Miami Heat 99, Orlando Magic 98

Jason Williams was having the game of his life and carrying the Magic through three quarters against the Heat. Whenever Orlando needed a big shot to break a funk or jumpstart a scoring streak, Williams was there to deliver.

Williams had 25 points and eight assists to push the Magic to as much as an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter. But with a one-point lead and Williams at the free throw line, White Chocolate could not deliver. Williams missed both free throws.

Then Orlando's other arch nemesis from last night's game showed up. No it was not Dwyane Wade, his game-winning shot ended up short. But Michael Beasley, last year's semi-disappointing second overall pick, swooped in and dunked the miss to give the Heat a 99-98 win.

As well as Williams played, it is hard not to find fault in a point guard who shot 81.3 percent from the line for his career and 70.8 percent from the line this year. But he was not the worst of tonight's game.

The worst was most certainly the effort given by the Magic throughout the game. As mentioned above, Williams was really the only player who came to play offensively for the entire night -- missed free throws aside.

Vince Carter stepped up when the game was on the line and Ryan Anderson had his moments. But it was a frustrating game as the Magic never went for the kill and just kind of waited for the Heat to take advantage. As has been the problem in many of Orlando's losses, there was simply no energy from any of the players.

Dwight Howard especially looked out of it as he was frustrated with foul trouble throughout the game. The worst was unlike Friday's game against Boston when he continued to play well defensively, Howard looked frustrated and uninterested on defense because of his lack of involvement on the offensive end of the floor.

Howard woke up late in the game and became much more active and energetic. That is the Howard Orlando will need. He finished with 12 points and 16 rebounds while shooting three for five from the floor. Even with free throws, there is no way Howard should be taking just five shot attempts.

More importantly, Howard cannot let the little frustrations that seem to be happening game after game affect his energy and effort the way it has this season.

This game once again highlighted the Magic's rebounding problem. It is hard to imagine that Orlando gives up the most offensive rebounds in the league. This was tested and exploited by Miami especially late.

Udonis Haslem made it a one-point game with less than 30 seconds left on a tip-in. Jermaine O'Neal had several key fourth quarter offensive rebounds. Miami finished with 15 offensive rebounds and each one hurt more than the last. The Magic have to shore up this area to be successful.

The frustrating part was that the Magic generally did a good job on Dwyane Wade. Credit to Mickael Pietrus for making him work. Wade had only eight points entering the fourth quarter and finished with 24 points on 6-of-22 shooting. Against Wade, I consider that a victory.

It is really difficult to see Wade play such a poor game in a Miami win. Credit O'Neal, Haslem and Beasley for lifting the team and doing what they needed to do to win the game.

This was a game Orlando could clearly win. The team played a poor game effort-wise throughout the night but still had a chance to win. That is all the Magic can ask for on such a poor night. They could not just wake up in the final three minutes and pull it out. It is tough to say this is another learning experience, wake-up call loss... but it is. Time to move on.

What They're Saying: Heat vs. Magic 11/25

-Nearly a month into the season, ESPN.com's Tim Legler sees a surprising shake up in the East's race to the playoffs. Don't worry, the Magic are locked up at No. 2.

-In the free agency mix up that will inevitably happen this summer (or so we are led to believe), Stan Van Gundy asks his former player Dwyane Wade to please go West. Not likely, but Wade has been especially good against the Magic as Brian Schmitz of The Orlando Sentinel reports.

-Rashard Lewis reveals he had a routine drug test earlier this week.

-Jameer Nelson has moved on to the next stage of his rehab and is receiving electrical stimulation to his surgically repaired knee. Nelson still believes he is weeks away from playing.

-The 3-point line has been a major concern for the Miami Heat all season. After starting out as one of the stingiest teams in the league defending the arc, the team is struggling as it enters tonight's game at Amway Arena.

-The Heat are taking note of Jason Williams' revival in Orlando. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Williams is a perfect fit for the Magic's pick and roll offense.

-Speaking of Jason Williams, Jeff Shain of the Miami Herald writes about how potent of a threat Williams can be tonight.

-Ben Q Rock of Third Quarter Collapse tries to figure out what is wrong with Marcin Gortat.

-The Southeast Division is much tougher, says John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com.

Orlando Magic 83, Boston Celtics 78

In one game, Vince Carter proved everything that has ever been said about him. He took bad shots, slacked on defense and made lazy plays.

But in the fourth quarter and the game on the line, he showed the brilliance that still make him one of the more dangerous players in the league.

Carter finished with an inefficient 26 points on 10 of 29 shooting. But his isolation plays and killer instinct at the end of the game, including a fall away jumper over Paul Pierce that more or less sealed the game, propelled Orlando to a gritty 83-78 win at TD Garden on Friday night.

Both teams played very determined and gritty defense as neither could get much going to the hole. Dwight Howard was active and engaged defensively and deterred any drive to the basket if he was in the paint -- Kendrick Perkins was in foul trouble and picked up his fifth foul in the middle of the third quarter causing Doc Rivers to go with a Kevin Garnett/Rasheed Wallace front court that always seemed to keep Howard away from the basket; I think we will see that more in April.

It was actually interesting on Howard's part. Dwight had no role whatsoever in the offense outside of setting screens. He took only four shots and had only 11 free throw attempts. He did not really touch the ball much more than that offensively. But he stayed involved defensively even though he was pulled away from the basket. He certainly did not let the frustration of being virtually ignored on offense get to him.

The tone set by Howard and the defense early in the game carried through for much of the night.

The Magic got out quickly behind excellent ball movement and a few very nifty passes from Carter for open threes. Orlando built a 16-point lead in the first quarter, but watched it slowly evaporate as Boston ratcheted up its defense.

Much like Howard, Garnett acted like a deterrent to the rim and Orlando struggled to work the inside out game that makes its 3-point barrage so deadly. The Magic finished 10 of 22 from beyond the arc, but were hardly that good for most of the night. They hit them when they needed to.

The Magic certainly had their struggles. Orlando committed 21 turnovers. More than a few of them were very lazy -- including two intercepted passes down low to Howard by Rasheed Wallace.

I thought the broadcasters made a good point about Carter in that he sometimes makes lazy plays that have become habit since he had to carry a team -- New Jersey -- that had no chance of success.

On top of that, because Howard was pulled away from the basket, the Celtics had their way on the offensive glass with 14 offensive rebounds. They did not always take advantage of them and shot an uncharacteristically low percentage from the floor (34.5 percent) and from beyond the arc (two for 19). But the chances were there and the second chance points helped keep the Celtics in the game.

Orlando never trailed after building its big first half lead (and if the team did, it was only by a point or two) and held off Boston after the team tied the game late in the fourth quarter.

That is where Vince Carter proved his worth more than anything.

Carter was hte go-to guy in the fourth quarter and really displayed his skills in attacking the basket and making difficult shots. If there was any doubt that Carter would be more valuable than Hedo Turkoglu in late game situations, it was eradicated tonight.

Carter, for all his mistakes and missteps throughout the game, still had the confidence to take and make big shots and played a flawless final two minutes (OK, he had one blow by on defense, but for the most part was there defensively).

This was an ugly game. The type of game Boston usually wins.

The Celtics had plenty of looks they could have hit and they missed them. Part of that was Orlando's strong defense, which played its best game that I have seen so far. Part of that was sheer dumb luck.

But these are the type of games a good team has to win. It is not a statement or anything, just a good win on a bad night for both teams.

What They're Saying: Magic vs. Celtics 11/20

-Dwight Howard told the Orlando Sentinel that he had a private meeting with Stan Van Gundy asking him to tone back his trademark negativism. Fortunately Van Gundy agreed and is trying his best to help his team pick up the energy with more positive, less sarcastic and biting commentary during practices and games (and even press conferences).

-Mike Bianchi of The Orlando Sentinel says Stan Van Gundy and the team are showing growth after Van Gundy promised to tone down his criticisms after meeting with Dwight Howard behind closed doors.

-Rashard Lewis is among the Magic players who feel tonight's game in Boston is a big measuring stick for the team and a potential statement game.

-Larry Bird talks with Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe about the little interesting tidbits in his new book, When the Game Was Ours, co-written with Magic Johnson and Jackie MacMullan.

-The Celtics are certainly not overlooking the Magic this year and the sense of title entitlement is gone as they understand Orlando is the team to beat in the East after winning the conference title last year.

-Even Boston is going through some growing pains, but patience is the word from Celtics managing partner and governor Wyc Grousbeck tells Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe.

-In a brief recap of a New York Times article, Ben Q Rock of 3rd Quarter Collapse gets hard numbers on why the pick and roll is in vogue right now and how the Magic are one of the leaders in the pack.

-Doc Rivers may avoid the answer to the question all Boston fans wonder about, Paul Pierce is more than assured the Celtics would have beat the Magic in last year's playoffs with Kevin Garnett in the lineup. He even thinks they would have done it with Leon Powe healthy.

-John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com writes that even though the national media may be overlooking Orlando, do not expect a team like Boston to take Orlando lightly.

-Jeff Clark of Celtics Blog is not feeling the excitement for tonight's game and flat out asks, "Are we ready for the Magic?" He is hoping, as are Magic fans, that this is the game that awakens the sleeping giants.

-Zach Lowe of Celtics Blog and Ben Q Rock of 3rd Quarter Collapse exchange Q&A sessions to preview tonight's game.

Magic Wands: November 20, 2009

-Hedo Turkoglu was nearly a Phoenix Sun instead of an Orlando Magic.

-Orlando has put in its application to host the 2012 All Star Game and as the Orlando Sentinel reports, it might cost them $1.5 million to prepare the city.

-An Ohio State study finds that expecting less from your team helps you get more enjoyment out of them.

-Cleveland Browns coach Eric Mangini has an open invitation for LeBron James to try out and help the Browns.

-No words can describe Kirk Hinrich singing "Love, lift us up where we belong." So video will have to do.

-In New Orleans' never-ending quest to have the ugliest jerseys in basketball, they unveil their new Mardi Gras alternates. Oh boy.

-Larry Bird talks with Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe about the little interesting tidbits in his new book, When the Game Was Ours, co-written with Magic Johnson and Jackie MacMullan.

-Yahoo! Sports reported Tracy McGrady got into a heated, emotional discussion with Rockets coach Rick Adelman about when the team is planning to bring him back. McGrady -- as hard as it is to believe -- was in uniform for warmups before Wednesday night's game and is trying to force the issue and prove he is ready to play. Where was this passion and drive in 2004?

-Jonathan Abrams of the New York Times writes about the play that's all the rage in the NBA -- the pick and roll.

What They're Saying: Thunder vs. Magic 11/18

-So in case you have not heard, Jameer Nelson will undergo arthroscopic surgery and will miss 4-6 weeks.

-George Diaz believes Allen Iverson is the Answer to Orlando's (temporary) point guard problems. To me, getting Iverson would be a huge mistake for a number of reasons that probably deserves its own post if things get very serious.

-Jason Williams gets a tough draw for his first start of the year in Nelson's absence. Williams will have to try and contian the Thunder's Russell Westbrook who has had a very nice early season.

-Back to Iverson, Otis Smith seems willing to wait and see how things go but is not ruling out possibly signing Allen Iverson.

-Kevin Durant is starting to heat up after scoring 32 points in last night's win over the Heat.

-Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman details Kevin Durant's relationship with the Heat's Michael Beasley and how Durant reacted to Beasley's admittance into a rehab facility this summer.

-In Mayberry's notebook from last night's game, Thunder owner Clay Bennet (Seattle fans hissing) was in Miami to inspect their outdoor LED video screen and Russell Westbrook narrowly avoided a skirmish with Jermaine O'Neal.

-A win and some confidence would make a nice birthday gift for Jason Williams' first start for the Magic.

-Joshua Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel's Magic BasketBlog reports Jason Williams will attack tonight's game just like any other he has played for the Magic so far.

-Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel's Magic BasketBlog reports two things. First Marcin Gortat will play tonight after missing Monday's game with an illness. And second, Jameer Nelson underwent successful surgery this morning.

-In a collection of daily new stories, DailyThunder.com reports Shaun Livingston's minor knee surgery was a success. He is also expected to miss 4-6 weeks. Hoping a quick recovery for Shaun, the dude has worked hard to get back to the NBA and deserves nothing but success.

-Royce of the Daily Thunder is scratching his head why Oklahoma City plays up and down to its opponents. But either way, being competitive in most games and having a good shot at winning them is a big step forward for this young team.

-Daily Thunder is trying to build a reputation for one of the top young defenders in the NBA, Thabo Sefolosha.

-Mike Baldwin of the Oklahoman writes about the Thunder's "shell" defense has proven the doubters wrong and is surprisingly effective against the 3-pointer... and everything else.

-Remember when Jason Williams was the darling of Nike commercials and the street ball NBA of the 1990s. Well, it is safe to say Williams has changed a little bit. But he will be back in your living rooms.

Former Magic Player of the Month: Otis Smith

Otis Smith

I think we all know what happened to Otis Smith. But I think it's high time we had another Former Magic Player of the Month (formerly Week, and I have not done any in almost a year now).

Otis is of course our fearless leader and general manager. Smith literally constructed every piece of the current Magic roster and built the team that went to the NBA Finals last year. OK, he was just an assistant general manager when Jon Weisbrod drafted Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson, but we all tend to forget the Weisbrod year.

So clearly Smith has been doing a lot of fun stuff since leaving the Magic as a player after three seasons.

Otis was, of course, selected in the second round of the 1986 NBA Draft with the 41st overall pick by the Denver Nuggets. He averaged 8.8 points per game in just more than two seasons with the Nuggets before being traded to Golden State.

Smith was then selected by the Magic in the expansion draft and played the final three years of his career in Orlando. With the Magic, Smith averaged 11.4 points per game inlcuding a career-high 13.9 points and 5.2 rebounds per game in the 1990-91 season.

He is probably most famous as a player for his game-winning basket in a 110-109 victory over the Bulls in the Magic's inaugural season.

After his playing days he moved into the front office for the Warriors before moving back to Orlando as a community ambassador. He was named the general manager after Weisbrod's departure and was given the full role. He has been the general manager ever since, helping build a Magic team that has won three straight Southeast Division titles and an Eastern Conference Championship.

Image courtesy of jacksonville.com.

Jameer sidelined with meniscus tear

So, remember when Orlando had every single one of their players healthy this season? Yes, I know October seems like a long time ago now, but those were simpler days.

Now, the Magic's road back to the NBA Finals hit another pothole. Feels like we are driving in and around Yeehaw Junction right now. Either way, this team has more adversity to face as Jameer Nelson will miss the next four-to-six weeks after undergoing arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn meniscus.

Jameer has been one of the Magic's more consistent players offensively this year, averaging 13.7 points and 5.5 assists. His defense has been a little suspect, after giving up another big game to an opposing point guard last night against Charlotte, but it is still abundantly clear he was the man at point guard.

At least this injury might explain some of the problems he has had keeping guys out of the lane all season.

So now at the time when orlando thought it would have all its pieces finally assembled on the floor, a good chunk is knocked out again. And even though Nelson has struggled at times this year, his aggression and shooting ability is a weapon the Magic will miss in the pick and roll.

More will fall on the shoulders of Jason Williams now. Williams has played well, dishing out 4.0 assists per game in 18.4 minutes per game. He has shown he can play a solid role off the bench, but can he start?

This is not in any way like Orlando bringing in Rafer Alston from last year. Alston was a proven starter who could run an offense and defend well. Williams is coming off a year away from basketball and has never been known as a good defender. Williams has done decently defensively this year (48.2% effective field goal percentage allowed), but that is against bench guys.

So... confidence level in Williams starting is OK. He is a little more prone to take risks than Nelson is (although his turnovers are only 0.82 per game compared to Nelson's 2.45).

Orlando has prepared for this contingency all year in bringing Williams in. And the team maintained Anthony Johnson because he is a solid, if unspectacular backup. The team is still in an interesting place as this injury occurs.

It certainly is better that Nelson gets this surgery done during this part of the season rather than later when he might miss the playoffs.

As the Magic learned last year, I believe, getting in and getting a high seed are important. But once you are in the postseason and have a chance to win, anything can happen.

This is a big hit. I personally have not been feeling good at where the Magic are and I am more likely to believe the Hawks' 9-2 record is more real than the Magic's 8-3 record is at the moment. It would not surprise me to see Orlando fade a little bit.

But the Magic do have the pieces to overcome this injury too. Expect Vince Carter to run a little more pick and rolls with Howard instead of the usual Nelson-Howard combo. More than anything Carter is going to have to step up more and carry more of the scoring load. And Howard, of course, has to stay involved in the game and keep out of foul trouble.

The margin for error closes ever tightly for the Magic with a big slate of games schedule for the next week.

Orlando has shown it can tread water -- an unimpressive 8-3 being treading water in this case -- until guys get back. The main worry is how well Atlanta is playing and the big back-to-back next week with the Hawks and the red-hot Heat.

What They're Saying: Bobcats vs. Magic 11/16

-Rashard Lewis plays fill in the blanks with Brian Schmitz of The Orlando Sentinel as he prepares to play his first game of the year tonight.

-Stan Van Gundy said he does not expect Marcin Gortat to play tonight after missing the last to practices with an illness.

-Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer dissects the Bobcats' point guard problems. D.J. Augustin and Raymond Felton have struggled to get their teammates good scoring opportunities, but a whole bunch of players have been out for some period of time and are still getting up to speed.

-The Bobcats may not be winning, but Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer likes that Larry Brown has a plan and sticks to it.

-Ben Q Rock of 3rd Quarter Collapse examines the difference of having a stretch-4 like Rashard Lewis in the game or having a typical power forward like Brandon Bass

-Five things we learned about the Magic without Rashard Lewis in the first 10 games.

-The Bobcats might be short-handed tonight after trading Raja Bell and Vladimir Radmanovic to the Warriors for Stephen Jackson. There will be a litany of reaction to the trade. Hardwood Paroxysm just think it's weird, but could work. And Queen City Hoops is skeptical that Jackson is the answer to Charlotte's scoring woes. And Henry Abbott of TrueHoop sees the move as potentially working -- if not for just the fireworks it could cause off the court.

-Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer reports that Jackson might start tonight for the Bobcats.

-As Otis Smith told Rashard Lewis, "Vacation is over." John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com writes Lewis is ready to take the court tonight.

Defense is the difference

No need to beat a dead horse here. Orlando's defense is not as good as it was last year and that is why the team is struggling (although how much you want to say 7-3 is struggling is debatable).

The litany of comments from Magic fans after Wednesday's game against the Cavaliers is pretty simple. Orlando looked uninspired and unprepared to play -- especially on defense.

The defense was markedly improved against the Nets on Friday, but things still are not right -- and Stan Van Gundy said as much after former Magic man Rafer Alston recorded a triple double.

With Rashard Lewis' suspension up, one hopes everything will get back to normal as Lewis has both the ability to stretch teams offensively with the strength to defend most power forwards. That would seem to be able to cure any ail the Magic currently have on either side of the floor.

While that might be what helps Orlando's offense improve (hard to imagine as the team is still putting up pretty gaudy offensive numbers despite struggling and stagnating at times), Lewis is not the cure-all for the defense.

We all know the story, the Magic were the most efficient defensive team last year but have since fallen to the middle of the pack. What exactly has gone wrong?

1) Rotations are late and the team is struggling to get out to shooters. Simple stats help out most here. Last season, Orlando gave up 94.4 points per game and 43.3 FG% to go along with 34.2 percent shooting from beyond the arc. This year, those numbers are 95.2 points per game, 45.6 FG% and 38.6 percent from beyond the arc (a better mark than the Magic are actually shooting).

Without even getting into defensive efficiency, it is pretty clear the defense has taken some sort of step back. But thinking about defensive efficiency, Orlando ranks 12th giving up 101.3 points per 100 possessions. Everyone knows last year they led the league last year. Improvements must clearly be made.

2) It is hurting that the anchor is not playing his best. Dwight Howard was truly the defensive player of the year last season with 13.9 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game last year. Everyone should still expect the same rebounding numbers, but the blocks might go back to the mean. But I do not think anyone could expect the way Howard has played early.

So far this season he is averaging 10.7 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per year. Take out Friday's dominating performance against New Jersey and Howard is at 10.6 rebounds and 1.4 blocks.

One game is not going to change a whole lot obviously, but you could clearly see what difference a focused and energetic Dwight Howard on defense can do from his 26 points, 12 rebound, five block performance against New Jersey on Friday.

It is no secret he has struggled with fouls and that Orlando is simply better with Howard on the court. Howard has had only one game this year (the opener against Philadelphia) with less than three fouls. He has already fouled out of two contests this year and had five fouls in two more. That is nearly half the games where Howard has had to struggle through fouls at some point of the game.

Howard obviously NEEDS to be on the court and have the ability to play aggressively. Orlando is just simply a better team with him out there. He has a +12.7 +/- rating per 100 possessions while on the court. The team is -11.9 points per 100 possessions with him off. That is a huge dropoff.

3) The third area the Magic must improve is, I believe, at the point guard. Jameer Nelson has not been himself defensively for the Magic. Nelson is giving up a 50.2% effective field goal percentage so far this year. That's not great, but it's not stifling defense either.

Time and time again this year, we have seen point guards find a way to attack the middle of the paint and that starts with Nelson. In Orlando's three losses, the team has been giving up big stats to opposing point guards -- 21.7 points and 6.3 assists per game.

Mo Williams had his big 28-point night where he could not miss a shot against Orlando. Rodney Stuckey and Will Bynum had a coming out party for the Pistons. And Russell Westbrook had a field day in a 20-point, 10-assist effort in the Thunder's blowout.

Not all of this is Nelson's fault. He has always been a pesky defender, if not an above-average one. Not having Howard behind him -- and everyone -- has absolutely hurt this team. But the league is so point guard-centric now that getting a good defensive effort from Nelson is an absolute must.

He has to do a better job keeping opposing guards out of the paint. It will help tighten up the perimeter defense and keep Howard from further foul trouble.

Rashard Lewis is clearly not going to fix all these things. But with both Lewis and Ryan Anderson coming back tonight, things should steadily improve for a team that can certainly score enough to hide a defensive lapse or two throughout a game.