Archive for April, 2011

We’ve mentioned Sebastian Pruiti’s NBA Playbook several times here at HtD. If you’re not familiar with the site, you probably should be. In his latest post, he breaks down Dwight Howard’s performance against the Atlanta Hawks in Game 1. Going into their series against the Orlano Magic, a lot was made of Jason Collins and his ability to stop Dwight Howard one-on-one.  That didn’t happen in game 1, as Dwight Howard scored 46 points on 23 shot attempts (16-23 from the field 14-22 from the FT line).  Despite the big numbers, this is exactly what the Hawks wanted as they [...]

Evan Dunlap of Orlando Pinstriped Post: It’s tempting, I believe, for Magic fans to panic here. I’m not entirely sure that’s warranted. Yes, the Hawks scored efficiently. I understand that much. But it’s the Hawks’ first truly great offensive performance against the Magic’s typically stout defense since March 22nd, 2008, when Mike Bibby (five three-pointers) helped the Hawks score 112 points in 96 possessions… in an Orlando victory. Indeed, the Hawks went more than three years without cracking 1.1 points per possession against Orlando, and I’m skeptical their jump-shooting core of Johnson, Jamal Crawford, and Josh Smith can continue to [...]

After falling 103-93 to the Atlanta Hawks, the Magic have a lot more negatives staring them in the face than positives.  I take a look at the positives, negatives, and randomtives from tonight as well as the keys to victory in Game 2 below. To read the full recap of tonight’s game, click here. Positives -          Dwight Howard. Dwight Howard. Dwight Howard.  Playoff career high 46 points and also pulled in 19 rebounds.  Outside of a BS technical foul call and 8 turnovers, Dwight did just about everything right.  Hard to blame him for the downfalls tonight when he literally [...]

Despite an incredible first half stretch by Dwight Howard and a playoff career-high 46 points from the big man, defense and the lack of a third scorer killed any chance of the Magic getting an early series lead on the Atlanta Hawks. The Hawks walked away with a 103-93 victory and 1-0 series lead. After getting off to a terrible start in the first quarter, the Orlando Magic rebounded behind Dwight Howard’s dominance to take a two-point lead at the end of the quarter. Orlando shot just 6-of-18 from the field while the Hawks shot just 8-of-22 in what was [...]

Bass was held scoreless in the loss. (Andrew Melnick is Howard the Dunk’s lead blogger 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).

Orlando’s coach talks about their loss. (Andrew Melnick is Howard the Dunk’s lead blogger 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).

Howard had 46 points and 19 rebounds while Nelson had 27 points. (Andrew Melnick is Howard the Dunk’s lead blogger 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).

Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford didn’t have much to say but Larry Drew offered up good insight. (Andrew Melnick is Howard the Dunk’s lead blogger 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).

Here are a few quick notes from Magic head Coach Stan Van Gundy’s pregame media availability: When asked about the status of J.J. Redick, Van Gundy said his minutes will be determined by “how well he plays” and “how he feels when he’s out there.” Van Gundy went on to say they haven’t been able to test Redick’s conditioning, which is why even if Redick is healthy, he may not be able to play much. Van Gundy is concerned about the bench because they haven’t been able to develop any kind of rotation because of all of the injuries and [...]

The playoffs are finally here. The Orlando Magic will kick off the 2011 postseason by hosting the Atlanta Hawks. The game will be shown nationally on ESPN locally on Sun Sports. As always, if you can’t watch the game, you can listen on the radio – in English on AM 580 WDBO and in Spanish on AM 1270 WRLZ. Tip off from the Amway Center is scheduled for 7:00 pm EST. The Line: Orlando – 8.5, 179.5u Starters: Atlanta Hawks Jason Collins Al Horford Josh Smith Joe Johnson Kirk Hinrich Orlando Magic Dwight Howard Brandon Bass Hedo Tukoglu Jason Richardson [...]