So, let's really delve into the ORLANDO MAGIC - my preseason pick for Eastern Conference Champion. Now, this was remarkably silly pick from a man who was just trying desperately to avoid picking the Cavs or Celtics - the two clear front runners. As usual: Screw starting 5s. You need at least 7 guys to win a title. So: there top 7:
1) Dwight Howard - C: Dwight Howard is the most charismatic player in the league and the best interview. He also happens to be the most dominating offensive and defensive center in the league. Yet, weirdly, he does not have a reliable offensive post game. To break into the Holy Trinity of Wade, LeBron and Paul he has to do one of two things: Up his FT% or get a reliable jump hook. Shaq, in his prime, could never shoot free throws, but he had a terrific array of post moves so he could just score constantly if he needed to. Nevertheless, Howard is such a powerful force that they really don't have to ever, EVER give him any help on the front line with shot blocking or rebounding. And, on a fan level - he's a blast to watch.
2) Hedo Turkoglu - SF: Hedo has not had the huge breakout year he did last year, and has come back down to earth a little bit. Shooting under 40% as a the team's go-to perimeter scorer isn't really a good deal for the magic. 17 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists and everytime I watch him he impresses the hell out of me offensively. He can get to the rim, shoot threes, and has a great mid range game.
3) Rashard Lewis - F: 19 points. 6 Assists. Is a dead eye shooter when open from deep. Has a super fancy low post game, and is occasionally a nasty tough rebounder. The thing that really kept his game from being totally super is he can't really make plays off the dribble like Hedo can. But is he a great scorer at the 4 and the 3 who would start on every single team in the league? Yes.
4) Jameer Nelson - G: You know what really pleases me? When a ballsy leader and clutch shooter in college turns into a ballsy leader and clutch shooter (42% from 3) in the NBA. Jameer Nelson is the same exact player he was in college. He's a shoot first, ball-dominating guard who his teammates love. He still can't regularly get to the hole and finish and he's still not a great passer. What Nelson badly needs is another point guard or combo guard to play with him. Think of Delonte West and Mike Williams, Ray Felton and DJ Augustin, Roger Mason and Tony Parker, Chris Quinn and Mario Chalmers (that was a joke). Nelson needs some help in the playmaking role for this team. But, man, watch this guy play defense. Even undersized he can handle guarding some 2's on the ball. Tenacious little dude. I'd take him over Mike Bibby I think.
5) Mickael Pietrus - SG: Euro-Jordan! The man Chad Ford had rated as the 6th best player in the mythical 2003 draft (Bosh, Wade, Bron, Melo). He doesn't have much of an offensive game despite being hyper-athletic, because he doesn't really have much handle. But, he can shoot, and he needs to beat out Bogans and play about 35 minutes a game for this team.
6) Keith Bogans - G/F: As you can see I have no idea what position Bogans even plays on the court for the Magic. He doesn't score much, but he plays intense defense. John Hollinger described him as a poor man's Bruce Bowen and that's good enough for me. All teams need one dude to not touch the ball and just defend (think Ron Harper AND Dennis Rodman of those Bulls teams) and Bogans is their guy. However, until Howard or Lewis go up another level, I think the Magic generally need a playmaker at this spot, or else too much falls on Turkoglu's shoulders.
7) Marcin Gortat - C: ESPN lists him as a power forward. But that's a load of crap. He is 6'11" and his only role on the team is to play when Dwight Howard is on the bench. And, you know what? He is a totally and completely reasonable backup center. You can win a title with a guy who plays 11 minutes a game and still blocks a shot and a half every game and snarks you 4 rebounds. I really like Gortat and think he is versatile enough to go ahead and play with Howard if they feel the need to go big against someone like the Celtics.
8) Tony Battie - C Battie is like the old washed up Dale Davis, PJ Brown characters who do exactly what they are told to do every game. I think he is worse than Gortat, although he has a lot better chance at muscling up in the post against a legitimate center, while Gortat is better at playing off of the ball, and blocking shots. They both give Howard a versatile back up and the option to go big.
9) Anthony Johnson - PG: Always a good choice as a backup PG. I can't believe he is still decent. And, he should always be remembered for hanging 40 points on Jason Kidd in the 2005 playoffs.
10) Courtney Lee - SG: Why is he down here so low when he plays 19 minutes a game and has just put together back to back double figure games in Bogans' absence? Because I forgot about him and am a terrible editor. Either way, he gives them a legit offensive threat at the 2 position - moreso than Pietrus or Bogans. He is super JJ Reddick because he shoots 40% and isn't an arrogant disaster on defense.
Outlook: I love watching the Magic play, because of how good of a shooting team they are and seeing that bull mastiff Howard glide around the interior. They are good defensively and have a super coach in Van Gundy who is a tough disciplinarian who players actually seem to like. I'm going to go ahead and say they are the best three point shooting team in the NBA, as they have fantastic shooters at 4 of 5 positions and a couple off the bench as well. (This, all while relegating Reddick to 11th man role.) Rashard Lewis can actually generally handle the 4 spot, and Howards backups are diverse enough to go big if they want to play Nelson, Turk, Lewis, Battie/Gortat, and Howard. What the Magic really lack is just one more playmaker to unlock a defense like the Cavs or the Celtics. If this team could add a legitimate point guard to the mix (think Andre Miller) then they would have enough offensive playmaking to be a threat to win the title right now.
J J Reddick watch: To get my biases out of the way, I hate JJ Reddick. I thought he was overrated at Duke, he never showed up in big games, and he was in an offense that was designed specifically for him to score - and even then, he shot a lower percentage than was perceived. The funny thing is, he found a perfect team. The Magic are a bunch of spot up shooters and Reddick is a great shooter. Unfortunately, not only does he offer no other skill to the Magic, he also does not have the sense of other great shooters to get to open spots on the floor. He is still very good at catching and shooting coming off of a pick, but he just can't get open in broken-play situations. This quality, makes him, as a player much worse than a guy like Steve Kerr or John Paxson - or even his rookie teammate Courtney Lee (who, incindentally, also has a pulse on defense.)
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