The Orlando Magic rallied late from a 20-point deficit to make a game of it, but Houston wins 89-84. Grant Hill played a great game, frustrating Tracy McGrady at times while scoring 22 points. The Magic team looked off the entire night, that is, until Carlos Arroyo was running the show. At times, it appeared as if Arroyo was the only Magician that showed up. I wish we could get the other 4 guys on the floor to play with as much heart.
For the second straight game, Arroyo has showed that he belongs in the starting lineup. Regardless of practice time, offensive playsets or defensive schemes - the team needs a point guard on the floor. Keyon Dooling is not a fitting replacement. Dooling plays well off the bench and can handle the ball at times - but the Magic should not rely on him to start the game off on the right foot. At the point, Arroyo had only 1 of the Magic's turnovers in 26 minutes of play. Personally, I don't see what the problem is here. Setup 3-5 set plays and teach the team how to get the ball to the man off the pick and roll or pick and pop.
Dwight Howard was practically a no show - except for the blown dunks because he refuses to use two hands. Hedo Turkoglu came off the bench and played big minutes tonight, but I don't think he scored until the second half. And with his questionable defense, if Hedo is not scoring - he is a liability on the floor. The same goes for Pat Garrity.
Is anyone else ready to see Trevor Ariza get a couple minutes on the floor? I'm not talking big minues, but stick him out there for 2-3 and let's just see what happens. Heck, Darko Milicic got another 19 minutes tonight and played with a lot of energy. Milicic blocked 4 shots in that time and had a couple nifty passes that turned into turnovers because the other player could not hang on to the ball.
Still, the Magic showed some signs of life - but only while Arroyo was on the floor. In fact, Arroyo played the entire fourth quarter and flat out refused to let the Magic give up. i'm not going to claim to know a whole lot about his game - but when I see a guy outhustling the other 9 guys on the court - I tend to want to see him play.
