Magic Wands: January 16, 2009

-One of the best announcers on TV is taking a leave of absence. Charles Barkley is one of the most entertaining guys on television and his chemistry with Ernie Johnson and Kenny Smith on TNT make it one of the most entertaining shows in the NBA. Barkley is always honest. He does not care who he offends. And he knows when an issue is important and needs a deeper discussion. It is unfortunate that his shortcomings have kept him from doing something really good in the world. Here is hoping the best for Barkley.

-Dwight Howard is in the running for MVP and Defensive Player of the Year Award. And why not pretend Courtney Lee is in the running for Rookie of the Year. But anyone thinking about Jameer Nelson for Most Improved Player? ESPN is.

-J.A. Adande wonders in Monday's Daily Dime (box 2) where Shaquille O'Neal will have his jersey retired. Apparently the unhealthy break up he left in Los Angeles is not guaranteeing that No. 34 goes up in the rafters. But it seems a pretty safe bet O'Neal's No. 32 will be hanging at the Amway Arena after he retires. I would wait after Darrell's No. 10 is up there though to do it.

-John Hollinger is going to be the pioneer. He is the first member of the national media willing to admit the Magic are title contenders. His numbers cannot lie. He gives the Magic around 20 percent of a chance to win a title now.

-The hit parade keeps coming. After Orlando's impressive performance in Sacramento, Mike Bianchi of The Orlando Sentinel reports that Bill Walton believes the Magic are a front-runner for the title. Bianchi himself wrote a column on how it is time for fans to start truly believing in this team (I am trying, but I am not there yet). Orlando has not had this notoriety since the mid-90s. And they still have a long way to go.

-David Aldridge reports on NBA.com that Yao Ming wants the injury-riddled Tracy McGrady out of Houston. So maybe that deal wasn't so bad after all. The Magic certainly look better than the Rockets.

-So what does Dwight Howard have in store for us in Phoenix? Supposedly it has something to do with a different superhero (those Superman shirts were real nice on Christmas I have to say). Henry Abbott of TrueHoop has some ideas for whoever joins Howard, Nate Robinson and Rudy Gay in the dunk contest.

-Brian Schmitz muses about the plan this summer if Hedo Turkoglu skips town. Turkoglu is a free agent this summer and Orlando has a lot of money already wrapped up (not including roster improvements through free agency). This might be the last chance the Magic have with its current setup to get to the Finals. But it seems like both the Magic and Turkoglu want to get a deal done to keep him in the Magic Kingdom.

A record night in Sacramento

I am still digesting what happened at ARCO Arena a few days ago when Orlando set an NBA record by making 23 3-pointers. To do that is simply incredible.

Personally, I am not a huge fan of the 3-point line. It has ruined basketball in ways a lot of people do not realize and it has actually decreased scoring in the league as players became more specialized and less solid all-around (where have you gone mid-range jumper?).

But Stan Van Gundy has created an ingenius system around Dwight Howard that has worked to perfection in two season. Rashard Lewis, Hedo Turkoglu, Jameer Nelson and Mickael Pietrus create so much space for Howard to work with. And it helps that they can all attack the basket and create on their own.

Van Gundy's system is as much a part of Orlando's success as Howard's development. Would Billy Donovan really help the Magic reach 52 wins last season and a 31-8 start this year? I did not think so.

Some of these numbers are incredible:

-All but three players hit one from beyond the arc. And they are the three you think: Howard, Tony Battie and Marcin "The Polish Hammer" Gortat.

-It was not even that the Magic were missing a lot of shots and made them on pure numbers. Orlando shot 62 percent from beyond the arc! That is not even supposed to be possible. Credit Sacramento's defense for some of it.

-Because the biggest thing overlooked in all this hullabaloo about the record was Howard's incredible night. Superman was a beast in the paint against the undersized (and young) Kings. He had a team-high 25 points and 15 rebounds on eight of 10 shooting. Not to mention he hit nine of his 11 attempts from the free throw line.

-No player on the Magic had a negative +/- rating. Courtney Lee had the lowest at plus-2. That is dominance pure and simple.

-Orlando does not win very often in ARCO Arena. I think they have four or five victories in Sacramento in team history. That is not a lot. So always a good win when you win there no matter how bad Sacramento is.

-The Magic did not score less than 30 points in any period of this game. The Magic are playing really well on offense right now (the defense needs to continue to improve and get back into form). But you do not see that stat very often.

-The Kings even recovered with a 135-133 triple overtime win at Oakland, Calif., against the Warriors. They had 105 points in regulation. So good for them.

Take a look at the box score and see if the numbers continue to blow your mind.

Frame of mind all that is left

A few things suck about not being in Orlando. One of them is that I cannot watch the Magic. That leaves me needing to fill time when I would be watching Orlando play.

So after three hours of NBA Live 2004 (the best of the series... that I have played. And yes, I know that was the 21-61 team. But they did not know that at the time), I turned my computer back on and caught the Magic score. The game had just ended and I had no clue what happened.

But the Magic won.

First reaction? That was a solid win. I am impressed.

My second thought? Wait a second, of course we won. We are one of the best teams in the league. Why wouldn't the Magic win?

Thus I found the last hurdle to winning a title. Mediocrity has beaten down into our heads that wins against the elite are a special thing that do not come around very often. That good teams are fleeting and the Playoffs (let alone home court advantage) should be treasured.

If you have been a long-time fan, this guarded optimism should come natural -- as should the feeling of unexpected and immediate collapse. I cannot be the only one who thinks it is crazy that the premier Magic blog on the Internet is called Third Quarter Collapse and that I named my own blog after something that kept Orlando down in the dumps for a decade.

This Orlando team CAN win a title. Repeat after me. This Orlando team CAN win a title. Repeat. This Orlando team CAN win a title.

Maybe repetition will burn it into my skull. Now that the national media is starting to notice the Magic's exploits, it is time for the fans to start believing.

The team believes it can win a title. Otis Smith has been telling them that for three years now, probably longer. The media is beginning to gravitate in that direction.

All that is left is for us, the fans, to believe every game is a win. Which at this point it should be. A win over San Antonio should be as expected as a win over Washington.

OK, maybe that is a little extreme. But wins are expected, losses are shocking. Maybe if I keep telling myself that, I will believe it and will start prepping for June basketball.

What They're Saying: Magic vs. Spurs 1/11

Orlando heads to San Antonio to begin a four-game swing out West. The Magic have not fared well in San Antonio -- whether it be the Alamodome or the AT&T Center -- going 3-17 in San Antonio. Their last win over the Spurs was a 92-80 win in April 2006. I remember that game as the one where Tim Duncan told reporters he was glad he was not going to be playing when Dwight Howard was in his prime.

The Magic took care of the Spurs at home earlier this season with a dominating 90-78 win on national television. Don't think Gregg Popovich and the Spurs have forgotten that. But Orlando is playing pretty well right now and own the best road record in the NBA. Should be an interesting one.

-Brian Schmitz of The Orlando Sentinel goes into the brutal stretch that the Magic will have until the end of the month. This road trip alone features games against the three division leaders in the Western Conference. After San Antonio, Orlando heads to Sacramento, then to Los Angeles for a match with the Lakers and then off to Denver. When the Magic get home they will see the Celtics and Cavaliers.

-Dave Darling of The Orlando Sentinel reports on the ongoing battle for Central Florida fans to watch Orlando on FSN Florida. At the beginning of the year, Brighthouse Networks and FSN Florida agreed to a deal allowing Central Florida fans to get every Magic game. But Lake County fans with Comcast still do not have Magic games on FSN Florida.

-Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News chronicles how Tony Parker has put behind his worst performance of the season in Orlando last month and become a candidate for the All Star team. Parker is a good player and he simply had an off night against Orlando last time around. Parker is playing a lot better now.

-More from McDonald: the Spurs know Howard usually brings his A-game against them and had two days off to prepare for a now-healthy Superman (remember he was coming off that sore knee before the first matchup). Howard has thrown in some pretty big games against Duncan and the Spurs. Also, both teams are pretty solid behind the 3-point line. It is no coincidence that both teams have surrounded their superstar big men with such great shooters. And former Florida player Matt Bonner is getting ready to appeal to Stu Jackson to make the 3-point shootout at All Star Weekend.

-Ben Q Rock of 3rd Quarter Collapse makes an interesting point with the help of stats from 82games.com. Both the Magic and Spurs are near the top of the league in defense -- more interestingly in forcing jump shots. Sixty-eight percent of field goals taken by Orlando's opponents are jumpers. Sixty-nine percent of field goals taken by the Spurs' opponents are jumpers. More interestingly, both teams rank near the bottom of the league in turnovers per game. That is good defense.

-Graydon Gordian of the Spurs blog 48 Minutes of Hell talks to 3rd Quarter Collapse's Ben Q Rock about the Magic this season. Ben Q Rock, like me, believes Orlando has its first title contender in more than 10 years. Now if only the rest of the world would realize this. They also discuss Jameer Nelson and Dwight Howard's maturation as players. Thinking about it now, there are a lot of similarities between Orlando and San Antonio in the way they have built their teams.

Back-to-back wins? Tougher than it looks

Orlando put some breathing room between itself and Atlanta with back-to-back wins in three days. It does not get much closer to a playoff series then that and home-and-homes do not pop up on the NBA schedule often.

It IS January and the playoffs are a long way away, but don't think that Wednesday's and Friday's win were not insignificant. The Magic expanded their 4-game lead to six in the division. They could still blow it, but they now have all the confidence and the Hawks don't.

But taking back-to-back games in a home-and-home series is something that does not happen often in the regular season.

Orlando has had a surprising number of home-and-homes. Here are those results:

January 26, 29, 2007 vs. Atlanta (lost at home 93-90 first, then lost on the road 93-83)

February 14-15, 2006 vs. Miami (lost on the road 107-93, then lost at home 110-100)

January 28-29, 2005 vs. Washington (won at home 108-101, then won on the road 103-97)
February 26-27, 2005 vs. Miami (lost on the road 101-98, then lost at home 112-103)
March 21, 24, 2005 vs. Charlotte (lost on the road 102-97, then lost at home 108-94)

January 19, 21, 2004 vs. Milwaukee (won at home 106-99, then lost on the road 113-102)

November 23-24, 2001 vs. Charlotte (Hornets) (won on the road 109-99, then lost at home 103-101)
December 7-8, 2001 vs. Atlanta (won at home 129-94, then lost on the road 107-104)

December 1-2, 2000 vs. New Jersey (won at home 83-80, then won on the road 95-74)

March 2, 4, 1997 vs. Seattle (lost at home 109-101, won on the road 101-89)

November 7-8, 1996 vs. New Jersey in Japan (won the first game 108-95, won the second game 86-82)

March 5, 8, 1996 vs. Charlotte (Hornets) (won on the road 123-97, won at home 117-112)
March 31, April 4, 1996 vs. New York (won at home 98-79, won on the road 98-85)

December 6-7, 1994 vs. Cleveland (won on the road 114-97, won at home 90-75)
April 5, 7, 1995 vs. Detroit (won at home 128-125, then lost on the road 104-94)
April 17, 19, 1995 vs. Washington (won at home 111-110, then lost on the road 123-117)

March 9, 11, 1994 vs. Philadelphia (won on the road 117-101, then won at home 112-105)

April 10, 13, 1993 vs. Milwaukee (lost on the road 108-97, then won at home 110-91)

December 26-27, 1991 vs. Detroit (lost at home 112-100, then lost on the road 106-94)

November 11, 13, 1989 vs. Atlanta (lost on the road 148-109, then lost at home 112-104)

If you made it this far and have been able to draw any conclusions I congratulate you. But it should be no surprise that the teams that were able to win both of these home and homes in a single season were the best in team history.

Centers take time

Dwight Howard is the crown jewel of Orlando's offense. Centers like him come once in a lifetime.

That is why so many teams take the risk to draft big men. You cannot teach height, after all. And most teams who have won a title and continued to win titles had dominant big men -- think Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O'Neal, Bill Russell. You need a guy like Michael Jordan to win a title without a dominant big man.

Height is rare. A skilled player with height is even more rare.

Friday's Daily Dime talks about all the guards that are playing really well in the first seasons in the NBA. From Russell Westbrook to George Hill to the recent emergence of Eric Gordon, guards are dominating the talk for rookie of the year.

Courtney Lee has proven how a guard can quickly adjust to the NBA game.

It is a lot easier for a guard to do so. Scoring from the perimeter is something anyone with a basketball can do.

Playing in the post against much stronger and more developed NBA centers? That is a little tougher.

Remember Howard his first year? He could not score at all int he post. All his points came off rebounds, put backs and fast breaks. His game has been refined over the last five years. But we all know he still has a ways to go offensively to be the force the Magic envision him.

High talent guards like Kevin Durant can make the transition to the NBA a lot easier because the game and the defenses they face change very little from college (strength is not a little thing, but some of these college programs have NBA weight training programs).

Guys like Kevin Love and Greg Oden need some polish to their games. But with time and ptience they both have the potential to become special players. Just not immediately.

Magic Wands: January 9, 2009

-Marc Stein's Weekend Dime on ESPN.com has some interesting minutiae. Box One is all about how Stephon Marbury might end up a Celtic. But if you scroll down to the bottom of the page you will find another interesting tidbit. Last Friday (when the Magic defeated the Heat) was the first time in 29 years that all NBA teams were in action in one day. Happy New Year.

-Last Friday's win over Miami gave Orlando its best 33-game start at 26-7. That mark ties the 1994-95 club (that went to the Finals) and the 1995-96 team (that lost to the 72-10 Bulls). Pretty good company.

-ESPN has some predictions for the '09 year. Interesting things might be coming down the pipe for the NBA. Mostly the salary cap implications of the recession. For the first time in a long time, don't be surprised that the salary cap actually decreases.

-Mark Cuban is going to save my job and change journalism's and newspaper's future.

-You know that moment after a timeout when the crowd stands up and cheers the team, pushing them to a big win? Well Keyon Dooling would love to know when that moment is in New Jersey. It got so bad that they began booing him after he missed a free throw (a rare moment, they probably should keep that ticket).

-Courtney Lee earned his first start Tuesday against Washington. He has certainly earned that playing time and my nice column this week espousing how awesome it is to get a draft pick right. David Thorpe in his weekly Rookie Watch says Lee has become successful because he is filling the role the Magic need. It is so easy when you do something better than anyone else can on a team.

-Way off topic. But Magic Kingdom without Space Mountain? A crime against humanity... or at least Orlando.

Lee the home run we have been waiting for

Geert Hammick. Anthony Avent. JJ Redick. Rodney Dent. Johnny Davis. Brian Evans. David Vaughn.

The number of useless and empty mid-first round draft picks is astounding in the Magic's history. But it seems like Orlando has finally hit one right.

Dwyane Wade scored 33 points in the game against Miami last Friday. He had none in the fourth quarter. Who was guarding him in the final moments of the game? It was the rookie from Western Kentucky.

Lee has been the biggest and most pleasant surprise of the season.

It has always been difficult to gauge Orlando's draft picks. When it is not a slam dunk home run (like Dwight Howard, Shaquille O'Neal or Penny Hardaway), Orlando's drafting has been suspect. Mike Miller was a top five pick and panned out OK.

But after the Magic make the playoffs? You will be hard pressed to find someone who contributed to the team immediately. Keith Bogans did, I think. Other than that, there are not that many to name. Michael Doleac and Matt Harpring were good for the Magic.

Keyon Dooling was good... six years after Orlando drafted him.

Tough to pull those name out of the hat. The Magic were looking for their diamond in the rough. Their Gilbert Arenas, Carlos Boozer, Michael Redd, Manu Ginobili or Tony Parker. That late round steal.

But Lee is bucking this trend.

In June, it was clear Lee was the best option for Orlando. He was a seasoned player who knew how to score and could defend a little. If anything his success should prove that the longer you stay in college, the more ready you are for the NBA.

He struggled at the beginning of the year, but is demanding playing time now. He has fit in perfectly with Orlando and is replenishing the team's talent. His presence has allowed Orlando to survive injuries to Mickael Pietrus and should allow the team to let go of older, unwanted or too costly talent.

Lee is the home run draft pick Orlando has been waiting for.

Redick's real problem

Look, I am not going to pretend that JJ Redick is an important part of the team. His trials and tribulations on the Magic have been well-documented. Who knows if he will be traded or if he will get another chance at the rotation now that Mickael Pietrus is out.

But I noticed something important from Redick at last night's game at Amway Arena.

You see, Redick's biggest problem (at least that I can see, I don't know what he is like in practice) is his attitude and demeanor on the court. It kind of looks like his head is not in the game right now.

A big sign to me was his reactions during pregame introductions. As the team gathered after Dwight Howard was introduced, Redick meandered his way to the huddle. Howard was done saying what he needed to say to the team before Redick reached the huddle. He then looked up and acknowledge a fan and appeared to say something to him.

I know it is a little thing. But when you see a guy like Marcin Gortat standing and cheering and providing energy at all points of the game, it is no wonder that he broke the rotation and Redick has not.

When you are a bench player, breaking into the rotation is all about how you can add something different to the game and stay in the game. Energy is a big part of that.

Redick is a good player. He has one of the best shots in the game. He is lacking a little confidence right now. But when he was playing earlier in the season, he certainly looked like a stronger player.

Now he just has to find his way back into the rotation. He might be getting his chance very soon.

Magic Wands: January 2, 2009

Sorry there is not much here. I was in San Antonio for the Alamo Bowl for much of the week (read more at NUfootballinsider.com). Let's just say, it was great except for the end of the game. Here is what I could scrounge up.

-I remember reading back when the Magic played the Warriors that Golden State fans complained about Mickael Pietrus' durability. Well it looks like that might be somewhat true. I am not saying Pietrus is trying to get hurt, but he is back on the shelf again making Magic fans glad they have a lot of shooting guards. The Orlando Sentinel is reporting he will miss a month.

-After a year of arguments Bright House Networks, the largest cable provider in Orlando, and Fox Sports Florida have reached an agreement, reports The Orlando Sentinel. That means every Orlando Magic game will be on Brighthouse Networks (and the Marlins, Rays, Panthers and Seminoles basketball to name a few).

-SportsIllustrated.com has a roundtable discussion on where the Magic fit in among the Eastern Conference's elite. Are they at the same level as Boston and Cleveland? For the most part, they believe the Magic have improved and are certainly getting there. We will find out as the season goes on, I guess.

-Dwight Howard still leads everyone in votes for the All Star Game. Jameer Nelson and Rashard Lewis have to keep working to get love from the coaches it looks like.

-SportsIllustrated.com has a roundtable discussing where the Magic fit in to the Eastern Conference's elite. Is Orlando as good as Boston and Cleveland? For the most part they think that the Magic are an improved team and certainly deserve consideration. We will find out as the season progresses, I guess.