Game #13/82: Celtics (9-3) vs. Orlando (9-3)
Posted by Zach Lowe on Nov 20, 2009
Offensive Efficiency: Boston: 109.3 points/100 possessions (7th); Orlando: 108.9 points/100 possessions (8th)
Defensive Efficiency: Boston: 97.7 points allowed/100 possessions (1st); Orlando: 102.8 points allowed/100 possessions (11th)
For regular season games that carry an importance slightly greater than the average regular season game, we’re going to (sometimes) switch up our normal preview format and do something a little more in depth. In anticipation of tonight’s game against Orlando, we asked Ben Q. Rock of the Magic-themed blog Third Quarter Collapse—one of the pre-eminent NBA blogs—to answer some questions about the Magic and the young NBA season. It’s about learning! Below are my questions and his responses. Head over to Third Quarter Collapse to read my answers to Mr. Rock’s incisive questions about the C’s.
Celtics Hub: Are you ready to admit the Magic beat the Celtics in the playoffs last season because Rashard Lewis took performance enhancing drugs? I’m kidding. But how has Shard looked in his brief return to action? What what’s with the nine assists Wednesday night—a fluke, or did the Magic put the ball in his hands more?
Third Quarter Collapse: Rusty. His stroke is as unorthodox and pretty as ever, but he’s making just a hair over one-third of his shots, and he’s 2-of-12 from three-point range. He’ll come around. The Magic felt his defensive presence immediately, though. Brandon Bass and Ryan Anderson are a bit overmatched in terms of positioning, rotating, and general defensive awareness. Laugh all you want, but Lewis is one of the better defensive power forwards in the league. I expect Orlando’s defense to improve on its dismal start now that he’s back in the lineup.
As for his assists, well, they were impressive. In prior years, the Magic have counted on him to throw a quick entry pass to Dwight Howard from the top of the key, especially on inbounds plays where the defense might be caught off-guard. Now, he’s looking to pass from the elbows extended, and usually to cutters. 6 of his 9 assists against Oklahoma City went for layups or dunks; the other 3, in case you’re curious, went to three-point shooters.
He won’t average 5 assists per game the whole year, but it looks like he’s become more comfortable in the Magic’s offense, which is only a good thing. Say what you will about his perhaps over-reliance on the three-pointer, but you can’t accuse him of being selfish. For a guy earning as much money as he is, that’s impressive.
CH: In the pre-season, there was a lot of discussion about Orlando using a “traditional” starting line-up with Lewis at the small forward and Brandon Bass/Ryan Andersen at the four. It seems like Stan Van Gundy has decided against this. What do you think the team should do?
TQC: Stan made the right choice in keeping with the floor-stretching power forward. With Lewis out, he tapped Anderson to replace him. As I tried to demonstrate earlier this week, the Magic’s offense has been much more effective with a floor-stretching power forward in the Van Gundy/Lewis era.
We’re seeing the repercussions now. Brandon Bass, whom the Magic awarded a 4-year, $16 million deal this summer, sits behind Lewis and Anderson on the depth chart. He’s useful in that he’s both a great mid-range jump-shooter, and that he can create off the dribble surprisingly well. But most of the time, he’ll be the odd man out.
CH: Why is Dwight Howard getting into so much early foul trouble this season?
TQC: He’s been a step slow in his rotations at the basket, and with the Magic yielding more dribble-penetration this year than they had previously, it’s becoming problematic. He’s also been a bit too aggressive in showing on the pick-and-roll. He picked up his 3rd foul against Cleveland last week chasing Mo Williams into the left corner, maybe 19 feet from the hoop. Obviously, that was a bad move.
He’s making a concerted effort to avoid fouling by standing still and holding his arms completely straight. Sometimes it works, resulting in an embarrassing (for the shooter) standing blocked shot. Other times, though, the officials will still whistle Howard. If you charge hard enough at the basket and leap into Howard, drawing contact, you stand a good chance of getting the benefit of the whistle, even if he’s standing still.
What’s more troublesome than the foul trouble is the effect it can sometimes have on his attitude. Dwight lets the officials get into his head. With foul trouble, he plays tentatively: maybe hesitating a second too long on offense, afraid that if he moves too quickly he’ll get called for a charge; or, on defense, having to duck out of the way when someone drives to the basket.
Another problem for Orlando is that Howard’s backup, Marcin Gortat, hasn’t been as productive this year as he was in his first two seasons. Overall, there are a ton of reasons why Dwight’s foul trouble hurts the Magic–the word “trouble” is right there in the term!–but those are just a few.
CH: Have the Magic plugged Vince Carter into the Hedo Turkoglu role of part-time “point guard,” or have they adjusted their play book for Vince?
TQC: Not so much in his first few games, no. But Stan Van Gundy told OrlandoMagic.com (whose beat writer, John Denton, is as good as any other in the league) that he’s asked Carter to be more aggressive in putting the ball on the floor with Jameer Nelson out of the lineup. As I wrote earlier this week, an extraordinarily high percentage of his shots this season have been jumpers. We’ll see if he still has that ability to get to the hole at will.
I do think he’s as effective a passer as Turkoglu, but he doesn’t present the same matchup problems at 6’07″ than Turkoglu did at 6’10″. But in terms of overall talent, Carter’s better than Turkoglu, and that this talking point was even covered in the media this summer speaks to the positive effect playing a ton of nationally televised games can have on a guy’s reputation.
CH: At least one prominent Florida writer suggested the Magic sign Allen Iverson. On a scale of 1 to 10, with one being “Red Auerbach’s trade for the right to draft Bill Russell” and 10 being “the Kenny Thomas contract”, how stupid is this suggestion?
TQC: I assume you’re referring to George Diaz, whom I know and respect, so I don’t want to call that suggestion “stupid.” Jameer Nelson is a shoot-first point guard, and he’s injured; Iverson is a shoot-first point guard (or an undersized shooting guard; take your pick) and he’s available. It’s easy to see why this idea might have some appeal.
The probem is that signing Iverson is a long-term solution to a short-term problem. So you sign Iverson for the minimum, move Jason Williams back to the bench, and banish Anthony Johnson to the end of the bench. Okay. Then Nelson comes back; suddenly, you have nowhere to put Iverson–whose steadfast refusal to come off the bench anywhere has limited his career options–unless you take Mickael Pietrus out of the starting lineup, and shift Vince Carter to small forward. Now the perimeter defenders in your starting lineup are Nelson, Iverson, and Carter. This does not bode well.
Additionally, Iverson’s a bit of a ball-stopper on offense. The Magic need guys who are more willing to pass, as they rely on quick ball-reversals after the entry pass to Howard in order to get an open three-point look.
Iverson’s better off with a team that has nothing to lose but $1.4 million. He can take as many shots as he wants, be among the starting five, and play heavy minutes. The Magic provide none of these options. So, on your scale, I’d rate signing Allen Iverson a 7.
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