Free agency is here! Everybody freak out!

• Free-agency coverage abounds in the Sentinel today.
  • Tim Povtak lists Golden State Warriors swingman Mickael Pietrus (more on him below), Chicago Bulls point guard Chris Duhon, and Los Angeles Clippers swingman Corey Maggette as the Magic's primary targets.
  • Povtak also has a list of the NBA's top free agents, which includes Clippers forward Elton Brand, Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas, and Warriors guard Baron Davis. Most of the guys on this list are either out of the Magic's price range or off their radar completely. If Kwame Brown ever plays for Orlando, I might throw up.
  • Brian Schmitz received word from Bill McCandless, who represents Pietrus, that he expects the Magic to contact him regarding his client. Pietrus' calling cards are defense and three-point shooting, so it's easy to see why Stan Van Gundy and Magic management would be interested in him. If the Magic's top priority is to replace Maurice Evans in the starting lineup, Pietrus is probably the best option. For more on Pietrus, check out...
    • this ridiculous weakside block of the Kings' Kevin Martin, which made waves in the basketblogosphere.
    • this criticism of Pietrus' work ethic from 3QC fave Tim Kawakami:

      When Pietrus is hurt, he usually takes about 2 or 3 games longer than any other Warrior mainstay would in a similar circumstance. He's right at 3 games longer right now, by the way.

      He has now missed 11 games this season for various reasons -- all valid enough -- but that's 2 more than Stephen Jackson has missed, and that includes Jackson's 7-game suspension to start the campaign.

      Pietrus has missed 5 more games than Andris Biedrins has missed, and, yes, Biedrins had an appendectomy in the middle of the season.

      That's not a good stat. That's about normal for Pietrus' career, too.

      Those facts should raise some red-flags for the Magic

  • In less exciting news, Schmitz reports that the Magic have told free-agent forward Pat Garrity that they will not offer him a contract until later this summer, if at all. It's a wise move on their part to hold-off, yeah. If they make a splash in free-agency -- unlikely -- they might need a cheap 15th man, and Pat might be that man. But if the team signs him, even for a year at the smallest possible salary, Magic fans will revolt. Of that I am sure. Despite Garrity's long stay in Orlando, he hasn't drawn a large fan following, largely due to his lack of productivity. He should have ended his playing days long ago.
• As expected, Magic draftee Courtney Lee signed a four-year, $6 million deal.
• Yesterday, I speculated that the source Tim Povtak cited as saying Corey Maggette could return to Orlando was none other than Maggette's agent, Rob Pelinka. User "Orltragic07" at Denton's board speculates the source could be Bo Outlaw, a former Maggette teammate and current Magic Community Ambassador. You'll have to scroll down to find his post; I can't seem to find a way to link it directly.
• The annual Pepsi Pro Summer League, which the Magic hosts, starts next Monday. The Bulls, Indiana Pacers, Miami Heat, New Jersey Nets, and Seattle SuperSonics will all send teams filled with players hoping to make the opening-day roster. Click here for the summer-league roster page for all teams. A few notes from Orlando's squad:
  • James Augustine, Marcin Gortat, and Courtney Lee are the three "real" Magic players on the team. Lee will wear uniform no. 32, the same one he wore at Western Kentucky. If he chooses to wear that number in the regular-season, he'll be only the third Magic player in 20 years to do so. The others were Otis Smith and Shaquille O'Neal.
  • Kevin Kruger, who played on last year's summer-league team, will also play on this year's.
  • Temple guard Mark Tyndale, who went undrafted last Thursday, also made the Magic's summer-league team. He was among the five shooting guards the Magic worked-out before the draft. The week before the draft, stat guru Ed Weiland, of HOOPSANALYST, ranked Tyndale the third-best shooting guard in the entire 2008 draft class, behind O.J. Mayo and Chris Douglas-Roberts; he rates Lee, whom the Magic selected 22nd overall, to be the 6th-best.
  • Like last year, you can watch each game online free.

That's all for today. Leave your free-agency suggestions in the comments or the FanPosts.

COOKIE MONSTER is ready for the Magic's playoff series with the Raptors to begin. Are you?
NYCMagicFan

Today's news post features playoff prediction posts and reactions to the forthcoming Magic/Raptors postseason matchup...

• If you want to show you believe in Magic, you might consider using one of these signature images from NYCMagicFan. Brian Cook and Maurice Evans aren't available, sadly. However, COOKIE MONSTER is!
• Here's the Playoffs page on the Magic's official website. The theme is BLUE & WHITE IGNITE.
• A FanHouse post by Tom Ziller that details why 10 NBA teams are legitimate contenders this season. For what it's worth, the Magic are one of those teams; the Raptors are not. I'm just saying.
• Ziller Stuff the Magic Dragon writes about why the Magic will win the championship
• Basketbawful, writing at Deadspin, discusses how the controversial ending to last night's Cavaliers/76ers game impacted the Eastern playoff picture.
• Vincent Thomas of SLAM previews the Eastern playoffs. He picks the Magic to win in 6 games, citing the Raptors' over-reliance on European players ("This is not FIBA") as his reason. Note that in the first draft of this post, published before the bracket was set, Thomas picked the 76ers to upset the Magic.
• T. Jose Caldeford thinks the Dwight Howard-versus-Chris Bosh matchup makes for the most compelling Eastern Conference playoff story:

  There will be no other series in the East where two great players will be going at each other on both ends of the floor (Arenas and James don't match up against each other), and furthermore, this is a match up about different styles of play, about quickness and well-roundedness against overwhelming size and strength.

  Hard to disagree with that assessment.

• JasonLynx posted this interesting thread at the MagicMadness forums. The Raptors lost their season series against the other Eastern contenders; the Magic won or tied all theirs.

Stay tuned to 3QC for more Orlando Magic playoffs coverage. I imagine we'll kick-off the site's relaunch on Friday with some playoff discussion in an open thread. I've already started going over some numbers. Sound good?

Good. See you tonight versus Atlanta. Go Magic.

• Jameer Nelson's injury is worse than the Magic initially thought, John Denton says. When Nelson collided with Dwight Howard's elbow last Tuesday against the Spurs, the team took him out and he was diagnosed with a bruised jaw. Now? Concussion, Jameer's third in the last 17 months. Nonetheless, Jameer plans to start this Saturday against Cleveland.
• The Magic's recent rebounding woes have Stan Van Gundy searching for answers. Notably, both Van Gundy and GM Otis Smith acknowledge that Rashard Lewis will play power forward next season, but want to switch him to his natural small forward position. So where does that leave Hedo Turkoglu? To no one's surprise, Smith says he won't sign a free-agent or D-Leaguer to replace the injured Brian Cook. Sure looks like we're due for a heavy dose of Pat Garrity.
• In light of Gilbert Arenas' surprise return to the Wizards' lineup last night, Brian Schmitz cautions Magic fans against overlooking any of the team's possible first-round playoff opponents. The Wizards, Raptors, and 76ers would each present challenges to the Magic in the first round. I'd rather draw the 76ers. Although they have indeed won 20 of their last 27 games, as Schmitz points out, they're also a poor three-point shooting team, and we have the firepower to bury them early in games and to keep them at-bay. Washington, even with Arenas back, doesn't scare me nearly as much as the struggling Raptors do. Chris Bosh could average 35 points a game over the course of a single series, and the T.J. Ford/Jose Calderon point guard monster would have its way with our point guards. No, thanks.
• Yesterday, Pat Garrity helped the charitable organization Feed the Children distribute food and "personal care items" at the Downtown Recreation Center. Garrity isn't much of an asset to the Magic on the court, but he's a great asset off it, which is why I hope the Magic can make room for him in their community relations department.
• A few days ago, Sentinel scribe Mike Bianchi wrote about the significance of winning the Southeast. There are times when I really disagree with Mike. This is not one of those times.
• Speaking of, the Magic's online shop now carries this t-shirt and this hat to commemorate the Magic's Southeast Division championship.

A quick site-related note: Mike From Illinois, whom you may know from Orlando Magic Blog, will handle 3QC's recapping duties for the Magic's next three games: Saturday against Cleveland, Sunday against New York, and Wednesday against Chicago. I'm taking a bit of a break from writing recaps, but I'll still post previews and open threads. Thanks to Mike for agreeing to pinch-hit.

	vs.
45-24		33-33
Amway Arena
7:00 PM
FSN Florida
Probable starters:
Jameer Nelson	PG	Antonio Daniels
Maurice Evans	SG	D. Stevenson
Hedo Turkoglu	SF	Caron Butler
Rashard Lewis	PF	Antawn Jamison
Dwight Howard	C	Brendan Haywood
Season series:
3 Nov 2007: Magic 94, Wizards 82
5 Mar 2008: Magic 122, Wizards 92

It'll be a potential first-round playoff matchup for the Orlando Magic as they take on Washington Wizards tonight. The Magic have won five straight games and are really surging toward the playoffs. The Wizards, which hold a firm grip on second-place in the Southeast, recently got back to .500 by going 3-0 last week. A lazy loss to the third-place Atlanta Hawks on Monday night set Washington squarely at .500.

Although we've handled Washington fairly well in the two previous meetings this season, especially in the 30-point beatdown we handed them two weeks ago, we can't discount them. Like us, they recently managed to defeat the Cavaliers, and they have their All-Star small forward, Caron Butler, back from a hip injury; Butler did not play in these teams' previous meeting. The Wiz may be a mere 33-33, but they can hang with us for sure, and stand a solid chance of ending our winning streak if we don't come out prepared. It's hard to imagine calling a game against a playoff-bound team a "trap game," but such is the nature of the Eastern Conference.

There's a good chance Gilbert Arenas will return from knee surgery tonight. Agent Zero hasn't played since November 16th, but said during the telecast of the Wizards/Cavaliers game last week that he was all set to make his season debut that night, unannounced, before team doctors changed his plans at the last minute. Arenas told the Washington Post, "A hyped game will actually get me out there." Well, it figures to be a playoff atmosphere in the Amway Arena tonight, and I'm sure Gilbert would love to pop-off for about 40 points in a Wizards victory just to showcase his swag. UPDATE: Bold 'N' Blue passes along word that Arenas is out tonight.

Tipoff's at 7 on FSN Florida, luckily enough; if the Wizards are wearing their Duracel-inspired gold uniforms, we're better off not seeing the game.

Go Magic.

UPDATE: Bullets Forever has its game preview up. Pradamaster is afraid of the Magic:

Let's not mince words, they're a contender: The Magic officially scare me.

They've won eight of their last nine, all in blowout fashion.  Sure, none of those wins were against a good team (except Cleveland), but they have been blowouts, which is how good teams are separated from mediocre teams.  They've improved their defense, surrendering over 100 points only three times during the stretch.  That officially makes them tough, because offensively, they're easily the best team in the Eastern Conference, and as the best shooting team, they can burn you no matter how well you guard them.</p?   <p&gtI'd rather face Cleveland at this point, to be honest [....]

	vs.
41-24		21-41
Amway Arena
7:00 PM
Sun Sports HD
Probable starters:
Jameer Nelson	PG	Brevin Knight
Maurice Evans	SG	Quinton Ross
Hedo Turkoglu	SF	Corey Maggette
Rashard Lewis	PF	Al Thornton
Dwight Howard	C	Josh Powell
Season series:
9 Jan 2008: Magic 113, Clippers 106

Given the heaps of praise piled upon the Los Angeles Lakers, it's easy for some people to forget that they share a building with the Clippers. For more on this criminally underexposed team, I checked-in with Steve from Clips Nation.

------------------------------------------------------

3QC: The Clippers are in a bad way right now. Elton Brand and Shaun Livingston, two of their top-four players, have yet to play this season due to injury. Another top-four player, Corey Maggette, is worth more money than he's earning and may leave via free-agency this summer. If you could only bring one of those players back next season, which one would you choose? And why do you think that player is Clippers' key to building a winning franchise?

Steve: There's no question who everyone in ClipsNation would bring back - it's Elton Brand.  And it's not close.  I've wondered at times why other teams seemed to weather prolonged absences of superstar players a little better than the Generic Clippers (no Brand).  I've come to the conclusion that Elton Brand, as the best all around player on the Clippers - the best scorer, the best rebounder, the best post defender, the best locker room influence, the best leader - is just that much more important to the Clipers than, say, Gilbert Arenas is to the Wizards.  The Wizards replace Arenas with Antonio Daniels and there team defense gets better and their turnovers go down, while their offense definitely suffers.  The Clippers replace Brand with Tim Thomas and every damn thing gets worse.  EVERY DAMN THING.

In fact, I'd go so far as to say that if Brand isn't coming back, don't bother re-signing Maggette.  With both of them gone, they'd be far enough under the cap to actually sign somebody (not that there's anyone out there, but still).  If Brand isn't going to be here, get out the dynamite, blow it up.

Livingston is a bit of an exception - because of his uncertain status, he can probably be retained inexpensively.  I don't expect him to play anywhere else next season - he and the Clippers have been through too much together.  But he's a restricted free agent, and it remains to be seen how much he signs for and for how long.

The good news is that Brand is not going anywhere.  He's chomping at the bit to get back on the floor this season, and would be playing on this trip if Coach would let him.  And the reason he wants to play is to start getting the team ready for next season.  He's committed to staying with the Clippers, and has said as much.  It may only be for the final year of this contract (he has one more year, with an opt out this summer), but he'll be a Clipper next season, and so will Livingston.  Maggette is a tougher call.  I really have no idea what will happen with him.

3QC: The Magic and the Clippers have something in common in that they both have veteran players having career-years this season. We have Hedo Turkoglu; you have Chris Kaman. When completely healthy, how far can Kaman lead the Clippers? Is he All-Star material?

Steve: Is he All Star material?  Well, the short answer is yes.  He might well have been an All Star this season had he not been playing on a last place team.  But I think we're finding out that he's not really cut out to be the main man - as the double teams have become more aggressive, his offensive numbers have definitely suffered.  He has certainly shown that he will be a defensive and rebounding force in this league for years.  He's third in the league in both rebounding and blocked shots, and maintaining that position despite playing hurt for the last month.  He also is a surprisingly good on ball defender - he does ok on the pick and roll, he can cover more mobile centers - he's not just a Camby style free safety loading up on weak side blocked shots.  In the absence of Brand he's had to take the tough low post assignments all season long, and he's still managed to be third in the league in blocks.  (This is another reason Brand will be back - he definitely wants to play alongside this new version of Kaman.  Brand has been top 10 in rebounding and blocked shots for years.  If they can manage to be top 10 in those categories in the same front court it will be the first time since David Robinson and Tim Duncan - and those guys did alright together.)

This isn't actually a question; I just want to give you the opportunity to tell Magic fans, and other 3QC readers on the East Coast, how awesome Al Thornton is.

He's pretty awesome.  Since I see him every night, I forget what a secret he is around the league.  But never fear - everyone got to see Jeff Green in the Rookie game, so there's that.  The fact that Al Thornton wasn't selected for the rookie game; the fact that he lost out to Luis Scola for February Rookie of the Month (Scola averaged 11.7 points and 5.9 rebounds while Thornton went for 17.4 and 6.3); well, that's just life in ClipsNation.

While many rookies have been hitting the Wall, Thornton has been steadily improving.  He averaged 6 points in November, 8 in December, 13 in January and the aforementioned 17.6 in February, which he's pretty much maintained into March.  He's also shooting better and rebounding more.  In 21 games since January 30, he's been in double figures 18 times, gone for 20 or more 9 times, and had two games of 33.  He's a freak of an athlete, and can score in a variety of ways.  He's got a deadly first step and the ability to finish around the basket; he can create space for his jump shot; he has NBA three-point range (31 for 87 on the season); and he's got a motor that just doesn't stop.  The athleticism in particular is very welcome on the Clippers.  Brand is one of the less athletic superstars in the NBA.  Outside of Maggette, the Clippers don't have anyone that qualifies as a flyer, let alone a high flyer.  Thornton's myriad dunks this season, over Vince Carter, Chris Bosh, Josh Smith and Mikki Moore among others, are the only things getting the Clippers onto SportsCenter these days.

Perhaps most amazing for a rookie is that he's been the go to scorer in the fourth quarter of several wins.  Against New Jersey he out-dueled Carter in the fourth.  He scored 9 crucial fourth quarter points while being defended by Bosh in a close win on the road in Toronto.  And last week against the Kings he nailed a nasty step back 20 footer on the Clippers final possession to send the game into overtime.  He scored 22 points in the fourth period and overtimes combined in that game, which the Clippers eventually won.  How many rookies are getting the ball in key late game possessions this season?  I'll answer my own question - two.  Kevin Durant and Al Thornton.

The duel emergences of Thornton and Kaman are definitely the silver lining on this cumulonimbus of a season in ClipsNation.

3QC: I like to end these Q-and-A sessions positively, so I wanted to compliment your team on its wonderful uniforms. What are your thoughts on the Clippers' on-court attire? I think the blue alternate uniforms are among the best in the entire league.

Really, that's it?  That's the most positive you can be?  "Nice unis."

I'm no expert by any means, but this is probably an area where the Clippers non-innovative ways have benefited them.  While most of the NBA has been exploring the color pallet (teal?  really?), designing ever more detailed logos, and adding black to pretty much everything (it was cool when the Bulls did it - it's just lame for the T-Wolves), the Clippers have remained with the most primary of primary colors, and logos involving nothing more than letters and a basketball.  As the pendulum has swings back to old school unis, it turns out the Clippers have been there all along.  That blue road uniform is a case in point - pretty much a straightforward royal blue uni with the word Los Angeles on the front.  But name another team that uses that color at all?  Of course, I don't think they've won while wearing that uniform in like two seasons, so I'm beginning to hate it.  But it looks sharp.

------------------------------------------------------

Many thanks to ClipperSteve for those thorough responses. I meant no harm in commending the Clippers for their beautiful uniforms, but I do indeed see now how that could come across as a slight. Apologies to Steve and to Clippers fans for that.

Check out my answers to his questions -- including my take on the Magic's point guard situation -- at Clips Nation.

Assorted notes:

• Corey Maggette gets to the foul line at will -- he's taken 48 foul shots in his last 5 games! -- and converts at a high rate: .841 on the season and .823 for his career. Keith Bogans and Mo Evans are going to keep him away from the basket and force him to take contested jumpers. Maggette's hitting his outside shots at an effective field goal percentage of .418, which is well below average.
• Chris Kaman is day-to-day with a sore back and may not be available this evening. If that's the case, Dwight Howard will feast upon match-up against Josh Powell.
• Al Thornton should go for 20+ points tonight. I don't think Rashard Lewis can stop him.
• No word on if J.J. Redick, who left the team after Saturday's loss to Golden State to be with his brother, will be in-uniform tonight. David Redick underwent successful surgery to remove a tumor from his spine on Monday.
• If J.J. isn't available, and the game is a blowout, we could very well have another Marcin Gortat sighting. I do not object to this. Free Marcin.

Tip's at 7, as usual. I may be a bit late to the party, but better late than never, amIrite?

	vs.
29-30		39-23
Verizon Center
7:00 PM
Sun Sports
Probable starters:
Antonio Daniels	PG	Jameer Nelson
D. Stevenson	SG	Maurice Evans
Darius Songaila	SF	Hedo Turkoglu
Antawn Jamison	PF	Rashard Lewis
B. Haywood	C	Dwight Howard
Season series:
3 Nov 2007: Magic 94, Wizards 82

The Wizards seem to have recovered from an awful early-February stretch. After losing their first seven games last month, the Wiz have won five of their past eight, including two over the formidable New Orleans Hornets. It gets better for them, though: the team's medical staff cleared Gilbert Arenas for practice yesterday, although there's still no word as to when he'll return. Caron Butler is still out with a hip injury, but I doubt he'll miss too much time.

The point is the Wizards are better than their record indicates, and we can't take them lightly. Antawn Jamison and Brendan Haywood are each having their finest professional seasons, and former Magic guard DeShawn Stevenson has come up big lately as well, hitting a game-winning triple in one game against the Hornets last week (HT: Odenized). Reserve forward Andray Blatche, a seven-footer, presents matchup problems for us as well.

That said, our frontcourt of Hedo Turkoglu, Rashard Lewis, and Dwight Howard has been nigh-unstoppable lately, and the Wizards are a poor defensive team; they rank 22nd in defensive efficiency and 23rd in effective field goal percentage defense. If we come out focused enough, we may be able to drop 110 on them, even though they prefer to play at a slow pace.

Check out Bullets Forever for your Wizards fix. UPDATE: Here's their game thread. Tipoff's at 7:00. Go Magic.

Orlando's Hedo Turkoglu fires a jump-shot during his Magic's 102-87 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday night. Turkoglu lead the Magic with 24 points and 8 assists.
Photo by Fernando Medina, NBAE/Getty Images

The Magic managed to defeat the Raptors fairly convincingly, 102-87, on Tuesday night despite only grabbing two offensive boards and having their bench outscored 40-20. The reason? Timely scoring from Dwight Howard and from Hedo Turkoglu, an efficient offensive game from Rashard Lewis, and an opponent playing without its best player.

Neither team played inspired ball in the first half, but the Magic put it together in the early stages of the fourth quarter, letting T.J. Ford single-handedly grind his team's offense to a halt. Ford took the Raptors' first eight shots in the final frame, scoring 13 points in that span. However, he also committed 4 turnovers, which the Magic converted into eight points. By the time any other Raptor did anything offensively in the fourth quarter, Toronto trailed by 9 points, and never got closer than 7 the rest of the way.

Hedo Turkoglu came through in the fourth quarter once again, scoring 7 points, but it was Dwight Howard who went berserk. He made all 7 of his shots in the quarter, most of them dunks. Toronto was helpless to stop Dwight Without Chris Bosh to force him further away from the basket.

Four big surprises this evening:

• The Magic made Jose Calderon look ordinary. Calderon finished with only three assists, which is the second-lowest total he's had as a starter this season. Certainly, we can attribute that low total to the Raptors' anemic shooting, but certainly we should give some credit to Carlos Arroyo and Jameer Nelson for pestering Calderon.
• Marcin Gortat played and J.J. Redick didn't. Marcin played in his second straight game, recording a rebound in 37 seconds. Earlier today, it appeared as though J.J. would finally get his chance to shine, but Keith Bogans recovered from the abdominal strain that might have kept him out and played 25 solid minutes, making two three-pointers in that span. The starter, Maurice Evans, played 26 minutes and did nothing with them: 2 points (1-of-7 shooting). That poor showing, coupled with Marcin's stint, begs the question: What does J.J. have to do to get into the rotation?!
• The Raptors shot poorly, especially from three-point range. Toronto boasts the league's sixth-best effective field goal percentage (.514), but posted an effective field goal percentage of just .420 this evening. Without Chris Bosh drawing double-teams, the Raptors weren't getting the wide-open looks to which they are accustomed.
• Rashard Lewis is coming around: Quietly, Rashard Lewis is shredding opposing defenses. He's scored 104 points on just 68 shots (!) in our past 5 games. During that span, we're 4-1.

No rest for the weary for us, though. We're off to Washington to see the Wizards tomorrow night. They'll be without the services of their two best players: Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler. A loss tomorrow night will be inexcusable. For what it's worth, Denver's Carmelo Anthony dropped 49 points (on 25 shots!) on the Wizards last month. Might Rashard Lewis or Hedo Turkoglu have a similarly impressive outing tomorrow night? One can only hope, but coming away with a win is clearly a higher priority.

NBA.com has your Magic/Raptors boxscore hookup. For more coverage of this game, visit Bold 'n' Blue,  Orlando Magic Blog, and the Orlando Sentinel. And Dinosty

Sixers4Guidos, which bills itself as the first Italian blog for 76ers fans, is hosting the fourth round of NBA MVP/ROY rankings as voted on by bloggers. BrewHoop hosted Round 1, Clips Nation hosted Round 2, and 3 Shades of Blue hosted Round 3. Dwight Howard came in third place in MVP voting in this edition. Shockingly, Marcin Gortat was nowhere to be found in ROY voting.

Look after the jump to see the ballot and comments I sent to Sixers4Guidos for them to compile. I'm surprised that I was the only person who gave Daequan Cook any ROY votes. He's good, people!

Continue reading this post »

Hedo Turkoglu attacks the basket and the defense of Washington's Brendan Haywood.
Photo by Haraz N. Ghanbari the Associated Press

Please disregard what I wrote about Hedo Turkoglu earlier today. After tonight's virtuoso performance against Washington, there is no doubt as to who the starting small forward for this team should be. He was the entire reason we managed to beat Washington tonight. Here's the boxscore.

Tonight, Hedo ran the offense, which explains his 8 assists to Jameer Nelson's 2. Many of Turk's assists came off of penetration, kicking it out to open shooters or dumping it off to Dwight Howard for a dunk. And as you'll see from the shot chart below, when Turk wasn't passing off of penetration, he was scoring off of it. Just look at all the shot attempts in the paint.

Hedo was taking the ball to the rack early and often against Washington. X's denote misses, O's denote makes.

I can't get overly excited about this victory, though. Yes, it came over a division rival, but there were a few bad spots. Dwight Howard had good numbers (17 points, 15 rebounds, 3 blocked shots) but he was actually outplayed by Washington's Brendan Haywood, who matched his career-high with 16 rebounds, 8 of them coming on the offensive glass. Haywood also swatted 5 shots, including an early Howard hook. If you were completely new to NBA basketball and were told that one of the starting centers tonight was an All-Star headed for superstardom, you would have guessed it was Haywood. He played out of his mind, and I applaud his effort.

For the second straight game, Rashard Lewis was a non-factor in the second half. How much of a non-factor was he? He scored no points in the second half -- he only attempted 4 shots -- and grabbed one rebound. Some of that can be attributed to Hedo having the hot hand, but much of it has to do with a lack of aggressiveness. He needs to work on that mentality for us to continue to be successful.

To be honest, Turk was really the only Magic player who impressed me. Dwight Howard has lost some of his confidence, and he's clearly frustrated by the lack of calls he's getting when hammered down low. He complained after nearly every call tonight, which is uncharacteristic of him. He, too, needs to get out of that funk.

It may look like Jameer Nelson had a bad game (17 points on just 4-of-14 shooting), but he back-to-back three-pointers in the fourth quarter to turn a 71-70 deficit into a 76-71 lead with 7 minutes to play. For that alone, I'm willing to forgive his crappy two-point shooting. How is it that he managed to hit only one of his eight two-point attempts? I don't understand.

I also think we lucked into playing a Washington team that just didn't have it offensively. Gilbert Arenas and Antawn Jamison, two-thirds of Washington's "Big Three," combined to shoot 11-of-36 for 30 points. I thought that Arenas, coming off last night's embarrassing loss to Boston, would come out attacking the basket, and I suppose he did. He hit his first three shots, but then disappeared for the rest of the game. Arenas, who was second in the NBA in total free-throw attempts last season, did not manage to get to the foul line once tonight. That's a rare occurrence.

Summarily, we didn't look impressive at all, but we got the win, and that's all that matters in the end.

Other notes:

• Now that the Wizards are 0-3, Pradamaster, the webmaster for Bullets Forever, is thinking about changing his site's name to Fourth Quarter Collapse.
• We did a great job handling the ball, turning the ball over just 13 times tonight. Through three games, we've committed just 35 turnovers, which shows that a team can play at a fast pace and still control the ball.
• Pat Garrity was once again the first forward off the bench. He came into the game with 3:46 to go in the first period and Orlando leading 17-8; he left the game with 8:15 to go in the second quarter and Orlando trailing 24-29. Yes, the Magic were outscored by 14 points in the 7 minutes that Pat Garrity was on the floor. I doubt he'll get many minutes Tuesday night against the Timberwolves...
• ... especially since Carlos Arroyo didn't play tonight. After a horrid performance against Detroit, 'los sat at the end of the bench with J.J. Redick and James Augustine. He's going to have to work himself back into Stan's rotation.
• Keith Bogans came down to earth. He entered the game with 14 points on 6-of-6 shooting total; he exits with 22 points total on 9-of-17 shooting. I guess I was wrong when I defended him over at Detroit Bad Boys earlier today.
• We were outscored 25-14 in the third quarter despite Washington's 6 turnovers.
• Your eyes do not deceive you: Trevor Ariza did indeed attempt a three-pointer. It didn't go in, but his first shot, a seventeen-footer from the left wing, did.

UPDATE: The AP recap of the game notes that Stan Van Gundy hasn't decided on a starting rotation:

"We have a problem finding a lineup that we can trot out at the start every single night," he said before Saturday's game. "I've got to get that cleaned up."

If Stan makes a change, it'll be because the bench has been so atrocious; that is, it won't be a move made out of displeasure with the starting five. Maybe Turk is bench-bound after all...? A puzzling development, to be sure.

UPDATE #2: Brian Schmitz has more information on Van Gundy's rotation:

The top eight [players] are forwards Lewis and Turkoglu; guards Jameer Nelson, Carlos Arroyo, Keith Bogans and Keyon Dooling; and centers Howard and Foyle.

That leaves SG J.J. Redick, PF Pat Garrity, SF Trevor Ariza and F James Augustine battling for playing time in Van Gundy's last spot.

He also mentions that Adonal Foyle may start Tuesday in Minnesota because the Timberwolves have strong post presences at the power positions: Theo Ratliff at center and Al Jefferson at power forward. My guess? Adonal starts at center and handles Jefferson, while Howard shifts to power forward and defends Ratliff. Rashard Lewis moves to his natural small-forward position, and Hedo Turkoglu moves to the two-guard. That would relegate Keith Bogans to the bench and give the Magic four starters 6'10" or taller; it would also leave the Magic with a lack of size on the bench. We'll see what happens.

	vs.
0-2		1-1
Verizon Center
7:00 PM
Probable starters:
Gilbert Arenas	PG	Jameer Nelson
DeShawn Stevenson	SG	Keith Bogans
Caron Butler	SF	Hedo Turkoglu
Antawn Jamison	PF	Rashard Lewis
Brendan Haywood	C	Dwight Howard

25 words or fewer: Two teams expected to battle for the Southeast Division crown play each other coming off embarrassing losses on Thursday night.

Know your enemy: The Wizards' biggest weakness this season has been the three-point shot. Through two games, they are a woeful 6-of-36 from beyond the arc; their opponents, meanwhile, are a sizzling 20-of-50. This news bodes well for the Magic, who are 20-of-40 from three-point range so far this season.

Useless information: Magic guard Keith Bogans has yet to miss a shot this season. He is 6-of-6 from the field -- all three-pointers -- and 2-of-2 from the foul line. He is the Magic's fourth-leading scorer.

Bullet points:

• It took me ten years, but I finally figured out what the heck the Wizards' alternate logo, depicted above, is supposed to be. It's a lower-case "DC."
• Gilbert Arenas talked a lot of smack in the preseason, especially in an SI.com interview in which he said he was essentially a better player than LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Kobe Bryant (via FanHouse). So far, he has not backed that up; he is a 15-of-45 from the field and 1-of-13 from three-point range.
• Through two games, our bench has scored 37 points on 52 shot attempts.
• After last night's loss, Magic coach Stan Van Gundy lamented his coaching and his players' lack of effort, but he took a glass-half-full approach, saying, "[I]t's OK because we're in Game 2 of 82." I agree. Might as well get the crappy play out of our system early.
• I forgot to mention this fact in my wrapup from last night's game, so I'll include it here: the Pistons scored the first 10 points of the third quarter. After our win against Milwaukee, in which we outscored the Bucks 35-16, I wondered if it was too late to change the name of this website. Nice to know that I won't be needing to do that.
• The Phoenix Suns upset the basketball-aesthetic Gods by wearing their orange alternate uniforms at home last night and got their hats handed to them by the Lakers, of all teams. I never thought I'd say what I'm about to say, but let's hope the Wizards wear their hideous gold alternates at home tonight. Maybe the trend will continue.
• Be sure to check out one of my sister sites, Bullets Forever, for Wizards fans' takes on Washington's less-than-stellar season.
• In his lone game against Washington last season, Rashard Lewis scored 26 points... on 9-of-24 shooting, including 3-of-12 from downtown. It wasn't all bad, though; he also grabbed 10 boards.

If anything else comes up, I'll be sure to post it. As always, you can leave you pregame, during-game, and post-game thoughts in this thread. Once again, to listen to the game, check out NBA Audio League Pass.

UPDATE: Bullets Forever has its preview for tonight's game up. The author, Pradamaster, believes that Washington's Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler will have good games going against Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu.

UPDATE #2 (5:45 PM): This thought just occurred to me. Why not play Dwight Howard and Adonal Foyle together? According to PopcornMachine's game flow, Howard and Foyle were only on the floor together for 1:13 of playing time. Foyle was slated to enter for Keith Bogans in the third quarter of last night's game, but after the Magic pulled to within 10, Stan Van Gundy elected to keep Bogans on the floor. Had Foyle entered, the Magic's lineup would have been Nelson and Turkoglu at the guards, Lewis and Howard at the forwards, and Foyle at center. The combination of Howard and Foyle should have been able to rebound better than the lineup that was actually on the floor did. And given that Washington does not have a great rebounding presence -- with apologies to Brendan Haywood, who actually played well last night -- this frontcourt could be particularly effective. Just something to bear in mind.