Hill hurt as Magic woes mount-(poor defense, turnovers)etc.

[ball junkie 277]

Notes and quotes from the game last night by Tim Povtak of the Sentinel:

 

 

quote:

Too many turnovers, too slow defensively and two guys they never had a chance against all added up to another painful loss for the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night.

 

quote:

"It just didn't look like we had anything in the tank,'' Magic Coach Brian Hill said. "We were a step behind defensively, all night long. I don't know why.''

 

quote:

Adding to the problem was yet another injury to Grant Hill, who left late in the second quarter and never returned because of a sore left foot, a problem that has lingered through much of the season.

 

Hill missed seven games in February with a sprained right knee, and he missed three games from Dec. 30 to Jan. 5, also with that sore left foot. He skipped three games early in the season -- all on the second half of back-to-back nights -- as a precaution against possible injury.

 

"It's sore on the top of my midfoot. A couple of days rest and it should be all right,'' Hill said as he limped out of the locker room. "It was bothering me before the game, and I tried to get it loose. It's actually been bothering me, and I've been getting treatment for it most of the season. Hopefully, I can get it ready for the weekend.''

 

The Magic will play Friday in San Antonio and Saturday in Dallas. Although the team said he is questionable, it's likely that he won't play again until next week when they return home Monday against Milwaukee.

 

quote:

"We're just not putting good games together to really get any momentum,'' said Hedo Turkoglu, who had 12 points but struggled trying to slow Anthony. "When you have that many turnovers, you're making it easy for the other team.''

 

quote:

"The turnovers have got to stop,'' Brian Hill said. "You just can't go on like this.''

 

 

 

I posed this question on another thread and I'll post it again right here.

 

It looks as the article states Hill won't be back until next week at the earliest.

 

I realize I'm grasping for straws here(lol) but could it be dejavu all over again? Remember what happened last year at this time with 22 games left in the season when Grant went out? We finished the year on a 16-6 run.

 

I can always hope, right?!

 

I'll tell you another key stat, when our opponent scores over 100 points we have only won "3" games all season. Give up over 100 points then look for a Magic loss.

 

I also checked the Team NBA stats this morning and the Magic are now the worst team in the league for "turnovers". As the coaches and players were saying in the article we are beating ourselves!

 

 

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/local/orl-magic01...orl-sports-headlines

[ball junkie 277]

Notes and quotes from the game last night by Tim Povtak of the Sentinel:

 

 

quote:

Too many turnovers, too slow defensively and two guys they never had a chance against all added up to another painful loss for the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night.

 

quote:

"It just didn't look like we had anything in the tank,'' Magic Coach Brian Hill said. "We were a step behind defensively, all night long. I don't know why.''

 

quote:

Adding to the problem was yet another injury to Grant Hill, who left late in the second quarter and never returned because of a sore left foot, a problem that has lingered through much of the season.

 

Hill missed seven games in February with a sprained right knee, and he missed three games from Dec. 30 to Jan. 5, also with that sore left foot. He skipped three games early in the season -- all on the second half of back-to-back nights -- as a precaution against possible injury.

 

"It's sore on the top of my midfoot. A couple of days rest and it should be all right,'' Hill said as he limped out of the locker room. "It was bothering me before the game, and I tried to get it loose. It's actually been bothering me, and I've been getting treatment for it most of the season. Hopefully, I can get it ready for the weekend.''

 

The Magic will play Friday in San Antonio and Saturday in Dallas. Although the team said he is questionable, it's likely that he won't play again until next week when they return home Monday against Milwaukee.

 

quote:

"We're just not putting good games together to really get any momentum,'' said Hedo Turkoglu, who had 12 points but struggled trying to slow Anthony. "When you have that many turnovers, you're making it easy for the other team.''

 

quote:

"The turnovers have got to stop,'' Brian Hill said. "You just can't go on like this.''

 

 

 

I posed this question on another thread and I'll post it again right here.

 

It looks as the article states Hill won't be back until next week at the earliest.

 

I realize I'm grasping for straws here(lol) but could it be dejavu all over again? Remember what happened last year at this time with 22 games left in the season when Grant went out? We finished the year on a 16-6 run.

 

I can always hope, right?!

 

I'll tell you another key stat, when our opponent scores over 100 points we have only won "3" games all season. Give up over 100 points then look for a Magic loss.

 

I also checked the Team NBA stats this morning and the Magic are now the worst team in the league for "turnovers". As the coaches and players were saying in the article we are beating ourselves!

 

 

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/local/orl-magic01...orl-sports-headlines

[richnba 3]

Well 22 games left, maybe Grant going out is a blessing in disguise, but he needs to stay out, and coach needs to give JJ some minutes...........

 

WE cant win doing the same thing over and over again when apparently the same thing is not winning us games.

[WooHooMagic 0]

I was only able to catch the 2nd half, and noticed that Hill wasn't playing, so why oh why didn't Redick get any minutes? F.R.U.S.T.R.A.T.I.N.G.

[ball junkie 277]

From Brian Schmitz blog:

 

 

quote:

What do the Magic do with G. Hill?

 

I've always said that the snake-bit Hill could have always sat on his fat wallet all these years instead of going through an unfathomable process of recovering from every injury.

 

Wednesday night in Denver, Hill re-injured his left foot and there's no telling when he will be back in this playoff drive.

 

Which begs the question: What do the Magic do with Grant next season?

 

They want to re-sign him to a minimum contract ($1.5 million is the veteran's exception). But when he is in and out of the lineup so often, how good is that for a young team that is trying to find itself and become a perennial playoff participant?

 

Is it better to cut ties and find younger blood who don't have a history of injuries?

 

Is it better for GHill to come off the bench -- that way any future injuries don't impact the first team as much and cause a chain reaction in the rotation?

 

And how about Hill himself: How can keep playing through all these disappointments?

 

Hill missed seven games in February with a sprained right knee, and he missed three games from Dec. 30 to Jan. 5, also with that sore left foot. He skipped three games early in the season -- all on the second half of back-to-back nights -- as a precaution against possible injury.

 

He missed most of his first four seasons with the Magic because of multiple surgeries with his left ankle, and he played only 21 games last season because of a hernia.

 

"It's sore on the top of my midfoot. A couple of days rest and it should be all right,'' Hill told our Tim Povtak. "It was bothering me before the game, and I tried to get it loose. It's actually been bothering me, and I've been getting treatment for it most of the season. Hopefully, I can get it ready for the weekend.''

 

Hill, for all his Duke pedigree and monetary blessings, is a tougher guy than anybody knows. I'd always want him on my team. One leg --- or two.

 

The thing is, Grant can still play. He just can't stay on the floor for long stretches.

 

For the future of the franchise, maybe for the good of the franchise, what do you do if your the Magic?

 

 

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/sports_magic/2007/03/what_do_the_mag.html

[SmackDaddy 30]

The answer: Cut your losses like they should have done last year, during the offseason, and at the trade deadline this year.

G Hill is worthless if he can't stay healthy. This team is too young and talented to always be dragged down by this anchor.

[barnettej 263]

Im going to have to agree with you Smack, Grant is a liability. Yeah he has some... some production left in him, but he is killing our starting rotation. We are constently shifting based on how he feels on game day, which is not how you want to build your team chemistry. He is almost one demension on offense, you really dont want him to drive to the hole because you dont know if he is going to break or not. He is way too slow on defense.

 

His status should be on the bench, if that and nothing else. We need to release some of our old talent and pick up some fresh young guys who will hustle night in and night out.

[bhnole 153]

The problem is Brian Hill will overplay Grant if he is available. The last two injuries are stress related, not incident related. His body can not handle starters minutes and still play on a regular basis.

 

If you can not stop Brian from overplaying him then he needs to be cut loose. I would rather fill his roster spot with a prospect than having him in and out of the lineup all the time.

[Emory889 353]

Grant hurts us because he isn't playing his natural position and he's taking the playing time of JJ who clearly is ready to contribute.

 

If Grant had been coming off the bench like he should have all year then maybe he wouldn't be as banged up as he is now. IF Grant is coming off the bench and plays the small forward (Hedo has to be traded for this to work) then I would be ok with signing him to a minimum deal for 2 seasons tops. Hopefully, the coach would have the sense to play him 20 minutes a game at the most (assuming the coach has common sense).

[DarkoHero 0]

quote:

Originally posted by emory889:

Grant hurts us because he isn't playing his natural position and he's taking the playing time of JJ who clearly is ready to contribute.

 

If Grant had been coming off the bench like he should have all year then maybe he wouldn't be as banged up as he is now. IF Grant is coming off the bench and plays the small forward (Hedo has to be traded for this to work) then I would be ok with signing him to a minimum deal for 2 seasons tops. Hopefully, the coach would have the sense to play him 20 minutes a game at the most (assuming the coach has common sense).

 

I'm not sure I can agree with your assessment that JJ is "clearly ready to contribute." I hope he is, and I'd like to see him play, but I doubt he's as good as G Hill.

[Emory889 353]

He's not as good as Grant in his prime but JJ is close to as good as Grant is right now in his career. More importantly is that JJ helps the overall offense by forcing the other team to stay at home on him and providing space for our other players to operate. Opponents sag off of Grant to help on Dwight or whomever. Grant also hurts our defense, in his youth he was athletic enough to cover 2 guards but he is a liability now.

 

Once again, its not that JJ is necessarily better its that he complements the other players better.

[TnMagicFan 0]

quote:

Originally posted by DarkoHero:

quote:

Originally posted by emory889:

Grant hurts us because he isn't playing his natural position and he's taking the playing time of JJ who clearly is ready to contribute.

 

If Grant had been coming off the bench like he should have all year then maybe he wouldn't be as banged up as he is now. IF Grant is coming off the bench and plays the small forward (Hedo has to be traded for this to work) then I would be ok with signing him to a minimum deal for 2 seasons tops. Hopefully, the coach would have the sense to play him 20 minutes a game at the most (assuming the coach has common sense).

 

I'm not sure I can agree with your assessment that JJ is "clearly ready to contribute." I hope he is, and I'd like to see him play, but I doubt he's as good as G Hill.

 

I beg to differ! I think we ALL know that JJ has a way better shot that G HIll and can stretch the floor more. JJ is also more mobil and not injury prone. G Hill taking up valuble space on this roster as a starter. I think him coming off the bench for the rest of the season, of course when his wittle footsie isnt huwting, is the best option. Then I say either keep him as an assistant coach or dont take him at all next season and get some youth.