Archive for November, 2009

The Orlando Magic will try to bounce back from their loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers when they take on the New Jersey Nets on Friday night at Amway arena. This will be Orlando’s second meeting with the Nets in the season’s first 10 games. The Magic enter the game at 6-3 while the Nets are yet to win a game in eight tries. The Nets are coming off a 3-point home loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night. Both teams are reeling – the Nets had just eight players available on Wednesday night. They could be without Chris Douglas-Roberts [...]

Mark Ginocchio of Nets Are Scorching and I exchanged questions about the teams we cover in anticipation of tonight’s game. Here’s my Q&A with Mark. The Nets are yet to win a game. What is New Jersey’s biggest problem so far and how can they turn it around? While no one was expecting the Nets to be very good this season, I think their 0-8 start is due in large part to just an uncanny number of injuries to key players. For the past two games, the Nets have suited up 8 players and have gone with a starting rotation [...]

The Orlando Magic were dominated by the Cleveland Cavaliers in front of a sold out crowd at Amway Arena in a game that was nationally televised by ESPN. See my thoughts and analysis along with quotes from Magic players and coaches here. Zach McCann also thinks that this game may have been the wakeup call the Magic needed. Read his story here. Eddy Rivera says that all the Magic can do is move on. Brian Schmitz recaps the game here. George Diaz says that Dwight Howard must stop whining and man up. As a leader, Howard needs to understand how [...]

The Orlando Magic once again had no answer on the defensive end. The Cleveland Cavaliers dominated the Magic from start to finish and came away with a 102-93. The Magic out-scored the Cavaliers 25-14 in the final period to make the score look respectable but the Cavs held a double-digit lead for the majority of the game. If you look at some of the numbers, you can see why the Cavs came away with an easy victory. They out-rebounded the Magic 42-37, but had a 22-11 advantage at halftime. The Cavaliers out-scored the Magic in the paint, had more second [...]

The tip is set for 8:00 pm EST. I preview tonight’s game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Orlando Magic here. See an opponent’s take on tonight’s game here. Starters Orlando Dwight Howard Brandon Bass Matt Barnes Vince Carter Jameer Nelson Cleveland Shaquille O’Neal J.J. Hickson LeBron James Anthony Parker Mo Williams Final: Cleveland wins 102-93. Stats, analysis and a recap still to come.

The Orlando Magic take on the Cleveland Cavaliers in their first nationally televised game of the season at Amway Arena tonight at 8:00 pm EST. See my preview of the game here. Joshua Robbins compares the first six years of Dwight Howard’s career with the first six year of Shaq’s career. You can read that here. Robbins also has a nice interview with former NBA coach and current NBA announcer Hubie Brown. Q: Do you attribute the Magic’s recent problems on defense to the injuries? Brown: Absolutely, because not only does it affect the rotations and the chemistry of the [...]

The Orlando Magic and the Cleveland Cavaliers will meet for the first time since game 6 of last season’s Eastern Conference Finals. The Magic won game 6 and closed out the series 4-2. Almost every pundit picked Cleveland to win the series but the Magic pulled out the victory and advanced to the NBA Finals. Both teams have been struggling. The Magic are 6-2 but have not played solid defense at all this season and the defense has become a real point of concern for Magic Head Coach Stan Van Gundy. The Cavaliers have started the season just 4-3. Both [...]

The Orlando Magic bounced back from their blowout loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder by defeating the Charlotte Bobcats 93-81. It was the Bobcats’ first home loss of the season. The Magic turned it up on defense in the second quarter and  in the fourth quarter, after awful defensive performances in both the first quarter and the third quarter. The Magic got off to a very hot start. They shot 61.5% (16-of-26) from the field in the opening period and scored 35 first quarter points. Brandon Bass was looking for his shot and went 6-of-6 from the field, scoring 12 [...]

Contrary to what was reported earlier, Vince Carter will try to play today, but he will not start. Starters Orlando Magic Dwight Howard Brandon Bass Matt Barnes J.J. Redick Jameer Nelson Charlotte Bobcats Tyson Chandler Boris Diaw Gerald Wallace Raja Bell Raymond Felton Final: Magic win 93-81.

The Orlando Magic will take on the Charlotte Bobcats tonight. See my game preview here. See the Orlando Sentinel’s preview here. Brian Schmitz discusses Orlando’s biggest problem so far this season – defense. “We are one of the worst defensive teams in the league,” he snarled after the Magic were upset by the Oklahoma City Thunder, 102-74, on Sunday. See the full story here. Zach McCann is not ready to panic. The Third Quarter Collapse wonders who Orlando’s fifth starter should be once Rashard Lewis returns. There are four Magic players on the All-Star ballot. Here’s the official word from [...]