Starting Five
The year is still young, but I am starting to see where our starting 5 is headed. Tyronn Lue at point, Tracy McGrady at shooting guard, Donnell Harvey at small forward, Juwan Howard at power foward and Steven Hunter (ugh) at center. This brings Gordan Giricek and Drew Gooden off of the bench for now.
Rotation
Johnny Davis is doing a better job spreading minutes around. I thought Reece Gaines and Keith Bogans @ESPN" href="http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?statsId=3746" target="_blank">Keith Bogans played fairly well this past game. Bogans has been pretty solid all year though and I really think he deserves 20+ minutes a game. He really needs to find his shot to secure his spot though. Big 'Z' is missing from the rotation. Pachulia is itching for some playing time. He has shown a lot of energy when he is out on the floor. When Giricek went down last night, Z jumped up off the bench and was ready to go in. I think we need this guy in there banging around a little bit. Andrew DeClercq is playing well off of the bench. He brings instant energy to the boards and our defense.
Fans
We are still here. We are waiting to turn the corner to cheer for heart and hustle. I wouldn't care if we lost another 13 games, but it would be different if the players came out with energy and played hard. The fans are ready to rock the house and go through this growing pain with the team, but we need a reason.
Management
Fire Gabriel. Actually, we need someone to buy this team who wants to keep it in Orlando. Then bring in their own staff and start from the ground up. My feeling is that Rich DeVos is trying to move the team. Where? My guess is Tampa. Comments have been made about the Orlando small market. With the NBA realignment - it only makes sense to move down I-4 to Tampa. This has been mentioned before, and also as a temporary home if the O-rena is ever remodeled.
In closing - we are here. We are not going anywhere. We are waiting for the heart and hustle that we are used to seeing from our team. Central Florida is looking for something to cheer and be excited about. The Mayor of Orlando is a big sports fan - and could do some great things once this team changes its attitude.
2 Comments on "Observations"
I agree nearly one hundred percent! I also do not necessarily care how many games the team wins; so long as we are afforded the opportunity to witness GOOD BASIC BASKETBALL FUNDAMENTALS, and we (everyone – fans and team included) forget about the 'hoopla' and 'slam-dunks' for the time being! A team that doesn't possess basic basketball fundamentals, as well as the raw basketball talent, simply looks like our current Orlando Magic team; guess what guys, BASICS AND RAW TALENT WILL WIN GAMES OVER FEEBLE 'SHOWMANSHIP' DISPLAYS EVERYTIME, baring extreme strokes of luck! If the T-Man learns the art of half-court defense, ball-control and the self-confidence that drives leadership excellence; he will then have made a profound statement and a contribution to the team as a whole, irregardless of any additional 'high-percentage' player - helpers; and besides, who can blame him for not wanting to face Reggie last evening; although, that could have been a stroke of 'unhealthy' luck on McGrady's part and a spurt of brilliance in Davis's plan to get the team 'acclimated' to one another, so to speak – your guess! Having made a comfortable and at times somewhat 'stressful living analyzing management projects for a number of years, I believe there are some very serious management issues, or better stated, deficiencies in the current RDV/Orlando Magic organization! Are these problems recent aberrations, doubtful - maybe; are they to some extent inherent in any organization, you betcha; are these difficulties or problems solvable, you betcha; how, one word - ACCOUNTABILITY! I recently received an email from an RDV/Orlando Magic pseudo manager on a subject concerning fan relations; which gave me two answers to essentially the same question, and at the same time included an 'off-color' remark addressed to another RDV/Orlando Magic entity in a position of 'public' responsibilities; the problem was that I do not believe that I was supposed to receive that comment, and if I were, I would still take issue; at some point, this email will likely be published in it's entirety; since I believe that it aptly demonstrates the depth of the level in the organization that just plain bad manners and perceived disdain for public perception has perpetuated itself! The email issue could admittedly be somewhat debatable standing on it's own merit; however, when taken in conjunction with recent comments by various RDV/Orlando Magic executives and players alike, and coupled with recent statements by COO John Weisbrod; the latest during a recent road game halftime interview on Sunshine Network, I believe fairly substantiates my position regarding the email content issue and the overall management attitude in general; wherein, he stated in part, "..… that Orlando is a 'small-dollar' market and that he wasn't necessarily concerned with public perceptions" - WOW! Regardless of my 'prose' sounds, I do not believe on beating up on people for the sake of taking great pleasure; however, unless and until people that open their mouths in the public persona are held ACCOUNTABLE for their own 'words-of-wit', written or otherwise, don't expect things to get any better; and I and others will continue to sound off! I have a gut feeling that a move to relocate the franchise either is or soon could be a topic of discussion; and that's not as if that issue hasn't surfaced before, or perhaps even a sale; which in-of-itself would be an interesting topic as to potential buyers, given the current sordid state of affairs!
Well, looks like Strickland was signed on - http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=1671240 - should help a bit with the fundamentals, assuming he can fit into the rotation well. At 1-13, it can't hurt.