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By SAM
GARDNER
FOXSportsFlorida.com Magic
Writer
December 20, 2010
The Orlando Magic overhauled their roster over the weekend in an effort to jump-start their sluggish offense. But after one game with the new-look rotation, it's clear there's still a lot of work to be done -- and that's OK.
Gilbert Arenas scored 10 points off the bench in his Orlando debut, Jason Richardson added nine and Hedo Turkoglu chipped in eight, but the Magic looked lost and shot a disappointing 35.2 percent from the field as a team in a 91-81 loss to Atlanta.
The offense never seemed in sync against the Hawks -- but then again, why should it have?
The new players had yet to even practice with the rest of the team before Monday night's tip-off, leaving Orlando to learn on the run in what amounted to a glorified pick-up game in front of 16,275 fans at Philips Arena.
It seemed more like early October than late December the way head coach Stan Van Gundy switched from lineup to lineup, looking for the winning combination. Unfortunately, he never found it. But like a preseason game, the result didn't matter in this one.
Nobody expected a win in Atlanta. Those who thought the Magic would come out firing on all cylinders, especially against a team like the Hawks, were fooling themselves. This might as well have been practice No. 1, not game No. 27.
Now the key is for Van Gundy and the Magic to take what they learned Monday and apply it going forward.
The Magic missed a lot of shots against Atlanta -- 46 of them to be exact -- and the new guys were responsible for a large chunk of them.
Turkoglu was just 1-of-4 from the field, and Richardson hit three of his eight shots, including just one of his four 3-pointers. And after knocking down his first shot in Magic blue, a smooth 3-pointer from the wing, Arenas made just one of his next 10 attempts in the defeat.
The rest of the Orlando squad wasn't much better, either. J.J. Redick, Quentin Richardson and Malik Allen combined for four points off the bench on 2-of-11 shooting. And while he finished with 19 points, Dwight Howard only connected on six of his 14 shot attempts.
But despite all the clanking and clanging, there were some encouraging signs in the loss.
For the most part, the poor shooting wasn't a result of a lack of quality looks. The Magic found open shots all night long; they just couldn't hit them. And history says that will change.
Turkoglu seemed at home in the Magic system. He looked comfortable running the offense when he had the ball in his hands, and at times it seemed as though he had never left.
And Jameer Nelson, who scored 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting, didn't seem put off by the addition of Arenas to the lineup. The two played well together when they were both on the court.
The road doesn't get much easier for the Magic, with Dallas, San Antonio and Boston coming to the Amway Center in the next five days. But those next three contests should give fans a better idea of what to expect from Orlando.
People panicked when the Miami Heat struggled early, and it would be too easy to do the same with the new Magic lineup.
There's every reason to believe that after a couple more games and a
chance or two to actually practice, things will get better for Orlando. As time goes on, the offense will run smoother and the new additions will settle down.
They'll stop trying so hard, start playing their game and be what Magic general manager Otis Smith knows they can be.
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