Post#744 » by lovehoops01 » Wed Jan 9, 2008 8:33 am
Otis does need to have a sit-down with Dwight and find out if everything is OK and how he can try to make it better.
Dwight is working hard out there most nights, but it's not always paying off, and it's easy to get frustrated when that happens. But if he did so (and I didn't see the game so I only can go on what you guys said Mikki Moore said), he needs to avoid showing his frustration with his teammates when they are on the floor. You've got to wonder if some of his friends on other teams are getting into his head. He is a team leader, and he needs to show those skills when it comes down to situations like this. It would help for some guidance from Ewing and Battie, too, because this is a new situation for him. (Still think Grant Hill didn't provide any leadership?) And Dwight's been taking a few nudges in the media, too, for the first time, and he just needs to ignore those. This is the tough part of his job, and as the foundation of his franchise, he needs to be a rock. In this case, being 22 doesn't help him because he probably doesn't know what to do.
It's clear....The Magic need to make some kind of a move because they need another defender and rebounder to help Dwight in the paint. And they need a dependable scorer who can defend somewhat at shooting guard, too. They could give J.J. a try, but they probably should have done that before they closed the gap so much between their wins and their losses because if that doesn't work, then what? They only have 8 more wins than losses now. And when they get back from this trip, after playing Chicago at home, they go to Charlotte. And then the next four games after that come against the powerful Trail Blazers (yes, they are playing great), Pistons (twice), Grizzlies on the road (and they already beat the Magic at home) and the Celtics. And then the month is almost over.
What they probably need more than anything is someone besides Dwight who will show the character to say that they are not going to let this team lose. You see that in parts of games -- but not for entire games.
The only consolation about tonight is that pretty much every Eastern Conference team that played a Western Conference team got its butt kicked. We just need for the Magic not to let that happen again on Wednesday night.