So did our chances to best ORL just improve or just get reduced?

[sturt]

I'd feel better if Jameer Nelson were gone, but I'm liking two things about Otis Smith's Saturday otherwise... first that Vince Carter, who has been giving us fits with his offense the last 2-3 years especially, is out... and second that ORL now will have to deal with Arenas' psychotic tendencies and his contract... and third that there is a significant absence of low post presence beyond Howard now... all of which, though, may be more than counter-balanced by gaining J-Rich who seems to be evolving into an upper echelon force.

Your thoughts?

[capstone21]

I'd feel better if Jameer Nelson were gone, but I'm liking two things about Otis Smith's Saturday otherwise... first that Vince Carter, who has been giving us fits with his offense the last 2-3 years especially, is out... and second that ORL now will have to deal with Arenas' psychotic tendencies and his contract... and third that there is a significant absence of low post presence beyond Howard now... all of which, though, may be more than counter-balanced by gaining J-Rich who seems to be evolving into an upper echelon force.

Your thoughts?

With such a dramatic trade Orlando now has to deal with building chemistry again. That being said I like the trade for them. Richardson is a talent and Areanas can really be a weapon (depending on if his head is on straight). Hedo has a great history with the Magic. Although, losing Gortat should be interesting. Carter and Lewis has been having off years.

[Joker]

sturt, you are the biggest Gil supporter on this site and now your bashing him. :thumbsdownsmileyanim:

I think it's a great deal for Orlando. They will be the class of the East if not the NBA. Gilbert might not be what he was but he is still a #1 option who can score if he doesn't have too much defensive responsibility. Hedo is great when he doesn't have to play defense and he can just create. J Rich is a great move for them as well not as great as everyone is saying but great nonetheless.

[Endy9]

Philly 97

ORL 89

Let's hope that chemistry takes a few weeks and we can gain some ground.

[cwill1410]

With such a dramatic trade Orlando now has to deal with building chemistry again. That being said I like the trade for them. Richardson is a talent and Areanas can really be a weapon (depending on if his head is on straight). Hedo has a great history with the Magic. Although, losing Gortat should be interesting. Carter and Lewis has been having off years.

our chances of besting them are reduced. this team just got ALOT better. vince carter is used up and is way past his best. and Hedo fits perfectly into the offense for orlando and that is why they brought him back so you really do not have to worry about building team chemistry since he has played so well here before. IMO richardson is a upgrade from carter to. And i think we are all forgetting how good Arenas used to be. He was one of the best players in the league before his knee problems and can still shoot the ball pretty good. The only drawback for Orlando is losing Gortat as you said.

[MaceCase]

Their chemistry issues will come directly between how Gil and Jameer are utilized and to an extent Hedo. All three of them are extremely ball dominant to be effective with really only JRIch able to work off ball and be deadly at it. Jameer is more likely to start and Gil come of the bench behind him and JRich but then what happens to JJ? If JRich platoons at the 3 with Hedo then what happens to QRich? And although Dwight doesn't get called for 1/5 of the fouls he actually commits who backs him up? Ryan Anderson? Earl Clark? Malik Allen? That is a s*** load of money to pay for a roster with so much duplication in the backcourt and being paper thin in the frontcourt. Though they may have the best center in the league their PF and backups are mediocre at best and that actually puts them behind us, Boston and Miami in terms of frontcourt depth and skill. This move really doesn't help them in the playoffs. Yea they needed a premier perimeter scorer but at the expense of their frontcourt?

[Plainview1981]

What is it going to take for people to realize this team simply can't accomplish anything of importance?

I mean, what's it going to take?

These team is falling back... Not catching up to anyone. It's not going to happen. Not now... Not next year.

It's not like a team needs to have great chemistry to beat this team. Orlando was better than this team the year before Vince arrived and they're still better.

Edited December 19, 2010 by Hotlanta1981

[Diesel]

I'd feel better if Jameer Nelson were gone, but I'm liking two things about Otis Smith's Saturday otherwise... first that Vince Carter, who has been giving us fits with his offense the last 2-3 years especially, is out... and second that ORL now will have to deal with Arenas' psychotic tendencies and his contract... and third that there is a significant absence of low post presence beyond Howard now... all of which, though, may be more than counter-balanced by gaining J-Rich who seems to be evolving into an upper echelon force.

Your thoughts?

Orlando gave up a lot of defense for non-defense.

They lose Pietrus, Carter, and Gortat. Believe it or not, that's a lot of good defense.

They lose Lewis. That's probably a better move.

What they are saying is that Howard is our defense.

The other thing is where exactly is everybody going?

Hedo is a SF.

Arenas is listed as PG.

Richardson is a SG.

Clark is a Sf.

Can't none of them come close to stopping Horf or Smoove.

JJ goes wild on Richardson.

Arenas will play PG? What about Jameer?

The way I see it, this pushes guys like Redick and Nelson off the court. That's great for us.

[Plainview1981]

Orlando gave up a lot of defense for non-defense.

They lose Pietrus, Carter, and Gortat. Believe it or not, that's a lot of good defense.

They lose Lewis. That's probably a better move.

What they are saying is that Howard is our defense.

The other thing is where exactly is everybody going?

Hedo is a SF.

Arenas is listed as PG.

Richardson is a SG.

Clark is a Sf.

Can't none of them come close to stopping Horf or Smoove.

JJ goes wild on Richardson.

Arenas will play PG? What about Jameer?

The way I see it, this pushes guys like Redick and Nelson off the court. That's great for us.

Give me a break. The Hawks probably aren't even the 4th best team in the conference anymore.

Remember, this team BARELY beat the Bucks last year without Redd and Bogut.

I think Orlando is an extremely flawed team, but I think they went as far as they could go with the team they had. Lewis is almost to the point of being hot garbage now..... Carter... Realistically, how much does he have left in the tank? The deals they made aren't the best, but I don't think they could afford to just sit on their hands because the team they had is done.

JJ goes wild on Richardson? When was the last time JJ was really a big threat with his shot??? What, Feb of last season? Since then, it's been mostly downhill. Truthfully, JJ already looks like he is over the hill. Where 20 something games into the season and he is shooting 40% from the field and 25% in three's.

[Diesel]

Give me a break. The Hawks probably aren't even the 4th best team in the conference anymore.

Remember, this team BARELY beat the Bucks last year without Redd and Bogut.

I think Orlando is an extremely flawed team, but I think they went as far as they could go with the team they had. Lewis is almost to the point of being hot garbage now..... Carter... Realistically, how much does he have left in the tank? The deals they made aren't the best, but I don't think they could afford to just sit on their hands because the team they had is done.

JJ goes wild on Richardson? When was the last time JJ was really a big threat with his shot??? What, Feb of last season? Since then, it's been mostly downhill. Truthfully, JJ already looks like he is over the hill. Where 20 something games into the season and he is shooting 40% from the field and 25% in three's.

Something that you shouldn't ever forget....

Basketball is a game of matchups.

3 yrs ago, in the playoffs. We took the Celtics to a 7th game. When those same Celtics played the lakers, they beat them convincingly in 6. Does that mean that we're better than the Celtics?

Last year, we swept the Celtics in the regular season. They went on to the championship finals. Does that mean that we were good enough to go to the championship finals?

Basketball has always been about matchups.

The answer to the question is that Orlando lost a lot of guys who we struggled against. VC, Lewis, and they moved guys like Redick and Nelson to the bench. That gives us a better shot at beating them.

[Gray Mule]

AS OUR WORLD TURNS

16-10 3.5 games back Magic

17-11 3.5 games back Hawks

They are % points ahead of us. They lost their last game because they were short handed.

Hawks won their last game. They got a lift in their thinking with the return of JJ.

Dwight Howard is a monster. He is what Shaq was in his prime and better than the old man

Shaq who is out with injury right now. DH doesn't have a problem with injuries at this point

in his career. Shaq does. That's the big difference.

Now, with this giant monster playing center, Atlanta doesn't stand a chance. However, if DH is

called for those fouls, who is going to replace him for the Magic? He is so big that he's two

players in one inside on both offense and defense. When he's on the bench, the Hawks should

be able to gain a lot of ground very quickly.

Either get Dwight Howard in foul trouble, if you can get the calls or run him until his tongue is

hanging out and he has to stop and rest. Either way, get him on the bench and we can deal

with the other players.

The Magic are not finished dealing. Someone has that big man (or two) that they want to

trade for back court help and they will be calling, like a young man calling on a pretty gal,

and they will be wanting action. Two sticks rub together and you have fire. It will happen.

Meanwhile, our beloved Hawks run hot and cold. If we're hot, the Magic ship will sink when

we meet. If we're cold, their lack of chemestry won't help. Hawks have to score to win.

We're capable of puting up huge numbers - - But, will we?

The key to the entire thing is Dwight Howard. Hawks play great defense, don't turn the ball

over and hit those shots - - We've got a good chance IF WE CAN CONTAIN D.H. Do we have

the manpower to do it? Will he commit fouls or will all our big men foul out?

GO HAWKS!!

:line dance:

Edited December 19, 2010 by Gray Mule

[sturt]

sturt, you are the biggest Gil supporter on this site and now your bashing him. :thumbsdownsmileyanim:

Super, I've long-since come around and realized the error of my previous ways. ORL has taken a pretty stout risk here for the long-term, and I'm indeed glad it's them not us.

[MaceCase]

Something that you shouldn't ever forget....

Basketball is a game of matchups.

3 yrs ago, in the playoffs. We took the Celtics to a 7th game. When those same Celtics played the lakers, they beat them convincingly in 6. Does that mean that we're better than the Celtics?

Last year, we swept the Celtics in the regular season. They went on to the championship finals. Does that mean that we were good enough to go to the championship finals?

Basketball has always been about matchups.

The answer to the question is that Orlando lost a lot of guys who we struggled against. VC, Lewis, and they moved guys like Redick and Nelson to the bench. That gives us a better shot at beating them.

Exactly, the top teams in the East have great frontcourts and all the Magic did was weaken theirs while muddying their backcourt. They added more guys that will take shots away from Dwight while also killing some of his spacing to operate in the post. Shard was valuable to their team because he could stretch the floor and adequately defend opposing PFs. Bass doesn't have the range that Shard had and he's not as tall, Phoenix already failed with their experiment of Hedo at the 4 and Ryan Anderson is inconsistent against everyone but us. I've yet to mention the importance of having a guy that could continue to defend the paint at an elite level when Dwight went to the bench in Gortat. They've gone from the luxury of always having a defensive anchor on the court to Malik Allen...this just screams of Washington's moves two summers ago.

My only fear is that they could flip Jameer for Marcus Camby, THEN the league will have a serious problem on their hands.

[Randy]

Huge trade - makes me think Orlando has panicked. What I see as being wrong with this deal: Hedo - never been the same since he left Orlando, but doesn't mean he'll be the same now. Sort of like a guy who remarries his ex hoping it will work out again. (Seldom does.) They are trying to catch ligthning in a bottle - for the second time. Arenas - seems like a risk, he's the classic case of a guy who's head is out to get his a#$. And even if his head is screwed on straigth, he gets injured a lot. Lose Gortat - whose the backup now?

Despite all that they will still probably handle the Hawks with ease.

[HalfHawk]

I'd feel better if Jameer Nelson were gone, but I'm liking two things about Otis Smith's Saturday otherwise... first that Vince Carter, who has been giving us fits with his offense the last 2-3 years especially, is out... and second that ORL now will have to deal with Arenas' psychotic tendencies and his contract... and third that there is a significant absence of low post presence beyond Howard now... all of which, though, may be more than counter-balanced by gaining J-Rich who seems to be evolving into an upper echelon force.

Your thoughts?

Arenas for Lewis is a descent deal, but the Phoenix trade has me confused.

You trade away THE Hawk killer of the past decade and the best back up center in the NBA to get a has-been Turkoglu and a sub-par J-Rich? But then you throw in a first rounder and cash consideration? Terrible move.

This is Atlanta's opportunity to take the 3rd spot.

[Wurider05]

It depends on how Howard will adjust his game. Maybe he will let the other guys score while he just rebounds, blocks, and control the paint. Like Diesel says it puts the guys who have really been killing us on the bench. Who the hell starts??

[Joker]

You guys underestimate Dwight overall impact defensively and how good a playmaker Hedo is especially when he doesn't have to play defense. I look at this like when we traded for Jamal. Could it fail, yes but it's likely a great fit. I hate they got Hedo back, he's the biggest reason why Dwight use to get so many easy baskets a couple years ago. He's better now overall on offense but has to work for everything, with Hedo, he didn't. This was Dwight wanted his boy back more than anything.

[Crank]

Orl just destroyed themselves lol and I love it . Our chances of winning the division just improved dramatically.

Jameer is your pg and you bring in 3 more guys who all need the ball to effective .

Does this mean they now let Hedo play point forward again ?

Is Arenas going to play sg ?

whose going to come off the bench ? 14 million dollar jrich or 17 million dollar Arenas ?

what happens to Redick ? Duhon ? Jwill ? Qrich ?

I luv it roflmao

[terrell]

Something that you shouldn't ever forget....

Basketball is a game of matchups.

3 yrs ago, in the playoffs. We took the Celtics to a 7th game. When those same Celtics played the lakers, they beat them convincingly in 6. Does that mean that we're better than the Celtics?

Last year, we swept the Celtics in the regular season. They went on to the championship finals. Does that mean that we were good enough to go to the championship finals?

Basketball has always been about matchups.

The answer to the question is that Orlando lost a lot of guys who we struggled against. VC, Lewis, and they moved guys like Redick and Nelson to the bench. That gives us a better shot at beating them.

I heard they were playing Jameer and Gibert together.

[HalfHawk]

I heard they were playing Jameer and Gibert together.

Van Gundy made it clear clear they won't play them together, and he's not taking the starting role away from Jameer. Arenas is going to be coming off the bench.