Archive for September, 2011

How many games will be played by each team in the 2011-2012 NBA Regualar Season?      82 Games                                                     8/5 51-81 Games                                                4/1 1-50 Games                                                  3/1 No 2011-2012 Regular Season                5/4   (Andrew Melnick is Howard the Dunk’s lead blogger, ESPN 1080′s Magic Insider (http://espn1080.com) and is the co-host of the ESPN1080.com Insiders Show Sunday mornings at 10:00 am EST. Subscribe to his RSS feed, add him on Facebook and follow [...]

Zach McCann calls Ryan Anderson the NBA’s 10th most underrated player: Why he’s underrated: Ryan Anderson, a stretch-four who comes off the bench for the Magic, is accurately labeled as a role player. He certainly depends on other players to create his shots, and the presence of Dwight Howard opens up many of Anderson’s three-point opportunities. But Anderson doesn’t get nearly enough credit for his exceptional rebounding, which makes him a truly unique NBA player: Someone who both rebounds and shoots three-pointers at a superb level. Kevin Pelton has an interesting take on Ryan Anderson and NBA Finals MVP Dirk [...]

If significant progress isn’t made at the meeting between the players and owners (the owners makes some concessions), things could get very ugly. Alex Kennedy of Hoops World talked about the situation on twitter: Source close to NBPA tells HOOPSWORLD he is “cautiously optimistic” about the direction of the labor talks. Friday’s meeting is important. Sam Amick of Sports Illustrated provides and update here: Unless major concessions are made by the owners by then, the sources said players are prepared to show a united front and express their willingness to sit out the entire season — if not more. There [...]

Per Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel, Earl Clark has been released from his contract in the Chinese Basketball Association and will return to the states: Happy Walters, who represents Clark, said the 6-foot-10 forward has returned to the United States because Clark’s girlfriend is seven weeks away from giving birth to a baby boy and is having some complications. “He wanted to be there and was not comfortable being in China with problems happening,” Walters told the Orlando Sentinel via e-mail. “He is bummed, but family comes first. “The team in China has been very supportive and understanding and [...]

I know many of HtD’s readers often play and talk about the NBA 2K series. Well, Zach McCann of the Orlando Sentinel has some interesting information for you: The NBA 2K12 scouts weren’t as generous, however, with the rest of the Orlando Magic. For the first time in years, the Magic aren’t one of the best teams in the game. Jameer Nelson (74), Jason Richardson (73), Hedo Turkoglu (74) and Brandon Bass (70) round out the Magic’s starting lineup. Last year, Nelson was a 75 while Richardson and Turk were 73s. (Andrew Melnick is Howard the Dunk’s lead blogger, ESPN [...]

Philip Rossman-Reich of Orlando Magic Daily takes a look at some free agents Orlando could make a run after: More likely than not, then, it seems the Magic will spend the majority of its focus on free agency in finding an adequate backup for Howard. All these needs are about taking pressure off of Howard. Nothing would take more pressure off of Howard than having a defensive-minded center who can come in and give him 15 minutes off per game (or better yet, play alongside him for five minutes). In other words, the Magic need a cheaper Marcin Gortat. Schmitz [...]

It is bittersweet that you’re out here because of the lockout? “Well, we’d rather be playing basketball, but the fact of the matter [is] we’re not. So since we’re not, we’re doing something where I think we could give back a little bit more to the community [at a time] when we’d really wouldn’t have the time — at least the basketball staff. Reaction to the league’s announcement Friday:“It is what it is. They’re working to get a deal done. Until we get a deal done, we can’t move forward. That’s the only thing I really have to say. They’re [...]

Per Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press, the players and owners will meet Tuesday and possibly Wednesday: The players’ association has canceled a regional meeting with players Tuesday in Miami so its negotiators can meet with league officials in New York instead, the person told The Associated Press on Monday on condition of anonymity because the details are supposed to remain confidential. The bargaining session, first reported by CBSSports.com, comes just days after the league canceled 43 preseason games scheduled for Oct. 9-15. (Andrew Melnick is Howard the Dunk’s lead blogger, ESPN 1080′s Magic Insider (http://espn1080.com) and is the co-host [...]

As most of you know, the Magic are scheduled to host the the 2012 All-Star game. With the lockout perhaps forcing the league to cancel the 2012 game and reports circulating Houston is going to host the 2013 game, the future of the All-Star game in Orlando is becoming cloudy. Brian Schmitz says the decision about the game will likely come in December: So it could be that if this lockout continues, eating up regular-season games, the league likely will cancel Orlando’s game around Dec. 15. The NBA salvaged a 50-game season in 1998-99, with games beginning in early February. [...]

Former ESPN writer Chris Sheridan has done a good job of covering the lockout and he has new news to deliver: “In general, we haven’t made any progress,” Hunter said. ”I really don’t think they’re ready to do a deal. My position is that they said 2 years ago they were prepared to lockout for a year to get what they wanted, and I think the way they’ve negotiated gives every indication that that’s bearing out. “And while they’re talking about not wanting to miss the season or having to cancel games, I’m not really sure that that’s the truth,” [...]