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Thanks for the post, Duncan228!!
The Spurs be should focused and ready to go. The Spurs have to hit their three-pointers and limit the Magic from hitting theirs.
It should be a good regular season game.....unlike the first game last month!!
[Edit: The game is on NBA TV. I'm not sure why that isn't in the preview.
B]Orlando (29-8) at San Antonio (24-11) Preview [/B]
Game info: 8:30 pm EST Sun Jan 11, 2009
By Dan Pieringer
The Orlando Magic dominated their last opponent to extend their longest home winning streak in nearly three years. Their play away from home has been just as impressive.
The Magic look to improve the NBA’s best road record as they meet the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday night in a matchup between division leaders that have been two of the league’s hottest teams lately.
Orlando (29-8) has won 16 of its 19 home games, including 11 in a row for its longest home winning streak since taking 12 straight from March 10-April 15, 2006.
The Southeast Division-leading Magic extended their current run Friday night with a 121-87 rout of division rival Atlanta. Hedo Turkoglu made all five of his 3-point attempts and led six players in double figures with 21 points as the Magic pulled into a tie for the most wins in the league.
“I don’t think anybody is too concerned with our record, we’re just trying to play healthy basketball,” said point guard Jameer Nelson, averaging 16.2 points and shooting 50.9 percent from the field—both career highs.
“We have a good team, but we know we have to get better. We aren’t the best team we could be. We can still get better.”
That may be the case, but no team has been better on the road than the Magic, who are 13-5 away from home. They’re scoring more (101.3 points per game) and shooting better (45.8 percent) on the road than they are at home (100.6 and 45.6).
The Magic are 7-2 in road games and 14-4 overall against the Western Conference. However, they’ve lost 14 of their last 16 in San Antonio, including 128-110 on Nov. 21, 2007.
They’ll likely have their hands full Sunday with the Southwest Division-leading Spurs (24-11), who have rebounded from a slow start with 22 wins in their last 28 games. San Antonio had five players with at least 11 points as it cruised to a 106-84 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday, its ninth victory in 10 games.
After getting held to 16 points in the first quarter, the Spurs outscored the Clippers 90-62 the rest of the way.
“We started hitting shots,” reserve guard Roger Mason said. “But the thing we wanted to continue to do was play defense, and I think our defense got better as the game went on. … For us it’s about playing Spurs defense, sharing the ball and playing the right way.”
The slow start to the season was primarily due to ankle injuries that kept Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker out of 12 and nine games, respectively. San Antonio, though, can’t claim injuries as an excuse for its 90-78 loss in Orlando on Dec. 18.
All three of the Spurs’ top players were healthy for that game, but Tim Duncan was 7-for-17, Parker was 3-for-17 and Ginobili was 4-for-12 as the Magic held the Spurs to a season-low 37.5 percent shooting.
Nelson led Orlando with 24 points and seven assists in that game. He’s averaging 21.2 points and 5.7 assists while shooting 54.1 percent from the field in six career starts against the Spurs, not including a loss last spring in which he played only seven minutes before leaving with a jaw injury.
Notes
Magic:
Orlando's 41 first-quarter points and 71 first-half points were both season highs. ... The Magic outscored the Hawks 20-0 over a seven-minute period covering the end of the first and start of the second quarter. ... G Courtney Lee made his fourth career start and joined five Orlando players in double figures with 11 points. ... C Dwight Howard recorded his NBA-leading 27th double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. ... No player on the Magic logged more than 27 minutes.
Spurs:
Los Angeles made just 4-of-20 shots in the fourth quarter (20 percent), while San Antonio hit nearly 62 percent on 13-of-21 shooting. ... San Antonio scored 13 of its 23 fastbreak points in the fourth quarter. ... The Spurs have won 10 straight games against the Clippers. ... C Tim Duncan's nine assists were a season high.
Team Stat Leaders
Points
Dwight Howard Orl 19.9
Tony Parker SA 20.9
Rebounds
Dwight Howard Orl 13.7
Tim Duncan SA 10.1
Assists
Jameer Nelson Orl 5.1
Tony Parker SA 6.7
Team Comparison
Team Record Standings PF PA Road/Home Streak L10
Orlando 29-8 1st Southeast / 2nd East 100.9 93.2 Road 13-5 Won 3 8-2
San Antonio 24-11 1st Southwest / 2nd West 97.1 93.2 Home 14-6 Won 4 9-1
Last edited by duncan228; 01-11-2009 at 12:44 PM.
Thanks for the post, Duncan228!!
The Spurs be should focused and ready to go. The Spurs have to hit their three-pointers and limit the Magic from hitting theirs.
It should be a good regular season game.....unlike the first game last month!!
It's Payback time.
Please don't let Jameer Nelson burn us again and win the game for Orlando!
He has stepped up this season though.
i'll be there. got my tix two weeks ago for $14 apiece on sale from $35.
hopefully i can convince my friends to stop in at scott's freetail brewing beforehand.
great preview as always. thx. this will be a nice victory.
It's gonna rain threes tomorrow!
They better lock up Nelson this time.
we're normally so good at chasing guys off the three point line, i bet we practiced that today.
Must win
Sunday: Magic (29-8) at Spurs (24-11)
Time: 7:30 p.m.
TV: FSNSW
Radio: WOAI-AM 1200, KCOR-AM 1350
STARTING LINEUPS
POST - SPURS - MAGIC
PG - 9 Tony Parker (6-2, 8th yr) - 14 Jameer Nelson (6-0, 5th yr)
Nelson was star of Magic victory in previous meeting with 24 points.
SG - 8 Roger Mason Jr. (6-5, 5th yr) - 11 Courtney Lee (6-5, 1st yr)
Emergence of rookie Lee an underrated factor in Magic success.
SF - 4 Michael Finley (6-7, 14th yr) - 15 Hedo Turkoglu (6-10, 9th yr)
Finley shooting 45.3 percent, up nearly four points from last season.
PF - 21 Tim Duncan (6-11, 12th yr) - 9 Rashard Lewis (6-9, 11th yr)
Lewis leads NBA in 3-pointers made with 109.
C - 15 Matt Bonner (6-10, 5th yr) - 12 Dwight Howard (6-11, 5th yr)
Last Howard-Duncan matchup until the All-Star Game.
SPURS RESERVES
12 Bruce Bowen, F, 6-7, 13th yr
20 Manu Ginobili, G, 6-6, 7th yr
3 George Hill, G, 6-2, 1st yr
7 Fabricio Oberto, C/F, 6-10, 4th yr
40 Kurt Thomas, C/F, 6-9, 14th yr
5 Ime Udoka, G/F, 6-5, 5th yr
11 Jacque Vaughn, G, 6-1, 12th yr
MAGIC RESERVES
4 Tony Battie, C/F, 6-11, 11th yr
34 Brian Cook, F, 6-9, 6th yr
13 Marcin Gortat, F/C, 6-11, 2nd yr
10 Keith Bogans, G/F, 6-5, 6th yr
7 J.J. Re , G, 6-4, 3rd yr
32 Jeremy Richardson, G/F, 6-7, 3rd yr
8 Anthony Johnson, G, 6-3, 12th yr
COACHES
Spurs: Gregg Popovich
Magic: Stan Van Gundy
INJURIES
Spurs: Ian Mahinmi (left ankle sprain) is out.
Magic: Mike Wilks (torn right knee ligament) and Mickael Pietrus (torn left thumb ligament) are out. Bogans (sprained right ankle) is questionable.
PROJECTED INACTIVE PLAYERS
Spurs: Mahinmi, Malik Hairston
Magic: Wilks, Pietrus, Adonal Foyle
NOTABLE
Magic defeated Spurs 90-78 in Orlando on Dec. 18. Since then, the Spurs have won nine of 10 and the Magic have won 9 of 11 and have passed the Celtics for the second-best record in the Eastern Conference behind Cleveland. ... The Magic rank first in the NBA in 3-pointers made (370). The Spurs rank first in 3-point percentage (40.6).
- Jeff McDonald
The Magic begin brutal stretch of their season Sunday night in San Antonio
By Brian Schmitz | Sentinel Staff Writer
SAN ANTONIO — The Orlando Magic have a chance, starting tonight, to go where no Magic team has gone since the Shaq-Penny days.
It's certainly the best opportunity that has ever been presented to the club during the Dwight Howard Era.
They have a shot at being regarded as the best team in the NBA by the end of the month, this far into the season.
At the very least, they could prove they belong in every championship conversation.
Really, not even the BCS could dispute it. It isn't hype and it isn't hyperbole (well, maybe a tad, with three months still to play. But work with us here).
The Magic (29-8) will face every current division leader over the next 21 days to close out January, the agenda featuring games against San Antonio, L.A. Lakers, Denver, Boston and Cleveland.
No other team can say that.
The Magic, boasting the league's top road record, tip off their toughest trip of the season tonight when the Southeast Division leaders of the Eastern Conference play against the Spurs (leaders of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference).
After facing the lowly Sacramento Kings, the Magic take on the Lakers (first in the Pacific Division) and then the Nuggets (Northwest Division leaders).
They return home at the halfway point of the season to play the reigning NBA champion Celtics (No. 1 in the Atlantic Division) and then head to Miami to meet the Heat. They then finish the month at Amway Arena against the Indiana Pacers and the Cavs, currently the league's top seed out of the Central Division.
Talk about strength of schedule.
If the Magic's detractors thought their first few months were relatively easy — and there is some validity to the observation — then this stretch should end su ion.
"There's no question, this is the toughest stretch of the year," Coach Stan Van Gundy said. "If you look at the rest of January, there's nobody in the NBA playing anywhere near what we're playing over this next stretch.
"That will keep your head down to Earth."
The Lakers could quibble with Van Gundy's assessment.
Among the 11 games L.A. has left in January, the Lakers face three division leaders in a schedule that includes games against the Miami Heat, Houston Rockets, San Antonio (twice), Orlando and Cleveland.
And several of the Cavs' last 10 games of the month aren't easy, either. They face New Orleans, the Lakers, Portland, Utah and Orlando — with all but the game against the Hornets on the road.
Boston has just seven games remaining to close the month, but its featured games are against Phoenix, Miami and Orlando. Given that schedule, the Celts could well reclaim the No. 1 overall record.
The Magic passed the struggling Celtics (29-9) for the second-best record in the East after Cleveland beat Boston on Friday night.
As of Saturday, the Cavs and the Lakers shared the NBA's best record at 29-6, followed by the Magic and the Celtics.
Of course, odds are against the Magic running the table against these upcoming contenders, especially on the road.
But they couldn't pout about winning, oh, three games against these five division leaders. They've established themselves enough — the Magic are 81-39 dating to last season and are on a pace to win 64 games — that some losses wouldn't necessarily derail their progress.
"I don't think anybody is really concerned too much about our record. We're just trying to play healthy basketball," point guard Jameer Nelson said. "We're not trying to shoot for a number. We want to be in good position at the end of the year.
"The thing is, we know we have a good team. We aren't the best team we could be right now. We could be better."
And here's their chance to show it.
Magic-Spurs scouting report
Brian Schmitz, Orlando Sentinel
WHERE: AT&T Center, San Antonio
RECORDS: Magic 29-8; Spurs 24-11
ON THE AIR: TV — FSN; Radio — 580 AM (WDBO), Spanish-language 1030 AM (WONQ)
MAGIC UPDATE: Orlando brings the NBA's best road record (13-5) into San Antonio, where it tips off its most difficult trip of the season. The Magic play three current Western Conference division leaders in a four-game set: San Antonio, L.A. Lakers and Denver. They face the Sacramento Kings — who are bringing up the rear of the Pacific Division — on Tuesday night. ... The Magic have lost their last two games in San Antonio, and have dropped six of seven at AT&T Center. ... The Magic improved their home record to 16-3 after crushing the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night in Orlando, their 11th consecutive victory at Amway Arena. ... SG J.J. Re is on fire, having made 9 of his last 13 attempts from 3-point range.
SPURS UPDATE: Winners of four in a row, San Antonio is rested, having played its last game on Thursday against the L.A. Clippers. ... The Spurs fell in Orlando against the Magic 90-78 on Dec. 18, looking old and listless. SG Jameer Nelson (24 points, seven assists) outplayed Tony Parker, and C Dwight Howard had 13 rebounds. ... After a rough start, the Spurs are healthy and have reclaimed the top spot over the New Orleans Hornets in the ultra-compe ive Southwest Division. They have won 9 of their past 10 games.
KEY MATCHUP: The Magic expect to see a different Spurs team than the one that showed up lethargic in an earlier meeting. Keeping SG Manu Ginobili in check will be a huge challenge for Courtney Lee and J.J. Re . Keith Bogans could resurface on the defensive end.
Just wondering, has timvp posted the clippers game thoughts yet?
Whatever. Not many teams are going to look young after playing the night before, coming in at 3am and having to play at 6pm that same day. We will see who looks old tonight.The Spurs fell in Orlando against the Magic 90-78 on Dec. 18, looking old and listless.
I wanna see the matchup of TD & D howard. DH is the only guy the magics have that can limit TD a little bit so that SVG is gonna let DH match TD on the defensive end, though they play different positions.
Referee Assignments
Sun. Jan. 11
Orlando @ San Antonio: M. Callahan, E. Lewis, S. Wall
I know the Sports Network Previews don't offer much that the others haven't covered, but I post it in every preview thread because it's the national one the E-N links to. Just an fyi.
Spurs host Magic in matchup of division leaders
(Sports Network) - A battle of division leaders is on tap for tonight when the San Antonio Spurs welcome the Orlando Magic to the AT&T Center.
The Southwest Division-leading Spurs have won four in a row and will resume a three-game homestand Sunday versus the Magic. In Thursday's 106-84 win over the Los Angeles Clippers, Tony Parker scored 19 points and Roger Mason added 18 for the Spurs, who have won nine of 10 overall. Michael Finley chipped in 15 points and Manu Ginobili added 13 in the win.
Matt Bonner had 11 points and Tim Duncan registered eight points and nine assists for San Antonio. The Spurs will also host the Los Angeles Lakers and are 14-6 at home this season.
Orlando is on top in the Southeast standings and has won three in a row, including Friday's 121-87 romp of the Atlanta Hawks to complete a sweep of the home-and-home series at Amway Arena.
Hedo Turkoglu scored 21 points to extend Orlando's home-winning streak to 11 consecutive games. The Magic haven't lost as the host since a 100-95 setback to Houston on November 22.
Dwight Howard chipped in 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Magic, who have won 12 of their last 14 games overall. J.J. Re had 15 points and Jameer Nelson ended with 14 and nine assists in a winning effort.
The Magic will kick off a four-game road trip out west Sunday against the Spurs, Kings, Lakers and Nuggets. They are 13-5 as the visitor in 2008-09.
Orlando defeated San Antonio, 90-78, at home on December 18 this season to snap a three-game losing streak in the series. The Spurs have won 11 of the last 15 against the Magic, who have lost two straight and 14 of 16 trips to the Alamo City.
about Magic. Bonner or Oberto for Gortat. Will u do this trade, if u were PoP/RC ?
Actually, for all his athleticism, DH doesn't match that well on Tim. He leans on the athleticism too much, and goes for upfakes.
I'm much more interested in Parker/Nelson. Tony should be completely butt hurt by the ownage that Nelson tattoed on him last time.
PROPERTY OF JAMEER NELSON
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