Denton: Magic-Kings Postgame Analysis
By John Denton
January 12, 2010
Note: The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Orlando Magic. All opinions expressed by John Denton are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Orlando Magic or their Basketball Operations staff, partners or sponsors. His sources are not known to the Magic and he has no special access to information beyond the access and privileges that go along with being an NBA accredited member of the media.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – With Dwight Howard flexing his massive muscles inside, Jason Williams playing with the flash he had a decade ago and contributions coming from practically every part of the roster, the Orlando Magic once again looked like a dominant team.
Orlando rode a dominant 30-point, 16-rebound, three-block night from Howard and smothered the Sacramento Kings to the tune of a 10-point fourth quarter in an impressive, run-away 109-88 victory.
After holding the Kings to four of 22 shooting in the fourth period and just six points in the first 9:30 of the final period, the Magic (26-12) looked very much like a team cured of whatever it was that hampered it last week in a four-game losing streak.
``In the corner (of ARCO Arena) there’s a board that has the field goal percentages and I kept watching theirs go down and down and down,’’ said Magic shooting guard J.J. Redick, who was a part of the Magic’s closing unit in the fourth period. ``I didn’t realize until after the game that we held them to 10 points, but it definitely felt like we were getting stops every time down. Our energy and focus on defense were really better. That’s why we were successful last year and it’s why we’ve been successful this season.’’
Orlando once trailed by as many as nine points, but never cracked against one of the NBA’s most dynamic young teams. The Magic won this one with their defensive grit – they held Sacramento (15-22) to 34.9 percent shooting – and heavy doses of Howard, Williams and others.
``We contained the ball and we didn’t let them get more than one shot,’’ said Howard, who had the 70th game of his career and the sixth one of this season with at least 20 points and 15 rebounds. ``We made a great effort in the second half of not giving up anything easy.’’
The next leg of Orlando’s eight-day, four-game roadtrip will be anything but easy. The Magic cross back into the Mountain Time Zone to face the rugged Denver Nuggets tonight at 9 p.m. Orlando then plays in Portland on Friday and in Los Angeles on Monday against the Lakers.
Six Magic players hit double figures, led by 18 points and 10 rebounds off the bench from Mickael Pietrus. Ryan Anderson, who was playing before approximately 300 fans from his hometown 30 miles outside of Sacramento, had 12 points, five rebounds and two 3-pointers.
Here’s a look back at the good, the bad and the ugly from Tuesday’s impressive win for the Magic.
THE GOOD
---- Howard had a spectacular start to the game, pounding Spencer Hawes, Jason Thompson and Jon Brockman for 13 first-half points. He made four of eight shots, numbers that might have been even better had Howard not missed two mid-range, face-up jump shots.
Howard has talked recently about wanting to shoot more jumpers, feeling that if he can make the short bank shot that it will cause defenders to come up on him closer and open driving lanes. Also, it will give Howard another weapon against teams that send constant double-teams his way.
And in the second half, when the Kings were wary of double-teaming because of the Magic’s 3-point shooters, Howard had a field day inside. He made hook shots with both hands and twice converted on lobs. And he made Sacramento pay for fouling him, hitting 12 of 17 free throw attempts.
``I think that was his best offensive game of the season,’’ Magic coach Stan Van Gundy gushed. ``He had five assists, he was making his free throws and he was tough inside. He was really, really good.’’
---- Back where his NBA career began in 1998, Magic point guard Jason Williams was again a major spark off the bench. When Jameer Nelson struggled at times to stay in front of Tyreke Evans, Van Gundy inserted Williams (and used the bigger Mickael Pietrus on Evans). Williams finished the game with 12 points and six assists and had two baskets and four assists in the critical fourth period.
Most of his six baskets came on hard drives to the rim, and he drew audible oohs and ahhs from the crowd when he converted nifty finger rolls on three different occasions.
And even when Williams missed on a drive to the hoop, as he did late in the fourth quarter, it had the Sacramento defense out of position and Howard cleaned up the miss for a dunk that put Orlando up 10 with 7:06 to play.
``Their pick-and-roll defense was different because they didn’t want to help off Dwight and I could turn the corner and get all the way to the rim,’’ Williams said. ``But when I’m out there, I’ve got to keep our big man (Howard) happy by getting him the ball. He did a good job for us. Defensively, he takes care of every mistake we make. And when we get him the ball, he’s even more active out there.’’
THE BAD
---- Magic star guard Vince Carter missed his second consecutive game because of a shoulder he sprained last Friday against Washington.
Carter said on Tuesday that there was progress with the shoulder, but he is still bothered by reaching across his body with his left arm.
Carter playfully dribbled the ball in the Magic huddle during one timeout. He most likely will go through rehab again tonight, but could play as soon as Friday in Portland.
``I’d be shocked if he doesn’t play this week,’’ Magic GM Otis Smith said on Tuesday.
---- The lingering soreness in Nelson’s surgically repaired left knee is a major issue, and could limit him tonight in the back-to-back against Denver. That’s not an appealing prospect with Chauncey Billups up ahead for the Magic.
Nelson did make consecutive 3-pointers in the third quarter to jumpstart Orlando’s second half comeback from a nine-point deficit.
THE UGLY
---- Starting in place of the injured Carter, Redick struggled mightily with his shot early in the game. He missed five of seven five tries in the first half and his all six tries from 3-point range for the game.
It was just a year ago that Redick made four of Orlando’s NBA record 23 3-pointers against the Kings. Nine Magic players hit 3-pointers in that record-setting performance, and many of them talked about that performance on Monday when the Magic practiced at ARCO Arena on Monday and Tuesday morning.
Redick did salvage his first half by hitting a short jumper at the buzzer.
Said Van Gundy: ``I thought early on he was shooting a lot of contested shots. We’ve talked to him about being more aggressive, but it might have worked against him tonight. But he’s still a really smart and tough player for us.’’
---- Evans, the likely favorite to win the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award, had a dismal first half. He used his tremendous speed and cross-over dribble to get into the lane at will, but he was often met there by Howard.
Evans missed nine of his 10 shots in the first half, most of them coming on point-blank looks at the rim. Evans did get to the free throw line six times, making five of those, and he handed out two assists.
For the game, he made just five of 16 shots. Afterward, he admitted that the Magic big man played a big role in his shooting woes.
``Dwight was covering the paint,’’ marveled Evans. ``I’ve played against some shot-blockers, but none like Dwight. It’s tough to get a layup over him. He comes from the help side and can jump so high. You have to get the shot high off the glass.’’
John Denton writes for Orlandomagic.com. His Orlando Magic ``Behind the Scenes’’ segment can be heard on ESPN 1080 AM on Thursday at 5:05 p.m. Submit questions to John for his ``Ask J.D.’’ mailbag feature that will appear every Friday at AskJD@orlandomagic.com.
By John DentonJanuary 12, 2010
Note: The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Orlando Magic. All opinions expressed by John Denton are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Orlando Magic or their Basketball Operations staff, partners or sponsors. His sources are not known to the Magic and he has no special access to information beyond the access and privileges that go along with being an NBA accredited member of the media.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – With Dwight Howard flexing his massive muscles inside, Jason Williams playing with the flash he had a decade ago and contributions coming from practically every part of the roster, the Orlando Magic once again looked like a dominant team.
Orlando rode a dominant 30-point, 16-rebound, three-block night from Howard and smothered the Sacramento Kings to the tune of a 10-point fourth quarter in an impressive, run-away 109-88 victory.
After holding the Kings to four of 22 shooting in the fourth period and just six points in the first 9:30 of the final period, the Magic (26-12) looked very much like a team cured of whatever it was that hampered it last week in a four-game losing streak.
``In the corner (of ARCO Arena) there’s a board that has the field goal percentages and I kept watching theirs go down and down and down,’’ said Magic shooting guard J.J. Redick, who was a part of the Magic’s closing unit in the fourth period. ``I didn’t realize until after the game that we held them to 10 points, but it definitely felt like we were getting stops every time down. Our energy and focus on defense were really better. That’s why we were successful last year and it’s why we’ve been successful this season.’’
Orlando once trailed by as many as nine points, but never cracked against one of the NBA’s most dynamic young teams. The Magic won this one with their defensive grit – they held Sacramento (15-22) to 34.9 percent shooting – and heavy doses of Howard, Williams and others.
``We contained the ball and we didn’t let them get more than one shot,’’ said Howard, who had the 70th game of his career and the sixth one of this season with at least 20 points and 15 rebounds. ``We made a great effort in the second half of not giving up anything easy.’’
The next leg of Orlando’s eight-day, four-game roadtrip will be anything but easy. The Magic cross back into the Mountain Time Zone to face the rugged Denver Nuggets tonight at 9 p.m. Orlando then plays in Portland on Friday and in Los Angeles on Monday against the Lakers.
Six Magic players hit double figures, led by 18 points and 10 rebounds off the bench from Mickael Pietrus. Ryan Anderson, who was playing before approximately 300 fans from his hometown 30 miles outside of Sacramento, had 12 points, five rebounds and two 3-pointers.
Here’s a look back at the good, the bad and the ugly from Tuesday’s impressive win for the Magic.
THE GOOD
---- Howard had a spectacular start to the game, pounding Spencer Hawes, Jason Thompson and Jon Brockman for 13 first-half points. He made four of eight shots, numbers that might have been even better had Howard not missed two mid-range, face-up jump shots.
Howard has talked recently about wanting to shoot more jumpers, feeling that if he can make the short bank shot that it will cause defenders to come up on him closer and open driving lanes. Also, it will give Howard another weapon against teams that send constant double-teams his way.
And in the second half, when the Kings were wary of double-teaming because of the Magic’s 3-point shooters, Howard had a field day inside. He made hook shots with both hands and twice converted on lobs. And he made Sacramento pay for fouling him, hitting 12 of 17 free throw attempts.
``I think that was his best offensive game of the season,’’ Magic coach Stan Van Gundy gushed. ``He had five assists, he was making his free throws and he was tough inside. He was really, really good.’’
---- Back where his NBA career began in 1998, Magic point guard Jason Williams was again a major spark off the bench. When Jameer Nelson struggled at times to stay in front of Tyreke Evans, Van Gundy inserted Williams (and used the bigger Mickael Pietrus on Evans). Williams finished the game with 12 points and six assists and had two baskets and four assists in the critical fourth period.
Most of his six baskets came on hard drives to the rim, and he drew audible oohs and ahhs from the crowd when he converted nifty finger rolls on three different occasions.
And even when Williams missed on a drive to the hoop, as he did late in the fourth quarter, it had the Sacramento defense out of position and Howard cleaned up the miss for a dunk that put Orlando up 10 with 7:06 to play.
``Their pick-and-roll defense was different because they didn’t want to help off Dwight and I could turn the corner and get all the way to the rim,’’ Williams said. ``But when I’m out there, I’ve got to keep our big man (Howard) happy by getting him the ball. He did a good job for us. Defensively, he takes care of every mistake we make. And when we get him the ball, he’s even more active out there.’’
THE BAD
---- Magic star guard Vince Carter missed his second consecutive game because of a shoulder he sprained last Friday against Washington.
Carter said on Tuesday that there was progress with the shoulder, but he is still bothered by reaching across his body with his left arm.
Carter playfully dribbled the ball in the Magic huddle during one timeout. He most likely will go through rehab again tonight, but could play as soon as Friday in Portland.
``I’d be shocked if he doesn’t play this week,’’ Magic GM Otis Smith said on Tuesday.
---- The lingering soreness in Nelson’s surgically repaired left knee is a major issue, and could limit him tonight in the back-to-back against Denver. That’s not an appealing prospect with Chauncey Billups up ahead for the Magic.
Nelson did make consecutive 3-pointers in the third quarter to jumpstart Orlando’s second half comeback from a nine-point deficit.
THE UGLY
---- Starting in place of the injured Carter, Redick struggled mightily with his shot early in the game. He missed five of seven five tries in the first half and his all six tries from 3-point range for the game.
It was just a year ago that Redick made four of Orlando’s NBA record 23 3-pointers against the Kings. Nine Magic players hit 3-pointers in that record-setting performance, and many of them talked about that performance on Monday when the Magic practiced at ARCO Arena on Monday and Tuesday morning.
Redick did salvage his first half by hitting a short jumper at the buzzer.
Said Van Gundy: ``I thought early on he was shooting a lot of contested shots. We’ve talked to him about being more aggressive, but it might have worked against him tonight. But he’s still a really smart and tough player for us.’’
---- Evans, the likely favorite to win the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award, had a dismal first half. He used his tremendous speed and cross-over dribble to get into the lane at will, but he was often met there by Howard.
Evans missed nine of his 10 shots in the first half, most of them coming on point-blank looks at the rim. Evans did get to the free throw line six times, making five of those, and he handed out two assists.
For the game, he made just five of 16 shots. Afterward, he admitted that the Magic big man played a big role in his shooting woes.
``Dwight was covering the paint,’’ marveled Evans. ``I’ve played against some shot-blockers, but none like Dwight. It’s tough to get a layup over him. He comes from the help side and can jump so high. You have to get the shot high off the glass.’’
John Denton writes for Orlandomagic.com. His Orlando Magic ``Behind the Scenes’’ segment can be heard on ESPN 1080 AM on Thursday at 5:05 p.m. Submit questions to John for his ``Ask J.D.’’ mailbag feature that will appear every Friday at AskJD@orlandomagic.com.
