Archive for November, 2010

Hustle plays. They draw cheers from the crowd. They draw praise from the coach. They excite your teammates. They can change momentum. Whether it’s coming up with a big steal, fighting for a rebound or diving for a loose ball, they’re unheralded plays that could be the difference between winning and losing. After some lackluster performances during the first few weeks of the season, this finally looks like something the Orlando Magic are figuring out. To continue reading this story, click here. (Andrew Melnick is Howard the Dunk’s lead blogger, co-host of CB Sports Radio from 5-7 pm week days [...]

Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel has the story on Vince Carter’s injury. Carter hurt his left knee after he made a great spin move and layup to cut the San Antonio Spurs’ lead over the Orlando Magic to 86-85 with 5:42 remaining. Carter landed awkwardly and did not return to the game. Team officials said Carter has a left-knee sprain and will be reevaluated Tuesday in Orlando. “When I made the spin move and went up for the layup, as I landed, I just felt some sharp pain go through my knee, under the kneecap more so than anything,” [...]

The Orlando Magic and San Antonio Spurs played in what has to have been the best NBA game of the season so far. It was a back-and-fourth throughout the game and featured incredible 3-point shooting, especially from the Spurs. They shot a scorching 12-of-19 (63.2%) from beyond the arc while the Magic went 9-of-18 (50.0%) from downtown. The Magic took a 92-91 lead on a Dwight Howard hook shot with 3:25 to go but the Spurs ended the game a 15-5 run to win 106-97, earning their 11th straight victory. The loss drops the Magic to 9-4. Dwight Howard was [...]

Here is the latest remix from Adidas featuring Dwight Howard, Derrick Rose and Ken Jeong: (Andrew Melnick is Howard the Dunk’s lead blogger, co-host of CB Sports Radio from 5-7 pm week days (1420sports.com) and ESPN 1080′s Magic Insider (http://espn1080.com). Subscribe to his RSS feed, add him on Facebook and follow him on Twitter to follow him daily. You can download the HTD app here).

The Orlando Magic will face one of their toughest challenges of the season when they take on the Spurs in San Antonio Monday night. The Spurs, who have been the most consistent team in the NBA over the last decade or so, enter the game tied with the New Orleans Hornets for league’s best record, which includes a 116-92 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers Saturday night. The Spurs lost a home game against the Hornets in their second game of the season to drop to 1-1 but have since won 10 straight games and stand at 11-1. The Magic, who [...]

Despite his early struggles, Magic Head Coach Stan Van Gundy is happy with Rashard Lewis’ energy. “Rashard’s going to shoot his percentage,” Van Gundy said. “You’re going to have slumps. When it’s at the first of the year, it looks ugly, because your numbers don’t come down from 47 percent to 42 percent. All you’ve got’s the slump, and it looks ugly. But he’s too good a shooter to continue shooting that way. If he continues to play hard and play with energy, he’s going to shoot the ball well.” Lewis made five of his seven 3-point attempts against the [...]

Written by Brian Serra In a sloppy and mostly uninspiring game, the Orlando Magic defeated the Indiana Pacers 90-86 on Saturday night.  It was an ugly game for most the of Magic players, but they were led by Dwight Howard’s 25 point, 12 rebound performance as well as Rashard Lewis’ 21 points. With the Magic trailing 86-85 with 45 seconds remaining in the game, Jameer Nelson played hero once again dropping in an 11-foot floater from the baseline on a play where he was also fouled.  After converting the and-1, the Magic led 88-86 and Indiana couldn’t score again against [...]

The Orlando Magic, winners of three straight games, head to Indiana to take on the Pacers Saturday night. The Pacers made a major move in the offseason, unloading Troy Murphy in a 4-team deal to acquire James Posey and Darren Collison from the New Orleans Hornets. Collison has played well but is nursing a sprained left ankle. The Pacers are coming off a 107-80 win over the Los Angeles Clippers Thursday night while the Magic blew out the Phoenix Suns 105-89. The Pacers used that win to improve to 5-5. The Magic enter the game atop the Southeast division with [...]

The Orlando Magic had no problem defeating the Robin Lopez-less and more importantly Steve Nash-less Phoenix Suns Thursday night. The Magic used an extremely balanced offensive effort and a staunch defensive performance to crush the Steve Nash-less Suns, 105-89, on Thursday night in front of a national TV audience for their third straight victory. “I think everybody was going offensively,” Magic forward Rashard Lewis explained. “We did a great job of putting the game away early. It was a total team effort tonight.” All five starters scored in double figures for Orlando led by a 20-point, 12-rebound effort from Dwight [...]

Vintage Vinsanity. (Andrew Melnick is Howard the Dunk’s lead blogger, co-host of CB Sports Radio from 5-7 pm week days (1420sports.com) and ESPN 1080′s Magic Insider (http://espn1080.com). Subscribe to his RSS feed, add him on Facebook and follow him on Twitter to follow him daily. You can download the HTD app here).