From Marc Stein ESPN: B Hill not in hot water

[MagicPhan732 0]

From Marc Stein on the Weekend Dime on ESPN:

 

The Magic have been scoffing at suggestions that Brian Hill's job is in jeopardy, even though they've lost 30 of 46 games in a slide that threatens to drop them all the way out of the East's playoff picture after that 13-4 start.

 

I've been advised that it's not an empty vote of confidence, either.

 

Orlando management, according to NBA front-office sources, is apparently giving Hill some "extra rope" this time given the circumstances surrounding the end of his first stint as Magic coach in 1997, when he was essentially ousted by player revolt.

 

It's rope he might end up needing, too, if the Magic keep sliding amid rumblings that players are tuning Hill out and/or chafing from his rigid style.

 

Yet no matter where Hill's approval rating sits or whether he can survive this prolonged slump, it's clear that the Magic are also suffering from a leadership shortage. It'd be asking an awful lot of young Dwight Howard to expect him to galvanize a group clinging to its playoff hopes since Howard himself has yet to play in the postseason. Injuries, meanwhile, have prevented the venerable Grant Hill from having the locker-room sway you'd expect.

 

In-house confidence that they can hang onto a top-eight spot, as a result, is clearly crumbling. The only solace for the Magic comes from the team right above them in the standings, now that Indiana has been plunged into its own playoffs-in-jeopardy funk, as well as the inability of New Jersey and New York to punish Orlando with a sustained run of their own.

 

Also, check out the top 10 injury-plagued teams. The Magic are nowhere to be found. Guess they can't use that as an excuse...

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailydime?page=dailydime-070310-11

[MagicPhan732 0]

From Marc Stein on the Weekend Dime on ESPN:

 

The Magic have been scoffing at suggestions that Brian Hill's job is in jeopardy, even though they've lost 30 of 46 games in a slide that threatens to drop them all the way out of the East's playoff picture after that 13-4 start.

 

I've been advised that it's not an empty vote of confidence, either.

 

Orlando management, according to NBA front-office sources, is apparently giving Hill some "extra rope" this time given the circumstances surrounding the end of his first stint as Magic coach in 1997, when he was essentially ousted by player revolt.

 

It's rope he might end up needing, too, if the Magic keep sliding amid rumblings that players are tuning Hill out and/or chafing from his rigid style.

 

Yet no matter where Hill's approval rating sits or whether he can survive this prolonged slump, it's clear that the Magic are also suffering from a leadership shortage. It'd be asking an awful lot of young Dwight Howard to expect him to galvanize a group clinging to its playoff hopes since Howard himself has yet to play in the postseason. Injuries, meanwhile, have prevented the venerable Grant Hill from having the locker-room sway you'd expect.

 

In-house confidence that they can hang onto a top-eight spot, as a result, is clearly crumbling. The only solace for the Magic comes from the team right above them in the standings, now that Indiana has been plunged into its own playoffs-in-jeopardy funk, as well as the inability of New Jersey and New York to punish Orlando with a sustained run of their own.

 

Also, check out the top 10 injury-plagued teams. The Magic are nowhere to be found. Guess they can't use that as an excuse...

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailydime?page=dailydime-070310-11

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