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Do Magic's Big Deals Improve Their Team?

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I've warmed up to the trades now. Do I think we're championship bound? I don't know, but I do believe we're in a much better position to contend. Offensively, I love the new mindset of pushing the basketball. That, along with improved ball movement, will make it so much easier to score baskets. With the old squad, we were getting a very low volume of shots, and it seemed like it was a struggle just to get a good look.

 

Of the new players, there's no doubt in my mind JRich will be a very good player for us. He's still athletic, pesky on defense, and his offense should pick up once he becomes more comfortable. With Hedo, I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I think he's going to work out for us this year. I think he's going to be smarter this time around, and thrive off that high pick n roll that he loves to set up his teammates. Now, will his defense keep up? I doubt it, but I never really expected anything from him on that end anyway. The real negative with Turk is his contract, and the likely huge decline with each passing year. The X-factor to our title chances is Arenas to me. Will he remain the same inefficient player, or will this opportunity be eye opening for him? Only time will tell.

 

Defensively, we're bad. There's no way around. Our weakside, pick n roll, and help defense are all pretty atrocious, and running shooters off the three point line seems like and unclimbable hill for this team at the moment. Will it get better? I think so, but to what degree I'm not sure. I do know that if Dwight doesn't get some help pretty quick, he might die of exhaustion.

 

So, I think we're better. I just don't know if its enough.

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I think Arenas will be ok when he settles down. I think everybody atleast understands at some point this year he's going to look like a stud, and then come back to Earth and frustrate us. I sort of view him as another Hedo type player. Gonna love him one minute, loathe him the next. This is without looking at his contract. Right now, I care about this season. I think players capabilities get judged too often on contract status. We can't sit here and say we loved Shard for everything he did and his contract is OK because Otis just goofed up, and then blame Arenas on his contract everytime he has a bad shooting night. Arenas WILL win us some games. I guarantee it. And other times he'll make me want pull my hair out. Fair trade off if the games he wins us matter..like the playoffs. We'll see. None of us are gypsies. Except maybe KLR.

 

I also think Arenas is trying to create too much for other guys rather than look for his shot. Sure he's going 2-7 or whatever it was and what...2-10 last night? But 5-6 of those shots were bad shots when the game was already lost and hugely contested. Before he started trying to get everybody involved he made a few nice buckets and drove inside. I'd like to see him focus on just scoring for awhile and let the rest of his game come to him for the time being. Look at what Jason Terry does for Dallas. He might be a more efficient scorer than Arenas, but I still think Arenas is capable of doing what Terry does for Dallas for us.

 

J-Rich and Hedo both played good to great D tonight. J-Rich damn near covered Butler to the point where he couldn't move but somehow Butler got the ball to fall in. It was just one of those nights. Butler did the same crap on the Wizards. He literally is a Magic killer. Hedo has always been a good defender by accident due to just being a big guy, especially when he plays the 3.

 

Dwight had a few defensive lapses himself to be honest. The one that sticks out the most is where he came out too far on Kidd maybe? He left Tyson WIDE OPEN for about his 6th dunk of the game.

 

Still, like SVG, this team busted their asses and almost pulled out a win. I applaud that for a group of guys who have played 1 game together and had no practices. Against 2 playoffs teams no less, on a back to back. Really, you HAVE to use that excuse. It is what it is.

 

If this is still going on next week against Jersey and Cleveland, then I worry. Until then, I trust this team and SVG. Dude is too good of a coach to let this get too out of control. Dwight is too good to let it get too out of control.

 

Also, wasn't Boston a .500 team at one point last year? I think they ended up being just fine. To be honest, this team always goes through crappy spells like this. This time we just so happen to make a huge change in the middle of it, making it last longer than usual.

 

Lastly, Earl Clark needs minutes. I'll preach that until he proves me otherwise, and all potential is lost with him. I've REALLY liked this kid, and think he can be the defensive presence on the wing we lack right now. He may play like crap next game, but with some coaching by SVG, I think he could be great. We'll see.

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Arenas' role needs to change. Like the move for him or not, you have to know that Arenas isn't going to be a very efficient player for you only getting 18 minutes off the bench. This isn't Chris Duhon we are talking about, he's a guy who needs to be involved. I like him off the bench, he can be our Jamal Crawford or Jason Terry, but he's mostly been used as a strict backup for Jameer so far, that's not going to work.

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Agree with Berto, Jareth and Miller to an extent (hence the +1's).

 

I was at this game so I'll add what I observed from the stands.

 

Loved Earl Clark out there. Also liked the energy tonight from our entire team. The lineup that brought us back in the 2nd quarter had no Dwight out there, but the ball movement was surprisingly good.

 

Liked Hedo's floor game and his control of the offense. However, he missed Howard a few times on what seemed like easy alley-oops -- whatever though, they'll come and it was refreshing to see these opportunities present themselves.

 

J-Rich missed some shots early that he'll usually bury. Showed he has big game potential late in the game though.

 

Arenas took some really poor shots and looked to be forcing shots at times. However he ran the point very well in the 2nd quarter in the lineup without Dwight. I liked some of his getting to the basket and passing in the paint.

 

We missed a ton of layups and wide open jumpers/threes that we're not normally going to miss. Also Dallas was unconscious when we gave them open shots. Our rotations need to improve on the defensive side of the ball. A combination of these things and the fact these guys haven't had one practice together yet made us lose this game.

 

However, I'm very enthused with what I saw on the court today. With a few practices and time -- I think the Magic have their own stew going.

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Last but not least no Malik Allen, Duhon and Q Rich was probably the best part of this entire game.

 

The more we don't have to put those guys out there, the better a chance we have of winning.

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Arenas' role needs to change. Like the move for him or not, you have to know that Arenas isn't going to be a very efficient player for you only getting 18 minutes off the bench. This isn't Chris Duhon we are talking about, he's a guy who needs to be involved. I like him off the bench, he can be our Jamal Crawford or Jason Terry, but he's mostly been used as a strict backup for Jameer so far, that's not going to work.

 

 

I have to agree. He showed glimpses of what he can do distributing the ball. He played great the first half. If he can learn to play with Jameer it will be great. When Jameer and Gilbert are on the floor together I would rather see Gilbert bring the ball up and be the main ball handler than Jameer. Jameer is an amazing spot up shooter, where I believe Gilbert could feed Jameer. He just has to get rid of those nasty habits that Vince had to get rid of at the beginning of last year. I don't doubt that these trades will benefit the Magic.

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Arenas' role needs to change. Like the move for him or not, you have to know that Arenas isn't going to be a very efficient player for you only getting 18 minutes off the bench. This isn't Chris Duhon we are talking about, he's a guy who needs to be involved. I like him off the bench, he can be our Jamal Crawford or Jason Terry, but he's mostly been used as a strict backup for Jameer so far, that's not going to work.

 

Agree, but both Nelson and JJ were hot tonight while Arenas was not. That would be an interesting competition for minutes

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Arenas' role needs to change. Like the move for him or not, you have to know that Arenas isn't going to be a very efficient player for you only getting 18 minutes off the bench. This isn't Chris Duhon we are talking about, he's a guy who needs to be involved. I like him off the bench, he can be our Jamal Crawford or Jason Terry, but he's mostly been used as a strict backup for Jameer so far, that's not going to work.

 

He was in foul trouble.

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I will reiterate a little of what I said before. I think after a few games Hedo will be coming off the bench, and Gilbert will be playing more with Nelson. The problem with that to this point has been that they haven't practiced together. Nelson hasn't played off the ball much the last year-and-half, so he will need some practice time to get that right. And any Miami heat fan can tell you that two guys who are used to having the ball in their hands a lot need some serious time to figure out how to play on the same floor. I doubt if they'll have it totally down before the playoff push, but I think once they do (hopefully by the playoff start) they will be nasty for each other. The great thing about having these two on the floor together is the potential for penetration from the 2G position; something we haven't had since what, Penny Hardaway. When you have two guys on the floor who can break through a defense' perimeter, it makes life so much easier on your guys underneath, and it opens up great backdoor opportunities for your 3rd wing (JRich has been good at this his whole career). Another good thing about this is that sometimes Nelson goes cold, and when that happens he tends to go stagnant. he doesn't try to create so much as just hand the responsibility to someone else. That is when it's going to be nice to slide Hedo in with Arenas and JRich in the back-court and let them run pick-and-rolls.

 

As I have said, I love Bass' offense, but he has always been a bad defender. One-on-one, mostly he's not so bad, but as has been stated he is a liability off the ball. That is where we will miss Lewis most; not his floor stretching 3's, because those were gone last year. Say what you will about the guy being soft on D (which he was), he was still smart on D. The guy knew where he was supposed to be, and he knew when to take chances. That being said, being soft on D at the 4 is about like having Einstein in a bear pit; no matter if he can outsmart the thing for a while, eventually he's gonna get eaten (somewhere in the back of my mind, Anthony Hopkins is shouting, "I'M GOING TO KILL THE BEAR!"). Bass needs to start, get 25 to 30 minutes, and then we need to bring in a guy who can defend for 18 to 23 minutes. That is textbook on how to wear down a great 4, by the way. Throw different looks at him. Bring in one guy for half the game who pushes him on one side of the floor, then another to pressure him on the other.

 

JRich will find his shot, and when he does he will be HUGE for this team. And his defense already looks better than it did in Phoenix and Golden State; hopefully he can keep it up.

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I will reiterate a little of what I said before. I think after a few games Hedo will be coming off the bench, and Gilbert will be playing more with Nelson. The problem with that to this point has been that they haven't practiced together. Nelson hasn't played off the ball much the last year-and-half, so he will need some practice time to get that right. And any Miami heat fan can tell you that two guys who are used to having the ball in their hands a lot need some serious time to figure out how to play on the same floor. I doubt if they'll have it totally down before the playoff push, but I think once they do (hopefully by the playoff start) they will be nasty for each other. The great thing about having these two on the floor together is the potential for penetration from the 2G position; something we haven't had since what, Penny Hardaway. When you have two guys on the floor who can break through a defense' perimeter, it makes life so much easier on your guys underneath, and it opens up great backdoor opportunities for your 3rd wing (JRich has been good at this his whole career). Another good thing about this is that sometimes Nelson goes cold, and when that happens he tends to go stagnant. he doesn't try to create so much as just hand the responsibility to someone else. That is when it's going to be nice to slide Hedo in with Arenas and JRich in the back-court and let them run pick-and-rolls.

 

As I have said, I love Bass' offense, but he has always been a bad defender. One-on-one, mostly he's not so bad, but as has been stated he is a liability off the ball. That is where we will miss Lewis most; not his floor stretching 3's, because those were gone last year. Say what you will about the guy being soft on D (which he was), he was still smart on D. The guy knew where he was supposed to be, and he knew when to take chances. That being said, being soft on D at the 4 is about like having Einstein in a bear pit; no matter if he can outsmart the thing for a while, eventually he's gonna get eaten (somewhere in the back of my mind, Anthony Hopkins is shouting, "I'M GOING TO KILL THE BEAR!"). Bass needs to start, get 25 to 30 minutes, and then we need to bring in a guy who can defend for 18 to 23 minutes. That is textbook on how to wear down a great 4, by the way. Throw different looks at him. Bring in one guy for half the game who pushes him on one side of the floor, then another to pressure him on the other.

 

JRich will find his shot, and when he does he will be HUGE for this team. And his defense already looks better than it did in Phoenix and Golden State; hopefully he can keep it up.

How can you have a lineup with Meer/Gil but no Turk? Turkoglu is the only player that can distribute the effectively ball on a consistent basis. Why would we start 3 pull-up shooters and a jump-shooting PF? Our lineup should remain as it is.

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