December 2004 Archives

Magic play the New York Knicks tonight at 7pm. Coming off a big win against the San Antonio Spurs, the Magic have had a few days off to practice.

Ah yes, huge win for the Magic tonight. The game was close all night long. The Magic were not really running the ball as much as they had. I am not sure if it was intentional or not, but it really felt like they slowed the pace down for this game. At the end of the game though, the Magic turned it on and put the game away.

The Magic face the San Antonio Spurs tonight for the second time this season. Rookie Dwight Howard gets another shot playing against TIm Duncan. The first outing was not a very productive one and he fouled before the Magic could finish the Spurs off. I expect Howard to play better tonight in front of his home crowd. He has something to prove and we know this kid is a great player already. Steve-O has been on a roll lately, look for another big game from him as well.

Magic pretty much run away with this one and win 117-95. No Carmelo Anthony tonight, but Denver looked all out of touch as they are ending their long road trip. Six Magic players finished in double figures tonight, 2 from the bench. Tonight, we get 45 points from our bench. Some of that is from the fourth quarter, as Johnny Davis elected to rest a few players for tomorrow nights game against Miami.

Box Score

Everyone welcome home our Magic team as they face the Denver Nuggets tonight at 7pm. The Magic look to even the score against Denever after letting the first game of their road trip slip away.

The Magic got behind a little early in the game, but a big time push in the 3rd to take a 10 point lead. I though the Magic were going to pull this one off. The starters did a wonderful job keeping the team together and in the game. Our bench really pooched this one. Only 10 points from our bench. With guys like Pat Garrity and Hedo Turkoglu, we should average at least 15 or more from the bench. I was suprised to not see DeShawn Stevenson play again. Stevenson is an athletic player and can provide some good minutes at a variety of positions.

The Orlando Magic face Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs tonight at 9pm. This should be a good matchup for Rookie Dwight Howard. Howard will spend some time matched up against Duncan as Kelvin Cato is still out with a shoulder injury.

Magic lose a game that they very well could have won. The Magic kept the game pretty close all game long and even got close enough where you could feel the momentum coming. I don't know if it was effort or energy - but they just lacked enough in the fourth to allow the Suns to run away with this game. Maybe I am a little too anxious, but I really felt like the Magic were going to win this game. But, I find myself saying that in every game now. Even if a team has only 3 losses, I think our team can beat them.

Magic play the red hot Phoenix Suns tonight at 9pm. Third year pro and high school phenom Amare Stoudemire gives Dwight Howard a good luck at his future. Howard can be as good if not better that Amare. Magic are playing their 5th game of a 6 game road trip and the second game of a back-to-back. We'll see how this team responds to the long road trip and back-to-back game.

Another close one for the Magic. I thought they played a decent game but just didn't have enough intensity in the end. Steve Francis has another huge game with 27 points and 13 assists. Tony Battie added 12 rebounds to the cause. They were in this game until the last few minutes. I would have liked to see a little more production out of our bench. I think we have the guys to provide depth on the bench, but we're having a little problem with consistency. Grant Hill returned to the starting lineup tonight and added 16 points on the night.

Magic face the Lakers for the second time this year. The Magic won earlier in the year, so look for the Lakers to attempt pay back. I honestly don't think the Lakers have a very good team, other than Kobe Bryant. But just having Bryant makes the Lakers a threat every night.

The Magic returned to form tonight and took care of business. They get their second win of this 6 game road trip, 113-109 against the Golden State Warriors. Steve Francis had a huge game tonight, throwing in 36 points and adding 8 rebounds, 8 assists.

The Kelvin Cato (dislocated shoulder) and Grant Hill (sore shin). Grant Hill is listed as day-to-day and the injury is not related to the ankle injury. Pat Garrity is listed as possible after recovering from a sprained foot.

Grit. Guts. Glory. It was an ugly first half. The Magic played poorly in the first, but kept the game close - only down by 2 at halftime. In the second half, the team came out and played hard. This was a very physical team and the Magic pull this game out in the end with their defense. The final score was 106-100, but it came down to the closing minutes. It's hard to say anything about the individuals in this game, because the entire team pulled this one out. Mario Kasun plays big minutes and helped out a lot tonight. His stats may not show it, but he was a huge factor in this win. Kasun finishes with 9 rebounds. Cuttino Mobley went nuts in the second half and ends up with 26 points. Dwight Howard has another double-double night with 17 points and 11 rebounds.

The Magic face an old teammate in Gordan Giricek and DeShawn Stevenson visits his old team, the Utah Jazz, tonight at 9pm. Look for the Magic to bounce back from that ridiculous loss against Denver on Monday. Kelvin Cato will be out, but Tony Battie is back from his one game suspension. Expect a big game from Grant Hill.

Kelvin Cato may miss up to three weeks with the shoulder injury he sustained in last nights game with Denver. This could seriously hurt the Magic's chances of a good road trip.

The Magic never got off the ground in this game. A very poor defensive showing in the first half put them way behind. By halftime, the Magic were down by 22 points. The starting five played decently on the offensive end, but the defensive end was wide open. Every time the Magic made a good play, they turned the ball over. The Magic bench was never a factor in this game. If we are going to win any games on the road, the bench has to put up good numbers. In close games, the depth of the bench can decide who wins the game.

The Orlando Magic start their six game road trip tonight against the Denver Nuggets. Tony Battie has been suspended for this game for the flagrant two foul against Memphis on Saturday night.

Kelvin Cato was absolutely huge in the game as the Magic came out with intensity and put this game away early. Cato had 13 points, 18 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 steals. Grant Hill puts together another solid night with 23 points and 7 assists. Hedo Turkoglu had 16 points off the bench.

Magic face their former rookie of the year, Mike Miller, and the Memphis Grizzlies tonight at 7pm. This will be the second game for new head coach Mike Fratello. I am not sure how the Grizzlies will do - they have been up and down this year, but they have the talent. The Magic are playing the second game of a back-to-back. Last night they played in New York. After a few slow starts, look for the Magic to come out and try to put this one away early.

I missed the first half of this game, but caught the start of the third quarter. It wasn't suprising to me to see the Magic down 10 to start the third. For some reason, the Magic have had a hard time on the road this year. I liked the fact that they stayed close enough to keep in the ballgame. The team buckled down and played great defense in the second half and really confused the Knicks with the zone defense. I thought the Knicks did a pretty good job of getting open shots - but fortunately for the Magic, they started to miss some shots in the fourth.

The Magic play the New York Knicks tonight. That lame Shot Doctor here in Orlando is predicting the Knicks will win. Whatever. Cuttino Mobley should be back in the starting lineup. It should another great learning night for Dwight Howard as he goes up against some decent power forwards tonight. I think the Magic have more than enough to handle this team.

While I was originally against the Magic's decision of bringing Johnny Davis on full-time, I do think he is a good coach. Davis has done a great job with the squad this year. Just as it takes the right mix of players to have a good team - it takes the right coach to lead them. Davis has the Magic believing they can win every night. We always want a big name coach out there, but I think JD has done a great job and is the right fit for this team. He is making a name for himself and earning the respect of players and fans. Personally, I like the attention to the small details of the game. Rebounding was my biggest gripe last year and this year has been a huge turnaround in that area.

Last year, I would post stupid things that the Magic staff and players would say during the year. I gave up after loss number whatever. Anyhow, this won't be funny to Raptor players - but I understand the frustration here. Last year, I was just praying for someone to rebound.

"I'm just looking for rebounds," Raptors Coach Sam Mitchell said. "You got one? Because if you can get one, then we have a uniform for you."

Pat Garrity has been placed on the injury list with a sprained foot. He will miss at least 5 games while on the injured list. This is not expected to be a serious injury.

You just knew the Magic were going to come out and put together a full effort. No need to drag it out, the Magic win big over the Raptors 129-108.

Steve Francis set the tempo of this game early, getting the team running in the first half. Francis finished with 23 points and 9 assists. Grant Hill had another solid night with 17 points. Both players only played about half of the game.

Dwight Howard played extremely hard tonight. In most games, Howards' numbers don't always show the little things that he does so well, but tonight he put up 15 points and grabbed 20 rebounds. Kelvin Cato adds 12 points, 14 rebounds and 3 blocks. Both Magic starting big men tally their second consecutive double-double.

Cuttino Mobley made his return to the court tonight. In limited minutes off the bench, Mobley picked up 16 points on 6 of 10 shooting.

In all, eight Magic players scored in double figures and the Magic out-rebounded the Raptors 61-32. The stats are a little misleading as this game was over midway through the 3rd quarter. The Magic enjoyed the largest lead of 38 in the fourth.

Box Score

From time to time, I like to post links to good articles I read. This one on Grant Hill is pretty good. The NBA needs Grant Hill. He is well educated, calm and a true representative of the game of basketball. Take a read, tell me what you think.

Exclusive Sports Illustrated Preview: Soaring to Old Heights

Grant “The Truth” Hill. I like it.

After a horrible outing on Monday againt the Boston Celtics, the Magic face Vince Carter and the Toronto Raptors tonight at 7pm in Orlando. Raptors are playing the second game of a back-to-back; they won last night in Miami. I expect the Magic to come out tonight and jump right on this team. With their poor performance on Monday and this being the backside of a back-to-back for the Raptors, Johnny Davis will want to end this game before it has a chance to get started.

Update: Head over to RaptorBlog.com and make some noise after the Magic hand them loss #10.