Yardbarker: Orlando Magic

Magic Lose Heartbreaker, Fall to Heat 99-98

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 02:35:06 -0500

The Orlando Magic lost an absolute heartbreaker on to the Miami Heat on Wednesday night. Orlando blew an 11-point lead but battled back to take a 3-point lead on a Vince Carter 3-pointer with just 14 seconds left. Unfortunately, two put-backs combined with two missed free-throws from Jason Williams gave the Heat the win. Miami’s last [...]

Carter can't save Magic from tough loss vs. Heat

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:25:47 -0500

Vince Carter's 22 points were nice, but Orlando falls to Miami. Charley Rosen analyzes how the Magic's big trade is working out.

Beasley put-back dunk stuffs Magic with 1.6 left

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 22:59:17 -0500

Michael Beasley dunked a missed shot by Dwyane Wade with 1.6 seconds remaining, lifting the Miami Heat to a 99-98 victory over the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night.

Some Extremely Early Playoff Predictions

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 11:50:00 -0500

Four weeks into the season, ESPN's Tim Legler offers up his playoff predictions. Here's the top four seeds. 1. Boston Celtics: Still the best team in the East. They have the best defensive team, even with guys currently banged up. They know how to win in the most consistent way, which is to defend, rebound and spread it out on offense. Still the class of the East. 2. Orlando Magic: To me the Magic have the deepest offensive team in th...

Orlando Magic News & Notes: Containing Dwayne Wade

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 10:53:42 -0500

The Orlando Magic take on the Miami Heat Wednesday night. You can read my preview here. Magic Head Coach Stan Van Gundy would like Dwayne Wade to head west when he’s a free agent at the end of the season. “I would really suggest…West,” Van Gundy laughed, with tongue firmly in cheek. “I like him. I’m concerned about [...]

Preview: Miami Heat @ Orlando Magic

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 10:32:51 -0500

The Orlando Magic will play host to the Miami Heat tomorrow night at Amway Arena. Both teams are coming off of wins Sunday. The Magic came from 12 points down to defeat the host Toronto Raptors while the Heat held off the New Orleans Hornets after blowing a fourth quarter lead. They were led by Dwayne [...]

Orlando Magic News & Notes: Dwight Howard Receives NBA Cares Community Assist Award

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:04:13 -0500

Dwight Howard received the NBA Cares Community Assist Award for the month of October. ORLANDO MAGIC CENTER DWIGHT HOWARD RECEIVES NBA CARES COMMUNITY ASSIST AWARD FOR OCTOBER NEW YORK, Nov. 24, 2009 – The NBA has named Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard as the recipient of the NBA Cares Community Assist Award for October in recognition of [...]

The 10-man rotation, starring Lewis, Ray, PEDs and playoffs

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:35:48 -0500

A look around the league and the web that covers it. It's also important to note that the rotation order and starting nods aren't always listed in order of importance. That's for you, dear reader, to figure out.C: NBA FanHouse. Should Rashard Lewis(notes) have been suspended during the playoffs?PF: STF. NBA stars of our youth have fathered sons who are starting to make their college debuts.SF: Nets Are Scorching. A statistical look at Sean Williams(notes) and why he should play m...

Magic Turn Up the Heat, Beat the Raptors

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 18:24:31 -0500

The Orlando Magic trailed the Toronto Raptors by as many as 11 before turning up the heat on defense to overcome poor shooting and come away with their fifth straight victory, a 104-96 win in Toronto. It was Orlando’s second win in Toronto on the young season. The Raptors fell to 6-8 while the Magic [...]

Preview: Toronto Raptors @ Orlando Magic

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 08:26:31 -0500

The Orlando Magic will play another Sunday matinee against in Toronto when they take on the Raptors Sunday afternoon. Both squads are coming off of a big, much-needed wins. Orlando wanted to beat one of the top contenders after their loss to the Cavaliers and the Raptors desperately wanted to end their three-game losing streak. The game [...]

We didn’t get to the Finals for nothing!!!

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 17:27:19 -0500

What's up everybody???

Beating Boston on Friday, now that’s what I’m talking about. It just killed me last week missing the loss to Cleveland, and I was determined to bring it for this game against the Celtics. These are what I like to call statement games and you always have to go out with the mindset that you need to prove yourself to the opponent and to everybody in the NBA.

We were back in Boston for the first time since May when we beat the Celtics in a Game 7. Not many people gave us a chance that night, and I’m sure they didn’t give us much of a chance again on Friday.
But I think we showed people some things with the way we won this game. Coach Van Gundy always told us when we’re not playing well on the offensive end that’s when you’ve got to pick it up on defense. Our defense kept us in this game, no doubt.

This is a big win for us and a real confidence boost. Cleveland came in (last week) and took it to us. This kind of lets us know that we’re still a good team. We didn’t get to The Finals for nothing. We’re still a very good team.

And we’re a team on the same page. There was a lot of talk in the media the last few days about Stan Van Gundy’s negativity towards us in practice and in games. Stan is an intense dude and sometimes he really goes at us. All of that bashing can take a toll on some guys, so Stan said he’s going to try and limit his negativity in the future. (We’ll see how long it lasts!!! Ha ha ha)

On Friday, Stan was positive the whole night. He did do a good job of cutting back on the screaming and yelling. He was doing more coaching in the huddles instead of bashing. Usually he bashes us for the first two minutes of the timeouts and then he’ll coach the game. Last night he was strictly coaching.

I really think that’s going to help us out and let guys feel like they can play looser and not have to worry about being so uptight. Instead of getting mad at coach and going out there playing frustrated this way sort of put our minds at ease. Stan just has to pick and choose his moments and not try to be a nice coach. He still has to stay on top of us because that makes us play harder.

I’m just hoping that by beating Boston we showed people we’re still a pretty damn good team. It seems like the Lakers, Cavs and Celtics get all the pub as being the top teams, but maybe this will make folks remember the Magic.

I also gave away 3 tickets to Angel last night in Boston, whose Dad left me a message on my Saynow # (1-888-9RAWLEW). Stay in touch, may be you next time. Outta here for now, but I wanna hear back as to what you guys think about how we played last night. Ya’ll be good!!! Don't forget to vote for me and my bro's for 2010 NBA All-Star!!!

SHARD

Magic Grind Out Victory Over Celtics

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:51:46 -0500

The Orlando Magic raced out to a 16-point first quarter lead but scored the game’s final 5 points and won the game 83-78. It was a sloppy game on both sides. Especially for the Magic. They were on fire in the first quarter, led by Mickael Pietrus’ three 3-pointers. The Magic made five 3-pointers in the [...]

Schmitz: Nelson Could Return As Early As December 2

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:03:30 -0500

Brian Schmitz is reporting that Jameer Neslon, who was originally thought to be out for four-to-six weeks, could return as early as December 2. The Magic said that PG Jameer Nelson could be out four to six weeks, but teammates suggest he could miss as little as three weeks. If that’s a target date, Nelson could [...]

Orlando Magic News & Notes: Showdown at the Garden

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:02:09 -0500

The Magic will take on the Boston Celtics tonight. You can read my preview of tonight’s game here. Rashard Lewis declared Friday night’s game a second-chance “statement game.” “It’s a big game for us,” Lewis said. “We’re playing against one of the best teams in the NBA. I think it’s a statement game, just like the Cleveland [...]

Orlando Magic News & Notes: Revenge

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:34:58 -0500

The Orlando Magic defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 108-94 Wednesday night. See a recap, my analysis, and quotes from the game here. Joshua Robbins says that better energy yields a better result. “Whatever it takes for us to win, we have to do it,” Dwight Howard said. “I think tonight as a team we brought a lot [...]

Orlando Magic News & Notes: Replacing Jameer

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:44:58 -0500

Jameer Nelson is out for four-to-six weeks with a torn labrum. Brian Schmitz says that Otis Smith has not ruled out signing Allen Iverson. “It’s hard to say. You have to evaluate it. But it has to make sense for your team,” he said. “I just got the news (on Nelson) a few hours ago, so I [...]

Jammer Nelson to Miss Four-to-Six Weeks With a Torn Meniscus

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:43:26 -0500

Per OrlandoMagic.com, Jameer Nelson is going to undergo arthroscopic surgery Wednesday morning to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. See the full story here. Nelson is expected to miss four-to-six weeks. Nelson missed 40 regular season games and 19 playoff games in 2009 with a torn labrum. The Magic, who are fairly deep at Point Guard, [...]