Knappy

Khem Birch needs more playing time - the guy hustles, affects others, gets offensive rebounds, sets those picks, he helps the Magic win - I am not against Mo Bamba, but Khem Birch needs more playing time - are you with me?

I hope Mo Bamba is out tonight - I think Giannis is out tonight and Khem Birch would be a better option. Not sure what you do with Mo - he needs to get bigger, but you have to give Birch some minutes - he only played 16 last night and he impacted the game

I will go with 25-9

I spoke with Nick Anderson at Fields last week - no real inside information - just confirming what is pretty much said on the boards already. I am putting things into my words here. He did say that CP3 wants out of New Orleans. He said that the NO management isn't going to be increasing spending. I asked him about CP3 going to NY - he didn't see it, but the deal would be for Carmello to join next year, but he didn't think that would guarantee him any championship. He said that CP3 would teach Dwight the game of basketball and I could tell he saw a ton of potential for Dwight with CP3. He was very high on CP3 - so that is good. He thought that losing our best defender in Matt Barnes was a negative for the Magic. He said Jameer and Duhon were both good, but CP3 would be huge for Orlando - my inferences based on our conversation. So, nothing really new - he was very nice about talking and pretty much confirmed all that has been said. I might be wrong, but I don't think the recent trade kills any possibilities for CP3 coming to Orlando - I think it would mean that we would have to probably trade Jameer as part of the deal, but that is just my thinking or Duhon, but I doubt NO would want to take Duhon. Anyway, like all of us have said CP3 has 2 years left on his contract, I believe so he can't necessarily force a trade. I wouldn't say it was completely dead. It might be tough to put it together this year, but it could still happen during the season and Jameer is a good point guard - if you throw in Gortat and VC it can be a financial option and rebuilding with some young talent. I don't know, but I think Orlando has a legitimate shot at getting CP3 - or maybe I should say, I don't think it is a NO WAY thing - I thing it is still possible. I don't think any team would want to trade CP3, but in time you never know.

He is going to the heat is what I heard. I used to get good information on this website - what happened? People went 0 for 50 on who we would sign and who we would trade - pathetic.

quote: Originally posted by MilitaryMagic:Vince is as good as gone... it will be interesting to see how this summer plays out. How do you get rid of him?

Rashard had an awful season, but how would you trade him - you can't. So, I voted to move VC - I believe he is like an expiring contract with the 2nd year (his last year) optional.

quote: Originally posted by fishybashi:Do not give up yet, Magic! Just take it one game at a time. Game 2 could have been ours with a lucky call there or a lucky drop there. It just didn't happen. Our team is equipped to beat this team if we play aggressive all 4 quarters. 1) We need interior help. The lineup of Gortat and Howard together was going well last night, surprised I didn't see more of it in the 4th. 2) Show up or don't play. SVG needs to find a solution to battle Garnett down low instead of relying on Rashard. He has not shown up these last 2 games. Consider playing Bass? 3) Ball movement. Ball movement. Ball movement. Settling for first option and forcing tough shots "expecting a call" ... not gonna happen with crooked refs like these. 4) Play smart and fast. The Celtics are a strong half court team. Transitions must be fast. We must outrun the old legs of this Geriatric team and use our athleticism to beat them in the full court. 5) Do not rely on free throws or refs calls. We must play our style of game. Look for the open three. Make the extra pass. Again, can't emphasize enough -- Ball Movement! Any other observations? The best way for the Magic to beat Boston would be to ask for a re-do or a re-start on the first two games. Without that, not much of a chance - Boston just looks better - hate to say it, but they do. I am really surprised that Boston won two in a row in Orlando and that the Magic would have been lucky to win either game if they had. I don't know how bad the Magic look? Boston just looks like they can dominate the Magic - the Magic are a good team, but they got their as*es handed to them.

quote: Originally posted by habib11:He just can't consistently create his own buckets. All year his games been dependant on Dwight getting double teamed and the ball movement and open looks that created. The Celtics almost never double team Dwight. Its great when he's able to drop 30 on them like tonight but when he's not getting doubled it hurts so many guys, especially Shard. Outside of Nelson/Carter everybody was brought in because they fit in around Dwight and their games depend on him. I have no idea how Shard was able to average like 25 ppg back in Seattle, these days its like he just can't create his own buckets more than once or twice a game. And we should also give KG some credit whose been playing some great D on him. His problem is the growth on the chin - he has to shave that s*it off if he expects to ever play well again - same with Jameer if he still has that stubble on his chin.

Really, last years success was about Hedo? Come on, the guy was good, but I don't see that being the case. Confused as to what is going on.

Me either.

quote: Originally posted by ball junkie: quote: For instance, consider this deal: Orlando uses its massive trade exception from the Hedo Turkoglu trade, adding Mike Miller, Dominic McGuire and DeShawn Stevenson (with the exception) from Washington, while sending J.J. Redick to Washington and Mickael Pietrus to Memphis. The trade would shore up the Magic's shooting and also clean up next year's balance sheet a bit. If Orlando doesn't like that one, several potential variants work. For instance, Wizards center Brendan Haywood could go to the Magic while Redick stays in Orlando ... or the Magic could add Haywood, send Redick and Anthony Johnson to Memphis and hang on to Pietrus ... or the Magic could acquire Butler instead of Miller ... or the Magic could obtain Jamison instead of Miller and send either Brandon Bass or Marcin Gortat (with his consent, which presumably he'd give) back to Washington. In any case, a three-way deal with Orlando and Memphis is the obvious escape hatch for the Wizards' predicament. But Memphis (or Sacramento) must be involved, since all the avenues above require using nearly all of the Grizzlies' or Kings' $4.2 million in remaining cap space. The best arrangement I come up with has Washington sending Randy Foye and Javaris Crittenton to Memphis and the Grizzlies sending Hamed Haddadi and Steven Hunter to Washington to complete the deal. At the end, the Wizards will have wiped away $9 million in tax obligations, even before we get into any of the particulars with Arenas. http://insider.espn.go.com/nba...&page=PERDiem-100108 That sounds like an absolutely horrible trade - Miller is on the downside, Stevenson - are you kidding? Pietrus is playing well and has a reasonable contract and JJ has been playing well.

Really, last years success was about Hedo? Come on, the guy was good, but I don't see that being the case. Confused as to what is going on.

Nelson, has the ability to be an all star point guard and will quickly return to the starting lineup and rightfully so. JWill is playing well and the Magic look better with him right now, but Nelson is the better player. Nelson just needs to stat showing up and it will take him a bit to get it together. Fortunately he'll have time to get into stride. I am a big fan of Nelson, but I am very disappointed in him this year so far. I sure hope it is not another year wasted while we wait for him to show up again. I still think the Magic start to gel and win the NBA title. So disppointing to watch so much talent not show up at all so far this season. I sure hope Stan gets into his head. Someone like AJ is playing to his talent level you can live with that and even say he is playing at his highest level - Jameer is no where near playing at what he is capable of. The best PG is Jameer and the Magic are best when he is aggressive and looking to score. His assists go up when he is trying to score. Problem is that he has not been aggressive all season and now it will take time for him to come back from the injury - how long before he plays aggressive again and he is up to speed?

quote: Originally posted by ball junkie: quote: Out of curiosity, I looked up the Orlando Magic's record with and without starting point guard Jameer Nelson this season and last. Contrary to what you might think, the numbers suggest that Jameer Nelson's absence doesn't make a huge difference. Correct me if I'm wrong, but with Jameer Nelson, including last year's run in the NBA playoffs, the Orlando Magic are 45-19. Without Jameer Nelson? Click the link for the rest...it's very short...interesting comments by fans underneath the article too. http://blogs.orlandosentinel.c...huge-difference.html Oh, and before you start posting Junkie is bashing Jameer again this was written and posted by Matt Humphrey of the Sentinel...not me. I hate to say it, but I am not happy with Jameer's play at all this year and I'm very disappointed in him. Deferring to Carter, if that is what he is doing - is way old - he has been in the league too long. Jameer is playing to slow - walking the ball up the court and he is not be aggressive on offense at all - he is mostly a non-factor and he is playing poor defense. This is big for me to be criticizing Jameer's play, but he is the biggest disappointment this year for me so far. Dwight is finally starting to wake up. Now, with all that said about Jameer, I still think he has tremendous talent. We finally saw it coming around last year and now he is disappearing again. Enough already. He has some rehab to do so it may take him awhile to come around and get into playing form. I am still glad we did not take Arroyo back - JWill is much better and AJ is as well. Jameer needs to get his act together. On the record thing - it is more than just wins and losses - some of it has to do with how much we win by, etc. When Jameer is playing this team is good, but right now this team looks better without Jameer and the defense looks better without Jameer. Now, in being fair to Jameer - Lewis was out while he was playing. It sounded like Jameer's knee problem happened in the game and wasn't a lingering thing - he was just off so I was thinking it may have been a problem for a while. We may not see Jameer into full stride until after game 50. He will likely need time to get strong and in playing form. My major disappointment in him is that he has so much talent and right now he has been a major disappointment. I have not lost faith in him, but he really needs to get his act together big time and show up.

Knappy hasn't been pleased with Jameer's play at all. It is not unusual for him to disappear when a new superstar joins the team. Jameer is a scorer, he needs to think about scoring first and assists second. How many times does Knappy have to say this - when Jameer becomes passive and tries to dish off rather than take over he is not effective and the Magic suffer. I thought Ryan Anderson was going to be a nice replacement for Hedo until he made about 10% of his threes in Detroit - that was bad. I agree with everyone that the defense has been horrible. I like Barnes, but he has to start making an outside shot. And, when we have really needed the scoring our guys have been throwing up bricks. The return of Rashard will help, but we also need the return of Jameer. Jameer missed the second half of the season last year and he is not up to speed yet strength wise - at least it doesn't appear that way on the court and he needs to increase his speed - he is definitely rusty on both ends of the court. I think he will come around as he is very talented, but I would like to see him get more aggressive and have teams worry about double teaming him - he has to be willing to get by his man and hit that open shot and not just pass the ball all the time around the outside. I think the Magic will come around, but so far it looks like we have been hurt by the Hedo trade, but I don't think it will be that way once the season gets kicking in. I haven't been too impressed with Carter so far either. I like the play of Bass, but every player needs to pick it up and JJ needs to make a shot - he is playing well if he would start making shots that would be nice. And, the officiating - horrible as usual - just so idiotic. They need a challenge system in the NBA to review a call like in the NFL - give the team 2 or 3 each per half so that they could correct a call. And, they need instant replay on more plays at the end of a half, etc. I am sure there is something they could do without slowing the game down. And, the all star treatment just has to end - it is really turning me off to the NBA - it is a joke. And, the NBA throwing out fines and constantly telling all to hush up - a joke - we live in a free country and all this censorship BS and fines for minimal comments is hurting the game -again I don't want to be a part of such a farce and it really is turning me off - a long time fan and I am sure it is turning off others. Fining SVG and DH for the comments they have made this year on officiating is horrible and the NBA may lose fans.

quote: Originally posted by barnettej:Good Evening Ladies and Gents. I was reading a very good book, The Art of War, when my pager went off with a 911 appended. Called the number, which I was asked to check out the score and recent postings... And now.. here I am. To help mediate the current situation of our recent loss to the Cav's. Really, im here to keep half of you from kicking your dog, kids, girlfriend and significant other. So lets begin..... Holy mother of god, where in he11 did we get these players? WE dont play any defense what so ever! We are completely lost on the offensive end! Dwight is an immature baby! Nelson needs to be traded! Barnes cannot shoot for nothing! Bass, what was the point of him coming here! And VC...... There he goes just chucking up shots, not caring.... WE ARE DOOMED, WE WILL NOT MAKE IT TO THE FINALS, STICK A FORK IN US... WE ARE DONE! Now im sure most if not all, either said or thought about one of these lines.. maybe you screamed them out loud at the TV, in hopes of directing your energy into an electronic box of nothingness, which would automatically transformed that energy into quality playing for the Magic. Which turned out that it didnt work. "I thought you were a Dr." W.T.F? "Right"..... This is actually the point where I tell you its going to be okay, that everything will work out, to relax, GOOSFRABA ! But really its pointless... because I need to explain it using simple basketball logic... which some of you still wont get. Lets start'er off. Starting PF Lewis... is not starting.. is not on the bench... is not even in the building.. he is (hopefully) pedaling his butt off, getting ready to play after game #10..... again... "AFTER" game #10. Starting PF "filler" Ryan Anderson... is also not playing.. because of an injury to his ankle.... Starting SG VC... Rolled his ankle not too long ago, did not start last night against the bobcats, but played... and Started tonight SF Barnes had the Flu not to long ago.... So naturally we will not have a good consistent starting five, when these type of things occur. Out of the 9 games we have played, we used 7 different starting lineups.... -"But they practice like everyday, C'mon Son!" Practice... Practice.... You want to talk about Practice.... Not a Game... but Practice... Seriously The truth is that people are creatures of habit, they like routines, they get use to them, they know whats going to happen, they know what to do... The same logic applies to the Magic. When you have a consistent starting rotation, players become comfortable with eachother, they learn about what to do, how to help, when to pass, when not to pass, when to switch, when not to switch.... on and on and on. And we have 5 new guys to add into the mix. So our defense takes a major hit, some players are missing assignments, others are trying to do too much, over playing their man... again this is expected... You cant become a good defensive team, if you constantly change the rotations. Do you think Boston would be as good, if they switched their starters....NOPE So practicing only gets you so far, its not game speed, there are no Ref's, there is no pressure in winning practice's.... You become good when you are always playing with the same people, learning their tendencies. Its like taking your favorite football team, and changing the offensive line every other game... do you think they will be as successful as the team who starts with the same line men? Now, some of you are foaming out the mouth, waiting to post your thoughts basic defensive things we are not doing.... but I will save you the blood pressure... Yes, there are some things that we need to do better... Like my personal favorite... Not over running a jump shooter.. Being more aggressive... challenging the shooters (but not biting the pump fake)... Leaving the backdoor open for everyone... Stop these lazy freakin passes... Maybe drive to the lane once in a while (MP)..... etc. But again this is what happens when you dont play with the same people night in and night out. One minute you think Gortat is covering the wing player... next second, Gortat gets caught looking... his man gets an easy backdoor pass for the dunk, and Dwight is wondering.. who had him? Chemistry was once a concern... then we went 8-0 in the preseason... everyone was excited.. Chemistry was no longer a concern.... Now we are 6-3... and everyone sucks. Man... the world has changed over a couple of weeks. So.. Relax.... Dont watch ESPN or read anything about tonights game, because then you waisted 5 min reading this... which you should read again, if this happens. November 16 is the date to circle... its when we have Lewis and Hopefully Ryan back. Which means we will finally see our starting rotation playing for the first time since... umm... mid preseason.... Hold your assumptions until after the 25th game, this is will provide plenty of time to get our rotation sorted out and playing for a bit. Then we can actually see, what we have as team and where we are lacking at. As for tonight... here is a comforting thought... Cleveland played against our 7th rotation, with our bench players getting major minutes, and they still couldnt blow us out... even with their starters playing all the way until the end. Again.. Relax.... GOOSFRABA..... Can you give me the cliff notes version or a 2 sentence summary

Knappy hasn't been pleased with Jameer's play at all. It is not unusual for him to disappear when a new superstar joins the team. Jameer is a scorer, he needs to think about scoring first and assists second. How many times does Knappy have to say this - when Jameer becomes passive and tries to dish off rather than take over he is not effective and the Magic suffer. I thought Ryan Anderson was going to be a nice replacement for Hedo until he made about 10% of his threes in Detroit - that was bad. I agree with everyone that the defense has been horrible. I like Barnes, but he has to start making an outside shot. And, when we have really needed the scoring our guys have been throwing up bricks. The return of Rashard will help, but we also need the return of Jameer. Jameer missed the second half of the season last year and he is not up to speed yet strength wise - at least it doesn't appear that way on the court and he needs to increase his speed - he is definitely rusty on both ends of the court. I think he will come around as he is very talented, but I would like to see him get more aggressive and have teams worry about double teaming him - he has to be willing to get by his man and hit that open shot and not just pass the ball all the time around the outside. I think the Magic will come around, but so far it looks like we have been hurt by the Hedo trade, but I don't think it will be that way once the season gets kicking in. I haven't been too impressed with Carter so far either. I like the play of Bass, but every player needs to pick it up and JJ needs to make a shot - he is playing well if he would start making shots that would be nice. And, the officiating - horrible as usual - just so idiotic. They need a challenge system in the NBA to review a call like in the NFL - give the team 2 or 3 each per half so that they could correct a call. And, they need instant replay on more plays at the end of a half, etc. I am sure there is something they could do without slowing the game down. And, the all star treatment just has to end - it is really turning me off to the NBA - it is a joke. And, the NBA throwing out fines and constantly telling all to hush up - a joke - we live in a free country and all this censorship BS and fines for minimal comments is hurting the game -again I don't want to be a part of such a farce and it really is turning me off - a long time fan and I am sure it is turning off others. Fining SVG and DH for the comments they have made this year on officiating is horrible and the NBA may lose fans.

quote: Originally posted by Osprey23:http://www.orlandosentinel.com...ov01,0,1151045.story quote: Turkoglu was upset with the Magic after what he called an "awkward" meeting with the front office following the season. He said the Magic made an unsatisfactory offer

quote: Originally posted by ball junkie:And this is coming from one of his used to be harshest critics. Stan even had him gaurding the 53 million dollar man today(Hedo) with fairly decent success. His continued improvement on his game is noticeable and for that he deserves much credit. Count me in the believers club...any doubters still out there??? Junkie, what is up? What is with this Redick love - it seems sincere? I would love JJ to pan out and he had a good game today. I've been waiting to see him play well. It would be great to see him come in off the bench and make some shots.

quote: Originally posted by gporter:Yea, how are we going to defend Bargnani? We don't have Howard, Gortat, Bass, or Anderson to throw at him. They do pose an interesting match up. Howard on Bosh and he may need to switch off at some point. You probably play Anderson on Bargnani or Barnes. You play Pietrus on Hedo or Barnes. You can also play Bass and Gortat on Bosh. Bargnani and Hedo are an interesting match up to cover. I think we are ok though - the best options would include Pietrus and maybe Barnes - Bass may have to play pretty far from the basket to play Bargnani so you may go with Anderson or Barnes and kind of far out for Gortat.

I have to say that I have been disappointed with JJ's play. I have been waiting for a night where he makes 9 of 10 shots and it just hasn't happened. He has had some ok games, but he has been disappointing. He is making an effort, but he has not panned out yet and he is in the final year of his contract - what happened to his shot? I guess we'll still have time to see if he can do anything, but I would not be surprised to see him traded - he needs to do something though for us to get anything in return. I still think the kid could find a spot in the NBA, but he has been a disappointment here with the high expectations. I have been waiting to see him rain threes and it hasn't happened. You can tell he can play, but I would like to see him do something good.

No, I heard that no one was going to the Boston game at all - you should have the whole arena to yourself so that you can change seats and sit anywhere you like. The players will probably say hello since you will be the only fan there - LOL. Just kidding.

Same as always, Rashard is a solid player, but Otis did overpay for him. After losing Darko he panicked and was not going to lose Rashard. I think Rashard would have signed the same contract for $75 to $80 million - the amount his agent was seeking and wanting for Rashard. I guess the Knicks or another team were trying to pull off a trade and Otis offered the max and a 6th year. The only thing it hurts is that you can get a $6m a year guy and Rashard if they didn't over pay Rashard - that would have helped us keep a guy like Gortat and not be so far over the luxury tax. Now, I think we have to trade Gortat who will be a solid player as a starter elsewhere. It would be nice to be able to get a $6m a year guy that is not named Tony Battie.

quote: Originally posted by LinkZ2009:How come no one is looking on how nelson did 0-5 FGM/A. lets trade nelson then? We can't trade Nelson, because Arroyo was signed to a max 5 year deal with Miami - Rashard kind of money. We couldn't sign Arroyo because we couldn't afford another $20m a year guy. Jajajajajajajajajajajajajaja