Grab A Handle... and hang on

The photos were snapped, public service announcements recorded, interviews taped and players met together for officially the first time yesterday at the RDV Sportsplex. It is cold outside for the first time all fall and that means it is finally basketball season.

In the words of the Joker, "Here... we... go."

This is arguably the most anticipated season of Magic basketball in the franchise's 21-year history. Owner Rich DeVos dipped into the before unimagined luxury tax realm to try to ensure his team brings home its first championship. Buoyed by last year's trip to the NBA Finals, the once lofty dreams of lifting the Larry O'Brien Trophy have become the only acceptable outcome for the 2009-10 season.

Once again, "Here... we... go."

To continue my somewhat silly superhero movie references -- notice how I have not mentioned Dwight Howard yet (damn) -- with great expectations, comes great responsibility.

And that is why the new catch-word for the team struck a chord with me.

"Grab a Handle"

Like Boston's "Ubuntu" or Los Angeles' "Kobe" (just kidding on that last one), there is a sense of togetherness that comes from this phrase. The sense that through the work of the team, everyone can succeed. It is the type of mentality that every team always credits with inspiring them to a title that season.

Will this one work? Only time will tell.

But Stan Van Gundy and Otis Smith, I think have caught on to the right idea.

It is no secret this is one of the deepest and star-studded teams in the league now. There are four potential All Stars in the starting lineup, something that has not been seen since the 2006 Pistons. I do not expect all four of these guys to make a return trip to the big game in Dallas, but to see three again would not be surprising.

But individual accolades are meaningless to a team that has championship aspirations. It would be nice to get the same type of recognition that Rashard Lewis, Jameer Nelson and Howard got last year, but that is not what is important.

What is important is Grabbing a Handle.

Think about it. In order to power a canoe or row boat (that is not made for an individual, at least) it takes the concerted effort of all the rowers working together to prople the craft through the water. Why do you think crew is so hard?

The same atmosphere and comraderie has to pervade the Magic locker room. The team, at least in its words to the press, is not satisfied with its runner-up finish last year.

So how will Vince Carter fit into the system? Will he be the star Stan Van Gundy hopes he can be, or will he be the ball hog all of Carter's detractors (myself included) fear he could be.

Will Dwight Howard try to put too much on his shoulders? Will Jameer Nelson put too much on his shoulders? What will the affect of the Rashard Lewis suspension be? Can Orlando win with a conventional playing lineup? Will the team keep the resiliency that has become the team's trademark under Stan Van Gundy?

Who knows what the answers to these questions will be.

I know they will all be answered in a positive manner for the Magic if each player "Grabs a Handle."

Magic Wands: September 25, 2009

-Tracy McGrady and his trainers believe he will return from microfracture surgery sooner than anyone expected. An injury that many believed would keep him out until February, McGrady believes he might be ready to play by October or November. And get this, his trainers say McGrady did a poor job rebuilding his strength after originally injuring his back in 2002 (I was at that game, it was a vicious fall against the Hornets), but now they have him doing things he has not done since he was in a Magic uniform. Looks like my fantasy team is getting better by the day.

-An NBA referees' wife wonders why the league is mistreating the sacrifice she and other families give to be in the family of an NBA referee.

-Keith Bogans is a good defender who can hit an open 3-pointer, especially in the corner. Sounds like a former San Antonio Spur named Bruce Bowen. Could Bogans become the new Bowen?

-DIME Magazine wonders: Who is better? Rashard Lewis or Hedo Turkoglu? Third Quarter Collapse asks the same question.

-Apparently, Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu are two of the worst rebounders taller than 6-10 in NBA history.

-The Trail Blazers are turning to the market in bad times to set single game ticket prices. Who knows, maybe it will start a ticket revolution.

Magic Wands: September 11, 2009

Nothing is going on in the NBA. Please Training Camp, get here soon! So after a week's delay, here is the latest batch of Magic Wands.

-ESPN rolled out their summer predictions and surprise surprise they have the Cleveland LeBrons winning the East. Cannot say that I blame them, when I sit down and think about it, the LeBrons will probably be one of the three teams I will be debating about in the East. But by that much? Really? Love being underdogs again.

-Tim Povtak of NBA FanHouse tracks down former Magic first round pick David Vaughn. Vaughn has struggled mightily since falling out of the NBA. He was homeless for a while, but has found himself again and is rebounding. I remember in eighth grade my junior high basketball team was practicing at this random practice facility near The First Academy and I saw him. I thought I recognized him and asked him if he was in deed David Vaughn. It was. I had no idea then, and no idea until I read this story, exactly what he must have been going through. Hopefully Vaughn continues to work hard to improve his life.

-Think officiating was bad in the playoffs? Hope the NBA does not have to bring in replacement referees. After negotiations were broken up earlier this week, replacement referees seem very likely for the preseason beginning October 1.

-Bob Dylan once said, "Oh the times they are a-changin." Remember when the stadium was half empty and no one wanted to go to Magic games. Yeah, November sucked. But demand for Magic tickets has increased so much the team has capped season ticket sales. Didn't he also say, "Let the good times roll"?

Magic Wands: August 28, 2009

-Ever wonder where your mascot sits in the evolutionary chain? Now you can find out.

-Think the officiating was bad in the postseason? Just wait until the NBA locks out the current referees and they have to bring in subs. It would not be pretty if the NBA has to go a long time without the high-level officials they have now.

-Mapping Orlando's success over the year.

-So much for Courtney Lee sulking about his trade to New Jersey. Now, according to NBA FanHouse he is committing himself to proving the Magic wrong and making them regret trading him away. I know we all hope he does well... but not all-time Magic killer, trade-regretting well.

That Team Mentality

The Finals have come and gone. We have all gone through our withdrawals and our depression -- some are still getting through it. It is still tough to watch Kobe Bryant dancing before every SportsCenter and it is even tougher watching Games 2 and 4 when they air on NBATV.

Lock them away with Game 1 of the 1995 Finals and Game 6 and 7 of the 2003 First Round in the annals of missed Playoff opportunities.

But I bring up this heartbreak because yesterday was a very special day -- and the very special shirt that I bought when I went to Amway Arena for my first Magic Finals game in 14 years.

Yesterday was Stan Van Gundy's 50th birthday. Hard to believe he has made it that long without some sort of heart problem considering the way he carries himself on the sidelines. But here's to another healthy 50 years, Stan.

Van Gundy can be considered the team's greatest head coach for sure. But what has gotten Van Gundy to that point. Besides the record.

That brings me to the shirt I got to remember the Finals.

I went to Game Four after flying home from school for the end of the year the day before. I knew I needed an official Finals shirt to remember the occasion. The only shirt I have left from 1995 was a print of The Orlando Sentinel front page after the Magic won the Eastern Conference Finals. It no longer fits me, to say the least.

The shirt that caught my eye at the Orlando Magic store at the arena was a group of all the jerseys on the team arranged around the Finals logo with the traditional trimmings saying it was the Magic and that they were Eastern Conference Champions.

It is a sweet shirt. And I am a little upset they marked it down with the Finals over. No fun if you buy it after the fact, I say.

But what does it say that this was the shirt to choose of all the others at Amway Arena?

I think it goes to what Stan Van Gundy has done as a head coach. Van Gundy has done what every good coach does: get the best out of his individuals. More than that, he has gotten them to commit to a team mentality that only the good teams have.

Sure, he has his quirks. But Stan Van Gundy is a team-first guy and has built a team mentality with the Magic.

Whenever I wear that shirt, I think about what each player contributed to the team (and confuse Tyronn Lue's No. 10 for Keith Bogans' No. 10). That is why the Magic got to the Finals. They were the great sum of its parts.

So happy birthday Stan. I know you deserve your vacation. But it's time to get this team a ring.

Magic Wands: August 21, 2009

-Orlando has released its new ticket sales motto. Simple, appealing, encouraging: BE MAGIC. Not "Are You Ready For This." Not "Heart & Hustle." But if it wins you a title, it wins you a title. The wallpapers look sweet though.

-21 reasons to buy NBA League Pass from DIME Magazine.

-A lot of dead-time summer talk about retiring jerseys. If you have not read the series over at 3rd Quarter Collapse, they break down the arguments for retiring Penny Hardaway, Darrell Armstrong, Nick Anderson and Shaquille O'Neal. Really good stuff.

-The most intriguing argument for Magic fans is Nick Anderson. No doubt he holds a dear place in the hearts for many Magic fans. But how good was he really. Whit Watson of Sun Sports talked with Jordi of the Serious Tip and the truth is, in 1994-95, Anderson was pretty good.

-How's this for a "Shaq vs."? Apparently O'Neal took the idea from Steve Nash and Mr. Nash was not very happy about it.

-Orlando set records with 3-point shooting last year. But they are just the poster child of a growing trend in the NBA.

-Carlos Arroyo, rap superstar.

Orlando and selfishness

One thing has amazed me about Orlando since Stan Van Gundy took over as head coach. You can see it every time the Magic play and it is probably the key to their success.

It is simple really. The ball goes into Dwight Howard, he tries to bully his way to the hoop only to be double-teamed and dishes back out to Hedo Turkoglu. Turkoglu is fairly open and you would not blame him for taking the shot but with a defender rotating over to try and distract the sharpshooter, he fires it over the Jameer Nelson at the top of the key.

Now Nelson is WIDE open and easily drains a three -- or even worse for a defender, feeds the ball quickly to Rashard Lewis for an open three in the corner. There is simply nothing you can do about this kind of ball movement.

And it is something Orlando does incredibly well.

Back in May, Hardwood Paroxysm published this incredible analysis of "selfishness". I saved the link because it was something incredibly interesting pertaining to the Magic. Orlando is, as Stan Van Gundy has admitted, an incredibly unselfish team. And the stats even bear that out.

A lot of Orlando's big guns from last season rank above a 5.0 in unselfishness (that means they pass the ball and set others up to score). Turkoglu is noticeably low, but Howard is high, Marcin Gortat is high. And even Jameer Nelson comes in around a 6.0.

I don't know how much stock you can put in these stats, but that is something that definitely has separated the Magic team of the past two years from oh so many teams in the past. That ability to make the extra pass to find the better shot it what separates the good teams from the great teams.

Certainly things have changed with the roster overhaul (and it can be considered an overhaul) this summer. The Magic are still going to be the free-wheeling 3-point shooting team they have been, but it won't be all the time. The roster necessitates that there will be more traditional looks out there.

But Stan Van Gundy made an interesting observation during the team's introduction of free agent signing Jason Williams (a signing I am so indifferent toward that I don't think it deserves a full analysis).

Van Gundy said last year's team was characterized by this quality of unselfishness. But this year's team has a better collection of passes.

What exactly does that mean?

It might mean less three-point shooting and more playmaking -- drives and dish or drives and drop ins to Gortat, Howard and Brandon Bass.

Van Gundy has done a great job molding this roster and unlocking the best in every player. I am sure he will do the same with this roster to utilize every attribute available on the roster.

Jameer Nelson and the Family Band

Now is the dead time in the NBA schedule -- if there is one. The schedule is out, free agency has quieted and everyone is in a holding pattern until training camps open in late September (a scant six weeks away).

The endless prognosticating has begun as The Orlando Sentinel talked to several "experts" about how the Eastern Conference will shake out.

The big concern it seems in the Magic's third place finish in the Sentinel's poll is how the team will come together with so many new pieces. That is an admitted concern seeing that there will be two new members to the starting lineup and many new players coming off the bench.

Before Rashard Lewis' suspension, I thought the first month of the season would tell us how the team was coming together and whether the title was realistic this year or for the christening of the Amway Center -- let alone for both years.

Now with Lewis out for the first 10 games, Orlando is going to have to band together quickly again and gel to keep up with what I am sure will be fast starts from Cleveland and Boston.

Chemistry will go a long way.

Building that chemistry starts this week in Philadelphia.

It will not get mentioned anywhere outside of Orlando, but it is probably the most significant week for the team and its development. In a week in Nelson's hometown and at his expense, Dwight Howard, Vince Carter, Rashard Lewis and most of the other members of the team will work out together, play together and bond together.

This is not the fake picture-taking of the LeBron James gang or the intense scare and love-me-because-you-fear-me camaraderie of Kevin Garnett's band. This is where the Magic get their spunk and become a family.

I have never really heard of a team doing something like this. And entering its third or fourth year, it has truly become a success. Something the team looks forward to and the reason why Nelson has become the true captain of the team.

A lot of questions about Orlando will be solved this week behind the closed doors of a gym, weight room and paint ball facility. It is where the team truly becomes a team.

And where the road to a title truly begins.

Magic Wands: August 14, 2009

-The last time Brian Hill was coaching in the playoffs, Detroit was sending him home. Now the Palace of Auburn Hills is his home as an assistant coach with John Kuester.

-Whether we like it or not, the idea of corporate sponsors on NBA jerseys is slowly becoming a reality. A very good breakdown of how sponsorships work in European soccer and what it could mean for the NBA at Cowbell Kingdom.

-A New Jersey state senator is suggesting the state government stop paying subsidies to local sports teams unless they show their Jersey Pride. Apparently the Nets are removing the words "New Jersey" from their road jerseys. Brings up an interesting thought in the debate for corporate sponsors on NBA jerseys.

-Hedo Turkoglu wants to be an All Star this year. But the Toronto Sun wants him to be an MVP candidate for Toronto to be successful.

-Speaking of Turkoglu, he nearly signed with Portland. Good thing he didn't, according to Otis Smith.

-Tony Battie might be the next contestant on the Buyout Train.

-Everyone loves a good Adonal Foyle update. Adonal is in St. Vincent and the Grenadines running a basketball camp for his Kerosene Lamp Foundation. He, Bo Outlaw and Courtney Lee are running a camp and teaching valuable life lessons. Foyle is truly not just a halfway decent basketball player, but one of the great philanthropic athletes.

-It's official: American high school junior Jeremy Tyler signed a contract with Macabbi Haifa of the Israel Premier League.

-Like the Nets? Didn't think so. But if you buy a ticket plan with them you can get a reversible Dwight Howard/Yi Jianlian jersey. No, I am not kidding (via Deadspin)

-Coming soon to an Internet near you is the documentary Sonicsgate. I know we all followed the Sonics story and I really feel for everyone in Seattle. It is difficult for Magic fans to remember -- especially now -- that this almost happened to us, although maybe not as bad as it did to the die hard fans of Seattle.

The Dwight double standard

There have been a number of random thoughts that I have had during the last weeks of the playoffs and the offseason. These are all things that will have a major bearing on the upcoming season for sure.

Perhaps the biggest question that will have to be answered is what I am calling the Dwight double standard.

Take yourself back to Game Five of the first round. Philadelphia's strategy is to hack at Dwight Howard as much as possible and try to make him go to the line thus discouraging Orlando from taking advantage of its best weapon and matchup in the series.

It even works as the Magic continually go away from Howard while he is being defended by the likes of Samuel Dalembert, Marreesse Speights and the unageable Theo Ratliff.

Being the playoffs, the referees feel a little generous and don't always make the call. Later on LeBron James will breathe funny and immediately whistle Courtney Lee for a foul. C'est la vie. More on James in a minute.

So Howard throws an elbow. A somewhat spontaneous reaction to the physicality coming his way and the lack of response from the officials. It is his way of expressing himself, so to speak.

What happens? The predictable. With the NBA feeling touchy about physical play at any point in the season, they lay the hammer down (unfortunately, not the Polish Hammer) and suspend Howard for Game Six.

Luckily the Magic had a Polish Hammer and used it to nail the 76ers in Game Six.

But that's not the point. The point is Howard had to stomach an unfair balance of fouls coming his way, especially for a player of his stature.

As The Puns Are Starting to Bore Me pointed out at the time, Howard led the league in free throws attempted. But he was the only player in the top 10 who did not use getting to the free throw line as part of his strategy.

Look, as we learned in the postseason, it's not always great for Howard to be at the line. I sometimes believe I am the only person who feels confident at any point in the game to have Howard at the line. You have to have that trust in him. And he will get better.

But this is something Dwight will have to live with. There is a double standard for big man. As Greg Oden tried to dispel in that ESPN the Magazine ad: "Big Men Don't Sell." Big men don't get the same calls as the LeBrons and the Dwyane Wades.

Those guys look more acrobatic when they get fouled. When Howard gets fouled, we expect him to power through it and still score. It is incredible that he -- and other big men like Shaquille O'Neal -- put up with this double standard.

But it is one he has to put up with and move on from. Certainly the only way for him to erase this double standard is to start making free throws and force teams to play him straight up. Complaining to the refs won't help him at all.