Orlando: Spurs of the East?
The Orlando Magic are, unquestionably, the second-best team in the Eastern Conference. And since the East is no longer a joke, that actually means something.
Behind Stan Van Gundy’s defensive-minded coaching, Dwight’s beastly post game, and Jameer Nelson’s floor leadership, the Magic have jumped out to a 12-3 record, and this has people getting perhaps a little too excited about this squad.
They’re drawing comparisons to the League’s gold standard, the defending champion San Antonio Spurs.:
“I guess it runs in the Van Gundy family,” Popovich said of the brothers. “Stan knows what to do defensively. He will get it done. They’re paying attention. They’re third in field-goal percentage and that’s pretty good for a young team. So come playoff time, if they’re healthy, you can look for the Magic.”
[…]
The Magic are getting closer than most to accomplishing the flattery of Spurs imitation.
I mean, sure, it’s a bit of a stretch (OK, fine, a big stretch) to compare the Magic to the Spurs, especially when you consider the fact that we’re still in November. All told, though, this Magic team is really freaking good and could very well cause some serious problems come Playoff time.
Best of all for Orlando and its fans, they’re playing so well that practically everyone has forgotten that they gave Rashard Lewis, who’s averaging 19 points and 4 boards, over $100 million this summer.
38 Responses to “Orlando: Spurs of the East?”
Nov.26 at 12:33 pm
RV says:
i expected them to be this good, but i also expected Rashard to average 27 and 6….it seems like he’s not getting/taking a lot of shots though
Nov.26 at 12:35 pm
Slim says:
Yea…Dwight Howard was definatley worth the #1 pick…some had doubts about Okafor…but Howard has lived it up.
Nov.26 at 12:51 pm
Gilbert0 says:
why does the $100m man consistently take so few shots. he has to be remarkably efficient get his 20 pts on so few attempts. turkoglu is havin a great year
Nov.26 at 12:52 pm
Cheryl says:
yeah, that 100 million is… oh, whatever. That was for Russ…
Nov.26 at 12:54 pm
Captain America says:
Orlando is the single #1 best in the East, dude. The Celtics, playing at home after a few days rest, could not handle the surging Magic. KG fouled out after he replaced Perk. Short memories?
Nov.26 at 12:59 pm
Keith says:
One word Marcel - 15 games in.
Nov.26 at 1:10 pm
DDB says:
The Magic had a great record early last year too. The difference is; no Grant Hill this year (he’s usually good for a solid month and a half) so that letdown won’t occur and the fact that they are playing much better basketball. With Turkoglu and Lewis both playing well they have very good weapons alongside Howard.
Nov.26 at 1:23 pm
peteb80 says:
Interestingly, Hedo and Ra$hard are putting up the same numbers, are the same size and age, yet no one would pay Hedo more than 40-45 million.
Nov.26 at 1:26 pm
Solar Bear says:
The other difference is coaching. Stan Van Gundy is a huge upgrade from Brian Hill. Stan knows how to motivate this team and play to its strengths. They’ll win 50 games and the division.
Nov.26 at 1:54 pm
Sherv says:
let’s be a little bit fair about this though. he was given $100 mil to make the team better, to space the floor for dwight and to give them offensive production in their half cour sets. he’s been struggling with his shot a bit but he’s giving them a solid 19 everynight. He can average 15 points as far as I care as long as he’s contributing to a winning team
Nov.26 at 1:58 pm
Myles Brown says:
I’m gonna go ahead and say ‘no’.
Nov.26 at 2:01 pm
H to the izzo says:
Yeah,I’m gonna go ahead an agree with Myles.No,no they’re not.
Nov.26 at 2:08 pm
d.Y. says:
No, but they’ve got a shot at taking some western team to 6 games, and that has little to do with signing Mr Lewis.
Nov.26 at 2:10 pm
white hot eboy says:
Any American talking this bullsh*t must be still dealing with turkey hangovers.
Nov.26 at 2:14 pm
H to the izzo says:
Anyone talking this at all must be high,or hilariously optimistic
Nov.26 at 2:22 pm
white hot eboy says:
Co-sign Izzo.
Nov.26 at 2:26 pm
H to the izzo says:
Although they’re not in the Spurs league yet,they are a very tricky team to beat,young,quick,athletic,ability to play inside and out.If they make a few good signings(which is difficult with Rashard’s contract) or are able to pick up some worthwhile draft choices they could be contenders within three to four years.
Nov.26 at 2:28 pm
Gerard Himself says:
To compare them with the Spurs obviously doesn’t make any sense, but I like this Magic team. Even Jameer “I’m a starting pg, give me starting pg money” Nelson is doing well. I like ‘em, but their bench is awful. Some quality midgets, and that’s about it. A healthy Maurice Evans would fit well though.
Nov.26 at 2:31 pm
dma says:
you know, with cookie on the team now… you really better watch out, League!
Nov.26 at 2:32 pm
white hot eboy says:
Izzo, 3 to 4 years may be a little overdramatic. Maybe a year or two. This year, they can win a series, depending on the matchup.
Nov.26 at 2:32 pm
Myles Brown says:
That Dwight Howard pic on your blog is absolutely f*cking ridiculous. Wow.
Nov.26 at 2:35 pm
H to the izzo says:
I don’t know Eboy,in three years Shard will be a well seasoned vet,they’ll have a chance to acquire a decent supporting cast and I’m afraid to even think about what Dwight will be like by then.All that without mentioning Jameers potential upside.Orlando’s future is bright
Nov.26 at 3:12 pm
Big L says:
As a huge Magic fan, they are no where close to the Spurs. The Spurs have battle scars, war wounds, and have survived the many battles in the NBA to win several championships. Its way too early to see how playoff contenders are going to fare in April and May. Trades & injuries can change a lot of teams. I am enjoying the ride so far though.
Nov.26 at 3:18 pm
RV says:
Hedo and rashard may have similar numbers, but Rashard is much more efficient (way better percentages and lower turnovers), thats mainly why ’shard gets big money (although he’s still overpaid)
Nov.26 at 3:21 pm
RV says:
and the biggest skill Rashard has brought to the Magic that isnt on the stat sheet is the ability to scare away double teams from Dwight, Hedo isn’t money enough to scare away the double team EVERY SINGLE time…but he’s still overpaid..
Nov.26 at 3:58 pm
nothin personal says:
Hedo is having his career year, mainly because Rashard is taking only high percentage shots, and keeps the ball moving. Hedo is also doing the little stuff that he’s always been doing but don’t get you paid. The fact that Shard got overpaid might be a good thing right now, cause he doesn’t feel he has to prove anything and he doesn’t go for 35ppg. It’ll probably cost them down the road, though.
Nov.26 at 4:03 pm
sjeeezy says:
iono my gut feelin says there gonna falter somewhere in the middle of the season, or an injury is gonna screw em over, but if they stay healthy i can guarantee, magic vs celts in confrence finals, pistons are the only legit matchup against them, jameer nelson is mature enuff to hang with billups, jameer is quicker than billups, billups could use his veteran sklls, and wallace can only shade howard, no way in helllll, anyone in the league, except for emeka or tim duncan can guard yet contain dwight howard. oh kg mite have a chance too. but DWITE HOWARD, HAS A BIG CHANCE TO GET MVP. but steve nash is still my favorite, im a lil bias, but i think he should win mvp.
Nov.26 at 4:15 pm
nothin personal says:
Plus, as simmons said (I hate quoting him), this team is so good, because everybody seems to have fallen into a role and they stuck with that mentality. They are not as talented as other teams, but are definitely well rounded. Big props to SVG for that.
Nov.26 at 7:19 pm
LG says:
no.no.no its way to early to tell there just in a hot streak.give howard a few more years then he’ll be the man, unless they go to the big dance then they are the spurs of the east even the ECF.
Nov.26 at 9:08 pm
Kevin says:
hahahaha, no i didn’t forget about that ridiculous contract for a second.. each time i look at a Orlando box score i think to myself that Hedo Turkoglu produces about the same thing for 20% of the price =P
Nov.26 at 9:37 pm
Sesa says:
Quick reminder. The Orlando Magic didn’t beat the Suns on their own home floor.
Nov.26 at 9:58 pm
Hubert says:
grant hill is healthy. I’m very happy
Nov.26 at 9:59 pm
Raptors Delight says:
The NBA is a business if the magic did not fork over the big bucks to shard and let him go to another team they would still be searching for that 3rd scorer. It was alot of money but i think the team took a huge jump and now all you have to do is surround them with good role players and strengthen that bench and a championship should be in sight.
Nov.26 at 10:03 pm
Raptors Delight says:
The rasahrd lewis hedo turkoglu combination is extremely hard to defend .This magic squad has a lot of length and athleticism should be fun to watch for years to come.
Nov.26 at 10:14 pm
TonyG says:
-the East is still a joke..it’s 3-deep, and the rest of the teams are around average right now.. -Orlando got handled pretty well by the Spurs when they played each other..
Nov.26 at 11:48 pm
Doogey Fresh says:
Magic Suck, Celts are gonna beat ‘em
Nov.27 at 4:18 am
Jukai says:
Four deep, TonyG. You have the Celtics, the Magic, the Pistons, and Lebron James.
Nov.27 at 11:04 pm
James says:
Jukai i agree completely Lebron been playing at of his mind right now