The deal is done, there is no sense in talking about who got what and who misses who. Doug Christie will be our starting shooting guard soon enough. I welcome the added defense that Christie brings to the team. As my neighbors know - I get very excited when the defense melts down and we allow players to penetrate in the paint. Christie will help stop the initial dribble and make the opposing team pick up the ball a little more than our team has been able to this year.
Doug is expected to take his physical in the next day or so and hopefully join the team in Detroit
Team defense
We already have a great bunch of individuals on this team, but at times - the team aspect has been deflated late in games. Our defense has been decent in stretches, but not the kind of defense that will get this team through the second round of the playoffs. Christie brings the kind of effort that is hard not to notice. His contributions to the team does not always show up in the box score. I expect our level of competiveness and effort on the defensive end of the floor will pick up. Christie makes other players better by play on the floor and his support on the bench
Grant Hill
With Christie at shooting guard, we should see more from Grant Hill than we have in the past couple weeks. With Cuttino Mobley out with an injury earlier in the year, Hill provided great floor leadership that contributed to a quicker development in team chemistry than we expected. Hill is great at finding the open man on the floor and combined with Christie's passing ability - we should see a lot of unselfish play between the two of them.
Dwight Howard
Doug Christie will bring a team-first mentality to this Orlando Magic team. With Mobley out of the equation, there will be more touches on offense for everyone. Christie is a veteran that can quickly identify a mismatch in every game. With Howard's quickness, Christie should be able to find Howard and others for some easy points. Playing with Chris Webber for a number of years, Christie should also be able to help Howard with his game by giving a little advice on finding the open spots on the floor.
Magic fans, join me and welcome Doug Christie to the Orlando Magic. Let's show him the same kind of support that we showed Cuttino Mobley when he came to the team at the beginning of the year in exchange for that other guy we already forgot about.
DC, sad to see you gone from the Kings but your in Orlando now. It's gonna be a good season in Orlando with you here. Defense + Offense = Championship! Good Luck to you. Much love!
From Sac-town to O-town, King town to ring town (now w/ you here) the great DC! Welcome, we're glad to have you here! I know you're going to bring great things to this team and we're looking forward to every bit of it. Do ya thang, baby!