 with about 3 seconds to go. Franchise takes over. 3... 2... Franchise across the top of the key. Pat Garrity sets the pick. Franchise down the lane, layup... GOOD. .2 seconds left. The entire building was going off. No one was leaving the building as the refs reviewed the play. Play stands, Magic win a thriller.

D-How, 12 points, 10 rebounds and uhm, like 4 or 5 blocks. This kid is the real deal.

I believe.

Box Score

The Magic start their season tonight against the Milwaukee Bucks. Steve Francis, Cutino Mobley, Grant Hill, Dwight Howard and Kelvin Cato will be in the starting lineup. We should see the normal game rotation from Johnny Davis tonight. Also, Zaza Pachulia will be returning to Orlando for the first time this season.