A couple quick thoughts after this afternoon's game (it ended, what, nine hours ago?).
Orlando raced ahead quickly and raced ahead often in this one. The Hornets were not ready for the Magic's help defense. To their credit, Orlando covered Chris Paul and the pick and roll perfectly. They kept Paul out of the paint and rotated very quickly around to other players as they looked for a way out.
Offensively it was ball movement that really did the trick. When Orlando was not getting the ball inside they were getting it to the perimeter and making the extra pass every time. Then they made the shots.
Orlando outscored New Orleans 29-14 in the first quarter and 32-17 in the second. Add that up and that was a 30-point lead at halftime. The second half was almost a moot point.
But the Magic played poorly and you cannot ignore that. It was frustrating watching Orlando clank open jumpers and struggle to get anything going offensively. But the Hornets could not get going either and with 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter, coach Byron Scott pulled his starters.
The only encouraging thing was watching Stan Van Gundy show as much passion in a 30-point game as he would a 3-point game. You know you have the right coach when he is yelling at his players for their lack of effort in a Christmas day game when they are up by 20-plus the entire second half.
Have a Happy Holidays, everyone.
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