The Lets Cheer for the Magic cause at least they have a team

[Hoopalotta]

Watching the Magic against Boston, the thing I take is that all the Magic perimeter players are going to be deferential to one another given that rather gaudy allotment of depth. It's just a very spread offense out, 'find the open man' kind of offense with a lot of guys who can make decisions and hit shots. Maybe they'll trade Reddick or something, but otherwise I don't see how any of them score much beyond 16 points a game with even that potentially being an unreasonably high figure.

From what I saw, I don't think Gil is going to try and be the guy who leads their perimeter scorers either and that's probably for the best from a chemistry standpoint. But he and Hedon't are probably the tops they got for delivering entry passes to Dwight or hitting cutters, so that helps them move away from an over reliance on perimeter play, which is a bit of a trap for them as of now (and before the trades for that matter, actually).

Also, splitting the MLE between Quentin Richardson and Chris Duhon and then deciding 25 games in that the perimeter needed a complete overhaul was an outright disaster. I can see how it happened based on the timing and assumptions, but wow, not good.

[Rafael122]

JJ won't be traded. He's SVG's guy.

My guess is Q. Richardson and maybe Duhon get traded for a back up big man. Gil doesn't look good though. He had a good game against the Spurs, but the guy has no lift.

[mattyBoi]

Looks like Q or Duhon are going to be gone, and yes Otis really screwed up with those two.

[Scabs304]

They need to trade one of their PGs preferably Jason Williams or Chris Duhon for a PF/C to either back-up or start along side Dwight Howard. Having him and Bass as the only Post players on the roster is going to be a major liability in the playoffss...

[closg00]

Hibachi night, Gilbert with the double-double and hot shooting night.
http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=301228005

Edit: Orlando also played Earl Clark 18 minutes and he had a nice stat-line. Clark was never used much by the Suns, I had wondered if he was a bust...apparently not.

[GhostsOfGil]

man the magic are looking good. hedo has been very impressive since the trade imo

[hands11]

Hibachi night, Gilbert with the double-double and hot shooting night.
http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=301228005

Edit: Orlando also played Earl Clark 18 minutes and he had a nice stat-line. Clark was never used much by the Suns, I had wondered if he was a bust...apparently not.

Yeah, against the CAVS.

He must still be made a Lebron and doesn't realize he isn't there anymore.

Time to update the PlayStation.

[Scabs304]

Clark has the possibility of getting good minutes in Orlando because he is one of the few players with any size on the team.

Ryan Anderson, Hedo, Earl Clark are listed at 6'10" and only Clark could be a legitimate 4 on defense. Bass at 6'8" which is very generous IMO is the only other PF on the roster.

It's nice to see Arenas do well.

[TGW]

A weird article in the Post about Gilbert and his pregnant ex-wife splitting. Apparently he cut the [cheating] woman off...shockingly enough, no mention of the Shaq rumors:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 04099.html

The nine-year relationship of Gilbert Arenas and Laura Govan has been a famously stormy one - breakups interspersed with reunions, babies and one elaborate marriage proposal.

But this time, with the former Washington Wizards star's recent departure for Orlando, the drama appears to have gone nuclear. A representative for Govan - yes, there are reps involved this time - told The Washington Post that Arenas has cut off communication and funds from her and their three children.

Govan, who is four months pregnant with their fourth child, "has not heard from Arenas the whole month of December," said publicist Laura Wright in an e-mailed statement. "Govan and the children feel like they have been abandoned."

Wright - who has worked for Govan's sister Gloria and her fiance, Los Angeles Lakers forward Matt Barnes - said that Govan was left at their Great Falls home "with no money to purchase food or Christmas gifts."

A representative for the Orlando Magic, playing in Cleveland on Tuesday night, said they had not been able to reach Arenas for comment by press time.

The breakup happened around Thanksgiving. Though he didn't reveal a relationship rift at the time, Arenas recently told reporters he had been staying with Wizards teammate Nick Young for about a month.

Other public comments, when the Wizards traded him to the Orlando Magic on Dec. 18, seemed like jokes or exaggerations at the time. He told The Post after his Dec. 20 debut with the Magic that he was so eager to move that he bought a same-day ticket to Florida the minute he'd heard about the trade: "I went to the airport and left. I didn't have a chance to say bye to anybody. I didn't even say bye to the kids." (But Arenas also said that Washington would remain "in my heart" because "that's where I raised my kids and have my family.")

Arenas, 28, and Govan, 31, were known in Washington as high-flying homebodies, rarely out on the town and mostly known through the comical stories he shared on his short-lived blog - like the time he hired an FAO Schwarz window dresser to set up the train set he bought for the kids.
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Behind the scenes, their relationship has often been tumultuous: After a few years of on-off dating, she gave birth to their daughter Izela in December 2005; the bitter child-support battle that followed ended with a romantic reconciliation a few months later. They welcomed a son, Alijah, in March 2007. After another breakup and makeup, they got engaged in September 2008 at a splashy family party with ice sculptures and a moon bounce (yes, he blogged about it). Last December - just weeks before the guns-in-the-locker-room incident that foreshadowed the end of his Wizards career - their daughter Hamiley was born.

[AceDegenerate]

Yes, because that is entirely relevant to how he is playing for the Magic.

7-22.

[Ruzious]

Clark has the possibility of getting good minutes in Orlando because he is one of the few players with any size on the team.

Ryan Anderson, Hedo, Earl Clark are listed at 6'10" and only Clark could be a legitimate 4 on defense. Bass at 6'8" which is very generous IMO is the only other PF on the roster.

It's nice to see Arenas do well.

I'd put Clark last on that list (after Hedo, that is) in terms of defending 4's. You could see it at Louisville - he's just too timid to play inside - Patrick Patterson's footprints are still on his face. Bass is a moose, and Anderson's got size and skeeils.

[TGW]

Yes, because that is entirely relevant to how he is playing for the Magic.

7-22.

Well you're right...although its weird that his personal life off the court is much like his play on the court....BAD.

[keynote]

Yes, because that is entirely relevant to how he is playing for the Magic.

7-22.

We've spent 7+ years examining the extent to which Gil's off-court life impacts his on-court play. As an example, just last year, many posters on this board pointed to the death of his estranged mother and/or the rumors about his fiancee and Shaq as possible reasons for lackluster performance. Isn't it also fair game to speculate whether current relationship troubles w/ the wifey could affect his play as well?

[pancakes3]

this board has been particularly bickery lately. SADs getting everyone down?

[dobrojim]

that and a team that teases us with good play when it's not embarassing
us with pathetic play.

[tiderulz]

Clark has the possibility of getting good minutes in Orlando because he is one of the few players with any size on the team.

Ryan Anderson, Hedo, Earl Clark are listed at 6'10" and only Clark could be a legitimate 4 on defense. Bass at 6'8" which is very generous IMO is the only other PF on the roster.

It's nice to see Arenas do well.

exactly how generous do you think that is for Bass? And Millsap has no problems playing PF at 6'8.

[SOUL]

I'd put Clark last on that list (after Hedo, that is) in terms of defending 4's. You could see it at Louisville - he's just too timid to play inside - Patrick Patterson's footprints are still on his face. Bass is a moose, and Anderson's got size and skeeils.

He played Nowitzki very well. Anderson can't guard a lick, and Bass misses rotations a lot.

If he had enough time he could easily be our best defender at the four, but his offensive skills are way behind (even though he has a decent touch).

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Yes, because that is entirely relevant to how he is playing for the Magic.

7-22.

Well you're right...although its weird that his personal life off the court is much like his play on the court....BAD.

I've done and lived through bad and I try not judge.

Personal life issues can be due to choices and/or circumstances and situations beyond one's control. In the past I have talked about factors that might have had him depressed, but concluded for all the stuff going on the guy was real good getting to work and being a good teammate.

My opinion is Arenas will play as well as his knees allow. If the guy's legs get right, and he can be 90% of what he was, Orlando has a legit shot at winning it all. I can't see him being anything but better than he was with the Wizards, unless his health deteriorates.