Hawks - Magic

[lethalweapon3]

Hey, Magic fans, how does that old Bing Crosby ditty go?

Would you like to swing on a star
Carry moonbeams home in a jar
And be better off than you are
Or would you rather be a Laker?

The Orlando Magic (8-12) have been making a slow climb back to relevancy. Since their 81-72 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Nov. 19 dropped them to 3-7, they’ve split their next ten games, returning home after winning three on their five-game road trip. The signature win, of course, had them strutting like Kool Moe Dee (or The Heavy, if you wish) after a “How You Like Me Now” victory in Tinseltown last week, against Kobe Bryant and longtime franchise face Dwight Howard. With a win tonight at the Amway Center, Orlando can get an extra-tasty spoonful of Schadenfreude by zipping past D-Ho’s freefalling Lakers (9-13) in overall win-loss record.

Now that someone has apparently handed Charlotte a mirror, first-year head coach Jacque Vaughn’s troops hope to see the Bobcats and Wizards in the rearview mirror while rejoining the middle of the Eastern Conference playoff pack. As it stands, they’re just 2.5 games out of the 8-spot. It’s worth noting they’ve been pulling off this feat of alchemy without Hedo Turkoglu, who broke his hand in the season opener. Al Harrington (knee infection) is still out of action for the foreseeable future. And Gustavo Ayón (2.5 PPG in 11 MPG), the guy they traded Ryan Anderson (18.4 PPG in 33 MPG w/ New Orleans) for, has yet to carve out any semblance of a steady role in Vaughn’s rotation.

They’re also overacheiving despite atrocious offensive efficiency (96.3 points per 100 possessions, 29^th in NBA). As a bizarre factoid, post-Dwight-era Jameer Nelson is experiencing a career-high in assists per game (6.2) but his assist rate (28.4 assists per 100 possessions) is the lowest by far in his last six seasons. The team pace is higher than it was under Stan Van Gundy, but the total number of Magic possessions are also expanded by Jameer’s career-high 2.7 turnovers per game. He may be taking shots too early in the clock, and clearly too frequently. Despite taking over 12 shots a game, a four-season high for him, he’s shooting at career-low of 30.3 percent on 3FGs, clearly a drag on his 46.2 FG% inside the arc. Jeff Teague needs to focus and deny ‘Meer access to the paint, where he’s much more dangerous as a shooter and passer.

19-year old rookie Moe Harkless has been starting for the Magic at small forward in the ten contests since the loss in Atlanta, and at first glance (4.0 PPG, 3.3 RPG) it’s hard to tell why. Vaughn needed better starting backcourt defense and scoring punch off the bench. He’s accomplishing these things by moving leading scorer Arron Afflalo (105 defensive rating, his lowest in 5 seasons) from SF to SG and placing sharpshooter J.J. Redick back in a familiar role off the bench. After shifting away from the Elfin’ Magic starting backcourt approach, in their last ten games, Orlando’s opponents are shooting 43.4%, down slightly from 44.8% in the games before them.

Starting Harkless also maintains an athletic complement at forward to Glen Davis. The Magic have given Big Baby’s misguided shot selection a pacifier and it’s paying off. His total shooting percentage is up to just under 48 percent, which is still rock-bottom with Michael Beasley among players with similar usage rates, but it’s improving. On shots not within 2 feet of the rim, he’s shooting 33.0% on the season. But he’s playing more to his strengths as of late. In his five December games, he’s averaged 20.0 PPG (49.4 FG% and 74.1 FT%), compared to 14.8 PPG (42.2 FG% and 70.1 FT%) in November. He’s also contributing more on the other end of the floor, upping his Defensive RPG from 5.9 in November to 8.8 in December, and more blocks (8) in his last 5 games than in 15 games last month (5).

Much was made of the Hawks getting their “opponents can’t shoot 50 percent on us” cherry busted by Miami on Monday, but the Magic have given up 50 percent shooting or greater just three times, the last instance two weeks ago versus the Spurs. That’s in part because defensive rebounding is one of Orlando’s strengths – miss a shot on your possession, and you’re probably not getting another chance. Their 32.8 defensive boards per game places them in the top five of the NBA, led by Davis and Nikola Vucevic, already a top-20 rebounder in his sophomore NBA season and the one Magician with a defensive efficiency rating below 100 (99.1 opponent points per 100 possessions).

However, Orlando seems to be a team that’s not aggressive going after the ball. They’re the only NBA team snaring less than six steals per game. That’s with Nelson (1.5 SPG) so far doubling his per-game thefts from last season to lead the team. While the Hawks’ opponent turnover rate is second in the league, the Magic’s is next to last. They’re content with trying to get foes to take bad or uncomfortable shots, and crash the boards hard as a reward.

They may have found a new source of energy from another rookie. Andrew Nicholson has broken out with double-digit point totals off the bench in his last two games. On Sunday the Bonnie bedeviled the Suns with 19 points (9-for-11 on field goals), 9 rebounds, 3 assists, and 4 steals, showcasing a nice mid-range jumper late to seal the game away. Expect a lot more floor time and looks for Nicholson, at Davis’ expense, now that he’s gaining Vaughn’s confidence.

On our side, expect an invigorated effort from reigning East Coast POTW Josh Smith, who played just 22 minutes during the Nov. 19 home game and registered his only single-digit scoring effort of the season (6 points). The following stat is once again hidden in white text is case Smoove is reading this: (HE’S MADE 10 OF HIS LAST 14 THREE-POINTERS!). Although Josh was able to light up Miami from the perimeter like their Metrorail bridge, the Magic have been able to step out and contest threes somewhat effectively (31.9% Opponent 3FG, 3^rd lowest in NBA). Orlando can’t quite put the defensive screws to Mid-Range Shawtys the way Miami can, so look for Smith to try and wreck shop more exclusively inside the arc than he did on Monday (3-for-13 on 2-point FGs).

After just 18 minutes against the HEAT, Zaza Pachulia would be a smart play tonight. He could hold his own with Vucevic if the Hawks feel Al Horford is a better matchup against Davis than Smith. Even if he’s not starting, Zaza can spell Horford (35+ minutes 8 of his last 9 games) early against Vucevic and should be capable of dominating whatever else the Magic throw out there under center -- the Ayons, the Josh McRobertses, the Kyle O’Quinns of the world.

Kyle Korver (back spasms) has been upgraded to probable tonight. These days, Kyle likes it when you call him Big Poppa, but don’t look for him to pop a lot of shots, as he’ll be intentionally limited in action tonight by Larry Drew.

If Korver doesn’t start, C-Viv (@ajchawks) reported that DeShawn Stevenson might get rested again for tomorrow versus MKG and Charlotte, and Anthony Tolliver would get the starting nod at SF. So I’ll be right back after I go grab a sickness bag… huh, what’s that? Vivlamore tweets that he meant to say Anthony MORROW? Ahhh, I’m feeling better already!

Morrow’s 47.1 percent three-point shooting this season has him on pace to soon surpass Steve Nash (42.8%) for 3^rd among active NBA players for career three-point percentage (42.6%). Korver is sixth on that list (41.4%). Look for the Magic to deploy their most accurate three-point shooter, NBA soph E’Twaun Moore (9.2 PPG, 39.7 3FG%), to help Jameer, AA, and J.J. keep up offensively.

Go Hawks!

~lw3

[phoostal]

Will be at the game tonight ladies & gents, I got the courtside seats from work, so I'll take some pics from the phone and post on line, depending how much I drink will determine if I streak across the court

[TheTruth]

Couple updates:

Larry Drew said he expects to play Kyle Korver about 20 minutes. #ATLHawks

Morrow to start for Hawks with Teague, Harris, Smith and Horford. #ATLHawks

[IheartVolt]

One thing all these shuffling lineups have solidified for me is the aweful need for an legit center....till we get that we are pretenders

[Admin]

Damn I can't believe we've blown that 16-2 start and are now behind barely into the 2nd quarter!

[benhillboy]

I love me some Kyle Korver.

[Admin]

I now think that Matt Goukas is my 2nd most hated announcer behind Tommy Heinson. He's got nothing but crappy remarks to make about our team and players every other time he opens his mouth.Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2

[cam1218]

I now think that Matt Goukas is my 2nd most hated announcer behind Tommy Heinson. He's got nothing but crappy remarks to make about our team and players every other time he opens his mouth.Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2

Seriously, he sounds like a guy that has seen his team lose 8 straight to the Hawks.Supposedly we escaped again and somehow won against the Magic.

[benhillboy]

Back on the good foot. Lets go.

[DJlaysitup]

Honestly - this team isn't selfish....everybody just takes turns. It doesn't matter what's working.

I guess I'm too old-school...expecting s coach to be able to control his players to the point that he can make them play to matchups that are successful on a game-by-game basis.

It's OK - we won - thanks to their terrible 4th quarter shooting and their being even dumber than us on shot selection.

and P.S. - Zaza got ROBBED

Edited December 13, 2012 by DJlaysitup

[lethalweapon3]

Thank you G-State! Now, with hopefully a win versus Charlotte (also on a back-to-back) tomorrow, we get to share 1st place in the Southeast after all! Go Hawks! And whoever plays the HEAT!

~lw3

[DrReality]

Sharing the ball. Good riddance JJ

[Jizzle]

I don't know to make a new topic but on Realgm DH said he knows where he's going to sign

any Ideas ??

also I've thining do think Josh would be better if he was right handed?

[thecampster]

I don't know to make a new topic but on Realgm DH said he knows where he's going to sign

any Ideas ??

also I've thining do think Josh would be better if he was right handed?

Interesting idea. There have been studies about helping left handed people who are having trouble with dexterity by having them watch the tasks performed in a mirror (IE, making the performer left handed). Then the person attempts to mimic the movements while watching in the mirror. There was some success and the presupposition was that lefties have less in the way of visual mentoring than Righties. So perhaps Josh's ills could be eased by having him watch game film or other players in the mirror while emulating their moves/positioning. This left vs right thing could also explain why he excels in some defensive situations. His strong hand is mirrored to the opposing player's strong hand.