tlongII
01-11-2012, 10:48 AM
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/orlando-magic/os-orlando-magic-portland-trail-blazers-0111-20120110,0,4126920.story
TUALATIN, Ore. — Even in an abbreviated NBA regular season, it can be difficult to pinpoint any one game as a potential statement game.
But the Orlando Magic will have that chance Wednesday night when they face the Portland Trail Blazers at the Rose Garden.
Orlando has not recorded a quality win, at least not yet. Although their 6-3 record looks good on paper, none of those victories has come against a team that has a winning record. And when the Magic have faced elite opponents — the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Chicago Bulls — the Magic lost convincingly.
"I don't want to say we've struggled, but we haven't played as good as we want to play," center Dwight Howard said after the Magic finished a workout Tuesday at the Trail Blazers' practice facility.
Portland should provide a difficult test.
The Blazers employ one of the most athletic lineups in the league. They enjoy one of the top homecourt advantages in the NBA. And they've beaten the Thunder by 10 points and defeated the Los Angeles Lakers by nine points already this season.
The Magic, in sharp contrast, endured long stretches against the Thunder in which they could not make a basket. And their performance last Friday against the Bulls was so bad and uninspired that it prompted coach Stan Van Gundy to lament, "We're not at that level right now. Not close."
Van Gundy didn't sound much more optimistic Tuesday.
"At times I see a focus that would say we want to get there," he said.
"I mean, do we want to get there? Sure. Everybody wants to get there. But are we going to do what it takes to get there? That's the question. At times I would say we're trying, making the effort and having the focus to try to do that. And at other times, we're not."
The Magic's wins have come against teams that had compiled a 13-40 overall record through Monday.
Orlando was far less effective against elite teams, and Wednesday's game offers a chance to jump over that hurdle.
"We're capable of doing it," point guard Jameer Nelson said. "We've shown it in the past. It's a matter of just doing it."
Against the top-notch teams, the Magic have had difficulty sustaining energy, and that will have to change even though the Blazers will be playing the second game of a back-to-back.
"We've just go to match their intensity," Glen Davis said. "We know they're going to come out with guns flaming."
In hindsight, the Magic's last game at the Rose Garden could be viewed as a turning point. On Dec. 9, 2010, the Magic fell to the Blazers 97-83, a loss so ugly that it prompted Howard to say afterwards that the Blazers "threw everything they had at us, and we folded."
Nine days later, after road losses in Salt Lake City and in Denver, the Magic completed two blockbuster trades that radically reshaped their roster and, perhaps, the direction of their franchise.
This Blazers team is even more athletic, and they are more effective in transition now that Raymond Felton is their starting point guard and that Brandon Roy has retired because of knee problems.
Power forward LaMarcus Aldridge continues to improve, and the Blazers added small forward Gerald Wallace last February. The tandem of centers Marcus Camby and Kurt Thomas has enough experience to give Howard some problems.
"They've beaten us pretty bad the last couple of years here in Portland," Howard said.
"So we have to just do a good job of coming out and playing the right way, being able to take those first two punches and weather the storm, because it's going to be tough for us."
TUALATIN, Ore. — Even in an abbreviated NBA regular season, it can be difficult to pinpoint any one game as a potential statement game.
But the Orlando Magic will have that chance Wednesday night when they face the Portland Trail Blazers at the Rose Garden.
Orlando has not recorded a quality win, at least not yet. Although their 6-3 record looks good on paper, none of those victories has come against a team that has a winning record. And when the Magic have faced elite opponents — the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Chicago Bulls — the Magic lost convincingly.
"I don't want to say we've struggled, but we haven't played as good as we want to play," center Dwight Howard said after the Magic finished a workout Tuesday at the Trail Blazers' practice facility.
Portland should provide a difficult test.
The Blazers employ one of the most athletic lineups in the league. They enjoy one of the top homecourt advantages in the NBA. And they've beaten the Thunder by 10 points and defeated the Los Angeles Lakers by nine points already this season.
The Magic, in sharp contrast, endured long stretches against the Thunder in which they could not make a basket. And their performance last Friday against the Bulls was so bad and uninspired that it prompted coach Stan Van Gundy to lament, "We're not at that level right now. Not close."
Van Gundy didn't sound much more optimistic Tuesday.
"At times I see a focus that would say we want to get there," he said.
"I mean, do we want to get there? Sure. Everybody wants to get there. But are we going to do what it takes to get there? That's the question. At times I would say we're trying, making the effort and having the focus to try to do that. And at other times, we're not."
The Magic's wins have come against teams that had compiled a 13-40 overall record through Monday.
Orlando was far less effective against elite teams, and Wednesday's game offers a chance to jump over that hurdle.
"We're capable of doing it," point guard Jameer Nelson said. "We've shown it in the past. It's a matter of just doing it."
Against the top-notch teams, the Magic have had difficulty sustaining energy, and that will have to change even though the Blazers will be playing the second game of a back-to-back.
"We've just go to match their intensity," Glen Davis said. "We know they're going to come out with guns flaming."
In hindsight, the Magic's last game at the Rose Garden could be viewed as a turning point. On Dec. 9, 2010, the Magic fell to the Blazers 97-83, a loss so ugly that it prompted Howard to say afterwards that the Blazers "threw everything they had at us, and we folded."
Nine days later, after road losses in Salt Lake City and in Denver, the Magic completed two blockbuster trades that radically reshaped their roster and, perhaps, the direction of their franchise.
This Blazers team is even more athletic, and they are more effective in transition now that Raymond Felton is their starting point guard and that Brandon Roy has retired because of knee problems.
Power forward LaMarcus Aldridge continues to improve, and the Blazers added small forward Gerald Wallace last February. The tandem of centers Marcus Camby and Kurt Thomas has enough experience to give Howard some problems.
"They've beaten us pretty bad the last couple of years here in Portland," Howard said.
"So we have to just do a good job of coming out and playing the right way, being able to take those first two punches and weather the storm, because it's going to be tough for us."