By DAVID STEELE
Orlando Magic Play-By-Play Announcer
February 16, 2011
With a 101-76 win over the Washington Wizards Wednesday night at the Amway Center, the Orlando Magic head to the All-Star break with a record of 36-21. While it might seem like the Magic have taken a step back from last year, truth is, they really have not.
Orlando was 36-18 at the break last season, (just 1-1/2 games better than this year) and had not undergone a major roster change in December.
Dwight Howard is still wearing Magic blue, is better than ever, and is still surrounded by excellent three-point shooters. Defensively, the Magic still rank among the NBA's elite.
(And as an aside -- do not count me among those who believe the Magic must add another big man in order to challenge for a title. I am convinced that for the minimal amount of time Howard will be on the bench in the playoffs, Brandon Bass, Ryan Anderson, Hedo Turkoglu and importantly, the emerging Earl Clark, provide enough length and skill to hold down the fort.)
The big difference from a season ago is that now there are more, and more serious contenders in the East. Boston is still the defending conference champs. Miami has replaced Cleveland as a challenger, and Chicago has emerged as a favorite.
The good news for the Magic is they still have two months to fine tune the roster pieces added in December before the playoffs begin, and they have a comparatively favorable schedule when stacked up against the other eastern contenders. Take a look at what is remaining for Boston, Miami, Chicago, Atlanta and the Magic after the all-star break:
| Back-to-Backs | Games v. +.500 | Home/Road | |
| Boston | 6 | 9 | 11/17 |
| Miami | 5 | 14 | 16/10 |
| Chicago | 8 | 12 | 12/16 |
| Atlanta | 7 | 16 | 15/12 |
| Orlando | 4 | 11 | 12/13 |
The Magic have the fewest number of games remaining (25), play the fewest number of back to backs (4) and next to Boston, play the fewest number of games against +.500 teams (11).
(Not that the schedule is necessarily an accurate harbinger of the outcome of games. If you don't play well, the schedule doesn't matter, but if you are playing well, you can pile up wins in a hurry with a favorable schedule.)
As I see it, there are a few keys for the Magic for the remainder of the season (aside from the obvious- stay healthy and play with energy):
Defend as a team: Howard is an incredible anchor in the middle of the Magic defense, but teammates cannot just rely on the two-time defender of the year to cover up mistakes. When the other four guys on the floor are active and rotating properly, the Magic are the best defensive team in the league.
Play off of Howard's offense: Dwight is a phenomenal offensive player, and with more and more teams single covering him, he must take advantage of his scoring opportunities. At the same time, Howard and his teammates must continue to improve at finding other ways to score.
Orlando is at its best offensively when there is scoring balance. Good execution in the pick and roll game, draw and kick offense in the half court, and as many transition baskets as possible will give the Magic balance they need to be successful.
Get Gilbert going: While having a high quality backup for Dwight Howard would be a luxury, it is a different story at the point guard position. Jameer Nelson is not going be able to play 44 minutes/game of top shelf basketball in the post-season. Too much responsibility. Too much effort required. Physical demands on offense and defense are just too much.
Gilbert Arenas can be a wild-card difference maker. He has played post-season basketball at a very high level before. If he can get anywhere close to that between now and late April, he can give the Magic a special edge at the point guard spot.
Going into the All-Star break, the Magic are about as far under the radar as they've been in several years, but it is way too early to write them off as a legitimate title contender in 2011.
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