NBA Countdown: No. 8 Orlando Magic

[duncan228]

NBA Countdown: No. 8 Orlando Magic (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=tsn-nbacountdownnoorland&prov=tsn&type=lgns)
SportingNews

—>Leading into the Oct. 27 season openers, Sporting News will preview each of the NBA teams, counting backward from its Sept. 25 Power Poll. For more great NBA content, order your copy of our Pro Basketball yearbook (https://www.streetandsmiths.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=store.covers&catid=5), or pick one up at a newsstand today.

By Tim Povtak
Sporting News Yearbooks

Reaching the NBA Finals for the first time in 14 years and second in franchise history was a wonderful accomplishment for the Orlando Magic-but there was no guarantee a championship would follow.

It's why general manager Otis Smith didn't take any bows, or even take the time to catch his breath.

And it's also why he made one of the boldest moves of the summer, changing his carefully crafted team chemistry by trading for All-Star Vince Carter and letting go of free agent Hedo Turkoglu, a key player in Orlando's recent rise.

"You can't stand still in this league," Smith said. "If you do, you'll be going backward."

The Magic will go into the 2009-10 season determined to defend their Eastern Conference title but looking different than when they won it. Yes, they still have All-Star center Dwight Howard as their foundation and high-priced Rashard Lewis (who's suspended the first 10 games of the season after testing positive for an elevated testosterone level) shooting 3-pointers, but the Magic changed their late-game, go-to guy by switching from Turkoglu to Carter.

The Magic also added free agents in power forward Brandon Bass from Dallas and small forward Matt Barnes of Phoenix. They even added point guard Jason Williams, who last played during 2007-08 with the Heat. Surprisingly, they kept backup center Marcin Gortat by matching the offer sheet Dallas gave him.

With the Celtics adding Rasheed Wallace and the Cavaliers trading for Shaquille O'Neal, the Magic tried to keep pace with the other serious contenders in the East.

"There are less than seven teams every year that really are trying to win a championship in our league," Smith said. "Those three (in the East) are trying to win now, as opposed to saying ‘We're OK where we are. Let's stay the status quo.'"

Howard, a first-team All-NBA center last season, spent a big part of his summer trying to improve at the offensive end. In 2008-09, he won the league's Defensive Player of the Year award, but his undeveloped offensive game needed considerable work.

The Magic should be helped by the return of point guard Jameer Nelson, who became an All-Star for the first time last season. Nelson missed the last three months of the season after shoulder surgery.

Orlando traded Rafer Alston, the starting point guard in Nelson's absence, to help get Carter to Orlando. The team also lost promising guard Courtney Lee and veteran big man Tony Battie.

Carter, 32, might not have been the right fit for the Magic a few years ago, but at this stage of his career he could become the piece that puts them over the top. He is an eight-time All-Star and one of the league's most prolific scorers over the last decade.

Adding Carter, Bass and Barnes (along with matching the offer for Gortat) pushed the Magic into the NBA's punitive luxury tax for the first time, making it clear that management is ready to sacrifice to win a championship. Carter sounds the same way.

"I'm more than ecstatic about the chance to really play for a championship," he said. "It's beyond belief to do it here in Orlando. It's like a dream come true. We can make it happen."

Fast Facts
2008-09 record: 59-23
Last playoff: 2009 (lost in NBA Finals)
Coach: Stan Van Gundy

Burning question
Is Vince Carter tough enough?

The rap on Carter in NBA circles has long been his toughness. It will be up to coach Stan Van Gundy and some of the Magic players-point guard Jameer Nelson is a likely candidate-to stay on Carter about his defense and willingness to take big shots. Hedo Turkoglu, the guy Carter is replacing, isn't quite the player that Carter is, but he does bring better intangibles, and those were crucial to the Magic's run to the NBA Finals. But playing for a championship contender, Carter at least has the opportunity to put the soft label to rest forever.
- Sean Deveney

View from the other bench
(an opponent breaks down the Magic)

"For a team that went to the Finals, these were not small changes they made. If they don't get back there, or if the team has a drop-off in the regular season, there is certain going to be some second-guessing. Getting Vince Carter certainly is no drop-off from letting Hedo Turkoglu leave, but they are different, really different players, different in what they do best. Vince is capable of creating something when there is nothing out there. But Turkoglu was a much more willing passer, and a lot of times he created for his teammates."

Draft report

The Magic were without both of their draft picks this year, trading their first-rounder to Memphis in February as part of the three-team deal that brought over Rafer Alston and sending their second-rounder to Seattle in 2007 in the deal for Rashard Lewis.

Inside the numbers

.922: Winning percentage by the Magic in 2008-09 when leading after the first quarter, good for best in the NBA.
64: Games the Magic needed last season before clinching a playoff berth. It was the second-fewest needed in franchise history (excluding the lockout-shortened season) behind the 1994-95 team that secured a spot in 61 games.
22: Double-doubles by Dwight Howard in the 2009 playoffs, the most since Tim Duncan recorded the same number during the 2003 postseason.

Additions: Vince Carter, G/F (trade, New Jersey), Ryan Anderson, F (trade, New Jersey), Brandon Bass, F (Dallas), Matt Barnes, F (Phoenix), G Morris Almond (Utah), Jason Williams, G (free agent)

Subtractions: Courtney Lee, G/F (trade, New Jersey), Rafer Alston, G (trade, New Jersey), Tony Battie, F/C (trade, New Jersey), Hedo Turkoglu, G/F (trade, Toronto)

[duncan228]

The Baseline Sees All: Orlando Magic (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=tsn-thebaselineseesallor&prov=tsn&type=lgns)
SportingNews

Elsewhere in our web of basketball knowledge, you'll find comprehensive team previews by experts intimately acquainted with what makes these NBA teams tick, where they've been, and what might be next for them. So why another set of previews? Because sometimes, it's worth listening to your crazy uncle about that broken leg before you take a second trip to the doctor's office.

It was more powerful than a locomotive, more contagious than Peruvian hiccups, as righteous as the wind. It was Turkoglu Fever, and boy did it bite us hard. He was most totally and obviously the man. After all, how often do you get to watch an exotic, aging, borderline All-Star play point shooting forward and then cap it off with massive feats of clutch? No less than two teams made signing Hedo their primary off-season objective, with the Raptors coming out on top. The Magic just had to lick their wounds and content themselves with getting Vince Carter in a trade. However can they go on as a team?

Look, I've enjoyed watching Turkoglu come into his own as much as the next guy. For too long, he was the tantalizing could-be that somehow attracted no rancor, but still made us all wish. He was great with the Magic, especially when Jameer Nelson went down.

But it's starting to annoy me how much his departure has blinded folks to what Orlando has on their roster. Try reigning Defensive Player of the Year Dwight Howard in the middle; Jameer Nelson, a healthy All-Star PG; Rashard Lewis, great rainer of treys; and Vince Carter, who has left the fog of hype and can now be clearly seen as one of the league's most well-rounded SGs.

They kept Marcin Gortat, an unexpected source of production throughout the postseason, and signed athletic young big Brandon Bass. Maybe they had to part with promising rookie Courtney Lee to land Vince, but they got inside-outside threat Ryan Anderson as a throw-in. Plus, will Lee ever be that much better than Mickael Pietrus, who is bigger and, more importantly, still on the Magic? Rafer Alston, a valuable vet in the playoffs who felt weird about taking a backseat to Nelson, is gone. Enter Jason Williams, back for one more round.

If this sounds like I'm teaching a four year-old how to count to two, I am.

An aging Shaq? Sheed off the bench? Only the Lakers, who grabbed Artest and will have Bynum back healthy, can really claim to have made anywhere near the upgrades the Magic did. Just sit and look at their roster for a second. They're totally underrated when, if anything, the Magic should have us so frothed up we've got them overrated. Oh, and lest we forget, their coach, one Stan Van Gundy, was a legit candidate for Coach of the Year last season and can get even Rashard Lewis to commit to defense.

What am I missing here? Is Vince Carter still so loathed or resented that he must taint any team he comes to? Is everyone still worried about their offense, specifically Howard's role in it, when they'll have their second-best player back healthy and have added an elite scorer? This team should win a championship and it's absurd that anyone's lukewarm or less than bullish about them. We should be falling at their feet and wondering how even the Lakers can match their depth.

Most Likely Breakout: Gortat is probably regarded a little too highly, given the small sample size his supposedly starter-caliber prowess is based on. Bass, whom the Mavs parted with to try and secure Gortat, has been getting better every year, just under the radar, and will have some big nights in the trenches. That's the other thing with this team: pretty much everyone but these two guys is who they are. Even Morris Almond, if he makes the team, can be counted on as just another shooter. Seriously, where are the question marks, even the good ones?

Most Likely Letdown: That the chemistry, rotation or system just doesn't click. Maybe Carter doesn't fit in. Howard still isn't being used as effectively as he might. If the Magic have a banner year despite dealing with these sorts of imperfections, it could destroy basketball. Like when the Cavs were really good in the East with no one but LeBron and Mike Brown's defensive know-how.

Blog superstar: I'm not pointing at J.J. Reddick specifically, but someone on this team has it in him to organize an a cappella group. Do you doubt for a second that the talent's there?

Signature game: The Magic will slump at some point. If the bench or lesser starters can rally and carry them out of it, that's when everyone has to recognize that this team works as more than a fantasy basketball-like experiment. A smart fantasy team, not one with 10 All-Stars that leads the roto league in turnovers.

Why else you should care: So you can email me and call me a blathering idiot when Orlando never once takes the lead in the East.

[HeyIt'sMe]

These idiots actually have the Wizards ahead of the Magic. I lol'd big time.

[DeadlyDynasty]

I still think the Magic are more than capable of winning the East. As of now though I'd put them at #2 behind the Celtics