Hedo Turkoglu's most recent game-winning play for the Magic this season, a tough driving layup to beat the Raptors in Game Two.

Hedo Turkoglu is the NBA's Most Improved Player.

Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel reported the news earlier today. The Magic have called a news conference for tomorrow afternoon but haven't specified a reason. The award is indeed Hedo's, and deservedly so (no disrespect intended to Rudy Gay, Rajon Rondo, or Andrew Bynum).

We outlined how awesome Turk is in this post last week, but let's go over some stats: Turk set career highs in points per game (19.5), rebounds per game (5.7), assists per game (5.0), minutes per game (36.9), field goal percentage (.456), and games played (82, and he started all of them). Regarding advanced metrics, Turk had a career-best in Player Efficiency Rating (17.8) and effective field goal percentage (.524). Additionally, he was one of four players to average 19 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists this season, joining Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Vince Carter. Yeah, and we laughed at him when he told the Sentinel in November he thought he could be an All-Star.

We'd like to congratulate Hedo for winning this coveted award, and thank him for playing so well for us this season. Hopefully, he'll celebrate the achievement by helping us dispatch the Raptors. It'd be a fitting way for us to advance in the playoffs.

One year ago today, some chump with a laptop and entirely too much time on his hands I started a website dedicated to the past, present, and future of the Orlando Magic. Yes indeed, Third Quarter Collapse is now one year old! To celebrate that occasion, I've compiled links -- in bullet form, naturally -- to my favorite posts from the old site. Enjoy the archives. Happy birthday to us. And to Hedo Turkoglu, while we're at it. Turk turns 29 today. Bold 'N' Blue has the birthday thread.

• Introduction - The first-ever 3QC post!
• In Defense of Brian Hill - Ugh.
• Streaky Like Superman's Cat: Magic 94, Knicks 89 - Not a particularly special post, but I love the title.
• Intelligent Design - Wondering if Dwight Howard can improve between his third and fourth seasons the way Kevin Garnett did.
• There's A Battle Ahead - Making the case that Magic fans need to GET WILD AND CRAZY to increase Orlando's standing as a sports town. I invoke the words of William Shakespeare and Winston Churchill.
• Brave New World - Just a few days before the start of the postseason, I describe the feeling of impending doom I have. The Magic promptly drop four straight games to the Pistons, and I look fairly intelligent. What that post doesn't tell you is I had the Magic playing the Rockets in the Finals.
• My coverage of the Billy Donovan Saga.
• Reverse the Curse: Forgive Shaq and Bring Him Back - Begging the Magic ownership to reach-out to Shaquille O'Neal and offer him a consultant position with the team once he retires. Not quite sure what I was thinking there.
• The Case for Keeping Grant Hill - Arguing the Magic should re-sign Grant Hill. Again, not sure what I was thinking.
• The Orlando Magic Free-Agency Countdown. Boy, am I glad I did this series.
  • Part One: Vince Carter
  • Part Two: Mo Williams
  • Part Three: Chauncey Billups
  • Part Four: Gerald Wallace
  • Part Five: Rashard Lewis - I had this one right -- does anyone seriously believe we'd be better off with one of the other guys? -- but I was way off-base when I said Lewis "rebounds well." Whoops.
• WKMG: Rashard Lewis Will Sign with Orlando for 5 years, $75 million - If only that dollar amount were accurate.
• ESPN: Grant Hill to Sign with Phoenix Suns - "Grant Hill may be a great basketball player, but if NBA-ers were rated in Consumer Reports, Hill would certainly not be a 'Best Buy'." That's as charitably as I could put it.
• Which Free-Agent Big-Men Should the Magic Pursue? - I begin my love/hate relationship with coding HTML tables.
• End of an Era, Such as it Was: Darko Milicic, Orlando Magic Part Ways - I was really proud of this piece when I wrote it, but it embarrasses me now. But go ahead. The picture at the end is worth the click-through.
• The Future Is Now: Rashard Lewis Formally Introduced at Press Conference - I'm more interested in the fact that I thought Keith Bogans would be behind J.J. Redick on the depth chart. Bogans went on to start the first 35 games at shooting guard for us. Whoops.
• In DeFense of DeVos/In Support of a New Downtown - Hard to believe that just last summer we were worried about the Magic leaving in a few years if they couldn't get that arena built...
• Success! Venues Plan Passes by a 5-2 vote... especially since the arena funding got approved 3 days after I wrote that first post.
• Are the Magic a Playoff Team? Discussion From Around the Web - Also hard to believe that many observers picked Orlando to finish out of the playoff picture, even in the Eastern Conference. To be fair to them, no one could have predicted the Bulls would suck this badly, nor could anyone have predicted that Hedo Turkoglu would have an All-Star season. But still, not even in the top 8 in the East? It was as absurd then as it is now.
• Don't Free Keyon - When the Keyon Dooling-for-Reggie Evans rumors circulated over the summer, I was seemingly the only guy who didn't want the Magic to make the deal. I have no regrets. I LOVE KEYON DOOLING AND THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN SAY OR DO TO CHANGE MY MIND! THAT'S MY PURSE!
• Carlos Arroyo Shows Masonry Skills as Mexico Upsets Puerto Rico - "If the Magic want to have their new arena built on-schedule, they might consider asking Carlos Arroyo to lend a hand. His brick-laying skills might come in handy." I'm so proud.
• Who's Under Contract: A Tentative 2007/2008 Orlando Magic Roster - Does anyone think I need to work a post like this into the sidebar somewhere? An at-a-glance summary of the Magic's players and their contracts? Let me know.
• The Southeast Division Outlook, Part Three: Miami Heat - "[T]he Heat's grip on the Southeast loosened considerably this summer, making the possibility of Orlando or Washington seizing it much more likely." Yeah, I'll say.
• Tell Harris Rosen Where He Can Stick It - I sincerely hope Harris Rosen read this post. Actually, I hope he's reading this one. Hey, Harris: thanks for failing at your bid to steal an arena from Orlando citizens so you can line your pockets. We really appreciate it, scumbag.
• The Southeast Division Outlook, Part Four: Orlando Magic - "I'm not saying that the Magic are going to win 57 games, but I am saying is that they will improve." 57 games isn't out of the question, actually. The Magic will reach that total if they go 12-1 the rest of the way.
• Summer of 2007: An Orlando Magic Photo Album - I was really scraping for content at this point, as I knew the SB Nation relaunch was just around the corner. Still, I'm happy with this post; pictures are fun!
• Orlando Sentinel: Surgery a Possibility for Tony Battie - The last news-related post at the original 3QC. Sucks that it's such a bummer.
• I've Moved to ThirdQuarterCollapse.com - "Thanks for everything." Thanks, indeed. Here come the waterworks...

When I started 3QC last year, I had no idea it'd ever get this "big." Okay, it's not BlogABull or TrueHoop or anything, but it went from a nondescript Blogspot site averaging 13 hits a week to a fairly reputable SB Nation site averaging 13 hits an hour (give or take). So I'd like to thank the SB Nation crew for letting me come aboard as well as the readers who brought this site to their attention in the first place. I really appreciate the support I've received.

Thanks for everything. I'll be here as long as you guys will have me.

And, uh, for what it's worth: the Magic are 54-29 (.651) since I launched the original 3QC. Just saying.

	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?

The Magic's Hedo Turkoglu is all-smiles during the Magic's 102-92 victory over the Nets on Tuesday night. Turkoglu score 17 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter.
Photo by Bill Kostrun, the Associated Press

Here's what Hardwood Paroxysm wrote yesterday in previewing the Magic/Nets game in its daily Ball Movements post:

Nothing Says "Magic" Like New Jersey: Well, then. Here's a nice little recipe. Let's take the team that lost it's franchise point guard and got back an injured youngster point guard, a behemoth underneatoth, and some bits and pieces. Then let's put on the other side a team that has the consistency of a malt with jello chunks in it. Tasty! Now let's put them in a game heading into the playoff stretch run while the rest of the East has improved via trades. Bake for 48 minutes at 500 degrees. Sprinkle with basil, paprika, and half-man, half-season for taste. Enjoy. Orlando at New Jersey, 7:30PM EST.

He got it absolutely right. As my dad would say (and probably did say, if he was watching), that game was not one to put in the time capsule. It was pretty brutal. Thankfully, the good guys prevailed, despite being out-hustled by a Nets team trying to prove its relevance in the East. However, even with their tough play, they needed uncharacteristically hot three-point shooting (the team connects on just 34% of its threes on the season, but managed to go 8-of-17 from deep in the first three periods) just to pull to within three points at the end of the third quarter. Ladies and gentlemen, your New Jersey Nets!

Hedo Turkoglu, as he's done all season, bailed-out the Magic in the final frame. He scored 17 points on 4-of-4 shooting, giving him 25 points for the game. It's a good thing Hedo got his clutch on, too; he and Rashard Lewis, who also finished with 25 points, were the only Magic starters to distinguish themselves.

No, really. Josh Boone outplayed Dwight Howard, Jameer Nelson was largely ineffective and played less than half the game, and Maurice Evans -- although he did finish with a solid 14 points -- had his hands full guarding Vince Carter. Stop me if you've heard this one before: the Magic won a game despite not giving a great effort. Fortunately, Keyon Dooling changed the complexion of the game when he entered, scoring 10 points in the first half to give the Magic a one-point lead at the intermission.

Last night's result got me thinking: is this "favorable" schedule down the stretch really a good thing? The Magic have 23 games left to play, just six of which against teams currently above .500. Given last night's (lack of) effort, I worry about our guys getting used to being able to win games with sub-par efforts, which they obviously cannot do in the playoffs. Stan Van Gundy needs to come up with a way to keep his team motivated. Otherwise, [insert your own golf cliche here].

School duty calls, so I'm having to cut this recap short. Check out the boxscore and the GameFlow. The Magic/76ers game thread will be up later is up now. Yes, we play Philadelphia yet again.

	vs.
25-31		36-22
IZOD Center
7:30 PM
Sun Sports
Probable starters:
Marcus Williams	PG	Jameer Nelson
Vince Carter	SG	Maurice Evans
R. Jefferson	SF	Hedo Turkoglu
Nenad Krstic	PF	Rashard Lewis
Josh Boone	C	Dwight Howard

The Nets made headlines earlier this month when they agreed to ship All-Star point guard Jason Kidd to Dallas for Devin Harris and other players. Kidd's last game as a Net was February 12th versus Minnesota. In the four games since then, the Nets are 2-2, in large part due to the resurgence of Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson. The Nets' franchise players have combined to score 191 of New Jersey's 406 points in that time span, a staggering 47%. Once Harris returns from injury -- he hasn't played in nearly a month due to an ankle injury -- the Nets figure to be in fairly good shape for the remainder of this season and into the next.

Conversely, we haven't shaken up our roster much since trading for Maurice Evans and Brian Cook in November. We're 3-1 since the All-Star break and boast the most efficient offense in the Eastern Conference. Unfortunately, our defense has regressed to a remarkable degree, and we're in jeopardy of losing our third-overall seed in the Conference.

New Jersey has started oft-injured power forward Nenad Krstic in each of its last seven games, but he hasn't fared well; he reached double-figure scoring just once in those games. Tonight, he may come off the bench, as he's a poor match for Rashard Lewis; Krstic has neither the skill nor the speed to defend Lewis on the perimeter, and Nets coach Lawrence Frank may opt to start Bostjan Nachbar instead, as he did in the first meeting between these two teams, which took place in mid-November. However, for the purposes of this preview, I'll assume that Krstic will indeed start.

Tipoff's at 7:30. Be sure to tune-in, if for nothing else to see Darrell Armstrong play. The second-oldest player in the league, and arguably the most beloved player in Magic history, will back up Marcus Williams at point guard tonight. Recall that Flash destroyed us in early January, leading a fourth-quarter rally to push the Nets to victory over us at the Amway Arena for one of our most embarrassing losses of the season. Let's hope that performance was a fluke.

And don't forget to check out the latest installment of the Blogger MVP/Rookie of the Year rankings, this time hosted by Tom at CelticsBlog.

	vs.
31-19		20-28
Amway Arena
7:00 PM
Sun Sports HD
Probable starters:
Carlos Arroyo	PG	Jason Kidd
Maurice Evans	SG	Vince Carter
Hedo Turkoglu	SF	R. Jefferson
Rashard Lewis	PF	Sean Williams
Dwight Howard	C	Josh Boone

I feel like Willem Dafoe's mirrored reflection in Spider-Man 2: "AVENGE ME!" That early-January loss to the Nets was tough to swallow, so the Magic really need to give them what-for in this matchup tonight. New Jersey is 20-28 and 2-8 in its last 10, yet has a half-game lead on the Bulls for the East's final playoff spot. In the East, winning 42% of your games is good enough.

The Nets let their opponents get to the foul line more than just about any other team, so everyone needs to drive the ball to the basket tonight. Be aggressive, guys.

Jameer Nelson Watch: Stan Van Gundy told John Denton he doesn't feel obligated to play Nelson just because Nelson signed a fat contract extension in the offseason.

The Orlando Magic: Where blowing leads to inferior competition happens.

Screw the usual photo/caption/intro/boxscore format, I'm going to get right down to it: We pissed this game away in the fourth quarter and it's probably our worst loss of the season. We let an offensively-challenged Nets team outscore us 30-18 in the final stanza. Not only that, we let three -- three! -- Nets scrubs have great offensive games off the bench: Darrell Armstrong did his Leandro Barbosa impression with 13 points (a season-high total) in 16 minutes, Malik Allen had 12 points in 19 minutes, and Jason Collins had 10 points (a season-high total) on 5-of-5 shooting.

I'm furious with almost everyone on the team, especially Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson. All of Collins' baskets came because Dwight simply forgot about him on defense. I understand that it's easy to leave a guy open when he averages just 1.1 points per game, but Dwight seemed to be more concerned with making highlight-reel blocked shots from the weak-side than with staying with his man to box him out. Additionally, as the Sun Sports commentators noted throughout their telecast, Howard spent much of the game joking with the Nets' Vince Carter. Where's the intensity? Where's the focus?

Here's Basketbawful on Jason Collins, the man Dwight was supposed to guard:

On Friday night, he went scoreless for the 18th time in 28 games. He also notched the exceptionally rare four trillion. That, it seems, was the end of Lawrence Frank's patience, because Collins never got off the bench on Sataurday [sic] night.

Yes, Jason Collins is a terrible basketball player. Dwight Howard is arguably the best center in the league today. But his defense tonight was atrocious. Additionally, he was a horrible 3-of-10 on the foul line. Just two more makes and the Magic would have won the game.  and he should really hear it from Stan Van Gundy in the locker room.

Nelson -- who came off the bench for the second straight game -- played harder than Howard did, frequently driving to the basket attempting to draw fouls. But he continued to do so even after it was clear he was not going to get the benefit of the whistle. He seemed frustrated by the poor officiating, and he too appeared to lose focus.

A note on the officiating: it was bad. Really bad. Just inconsistent on both ends; sometimes, ticky-tack reach-ins were called, yet other times defensive players were allowed to slap relentlessly at the offensive player without penalty. But as always, officiating should never be blamed for a loss. The Magic should never have let the Nets get close enough to let the officiating appear to decide the outcome. So as horrible as Jack Nies and company were tonight, most of our guys were just as bad, and are more complicit in our defeat.

Did Keyon Dooling have a cold or something? Keyon registered his second DNP-CD of the season on the night, despite the fact that we could have used his defense on Armstrong late in the game. Not only that, Maurice Evans, the man receiving the Magic's backup two-guard minutes, shot just 1-of-8. Mo played hard, but he just didn't have it tonight. Keyon needed to get some fourth-quarter minutes. I'd like to hear the story on why he wasn't used tonight.

I would like to commend three Magic players for their strong efforts tonight:

• Carlos Arroyo shut down Jason Kidd in the first half and continued to run the offense effectively, with 7 assists and no turnovers.
• Adonal Foyle had 10 points and 6 rebounds in relief of Howard, who was in early foul trouble.
• Hedo Turkoglu scored 10 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter. The fact that he lost the ball on the final play of the game doesn't discount his valiant effort in the fourth quarter.

This team should be absolutely ashamed of itself for the way it blew the game tonight, especially on its home floor in front of thousands of fans who paid good money to see it play. Maybe some Magic fans were at least happy that former fan-favorite Darrell Armstrong, who played in 502 games for the Magic over 9 seasons, played well. But overall, it was a piss-poor effort. We should have ran the Nets out of the damn gym; instead, they embarrassed us, we embarrassed ourselves, and the team cheated its hungry fans out of a free Dunkin' Donut tomorrow morning. UGH!

Bare-bones preview today, but here it is. Gotta run. See you at tipoff.

	vs.
22-11		14-16
Amway Arena
7:00 PM
Sun Sports HD
Probable starters:
Carlos Arroyo	PG	Jason Kidd
Keith Bogans	SG	Vince Carter
Hedo Turkoglu	SF	R. Jefferson
Rashard Lewis	PF	Sean Williams
Dwight Howard	C	Josh Boone

UPDATE: Thanks to dxwwf3 at MagicMadness for pointing out that the game will not be on ESPN, as originally advertised.

	vs.
4-4		7-2
IZOD Center
7:30 PM
FSN
Probable starters:
Jason Kidd	PG	Jameer Nelson
Antoine Wright	SG	Keith Bogans
Richard Jefferson	SF	Hedo Turkoglu
Bostjan Nachbar	PF	Rashard Lewis
Jason Collins	C	Dwight Howard

25 words or fewer: The Magic take a perfect 5-0 road record to New Jersey to face the slumping Nets, losers of three straight games.

Know your enemy: The Nets are a completely average team. They're 4-4 overall, with a 3-3 home record and a 1-1 road record.

Useless information: The Nets' Vince Carter, fresh off a four-year, $60 million extension, is injured.

Bullet points:

• Dwight Howard, at least by this measure, is the best center in the NBA. Jason Collins is known for his defense (not for his offense - just one made field goal all year!), but he'll have his hands full while guarding Howard tonight.
• Our very own Rashard Quovon Lewis played solidly against the Nets last season, with averages of 23.5 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists in two games. More importantly, he shot the ball well: 50% overall and 54% on threes. Let's see if he can score 30 tonight; he hasn't done that yet all season.
• Beloved former Magic player Darrell Armstrong is Jason Kidd's backup. We miss you, Flash.
  • UPDATE: Flash is nursing a thigh injury, so the Nets have signed Eddie Gill from the NBA's D-League to replace him on the active roster.
• Speaking of Kidd, he's liable to put up a triple-double on us. He presents problems for every team, but especially us because we don't have anyone who can guard him. Jameer and Carlos are too small, and Keyon Dooling doesn't seem to have the same quickness that made him so effective last season. But, as we learned on Wednesday night, opposing players can drop triple-doubles on their home floor against us and still lose.
• You may not believe this, but Richard Jefferson is 5th in the league in scoring with a 26.1 points per game average. If he gets his offense going early, I'll expect to see Trevor Ariza come off the bench to guard him.
• Brian Hill is a Nets assistant coach.
• I'll be officially worried if Hedo Turkoglu has another bad game tonight. He has not played well lately and the last thing we need is for Turk to be in one of his shooting slumps.
• UPDATE #2: Al Iannazzone reports that Bostjan Nachbar, not Nenad Krstic, will start at power forward tonight for New Jersey. Nets coach Lawrence Frank made the switch for two reasons: Nachbar, a natural small forward, matches up well with Rashard Lewis; and Krstic has struggled this season.