It often seems like a mistake to me that teams will go so far in the playoffs, lose and then use that loss as a map for how the team should be defined the following year. For example, if your team loses to a team with a big center that posts up, like a Shaq, then in the off season you trade a starter to get a defensive low post player. That rarely makes sense to me.

Orlando failed to consult with NBAObsessed and went ahead and retooled without me.

Gone is Hedo Turkoglu and missing for a while is Rashard Lewis (failed drug test). In their place is Vince Carter for points and Jameer Nelson for direction. Now eventually Rashard Lewis will return to the lineup and Jameer Nelson was with the team last year, just injured. It is Vince Carter that adds the new dimension to the team.

Dwight Howard will get help from Vince Carter

Orlando is thinking Vince Carter will give them more explosive scoring so that Dwight Howard does not have to always carry the team. It is different than having Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu bomb long range threes to open up Howard underneath. Carter has always been able to score.

“All those moves? Sure it’s risky,” ESPN analyst Jon Barry said. “I know they would’ve preferred to re-sign Turkoglu, but once they realized that wasn’t happening they felt they needed to add another piece.

“I just don’t see Carter over Turkoglu as an improvement. That’s not an indictment of Carter. I just thought Turkoglu was Orlando’s best playmaker in the postseason. I think it’s going to be a problem for them.”

But losing the Finals to the Los Angeles Lakers in five games set Smith off on a new course.

“Vince gives us somebody who can create his own shot or create a shot for somebody else,” Smith said of filling last season’s void.

source

It remains to be seen if breaking the NBAObsessed rule for retooling will cost the Orlando Magic or benefit them. Even if Vince Carter only gives them scoring, the return of Jameer Nelson and the continued development of Dwight Howard point to a successful campaign for the Orlando Magic.

Photo source Newscom

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

Post from: NBA Obsessed

Now as performance enhancing drugs go, DHEA is not all that great and can commonly be bought at health stores everywhere. Rashard Lewis was mixing it in his smoothies and as every athlete that ever tested positive for drugs; he claims he did not know it was illegal.

Lewis, who will turn 30 on Saturday, said he took an over-the-counter supplement near the end of last season which he did not know contained the banned substance. He told the Sentinel the substance was in powder form and he mixed it into smoothies. He got it at a nutritional store, but did not specify the name of the store.

According to an NBA source, Lewis failed one drug test during the playoffs last season and was so surprised by the outcome he asked to be tested again during the Finals. Lewis also failed that test.

source

So why is this story even important? Well, if you would put your beer down and stop condemning these drug using athletes it will be explained to you.

Orlando has just recently risen to the cream of the crop in NBA circles. Those are not crop circles, but winning circles and a very exclusive club. The members of this club include the Celtics, Lakers, Spurs, Cavaliers, and sometimes the Mavericks and Magic. This club is very exclusive and will judge you on how you act or handle success.

Can Dwight Howard keep the Magic in the club?

Take my Pistons, please. Ok, old joke, but the Pistons stopped playing defense and were kicked out of the club. It is that fickle.

Now back to the Magic. First they let Hedo Turkoglu walk away in free agency and then they bring in Vince Never Guarded Anybody Carter. Now they have Rashard Lewis testing positive. They may get kicked out of the club.
Photo source Newscom

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

Post from: NBA Obsessed

Hey, this Dwight Howard guy is pretty darn good. Well, we all know that is an underestimation for the ages. Howard has been dominant.

Oh, yes, LeBron has been LeBron and is still clearly the greatest player this side of Kobe Bryant, but Howard has turned his team into winners and carried them on his back. When he becomes unstoppable underneath, then the Orlando shooters like Rashard Lewis, Hedo Turkoglu, Rafer Alston, and Michael Pietrus become great 3 point shooters.

Howard wants a shot at the Lakers

Vinnie Johnson once remarked after making a dozen threes in a row in warm-ups, “But can you make them in a game with a hand in your face?” Well, when you are sending 2 or 3 guys down low to stop Howard, there are no hands in your face!

Everyone is still looking to LeBron to somehow pull this one out, but the Magic are frustrated with how much the public pays attention to only LeBron. They want respect and they want a shot at the NBA Title.

So the Cavs laid off Howard to start Tuesday, and he made them pay, scoring 11 points in the first six minutes. They went back to double-teaming him for much of the next three quarters, and Howard scored just six more points before the start of overtime. Still, all the attention he drew freed the Magic shooters, most notably Rafer Alston (notes) and Michael Pietrus (notes), who combined to make 11 3-pointers.

On one comical possession, Cavs guard Mo Williams turned his back on Alston to follow Courtney Lee (notes). With no other Cav within five feet of him, Alston buried yet another 3-pointer.

“We need one stop,” James said. “We haven’t got one stop to win a ballgame yet.”

James has realized he can’t beat Howard and these Magic alone. He received more support on Tuesday than he did in Game 3, but it still wasn’t enough. Williams made just two shots after halftime, falling flat, so far, on his “guarantee” that the Cavs would win the series.

source

Photo source Newscom

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

Post from: NBA Obsessed

Ok, pull it together; this game did make sense, only you were in denial. Well, same here, denial, denial. You have to look at the facts of the recent past and the facts say that Orlando is 9 – 3 against the Cav’s in their last 12 meetings.

But it was Cleveland’s home court. Surely, LeBron is going to turn it on, right? Yes and Yes.

LeBron was magnificent as usual with 49 points, but it just was not enough.

Dwight Howard just keeps getting better and better

On the other hand, Dwight Howard was definitely pumped up, maybe too much. He not only had a monster game, but opened with a monster dunk and destroyed the 24 second clock.

Howard delayed the game — and then he derailed the Cavs. He followed rookie Courtney Lee’s miss, dunking the ball hard for the Magic’s first basket. Too hard. His dunk collapsed the 24-second clock affixed atop the basket backboard one minute into the game, sending it falling against the support beam.

It didn’t tumble to the court, but the clock stopped working, causing a nine-minute delay.

After Cavs personnel surveyed the damage, they brought in two 24-second clocks out of storage that were placed on the floor. All NBA teams have spare shot-clocks in case of malfunctions. (The clock was repaired for the second half of play.)

source

The Magic now have home court advantage, complements of a last second 3 pointer by Rashard Lewis and 30 points and 13 rebounds from Dwight Howard. The Magic will still play the next game in Cleveland, but are full of confidence and have home court advantage.

Photo source Newscom

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

Post from: NBA Obsessed

Tayshaun Prince blocks Hedo Turkoglu with the game on the line

Image details: Orlando Magic v Detroit Pistons, Game 5 served by picapp.com

Hard to believe it came down to Hedo Turkoglu at the top of the key and Tayshaun Prince guarding him with the game on the line.

In game 4 you will remember that Hedo Turkoglu went to his left after a jab step to the right and found his way blocked by Jason Maxiell in what looked like a charge. It was later noticed on tape that Maxiell had a foot on the circle and that would make it a foul on Maxiell. Turkoglu missed the shot and the Pistons won by 1 point.

This time with the playoff series on the line, Hedo went to his right on Tayshaun and there was no one waiting. The Pistons were up by 3 and Tayshaun was going for the block. It looked like Hedo was going to score the basket and get the foul. That would give him a chance to tie the game.

So Prince rose inch for inch with Turkoglu, as if taped to his body, and he pinned the would-be jam against the backboard and off the rim. It caromed away, the game was safe, and moments later, the Pistons were headed to a familiar place, the Eastern Conference finals, for the sixth straight year.

source

Defense.

Defense by the Pistons won the game.

At halftime the Orlando Magic were shooting 54%. You do not lose many games if you shoot 54%. By the end of the game the Orlando Magic were still shooting 48%. This did not include the multiple fouls on Dwight Howard taking away a lot of his misses and moving them to the foul line where he shot 6 for 15. That is right, 6 for 15 at the line.

Detroit only shot 36% for the game.

The Detroit Pistons missed 64 percent of their shots and had a rookie filling in for an All-Star at point guard.

It didn’t matter.

Detroit set an NBA playoff record with just three turnovers and made just enough shots and stops to advance to their sixth straight Eastern Conference final with a 91-86 win Tuesday night over the Orlando Magic in Game 5 of the second-round series.

Richard Hamilton scored 31 points, made victory-sealing free throws late in the game and Tayshaun Prince had a key block to help Detroit eliminate Orlando.

The Pistons are the first franchise to play in six conference finals in a row since the Los Angeles Lakers went to eight straight in the 1980s.

source

Rasheed Wallace made some huge shots and played excellent defense. Antonio McDyess was on fire with 17 points on 6 of 9 shooting mostly on set shots from the foul line extended.

NBA Playoffs Rip Hamilton factoid Rip became the all time Piston playoff scorer taking over that spot from Isiah Thomas.

With his 11th point, Hamilton broke Isiah Thomas’ career playoff scoring record of 2,261 points and he did it in 110 games—one fewer than Thomas needed to set the mark. “That’s a great honor because Isiah is Detroit basketball,” Hamilton said. “To pass one of his records is crazy because I haven’t been here that long.” … Hamilton is four games away from breaking Bill Laimbeer’s franchise record of 113 playoff appearances source

Now Chauncey Billups can heal up for the winner of the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers.

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

Post from: NBA Obsessed

Hedo Turkoglu misses over Jason Maxiell with game 4 of the Orlando Magic vs. Detroit Pistons NBA playoffs on the line

Image details: Detroit Pistons v Orlando Magic, Game Four served by picapp.com

The Orlando Magic had great chances to win game two and game four of the second round series with Detroit.

In game two, Rashard Lewis had the ball with seconds on the clock and Orlando down by 1. He chose to drive to the hole and put up a funky shot while guarded by McDyess. Rashard sort of tried an up and under layup trying to go under the outstretched arm of McDyess. The ball rolled off of the front of the rim and Dwight Howard missed the put back.

Why did Orlando choose that particular play?

In game four, Hedo Turkoglu had scored several points in a row and he was red hot. Orlando again had the ball in the waning seconds down by one.

Down by one with 8.9 seconds left, Hedo Turkoglu bled the clock at the top of the key, then drove into traffic and missed a lay-up at the buzzer.

It seemed a curious decision.

“I was reading the situation,” Turkoglu told the Sentinel. “I didn’t want to rush and force a bad shot. Maybe I was holding it too long instead of going right away. I’m just upset that I couldn’t help the team. I think we can all say this one is our fault.”

Coach Stan Van Gundy shouldered some of the blame.

source

Some of the blame? Stan Van Gundy should be taking more than some of the blame.

The play was strange in several ways. First off, Hedo had driven to his left about 50 thousand times in a row. Tayshaun Prince was guarding him, an excellent one on one defender. Hedo faked to his right with the same right footed jab step. Tay took the fake and Hedo was off to the races. Maybe the Pistons wanted him to go left, who knows.

Then, Jason Maxiell was waiting for him, just like the Pistons knew the play. Go left and run into Maxiell. Hedo put up a funky shot and from there the game is history.

Second off, the Magic have a play with a high post of Dwight Howard. You remember him? Yeah, he is the center on the Orlando Magic known as Superman. He used to be a main cog in their offense until game 4.

Hedo would come off of a high screen by Dwight Howard and have several options. It is their bread and butter game breaking play. Two times now they could have used it to win games and instead called for one on one drives by three point shooting forwards.

Stan? What are you thinking?

Post from: NBA Obsessed

Chauncey Billups is the leader

Image details: Orlando Magic v Detroit Pistons, Game 2 served by picapp.com

Now Orlando winning game three of the Detroit Pistons / Orlando Magic series was no surprise. They almost and probably should have won game number two in Detroit.

Orlando Magic 111, Detroit Pistons 86

The Pivotal game will be game 4 in Orlando. Should Orlando win that game convincingly and Chauncey be playing below par, then this series will change momentum and Orlando will be the favorite, even though the series will be tied 2 – 2.

Chauncey hurt his hamstring in the game.

Point guard Chauncey Billups played only four minutes Wednesday before straining his right hamstring in the opening quarter. After slipping under his own basket, Billups stayed down for a few moments before he stood and went to the bench, where strength-and-conditioning coach Arnie Kander assessed the damage.

source

Chauncey is the player that brings the confidence for Detroit.

“Losing Chauncey was huge for us,” said Richard Hamilton, who scored 24 points. “He means so much to our team. To not have him out there made a difference. We fought back, but we just couldn’t get the win.”

source

Chauncey does have a backup and his name is Rodney Stuckey. He is actually a pretty good player.

Forced to take over the primary point guard duties, Pistons rookie Rodney Stuckey played 34 minutes, scoring a playoff career-high 19 points. At one point in the third quarter, Stuckey orchestrated a 12-2 spurt that cut Detroit’s deficit to three. He scored six of those points, drew Magic point guard Jameer Nelson’s third and fourth fouls and made four free throws.

Orlando gained confidence in this game. Even though it was a game 3, a game the Pistons typically lose in any 7 game series.

So you could make the argument that Wednesday night was just the Pistons fighting off a collective yawn. Or you could argue that the Pistons’ oil light is starting to flash and the air bags are about to deploy.

I don’t see a complete crash in their immediate future, but this suddenly looks like a six or seven-game series. A lot will depend on Billups, who limped to the locker room with a towel over his head in the first quarter.
source

Jameer Nelson and Rashard Lewis came up big.

Nelson seems to be maturing into a consistent point guard before our very eyes. He’s done that before, only to revert back into Jameer. But he’s never played this well for this long.

Then there’s Lewis. Welcome to the playoffs, Money Man.

The Magic are paying him $118 million to take them to the next playoff level. He’d made 12 of 52 3-pointers before Game 3, when he hit five-of-six. The biggest came when Detroit had cut the lead to 67-64.

The series just may hinge on Chauncey Billups and his hamstring.

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

Post from: NBA Obsessed

He is at it again.

Johnny Ludden, Yahoo! Sports has come out with his Power Rankings of the NBA.

Let’s check out some of his top teams with your intrepid author’s comments in italics.

PARADE PLANNERS

1. (2) Boston Celtics – In less than a week, the Celtics were linked to Damon Stoudamire, Sam Cassell and Gary Payton. At this rate Bob Cousy will be back in uniform by mid-February.

Rajon Rondo a key to the Celtics

The Celtics put together a little win streak after their little losing streak. The injury to Rajon Rondo showed a weakness in the formerly impenetrable armor of the Celtics.

Rajon Rondo, who has missed the Celtics’ last two games and three of the last four with a combination of back and right hamstring woes, went through practice yesterday and thinks he’ll be ready to play this afternoon against the Knicks. His coach isn’t so sure. source

The Boston Celtics and GM Danny Ainge will most certainly be looking for point guard talent.

The player mentioned most often is Damon Stoudamire. Damon has been a shoot first player in the past and would not fit in well with the big three of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen, all of whom need the ball on offense.

There is also accusations of a little too much bonging going on.

2. (7) New Orleans Hornets – The Hornets played in front of an announced crowd of 9,882 last week against Seattle, leading Chris Paul to shout to Kevin Durant: “First one to Oklahoma City wins!”

Chris Paul is awesome and the Hornets continue to be one of the surprise teams in the NBA. Hard to believe at this point they could survive the playoffs without more experience.

3. (5) Phoenix Suns – Let’s get this straight: Steve Kerr and Mike D’Antoni reportedly are at odds; Amare Stoudemire is miffed over his shot count; Shawn Marion wants to be traded; Boris Diaw forgot how to play; Grant Hill just had an appendectomy; Steve Nash claims the Suns haven’t had “that same joy” as previous seasons; and Phoenix continues to lead the Western Conference? Maybe there’s still hope for the Knicks, after all.

Face it, the Suns are loaded and play a style that few teams can stop. The missing piece is a center.

4. LA Lakers

Probably headed downward in the rankings until Andrew Bynum returns. Although Kobe may have something to say about that.

5. Dallas Mavericks

Love to watch this team play. They leave it all out on the floor in a race to see who shoots first. When they drafted Maurice Agar from Michigan State University, they announced they got him for defense. Still trying to figure out who Mo ever guarded. So is Tom Izzo. My friend, Ron B, points out that compared to the Mavericks; Mo is a defensive wizard.

6. Detroit Pistons

Another team lacking a post defensive presence. When Rasheed Wallace wants to shine, the Pistons are unbeatable.

7. San Antonio Spurs

Because of Tim Duncan, a Center, you can’t count out the Spurs come playoff time.

8. Portland Trailblazers

Think what this team becomes with the defensive presence of Greg Oden. Unfortunately that happens next year.

9. Golden State Warriors

The mini version of Phoenix starring Baron Davis.

10. Denver Nuggets

Plagued with injuries and lacking defense. What will happen to this George Karl team?

Teams poised to move up:

Cleveland Cavaliers with LeBron James,

Orlando Magic with Dwight Howard, Rashard Lewis and a big victory over my Pistons

NBA Basketball Fan Question Did your team make the rankings?

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

Post from: NBA Obsessed

Rashard Lewis – We beat the Pistons!

Young teams have to go through a growth cycle and it appears that the Orlando Magic took a big step in that growth cycle.

The Magic beat the Pistons 102 to 100.

The Pistons had pounded the Magic on a regular basis

It had gotten to the point that some of the Magic were tired of the losing and some of them half expected to just lose again.

This is the growth cycle.

You must overcome the psychological hurdles that the great teams can throw at you. Losing to the Pistons was one of those hurdles.

It happened four straight games in last year’s playoffs, and four in the regular season before that. Detroit also handily won their first of four contests this year. source

The Pistons did not make it easy for the Magic. Chauncey Billups managed to can a 32 foot 3 pointer to tie it up with 3.6 seconds left.

“I was thinking, ‘How in the world did he make that?”‘ Howard said. “I was expecting him to miss it, but they call him ‘Big Shot Chauncey.”‘

Actually they call him Mr. Big Shot, maybe correct nicknames is another one of those hurdles.

Rashard Lewis made a tough shot at the buzzer to pull out the victory.

Mr. Big Shot was willing to accept that. Great teams accept great losses.

“I can sleep after a game like this,” said Chauncey Billups, whose 32-foot 3-pointer tied the score with 3.6 seconds left. “After that loss in Chicago, I was up at five in the morning, mad, wondering what’s going on. A game like this, we fought, we competed and the dude (Lewis) hit a tough, tough shot. That’s why he gets paid the big bucks.” source

The Magic had more heroes in this game.

Lewis might have received a $116 million contract from the Magic, but on this night, it was Hedo Turkoglu who hurt the Pistons the most.

He had 26 points and had eight assists. The Magic kept running a high pick-and-roll play with Dwight Howard (23 points). While the Pistons’ defense focused on Howard, Turkoglu continually got clear lanes to the basket.

Rasheed Wallace had a monster game for the Pistons with 15 points and 15 rebounds.

Orlando took a little step towards believing in themselves and it can only pay dividends down the road.

Keep in mind they caught the Pistons in a mini slump and things may not work as well the next time, but that too is a part of the growth cycle.

NBA Basketball Fan Question Where is your team in the growth cycle?

As always, any NBA Basketball related comments are welcome.

More blogs about basketball.

Post from: NBA Obsessed

By Guest Blogger, Kori Ellis

So they won’t go 82-0, that much we know. The Boston Celtics were defeated by the Orlando Magic on Sunday after starting the season 8-0. Their streak ended as Paul Pierce missed a potential game-winning three-point shot on the final play of the contest.

The Magic had a 17-point lead at the half and pushed it to 20 early in the third quarter. But Boston didn’t roll over and die. They chipped away and chipped away, even grabbing a 88-87 advantage with six minutes to go.

In the closing seconds, the Magic had a 103-102 lead when Rashard Lewis stepped to the line and missed one of two free throws, giving the Celtics an opportunity to win. However, Paul Pierce missed the three-pointer and Dwight Howard got the rebound to seal the victory.

Orlando was led by Howard (24 points) and Lewis (22 points) enroute to the 104-102 victory. Pierce tallied 28 points to lead the way for the Celtics. With the victory, the Magic’s record improved to 9-2, while the Celtics fell to 8-1.

Celtics-Magic Box Score

Post from: NBA Obsessed