March 2005 Archives

The Orlando Magic have signed Mark Jones to a 10-day contract. Jones, a former UCF standout, is a 6-6, 215 pound shooting guard that played in the CBA this season. Playing for the Great Lakes Storm, Jones averaged 20.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game.

Player Profile

Hedo Turkoglu suffered a broken wrist in Monday's game against the Charlotte Bobcats. Turkoglu fell to the floor on a layup attempt late in the fourth quarter. As Turkoglu fell to the floor, he landed hard on his left wrist. He managed to make the two free throw attempts before leaving the game. Turkoglu is expected to miss 6-8 weeks with this injury and will not be available for the rest of the season or any playoffs.

The Magic played very well in the first, going up by as many as 16 points. However, they run out of gas in the second half and the Charlotte Bobcats win a tough game 102-97. The battle of Dwight Howard vs. Emeka Okafor seemed to be heavily in favor of the Magic as Howard puts up 21 points and 13 rebounds. Unfortunately, most of Howards production came in the first half.

Pat Garrity will miss tonight's game against the Charlotte Bobcats due to personal reasons. Garrity's wife was involved in an accident involving a motorcycle and another vehicle. His wife, who is pregnant, was not seriously hurt and was released after being treated for minor injuries at a local hospital.

The NBA announced today that the length of Steve Francis' suspension for kicking a photographer is 3 games. Francis has already missed one game, against Portland, for the incident. He will miss the next two games against Charlotte and return to play against the Phoenix Suns on Saturday.

As you may have already heard, Paul Silas was released as head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Immediately, the organization let it be known they are interested in Flip Saunders. Saunders is a great head coach, one I had hoped the Magic would actively pursue. That leads us to this seasons head coach recruiting.

Coach Chris Jent picks up his first win as the Magic snap their 7 game skid and beat the Blazers, 97-92. So far, I like the things that we're seeing from the Magic. The biggest area of improvement is bench play. Hedo Turkoglu is slowly rounding back into shape and we are getting good production from Tony Battie.

During last night's game at Seatle, Steve Francis was involved in an incident with a camerman. The NBA has suspended Francis indefinitely as a result of this incident. From the replays that I have seen, I hardly see anything worth a supension. All that is really clear is the camerman pushing Francis while he was on the floor. The NBA will be reviewing the video and making a determination for the length of the suspension by Monday.

The Magic lose a tough, close game to the Seatle SuperSonics, 98-90. Late in the third and throughout the fourth, the Magic made small runs to cut the lead down and even tie the game. In the end, they just didn't have enough to take the lead and the game.

John Weisbrod announced today that Magic head coach Johnny Davis has been relieved of his duties. The Magic lost the 2nd game of a five game road trip and their 6th in a row overall. In addition, defensive coach Ron Ekker was released as well - no real surprise there. Assistant coach Chris Jent has been named interim coach.

The first 24 minutes are in the book, and I almost like what I see. Aside from the lack of defense, the Magic are making a conscious effort to get Dwight Howard involved in the game. Howard has 14 points and 5 rebounds as the Magic are only down 4. So far, the Magic have committed only 4 turnovers; a huge improvement from last night.

The Magic did just about everything they could to give this game away. Steve Francis was a turnover machine tonight, ending the night with 8. The team commits 24 turnovers total while dishing out only 13 assists on 35 field goals. Francis spent a lot of time with the ball tonight and the results show. Magic lose a sloppy game to the Kings, 105-94.

After a day off, I really thought the Magic would come into this game rested and ready to compete. Well, half the team forgot to show up. The Nets blast the Magic, 98-82 on a long Sunday night. The game was pretty painful to watch throughout. The Nets really didn't play all that well, but the Magic sure did not take advantage.

Dwight Howard has a big game against his childhood idol, but the Magic fail to close out the quarter. Magic lose a close one to the Timberwolves, 98-82. Howard finishes the game with 19 points and 19 rebounds. Hedo Turkoglu matches a career high with 32 points, who started in place of Grant Hill. Hill sat out the game with a left bruised shin.

Dwight Howard had a big game tonight with 17 points and 20 rebounds. Howard's performance could not bring enough energy to the Magic though as they lose another game. Toronto wins 106-96. Steve Francis and Hedo Turkoglu had decent games, but the Magic bench had nothing for the Raptors tonight.

With Grant Hill back in Orlando rehabbing a bruised shin, the Magic looked lost out on the floor as they lose to the Cavaliers, 111-92. The Magic played without the energy we have come to love in the last 3-4 games. Late in the second quarter, they made a small run to close within 4 points. However, to open the third, the team was flat and the fell behind early.

Magic are eating their spinach this week; they beat the Nets 105-81. Steve Francis and Jameer Nelson were just too much tonight for the Nets, as they combine for 48 points on 16 of 21 shooting and committed only 4 turnovers.

John Weisbrod is now saying that Doug Christie has come to him about bone spurs in his left ankle. Apparently, Christie has had problems for the last few games and now he will be placed on the injured list. Christie will be meeting with doctors this week to determine the severity of the injury. With Christie moving the injured list, Mario Kasun makes his way back on the active roster and Magic bench.

The Magic send the Knick fans home early tonight. Dwight Howard has a back-to-back monster game as the Magic beat New York, 111-89. Howard finished the game with 20 points, 15 rebounds and 4 blocks.

Magic win a big game tonight against Sacramento, 114-111. Dwight Howard had a huge game, dropping 20 points and grabbing 16 rebounds while sitting out most of the fourth quarter. The game was a little too close at the end, and the difference was Howard.