A Touch of Magic: An Orlando Dynasty

A Touch Of Magic


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Game: NBA Live 08
Rosters: TUP 11
Difficulty: All-Star
Qtr Length: 8 Mins
Sim Length: 12 Mins
Season Schedule: 82 Games



Something is in the air in Orlando......Change. After another disapointing finnish last season, many feel something needs to change for the Magic to reach their potential. Despite having one of the largest payrolls in the league they have little to show for it. Rashard Lewis is overpaid and under-producing, Vince Carter is aging and doesn't have that killer instinct and Dwight Howard still has room for improvement on offence. GM Otis Smith has made, to some, a number of questionable decisions over the past few years including Lewis' contract and the 3 year $19M re-signing of JJ Redick. The GM role is probably one of the key areas for change and the Organisation have realised that releasing smith and signing former High School Level and UCLA Coach Joe Hall. Once a promising High School player before a career ending knee injury Hall has had a successful coaching career before stepping into his new role. Faced with the task of creating a Championship winning team, and putting the changes the team requires into motion, this season will be no easy task and prove whether the right man has the job. It's time for Orlando to show a touch of Magic.


Opening Day Squad

C Dwight Howard
SF Rashard Lewis
PF Mickael Pietrus
SG Vince Carter
PG Jameer Nelson

Bench
SF Quentin Richardson
C Marcin Gortat
PG Chris Duhon
PG Jason Williams
SG JJ Reddick
PF Brandon Bass
C Daniel Orton

PF Ryan Anderson
SF Stanley Robinson

Last edited by shabba_93 on Sat Mar 19, 2011 10:55 am, edited 2 times in total.

Pre-Season Preview


With the NBA Season just around the corner we take a look at the teams before it all kicks off, todays highlight the Orlando Magic. The Magic Reached the Confrence Finals last year only to loose out to the Celtics and have looked to change it up this season with the removal of GM Otis Smith and the hiring of Rookie Joe Hall in his place. This decision could go either way. On the positive Hall could bring a fresh approach to the organisation and build a solid championship contender. On the otherhand his lack of experience could come back to haunt the Magic. In my opinion a good decision, however only time will tell if Joe can settle into his new position.


The Starting 5
C Dwight Howard
SF Rashard Lewis
PF Mickael Pietrus
SG Vince Carter
PG Jameer Nelson

The starting 5 hasn't changed from last season and area's certainly need so overhauls. Vince Carter still occupies the starting 2-guard position again and with age getting the better of him, accompanied by the lack of an edge to his game ,GM Hall will surely be looking to ship him out and bring in fresh talent. However on the plus side Jameer Nelson and Dwight Howard are top players to build around and could be key this season to success. Both have been working hard on their game this off season and we could quite possibly see career seasons from both.Outside of the starting 5 is where the magic show their weak point with very little depth. New addition Quentin Richardson offers some relief off the bench but several more similar players will be required.



Key Player

Dwight Howard - The fate of the Magic this season will come down to how well Howard performs . He has a top defensive game and has worked hard on his offence. A major building block for a dynasty and should make a major impact provided he stays fit.


Liability Player

The Bench - With no Specific player being the real liability, the whole bench is the week point. Some depth needs to be added and a stronger bench could be the missing piece of the jigsaw for Orlando.



so thats how the magic looks this year and with opening games against Washington and Miami, They will need to prove many critics wrong to gain victory. Over and out.


Orlando's key man Dwight Howard

Vince still in Magic?

I think he's starting with the way it was when the season began and then does the trades in December when they really happened.

That's just my guess though. I wouldn't mind you changing things up a bit, but having Jason Richardson will never hurt.

yeah going with opening day rosters and things will certainly be changed up. already played a few games and made a trade, the details of which will be coming shortly.

Lewis Gone From Orlando
November 4th, 2010



Orlando Magic have parted ways with forward Rashard Lewis in a 5 man trade with the Utah Jazz. The deal will see Lewis joined in Utah by Brandon Bass and Ryan Anderson while the Magic recieve Andrei Kirilenko and Paul Millsap. The trade is a good indication of where the new man in the hotseat wants to take the ball club. The trade is positive for the Magic as it provides the team with more strength and depth in the forwards in a strong defender, and mid-range shooter Kirilenko and strong rebounder and good shooter Paul Millsap. Meanwhile the Jazz get a good replacement Forward in Lewis and back-ups Bass and Anderson that may fit into the Utah bench well. How soon the trade will take impact is left to see but the results should be very interesting to see indeed. The blueprints of change are in place, in Orlando.



Kirilenko the saviour needed for Orlando?

hit abit of a road block as my controller isn't working atm, need to figure out whether the adaptor isn't working with windows 7 for some reason or if the ps2 controller is broken. If i can't may have to play a few games with keyboard which isn't ideal. Only got a few more games till the first update so either way should be up soon.

Bi-Monthly Update: 27 Oct-12 November


Results

10/28 Vs Washington 90-69 L
10/30 At Heat 84-78 W
11/2 At Knicks 79-90 L
11/3 Vs Minnesota 66-97 W
11/5 Vs Nets 131-127 L
11/6 At Bobcats 92-93 L
11/8 Vs Atlanta 101-111 W
11/10 Vs Utah 106-120 W
11/12 Vs Toronto 89-134 W





Standings

Western Confrence
Pos Team W/L GB Streak
----------------------------------
1. Dallas 7-1 - 1W
2. Houston 7-1 - 1L
3. LA Lakers 7-2 0.5 1W
4. Portland 6-4 2.0 1L
5. San Antonio 5-2 1.5 1L
6. LA Clippers 7-3 1.0 6W
7. Pheonix 5-3 2.0 4W
8. Utah 5-4 2.5 1W
=================
9. New Orleans 3-4 3.5 1L
10. Minnesota 4-6 4.0 1L
11. Sacramento 3-5 4.0 2L
12. Oklahoma City 3-5 4.0 1W
13. Golden State 2-7 5.5 2L
14. Denver 1-8 6.5 2L
15. Memphis 1-8 6.5 1W


Eastern Confrence
Pos Team W/L GB Streak
-----------------------------------
1. Chicago 6-1 - 1W
2. Washington 5-2 1.0 1W
3. Miami 6-3 1.0 1W
4. New York 6-4 1.5 3W
5. Orlando 5-4 2.0 3W
6. Atlanta 5-5 2.5 4L
7. Cleveland 4-4 2.5 2W
8. Detroit 4-5 3.0 2L
==================
9. Toronto 4-5 3.0 1L
10. Indiana 3-4 3.0 2W
11. New Jersey 3-5 3.5 3L
12. Boston 3-6 4.0 4L
13. Charlotte 3-6 4.0 3L
14. Milwaukee 3-6 4.0 1W
15. Philadelphia 3-6 4.0 1L


We have had a very indiferent start to the season so far going 5-4 at this point in the season. Our first and last game of the period has shown the team at their worst and best respectively with a 21 point loss on opening day to the Wizards and a 45 point demolition of Toronto. When we win, we WIN. So far our lowest winning marginis 6 points ,against the Heat, and we are averaging a 21.2 point lead per win. Most losses have come down to poor late play with the Nets game a key example. Managing to take it into Overtime at 110 a piece we went on to loose 127-131. 17 points in 5 minutes is good but, compared to 21 is just not enough. Bench production has also been poor with the bench averaging less than 15 PPG.The Bench problem was highlighted in the 92-93 loss to Charlotte whos bench managed 31 points between them, while our bench managed a dismal 6 points. The loss against New Jersey could also be blamed on lack of bench production. the Nets managed 42 from the bench while our boys on the wood managed just 20. Even in our winning effort against Minnesota, whose bench managed an unimpressive 16 points, we managed 2 less with just 14. The bench production needs to improve or we could be seeing some moves in the near future.

On a positive note Vince Carter has had a plesantly suprising start to the season. Averaging 24.8 PPG the 4th highest in the league behind only Dwayne Wade, Kobe Bryant and Deron Williams. His shot selection has been good so far with him going 104 from 168 from the field at 62%. He's also been getting in good assist and steal numbers averaging 4.6 APG and 1.8 SPG. Good performances have seen Carter pick up numerous Player Of The Game Awards. He managed 25 Points, 4 Rebounds, 5 Assists and 3 Steals against Minnesota, 37 Points, 5 Rebounds, 6 Assists and 2 Steals against . His rebounding has been down from his career average at only 2.2 RPG, however with such a strong rebounding front court this is to be expected. Andrei Kirilenko has also made an impact in his short time in Orlando. He managed 23 points in the victory over his former team easily outmatching Rashard Lewis' performance on the night. He scored a career high 42 leading the attack in the demolition of Toronto who didn't have any answers for the Russian. Along with 5 Assists and 6 rebounds this performance saw Kirilenko recieve the Player of the Game Award. In an interview post game Andrei told reporters "I am very happy with my performance tonight. I don't think anyone would complain with 42 points, so to break my scoring record with it is very pleasing. The guys played well tonight and we will celebrate a much deserved win". Strong performances have also been shown against Atlanta (22 Points, 8 Rebounds, 5 Assists, 2 Steals, 1 Block) and New Jersey (28 Points, 3 Rebounds, 6 Assists, 2 Steals, 2 Blocks). The other man from Utah has also performed well grabbing valuable boards and adding valuable complimentary points. So far the deal looks to be working in our favour. Dwight Howard has been a good complimentary player so far, making cameo performances but hasn't really stepped up and lead the team yet. Despite averaging just under 22PPG and 9.4 RPG on a night to night basis he has been a step behind the team leader. Jameer Nelson has been posting good stats however they don't quite tell the full story. So far has been a struggle for Jameer on defence with his oposing number easily scoring on him each night. His lack of height compared to other guards is showing however he needs to step it up in the coming weeks.


In other news Rookie Stanley Robinson has been waived along with JJ Redick while Patrick Ewing Jr. has been signed to mid-level exception in a 1 year deal worth $5.36M. "Robinson just doesn't make the cut. We've had a good look at him in training and he has also made a few bench appearances and just hasn't proved to me he is worthy of his spot. He just had to go. As for JJ it was a tough decision but his contract is taking up room we don't have and he isn't producing enough. I signedPaddy after talking to the senior Ewing who invited me to watch him play in the D-League. I was impressed with his performance and asked him to come along to practice where he impressed me enough to earn himself a contract. Hopefully he can be a big part of the team with a little more work" GM Hall, ESPN News. Ewing made his debut against Toronto and put in a good performance in the limited minutes he recieved. He managed 10 Points, 2 Rebounds and 2 Assists in just 7 minutes of play. so far we have managed to stay relatively injury free with only Quentin Richardson picking up a minor injury, a sprained thumb that won't see him miss any games. The same can't be said for the rest ofthe league with 4 major injuries already.

We look forward to the rest of the month where the boys will hopefully complete a winning month. Orlando are looking good, watch this space.




Transfer News

* 11/3/10- The Clippers have signed Point Guard Javaris Crittenton in an effort to add depth to the backcourt. The deal will see the Clippers
payout $11.31M over 5 years.

* 11/7/10- Shooting Guard Kyle Weaver has been signed to $21.19 for 4 years.

* 11/11/10- In a trade surounded by controversy Denver have traded veteran PG Chauncey Billups to Philadelphia in exchange for Elton Brand. Denver's
record of 1-8 putting them 2nd from bottom in the Eastern Confrence has got tempers flairing, culminating in a heated argument between
Billups and Carmelo Anthony. The two got at each other throats in a dispute over the team direction which resulted in Billups releasing
this statement to the media "Carmelo and I don't see eye to eye anymore. His selfishness is costing the team and I can't stand the man
anymore. Either he goes or I go simple as". The trade went through 2 days later to, as Masai Ujiri put to "Cool the temperature in Denver."

* 11/12/10- Reggie Jackson is out of Toronto as the Raptors made a deal earlier today, sending him to the Warriors in exchange for Vladimir Radmanovic.



Injury Report

* Demarcus Cousins is currently nursing a brused rib picked up during a collision in the Cavalier game. Status uncertain however he isn't expected
to be out long.

* Al Horford will be out for some time after breaking bones in his foot during the Utah Jazz game(11/2/10). The injury occured during the 2nd quarter
when Horford came down from a rebound attempt and it was clear something wasn't right when he landed. After trying to play on for another minute he
was taken off the court.A visit to hospital confirmed the worse as an X-ray revealed he had broken his 2nd metatarsal putting him out of action for
atleast 6 weeks. Atlanta could face some problems with a key forward out it will be up to the bench to prove they can step up.

* During a home game against Atlanta(11/5/10) Darko Milicic suffered a fracture to a bone in his wrist. Should return in about 5 weeks.

* Al Harrington was involved in a bad collision during a game against the Mavs. Harrington made contact with Nowitzki on defence, landing awkwardly
on his wrist it was clear straight away it was broken. The doctors have listed his status as indefinate, with the recovery time very uncertain.
Hopefully he will make a speedy recovery.

* The Jazz inflicted another serious injury, this time Dwayne Wade during a trip to Miami. Wade was fouled on the shot by Gordon Hayward who landed
on Dwayne's foot causing him to drop to the floor. X-rays revealed a 2 different breaks in the foot. His return is unknown at the moment but
doctors say anything up to 2 months.

* Brandon Roy has been suffering with a heel complaint. Roy told team physicians that he has been suffering soreness in his heel which has persisted.
Roy is currently playing on however problems could arrise if no improvement in seen.



Orlando Player Stats

Name GP PPG RPG APG SPG BPG FG% 3P% FT%
D. Howard 9 21.9 9.4 1.7 0.78 2.11 .662 .286 .550
P. Millsap 9 7.0 5.0 0.9 0.56 1.00 .574 .000 .333
A. Kirilenko 9 19.8 4.4 2.6 1.78 1.00 .500 .321 .676
V. Carter 9 24.8 2.2 4.6 1.89 0.67 .619 .152 .769
J. Nelson 9 10.4 3.4 5.6 1.44 0.56 .506 .286 .750
M. Pietrus 9 5.1 1.4 0.9 0.78 0.67 .600 .500 .400
J. Williams 4 1.5 0.3 2.5 0.25 0 .333 1.000 .500
P. Ewing Jr. 1 10.0 2.0 2.0 0 0 .714 - -
M. Gortat 9 1.0 2.6 0.6 0.22 1.00 .333 .000 .500
D. Orton 5 1.6 1.6 0.6 0 0 1.000 - 1.000
C. Duhon 3 1.3 0.7 1.0 0 0 .200 .000 1.000
Q. Richardson 9 2.7 1.3 1.1 0.89 0 .500 - .800