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Davis had seven points and six rebounds in the loss.

(Andrew Melnick is Howard the Dunk’s lead blogger, ESPN Florida’s Magic Insider (http://ESPNFlorida.com) and is the co-host of the ESPNFlorida.com Insiders Show Sunday mornings at 10:00 am EST. Subscribe to his RSS feed, add him on Facebook and follow him onTwitter to follow him daily. You can download the HTD app here)

Kim Klement-US PRESSWIRE

The Orlando Magic completely dominated the first half against the Boston Celtics Thursday night, building a 52-25 lead at one point. In the second half, Boston absolutely took over. They looked like the same defense Orlando set records for futility against Monday night. Boston was also excellent on offense in the second half. They shot 21-of-39 from the field and 5-of-10 from beyond the arc to complete their record-setting comeback, winning 91-83.

For the Magic, it was the biggest second half collapse in team history. Back in 1999, they blew a 20-point second half lead and fell to the Los Angeles Lakers.

“We lost composure,” Glen Davis, who finished with seven points on 3-of-11 shooting, told reporters. “We didn’t do what we needed to do when it was time to get down and play. The Celtics showed perseverance and we didn’t.”

Dwight Howard led the Magic with 16 points and 16 rebounds. Paul Pierce had a game-high 24 points for the Celtics, including 19 in the second half.

• In the first half, the Magic played extremely well on the defensive end. They got back on defense quickly, their rotations were sound and they even took a page out of Boston’s book, putting pressure on the ball at times. That completely changed late in the third quarter. Boston started getting to the basket and Orlando’s rotations were just terrible. Boston got open shot after open shot andd made the Magic pay. The Magic continuously lost Kevin Garnett while switching. Ditto with Brandon Bass. The Magic couldn’t defend a play as simple as the pick-and-pop. Leaving a guy open once or twice is understandable, but it happened over and over again. They let the Celtics post an effective field goal percentage of 60.3% in the second half.
• How bad did it get on the other end of the floor for the Magic in the second half? After scoring 58 points on 50.0% shooting from the field in the first half, the Magic could only muster 25 second half points on 45 possessions and shot just 8-of-35 from the field. Despite making just six shots in the third quarter, Orlando still entered the final quarter with an 11-point lead. However, they scored just eight(!) fourth quarter points on 2-of-17 shooting and made just three of their eight free throw attempts. The Magic couldn’t seem to get the ball inside of the three-point line and instead were stagnant throughout the entire second half. Hedo Turkoglu, Jameer Nelson and Chris Duhon went through possessions were the wasted over half of the shot clock simply dribbling the ball around outside of the three-point line.
• Nelson looked okay at some points in the game and made it a point to be more aggressive, getting into the paint on a few occasions. He finished with 11 points, five rebounds and five assists, but continued to struggle against with Boston’s pressure.
• Stan Van Gundy told the media Boston’s pressure at the half court really hurt the Magic. “I thought we had trouble moving the ball,” Van Gundy said. “We got frustrated with the physical play, we got frustrated with the officials and we just got totally out of our game.”
• Rookie E”Twan Moore was able to light the Magic up for 16 points on 5-of-6 shooting and that included a perfect second half when Moore scored 13 points on just four shots.
• Early on, Nelson’s back court mate, Jason Richardson, looked like he could be in for a big night. He had great energy on both ends of the floor. He had 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting in the opening quarter, but wound up making just one of his last six shots, finishing with only 13 points on 5-of-12 shooting. Richardson got away from his earlier attempts to post up and camped out outside the three-point line.
• Dwight Howard didn’t look like Dwight Howard. He got into early foul trouble and couldn’t get involved in the offense. He had his customary 16 rebounds but looked uncomfortable on the offensive end. Howard finished with just 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting.
• Ryan Anderson scored 12 first quarter points and din’t score a single point after the opening quarter. That means he’s been scoreless in seven of his last eight quarters against Boston.

Next Up: The Magic will be in New Orelans Friday night to take on the Hornets.

Final Thought: That was the worst Magic loss in some time. This is going to be tough to bounce back from.

(Andrew Melnick is Howard the Dunk’s lead blogger, ESPN Florida’s Magic Insider (http://ESPNFlorida.com) and is the co-host of the ESPNFlorida.com Insiders Show Sunday mornings at 10:00 am EST. Subscribe to his RSS feed, add him on Facebook and follow him onTwitter to follow him daily. You can download the HTD app here)

Greg M. Cooper-US PRESSWIRE

The Magic are now 12-5 (6-2 at home) after defeating the Indiana Pacers Tuesday night. They’ll try to push their win total to 13 when they host the Boston Celtics Thursday night. The Celtics come in with a record of 7-9 (2-4 on the road).

These two teams played Monday night in Boston. The Celtics dominated the game defensively en route to an 87-56 victory.

The Magic are 10th in offensive rating (105.2), 12th in defensive rating (100.7) and play at the 25th-fastest pace (89.6). Boston is 20th in offense (100.4), fifth in defense (99.1) and play at the 27th-fastest pace (89.1).

Tip-off from the Amway Center is scheduled for 8:00 pm EST. The game will be shown nationally by TNT. There is no local coverage.

As always, if you can’t watch the game, you can listen on the radio – in English on AM 580 WDBO and FM 96.5  and in Spanish on AM 1270 WRLZ.

The officials for tonight’s game are Michael Smith, Nick Buchert and David Jones.

The Line: Orlando – 8.5 (176u)

Starters:

Boston Celtics

Kevin Garnett*
Brandon Bass
Paul Pierce
Mickael Pietrus**
Avery Bradley***

Orlando Magic

Dwight Howard
Ryan Anderson
Hedo Turkoglu
Jason Richardson
Jameer Nelson

*Starting Center Jermaine O’Neal is listed as doubtful with a knee injury.

**Ray Allen is unlikely to play due to his ankle injury.

***Rajon Rondo (wrist) practiced Wednesday, but is still in a lot of pain. Bradley is likely to start.

In other injury news, former Magic wing Mickael Pietrus (shoulder) will return from his injury and start.

This should be another slow-paced game – both teams rank in the bottom six in pace. That was the case in Boston’s thrashing of Orlando Monday.

You’d have to think the Magic want to make up for their terrible performance Monday and will be looking for a measure of revenge.

Fatigue won’t be a problem for Boston – they haven’t played since Monday and headed right to Orlando after the game.

In Monday’s game, Celtics guard Avery Bradley pressured Jameer Nelson in the back court and Nelson really couldn’t handle it. The pressure created several turnovers and really let the game get out of hand for the Magic.  The Magic will probably have Hedo Turkoglu and possibly J.J. Redick handle the ball more often Thursday.

After a strong first quarter, Dwight Howard couldn’t get much of anything going Monday. Kevin Garnett, Jermaine O’Neal and the other Celtics bigs did a decent job on him, but Howard can and should still exploit Boston’s veteran front line. O’Neal is expected to miss the game with a knee injury, matching Howard up with Greg Stiemsma. In Stiemsma’s only start this year, a win over the Washington Wizards on January 2, he scored 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds.

Former Magic forward Brandon Bass went off Monday – Glen Davis and Ryan Anderson have to do a better job on him. Davis had a video honoring him shown early in Monday’s game and may have been a little nervous or over-anxious. I’d expect a better game out of “Big Baby” Thursday. Davis scored 13 points on just six shot attempts in Tuesday’s win over the Pacers, his most efficient performance of the season. Anderson also bounced back with a team-high 24 points Tuesday after he was held scoreless Monday night. Bass can certainly be a difficult cover, so Orlando’s power forwards need to make him (and Garnett for that matter) work a lot harder defensively than they did Monday.

Celtics Resources:

Boston Globe
Boston Herald
Celtics Blog
Celtics Hub
Celtics Town
ESPN Boston
Hardwood Houdini
Red’s Army

(Andrew Melnick is Howard the Dunk’s lead blogger, ESPN Florida’s Magic Insider (http://ESPNFlorida.com) and is the co-host of the ESPNFlorida.com Insiders Show Sunday mornings at 10:00 am EST. Subscribe to his RSS feed, add him on Facebook and follow him onTwitter to follow him daily. You can download the HTD app here)

Brian Spurlock-US PRESSWIRE

The Magic will not offer Ryan Anderson a contract and instead will let him become a restricted free agent at the end of the season:

“The fact of the matter is that there are very few guys that get extended contracts like that coming off rookie deals,” Smith said before the Magic faced the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

“We like Ryan. We’d like to keep him on our team. Quite honestly, we still have the right of first refusal because he’d be a restricted free agent. It could backfire, and we could have to pay more. But that’s the risk we’ve chosen to take.”

The Magic did the same with both Marcin Gortat and J.J. Redick. Both players signed offer sheets with other teams and the Magic matched the offers, keeping both.

Josh Robbins also has the scoop on Orton:

“You have to look at the whole body of work and look at where we are,” General Manager Otis Smith said before the Magic faced the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night.

“It’s nothing against Daniel. He’s done what he’s supposed to do. He’s gotten himself in good shape. He’s worked his tail off. It’s nothing against him at all. It’s just the way everything fell this year.”

Orton, Orlando’s first round pick in 2010, has not played in a regular season game.

(Andrew Melnick is Howard the Dunk’s lead blogger, ESPN Florida’s Magic Insider (http://ESPNFlorida.com) and is the co-host of the ESPNFlorida.com Insiders Show Sunday mornings at 10:00 am EST. Subscribe to his RSS feed, add him on Facebook and follow him onTwitter to follow him daily. You can download the HTD app here)

Brian Spurlock-US PRESSWIRE

On the night when Dwight Howard set the Orlando Magic franchise scoring record, it was defense that was the main storyline  as Orlando defeated the Indiana Pacers 102-83. After giving up 29 first quarter points, the Magic ratcheted up the defensive intensity and held the Pacers to just 54 points through the final 36 minutes.

The turn around was spurred on with Dwight Howard on the bench in foul trouble and with Glen Big Baby Davis and the player formally known as #FreeEarlClark showing fight that had been absent for the previous 5 quarters of Magic basketball. Earl scored five 2nd quarter points and blocked two shots to allow the Magic to tie the game at the half after trailing by as many as ten points earlier in the game.

The Magic bench also played their collective best game of the season pouring in49 points for the game and led by J.J. Redick’s 15 and Big Baby’s 13 points.  Ryan Anderson led the Magic in scoring for the game with 24 points.

More news and notes on Jameer Nelson, Earl Clark and my thoughts on Dwight Howard’s new record HERE.

Brian Spurlock-US PRESSWIRE

The Orlando Magic will look to rebound from an absolutely awful showing against the Boston Celtics Monday night. The Magic dropped to 11-5 after their 87-56 loss.

The Pacers enter the game with a record of 11-4 and are coming off of a win in Los Angeles over the Lakers Sunday night.

The Pacers have played just five of their games at home and are a perfect 5-0 in those games.

The Magic are 10th in offensive rating (104.7), have improved to 13th in defensive rating (101.2) and play at the league’s 24th-fastest pace (89.6). The Pacers are 17th in offense (101.9), fourth in defense (98.1) and play at the league’s 20th fastest pace (90.8).

Tip-off from Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana is scheduled for 7:00 pm EST. The game will be shown locally by Sun Sports.

As always, if you can’t watch the game, you can listen on the radio – in English on AM 580 WDBO and FM 96.5  and in Spanish on AM 1270 WRLZ.

The officials for tonight’s game are Scott Foster, Mark Ayotte and Haywoode Workman.

The Line: Indiana – 4.0 (181)

Starters:

Indiana Pacers

Roy Hibbert
David West
Danny Granger
Paul George
Darren Collison

Orlando Magic

Dwight Howard
Ryan Anderson
Hedo Turkoglu
Jason Richardson
Jameer Nelson

Fatigue could be a factor for both teams. The Pacers were off Monday but have just returned from a west coast road trip (They finished losing to Sacramento and defeating both Golden State and the Lakers). The Magic played in Boston last night.

The Pacers have been one of the best defensive teams in the league this season. After Monday night’s performance, that has to have Magic fan nervous.

Offensively, the Pacers are one of the most balanced teams in the NBA – seven players average double figures in scoring, led by Danny Granger’s 16.1 points per game (Roy Hibbert 13.9, David West 11.8, Darren Collison 11.1, Paul George 11.1, George Hill 10.6, Tyler Hansbrough 10.1).

If Dwight Howard can get Hibbert into foul trouble, it’s going to be a very difficult night for the interior defense of their Pacers. Their only other center, Jeff Foster, is out with a back injury so the Pacers will have to throw Hansbrough, West and Louis Amundson at Howard, all players he has a clear height and weight advantage over.

Darren Collison has given the Magic problems before and with the way Jameer Nelson and Chris Duhon have played, he and George Hill could give the Magic a lot of problems. Collison is shooting just 40.7% from the field but is hitting 48.3% of his three-pointers while Hill is having a fantastic season off of the bench. He’s shooting 49.5% from the field, 42.5% from beyond the arc. The Magic may need Larry Hughes to give them some size and length against Hill.

Pacers Resources:

Eight Points, Nine Seconds
Indy Cornrows
Indianapolis Star
Pacers Gab
Pacers Pulse
The Pawnee Times

(Andrew Melnick is Howard the Dunk’s lead blogger, ESPN Florida’s Magic Insider (http://ESPNFlorida.com) and is the co-host of the ESPNFlorida.com Insiders Show Sunday mornings at 10:00 am EST. Subscribe to his RSS feed, add him on Facebook and follow him onTwitter to follow him daily. You can download the HTD app here)

Greg M. Cooper-US PRESSWIRE

The Orlando Magic gave a pathetic effort Monday night against the Boston Celtics and it showed – they were blown out by an undermanned Celtics squad 87-56.

Dwight Howard led the Magic with 18 points and 14 rebounds while Brandon Bass led the Celtics with 19 points and eight rebounds.

How bad was this performance? The Celtics were playing without their starting back court – Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen and three other players, including Chris Wilcox and former Magic players Keyon Dooling and Mickael Pietrus.

The Celtics actually continued to struggle on the offensive end, which should have been expected with their mounting injuries. They posted an effective field goal percentage of 43.6%.

Their defense, however, was fantastic. Couple that defense with a terrible effort from Orlando and that’s how you get numbers like the Magic had tonight. They set a team record for least points scored in a game (56), fewest field goals made in a game (16), lowest field goal percentage (24.6%), fewest points scored in a half (20) and fewest field goals made in a half (five). The Magic posted an effective field goal percentage 27.7%. They also had as many turnovers (16) as they did field goals. The Magic couldn’t get entry passes into Howard and struggled with the pick-and-roll, the staple of their offense.

• Jameer Nelson was dominated by second-year guard Avery Bradley. Bradley didn’t exactly tear up the stat-line (six points, four rebounds, three assists) but he made life difficult for Nelson all night, putting pressure on him as he brought the ball up, something Nelson has struggled to handle all season. Bradley also had three steals, helping the Celtics force five Nelson turnovers. For the game, Nelson scored five points on five shots and had three assists. It appeared as though Nelson may be beginning to turn the corner after a big game against the Lakers Friday but he followed it up with one of his worst performances of the season. Nelson’s backup, Chris Duhon, continues to be abused on the defensive end. Point guard is a huge concern right now.
• After a very good start (12 points and four rebounds in the first quarter), Dwight Howard had a frustrating night. Howard was held without a field goal over the final three quarters (0-of-nine) and after making six of his first seven free throws, he hit just four of his last 11. He finished with 18 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks.
• Former Magic forward Brandon Bass had it going Monday night and finished with one of his best lines of the season. He scored 19 points on eight-of-14 shooting. He was good in the pick-and-pop game and made some very strong moves down low. He also added eight rebounds.
• Bass’ buddy and the player he was traded for, Glen Davis, look a little antsy early on. He received a warm ovation from the Boston crowd during a video tribute. He wound up scoring just six points on two-of-nine shooting and seemingly had every shot challenged. One of the only positives anyone could take from the game is that Davis, who head coach Stan Van Gundy wants to see a better effort from on the glass, had 11 rebounds, including five on the offensive glass.
• Ryan Anderson couldn’t find his shot early on, got into first half foul trouble and was barely heard from the rest of the game. Orlando’s starting forward played just 24 minutes and didn’t score. He was 0-of-eight from the field.
• Van Gundy thought the “beatdown,” as he called it, was even worse than the score indicated and told the media not one player played well. He also blamed himself.
• The Magic seemed surprised by Boston’s effort and energy and performance on the defensive end and just couldn’t match it.

Next Up: The Magic will take on the 11-4 Pacers in Indiana Tuesday night.

Final Thought: That was just domination. Orlando doesn’t have to wait long for a shot at revenge – they host Boston Thursday.

(Andrew Melnick is Howard the Dunk’s lead blogger, ESPN Florida’s Magic Insider (http://ESPNFlorida.com) and is the co-host of the ESPNFlorida.com Insiders Show Sunday mornings at 10:00 am EST. Subscribe to his RSS feed, add him on Facebook and follow him onTwitter to follow him daily. You can download the HTD app here)

Looks like Rondo won't go (PicApp)

With a 92-80 win over the Los Angeles Lakers Friday night, the Magic have won six of their last seven games. They enter Monday night’s game with the Boston Celtics with a record of 11-4, second best in the Eastern Conference (Chicago, 15-3).

Things haven’t got nearly as well for the Celtics – they enter with a record of just 6-9. They were able to score a 100-94 win over the lowly Washington Wizards Sunday afternoon. The Celtics entered Sunday’s game having lost six of their last seven games.

The Magic are second in offensive rating (107.6), have improved to 12th in defensive rating (101.6) and play at the league’s 25th-fastest pace (89.5). The Celtics are just 20th in offensive rating (100.7) and 14th in defense (101.6). They play at an even slower pace than the Magic (88.9, 28th).

Tip-off from the T.D. Banknorth Garden in Boston, Massachusetts is scheduled for 7:30 pm EST. The game will be shown locally by Sun Sports and nationally by NBA TV.

As always, if you can’t watch the game, you can listen on the radio – in English on AM 580 WDBO and FM 96.5  and in Spanish on AM 1270 WRLZ.

The officials for tonight’s game are Tom Washington, Leroy Richardson and Scott Twardoski.

The Line: Orlando – 5.0 (176.5)

Starters:

Boston Celtics

Jermaine O’Neal
Kevin Garnett
Paul Pierce
Ray Allen*Sasha Pavlovic
Rajon Rondo**Avery Bradley

Orlando Magic

Dwight Howard
Ryan Anderson
Hedo Turkoglu#
Jason Richardson
Jameer Nelson

*Ray Allen left Sunday’s game with an ankle injury and he is listed as a game time decision.

**Rajon Rondo has missed the last two games with a wrist injury. If he can’t go Monday, Avery Bradley will again start in his place.

UPDATE: Both Allen and Rondo will miss the game. As will Chris Wilcox, Keyon Dooling and Mickael Pietrus. Gary Dzen of the Boston Globe has the story here.

#Hedo Turkoglu, who has missed the last two games with back spasms, is expected to play.

Over the last few seasons, Boston and Orlando have developed a nice rivalry. The two teams met in the second round of the 2009 playoffs (Orlando won the series four games to three) and in the 2010 Eastern Conference Finals (Boston won the series four games to two).

The  Celtics will be looking for their first marquee victory this season. Their six wins came against the Detroit Pistons, New Jersey Nets, Toronto Raptors and the Washington Wizards three times.

Paul Pierce will still be a difficult matchup for the Magic’s wing defenders. He proved what he’s still capable of Sunday when he scored 34 points, dished out 10 assists and grabbed eight rebounds.

The Magic will see former players Brandon Bass, Mickael Pietrus and Keyon Dooling. Bass is averaging 11.5 points and 6.4 rebounds per game while Pietrus is averaging 8.7 points per game in seven games with the club. Dooling has missed six straight games with a knee injury.

Magic guard Von Wafer spent last season with the Celtics.

Former Celtics forward Glen “Big Baby” Davis will be playing his first game in Boston since being traded to Orlando. At times, Davis will be matched up with Kevin Garnett, someone he considers to be a mentor. The 35-year old Garnett is averaging 13.5 points and 7.1 rebounds per game this season. Garnett will also be matched up with Ryan Anderson and he could struggle trying to keep up with Anderson on the perimeter.

Garnett and starting center Jermaine O’Neal should both see time on Dwight Howard. During the last few seasons, Boston’s stable of bigs, led by Kendrick Perkins, have given Howard a lot of trouble. However, Boston doesn’t have that kind of depth any more and there’s no reason Howard, the reigning Eastern Conference Player of the Week, shouldn’t have another big game.

Celtics Resources:

Boston Globe
Boston Herald
Celtics Blog
Celtics Hub
Celtics Town
ESPN Boston
Hardwood Houdini
Red’s Army

(Andrew Melnick is Howard the Dunk’s lead blogger, ESPN Florida’s Magic Insider (http://ESPNFlorida.com) and is the co-host of the ESPNFlorida.com Insiders Show Sunday mornings at 10:00 am EST. Subscribe to his RSS feed, add him on Facebook and follow him onTwitter to follow him daily. You can download the HTD app here)

PicApp

Here is the official word from the Magic:

Orlando, Fla. – The Orlando Magic’s Dwight Howard was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games played Monday, Jan. 16, through Sunday, Jan. 22. It marks the first time this season and the 18th time of his career that Howard has earned the league’s top weekly honor.

Howard averaged 19.5 points, 18.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.8 blocks as Orlando went 3-1. Howard posted three point-rebound double-doubles, including back-to-back 20-point, 20-rebound games to close the week vs. the San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Lakers. For the season, Howard ranks first in the NBA in rebounding (16.1 rpg.), third in field goal percentage (.575) and fifth in blocks (2.33 bpg.).

The Memphis Grizzlies’ Marc Gasol was named the Player of the Week for the Western Conference.

Here is a recap of the week for Howard:

Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic
Jan. 17 vs. Charlotte: Collected 25 points, 17 rebounds, four assists and four blocks in a 96-89 win over the Bobcats.
Jan. 18 vs. San Antonio: Tallied 24 points and a season-high 25 rebounds, as well as three blocks as the Magic fell to the Spurs, 85-83, in overtime.
Jan. 20 vs. L.A. Lakers: Closed the week with 21 points and 23 rebounds in a 92-80 win over the Lakers.

(Andrew Melnick is Howard the Dunk’s lead blogger, ESPN Florida’s Magic Insider (http://ESPNFlorida.com) and is the co-host of the ESPNFlorida.com Insiders Show Sunday mornings at 10:00 am EST. Subscribe to his RSS feed, add him on Facebook and follow him onTwitter to follow him daily. You can download the HTD app here)

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo thinks the Magic should roll the dice with Dwight Howard:

“Orlando is too good to trade him now,” believes one front office executive who has communicated with Magic general manager Otis Smith recently.

The Magic are 11-4 and good. They’re really good. The Magic’s reluctance to meet Howard’s trade demands are simple: They’re willing to test his mettle. Want to leave as a free agent and take $30 million less on the market? We dare you. It’s a risky strategy, but the Magic know Howard better than anyone else. And they know he’s inclined to change his mind on leaving because he’s changed his mind on a lot of things here. And come July, Orlando could still get something back for him in a sign-and-trade scenario.

Zach McCann, now of ESPN.com, gives his thoughts on Howard and Andrew Bynum:

Howard controlled the game on defense and dominated the glass, finishing with 21 points and 23 rebounds and further proving that he is, indeed, the NBA’s premier center.

And it’s not close.

Bynum, who many consider the next-best center in the NBA, put up 10 points, 12 rebounds and five fouls for the slumping Lakers.

Mike Bianchi wonders if Shaq still thinks Andrew Bynum is better than Dwight Howard:

Hard to believe Shaq is actually getting paid big money to be an NBA analyst and this is the sort of absurdity he comes up with.

Bynum better than Dwight? This would be like some rock ‘n’ roll critic claiming A Flock of Seagulls are greater than the Beatles. Bynum is good, but Dwight is the gold standard when it comes to big men in the NBA.

NBA Commissioner David Stern discussed the Dwight Howard situation with Josh Robbins:

David Stern: Only to the extent that they’re fed by journalists like you. I don’t remember Miami ever being referred to as a “large market.” Do you?

OS: No.

Stern: Stop right there, then. But, now, because a couple of players decided to go where the sun shines, that’s now a large market. Well, guess what: Orlando, to my mind, is a large market even though you refer to it as a “small market.” It’s up there in the top 10 in revenues. It has actually pretty much close to the same sunshine that Miami has, and it’s a preferred place for so many people to live in the middle of their careers and after their careers are over. So I think there’s a small-market sort of point of view sometimes that people have a defensiveness [about]. But, to me, Orlando’s a great market, and it seems to be a great place to live.

Jameer Nelson says the Dwight Howard saga has affected him:

“I’m here to play basketball and I can’t worry about what anybody says. I’m here because I’m a winner and they want me here. I know if they didn’t want me, I wouldn’t be here,” Nelson said.

“I’m human and a lot of things affect you. We’re basketball players, but we’re also human. A lot of the stuff that came out about other point guards being here was basically months ago, so if I was hurt, I’m over it.”

(Andrew Melnick is Howard the Dunk’s lead blogger, ESPN Florida’s Magic Insider (http://ESPNFlorida.com) and is the co-host of the ESPNFlorida.com Insiders Show Sunday mornings at 10:00 am EST. Subscribe to his RSS feed, add him on Facebook and follow him onTwitter to follow him daily. You can download the HTD app here)