By SAM
GARDNER
FOXSportsFlorida.com Magic
Writer
Dec. 22,
2010
ORLANDO, Fla. - After practice Wednesday afternoon, new Magic guard Gilbert Arenas walked down a hallway that heads to the players' parking lot and right past the door that would eventually lead him to his car.
"Gilbert, the parking lot is that way," a Magic employee shouted before Arenas could get too far down the hallway.
Arenas turned and offered a sheepish smile, as if to say, 'Oh yeah, that's right,' pushed through the door and headed home.
If Orlando's newest acquisition is that turned around navigating the Amway Center corridors, imagine how he feels on the court.
Arenas has struggled mightily in his first two games in a Magic uniform, scoring only 12 points on 3-of-17 shooting. New additions Jason Richardson and Hedo Turkoglu haven't fared much better.
Turkoglu is shooting just 20 percent from the field, and Richardson is 7-of-21 shooting thus far. And the three new players have combined to hit only six of their 24 3-point attempts.
But head coach Stan Van Gundy is convinced that the poor performances aren't an indictment of his new rotation's talent, but rather an expected slow start as the new guys learn the system.
Van Gundy said Wednesday was the first time he had ever held practice the day after a back to back -- Orlando lost Monday in Atlanta and then Tuesday at home against Dallas -- but the practice time was necessary for a Magic team looking to gel.
"Right now, we don't have a choice; we have to get some things done," he said. "I'm trying not to kill them, but (we're) still getting things done and they just have to suck it up a little bit. They're also not going to get as much rest as they will later. This is a tough stretch, but we've got to get it up and running, and so we've got to get some work in. There's just no other way to do it."
Arenas said that he expects it to take at least a week before the recent additions start to really gel with their new teammates, but that the unscheduled practice helps everyone catch up.
"It was important," Arenas said. "I know most of the guys wanted that day off, but the new guys, we needed to learn what their concepts are because it's hard to go in a game and just go on the fly."
Richardson said that he hasn't yet felt comfortable with his new team, but, hopefully, a couple liberating 3s late in the game Tuesday will help loosen him up.
"Stan just tells me to be myself, go out there and be aggressive," Richardson said. "You can hear the coach saying that, but at the same time you don't want to step on anybody's toes. ... I think the sooner I start becoming myself, the better it'll be for me and the better it'll be for this team."
Turkoglu has an advantage over Richardson and Arenas in that he has played in Van Gundy's system in the past.
"It wasn't really new for me, but it was still good to be back with those guys," Turkoglu said. "I haven't been in this role in a year and a half. ... But I'm back in this role, and I'm good at it. I know myself, and I know what I can do."
All Van Gundy is looking for from all of his players is progress.
"I want to see progress every day, I really do," he said. "I want to try to be a little bit better every day. I think every day we can hold people more accountable for what's going on on the floor and them doing the right things. ... As far as (a) timetable to when you think you should be playing well, I mean, I hope tomorrow night."
The Magic play Thursday against San Antonio, Saturday against Boston, Monday at New Jersey and Tuesday at Cleveland. The team is scheduled to practice on Sunday, too, but Van Gundy hasn't yet decided whether he will make it nine straight days of basketball with a practice on Friday.
"There's a part of me that wants to come in and practice twice a day, like training camp, because that's the part we're missing," Van Gundy said. "What slows the process down is the games. You've got to play the games. You can only do so much, so it's little by little."
Van Gundy said he never likes for his team to have to play more than four or five straight days, between practices and games, but that in an exceptional case like this, he sometimes has to break his own rules.
If he does, you know it's because he's trying to build chemistry, not because he's trying to ruin any holiday cheer.
"For everything everybody says about me, I'm not a guy who has punishment practices, whether it's a back to back or not," Van Gundy said. "I'm not a guy who's like, 'Well, tomorrow was supposed to be a day off, but I'm pissed so we're going to come in.' That's never been me."
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