The Phoenix Suns were undefeated headed into Wednesday night’s game against the Orlando Magic. Follow the contest, the Suns had their first L of the season. The Magic were led by their two bigmen — Dwight Howard and Ryan Anderson.
Howard had 25 points and six rebounds in only 23 minutes as he battled foul trouble. Anderson, who is starting at power forward while Rashard Lewis serves a suspension, had 20 points and ten rebounds. The second-year bigman was acquired in the trade during the offseason that sent Vince Carter from the New Jersey Nets to the Magic.
The Suns, who were …read more

The trip the the NBA Finals last season wasn’t a fluke. The Orlando Magic finished an undefeated preseason by beating the Atlanta Hawks by a final score of 123-86. The Magic won all eight of their exhibition contests.
Against the Hawks, Vince Carter led the way with 26 points in 27 minutes. He was 9-for-10 from the field, 5-for-5 on three-pointers and 3-for-4 at the line. Dwight Howard had 25 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks. Ryan Anderson chipped in with 18 points, while Brandon Bass had 14.
The Hawks didn’t exactly end their preseason play in style. Jamal Crawford came off …read more

Last year, the Orlando Magic made an exciting run to the NBA Finals. Last year, the New Orleans Hornets got dominated in the first round of the playoffs. On Tuesday, things appeared to be the same.
In preseason action, the Magic smashed the Hornets by a final score of 121-86. Orlando was led by Ryan Anderson and Vince Carter — two players they acquired via a trade with the New Jersey Nets. Anderson had 22 points in 19 minutes, while Carter had 18 points in 33 minutes. Combined, the two players hit 9-of-14 three-pointers.
For the Hornets, David West and Chris Paul …read more

Last year, LeBron James easily won the 2008-09 NBA MVP award. Heading into a new season, who will win the 2009-10 NBA MVP award? Here’s a look at the top five candidates.
5. Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
Coming off of a championship season and surrounding with a lot of talent, Kobe Bryant won’t have to put in enough work to win this regular season award.
4. Chris Paul, New Orleans Hornets
Chris Paul has established himself as one of the best players in the league. If the Hornets can get a first or second seed in the West, Paul has a chance at …read more

Jason Collins, the veteran backup center, has agreed to a contract to join the Atlanta Hawks. Although terms of the contract weren’t immediately released, it is expected that Collins signed for the league minimum.
Earlier in the offseason, the Hawks signed Joe Smith to add more size to their team. Collins is further insurance at the bigman positions.
After playing with the New Jersey Nets for the first six and a half years of his career, Collins has split the last one nd a half years with the Memphis Grizzlies and the Minnesota Timberwolves. Last season with the T’Wolves, the 7-footer out …read more

Everybody knows Dwight Howard is an athletic freak and he’s recently added bench press to his repertoire. This video shows Dwight Howard repping out 315 (or at least that’s what it looks like) with relative ease. The feat is especially impressive considering how long Howard’s arms are. Take a look at Howard’s form.
I’m really surprised at how good his form his. He’s not using his back and there is no bouncing of the bar which is more than you can say about a lot of weight lifters. From what I’ve read, Howard gets 365 lbs …read more

The Orlando Magic made one of the most shocking moves of the 2009 NBA offseason when they decided to match the Dallas Mavericks offersheet on restricted free agent Marcin Gortat. The Mavs and Gortat agreed to a offersheet worth $34 million over five years. Most league experts believed the Magic would let Gortat go to the Mavs — think again.
Not only do the Mavs have to be upset about the turn of events, Gortat himself is apparently upset. Guy Zucker, Gortat’s agent, said that Gortat really wanted to play with the Mavs and doesn’t think he’ll have the opportunity to …read more

Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic and facing elimination straight in the eyes. In Game 5 on Sunday, a loss would eliminate the Magic and give the Los Angeles Lakers their 15th NBA championship.
However, don’t think that Howard has given up hope. In fact, he’s brimming with confidence.
Said Howard: “You want me to get up here and say the season is going to be over tomorrow? That’s not what anybody should do or anybody should think. I believe that we’re going to be going back to L.A.”
Belief is also what head coach Stan Van Gundy thinks is most important. Van …read more

If the Orlando Magic wanted to have any hope to win the 2009 NBA Finals, they needed to win Game 3. Coming into the contest down 0-2 against the Los Angeles Lakers, it was either win or write the obituary.
Win is what the Magic did. Holding off a hard charging Lakers team, Orlando’s hot shooting was enough for the victory. For the game, the Magic shot 62.5% from the field — an NBA record — and won by a final score of 108-104.
Leading the way for the home team was superstar bigman Dwight Howard. He finished with 21 points, 14 …read more

If you watched Game 1 of the NBA Finals, you probably aren’t too excited about Game 2. The Los Angeles Lakers thoroughly dominated Game 1 and ended up cruising to a 100-75 victory. Kobe Bryant and his henchmen looked unstoppable while the Orlando Magic looked like they had raging case of stage fright.
Even though the Magic disappeared in Game 1, all they need to do to get back into this series is to take home a Game 2 victory. How do they do that? Here are five keys for the Magic to win Game 2:
1. Get Dwight Howard Going
Dwight Howard …read more