Can someone explain to me why we had three point guards on the active list tonight? How does Pat Garrity keep getting minutes over J.J. Redick? And don't give me the lame explanation that Garrity is a power forward. He fits that description about as well as I do. This game was flat out ugly. During one very ugly stretch in the fourth quarter, I had plenty of time to reflect on the fact Dwight Howard was still on the Magic bench with under 4 minutes remaining in the game. Are you kidding me? Come on Coach!
Has anyone else noticed the Magic's inability to complete the fast break lately? Let me clarify that - the guards inability to finish the fast break. This team was once playing unselfish basketball - giving up the ball to the open player. Jameer Nelson and Carlos Arroyo are no longer sharing the ball on the fast break. The selfish plays have both players taking really bad shots at critical moments in a game. I'm afraid the habit is spreading as I saw Keith Bogans miss a wide-open Hedo Turkoglu on a fast break opportunity late in the fourth. Not only did he miss an open Hedo - but the shot he put up was ugly! When was the last time you saw Howard finish a fast break with a dunk?
My final thoughts on the night are the Magic miss Trevor Ariza more than they are currently aware, the team needs serious free throw practice, players need discipline on fast breaks and we need some kind of offensive execution late in games. Oh yeah, the Magic lost in overtime to the Hornets, 84-78. Pitiful.
