The Magic picked up things tonight a bit and beat up on the Miami Heat 97-68. Even though the Magic lost last night, the team appeared to have a little swagger back. And tonight, they played well - especially in the second half. Dwight Howard had 18 points and 10 rebounds and Trevor Ariza added 16 points and 10 rebounds. I have to give a little credit to the coaching staff tonight - I thought they did a good job with the personnel available to them. Keyon Dooling and Grant Hill are both out for a few days with injuries.
We got to see J.J. Redick tonight for about 12 minutes. Redick finished with 9 points and 2 steals - and he certainly looked more comfortable than he has in previous games. You just keep getting the feeling he is ready to have a breakout stretch soon that will force the coaching staff to evaluate his role on the team.
We also got to see Bo Outlaw and Pat Garrity tonight. Garrity grabbed a couple timely rebounds and helped the team in the second keep the lead steady. Also, Carlos Arroyo got decent minutes - though he doesn't quite seem to be in top form. I'm not sure if he's playing hurt or if he is just in some kind of funk. Either way, Arroyo's shot is definitely off and his decision making is not where it was in the first few weeks of the season.
Good solid win for the Magic tonight in a game they should have and needed to win.
