Orlando Magic News & Notes: Rockets @ Magic Tonight

The Magic take on the Houston Rockets tonight and I’ll be blogging about the game live from Amway Arena. The game starts at 7:00 PM EST and cannot be seen on television in Central Florida. It is however, available WDBO AM 580.

It looks like the Magic were thinking exactly what we Magic bloggers and fans were – Rashard Lewis is expected to see time as Small Forward. Both potential starting SFs, Matt Barnes and Mickael Pietrus have sore right ankles. Magic Head Coach Stan Van Gundy is unsure about their status, so doesn’t know how the lineup will look.

The Magic has some fun after practice Thursday.

After Thursday’s practice ended, several Magic players stood behind a baseline and threw the ball toward the basket on the opposite end of the floor. Barnes later explained that some players have a standing wager: The person who hits the backboard receives $100 from each participating teammate.

On Thursday, PG Jason Williams suggested that anyone who made the shot should get double the money, though Williams would later contend that the ball first had to go off the backboard and then go in.

Barnes was up first, and his heave swished through the hoop. “OHHHH!” players yelled. Half the teammates in on the bet had paid up before Barnes left RDV Sportsplex. He had won $1,000.

“A good way to end the day,” Barnes said.

See the full story and other Magic notes here.

The Orlando Sentinel has a preview of the game.

Josh Robbins has a nice article about swing man Mickael Pietrus.
One of Mickael Pietrus’ best dunks from last season lives on in an Internet video clip and in the pain he still feels in his right wrist.

The highlight-reel play occurred last December against the Detroit Pistons. Pietrus dribbled across the lane, elevated off his right foot and slammed the ball home left-handed.

“Check it out on YouTube!” Pietrus said recently, grinning. “It was nice.”

Nice, yes. But costly, too. Pietrus collided with Detroit’s Jason Maxiell and tumbled to the floor, bracing himself with his right hand. Pietrus fractured his shooting wrist.

Read the full story here.

Click here to see Magic pictures from the preseason.

The replacement refs are getting bashed everywhere you look and deservedly so. Matt Watson talks about how bad they were in Detroit last night.

(Andrew Melnick is Howard the Dunk’s lead blogger. Subscribe to his RSS feed and add him on Twitter to follow him daily.