30 Teams / 30 Hours: Coherent Chemicals
You know, one can never have too many NBA season previews. (That’s a lie.) Which is why we present a new series to add to the list: The Basketball Jones’ 30 Teams in 30 Hours NBA Season Preview. Yup. It is what it is.
2:00a / Orlando Magic: You know how there’s always a team or two you wanna see kick ass just because? Well, this is one for me. Let me tell you why tis so. First, I don’t want to look like a moron for hyping them to the max, but also, I like to think I have some basketball sense every once in a while. When I watched this dysfunctional squad last season, it seemed so apparent that with a player on the wing who possessed both an outside and mid-range game, this team would function oh so nicely. Rashard Lewis is more than capable of being that guy. Throw in an improved beast in Dwight Howard, the winning strut of Jameer Nelson and the craftiness of Stan Van Gundy, and you’ve got a division winner.
Tas says: 1st in the Southeast, 4th seed
Skeets says: 1st in the Southeast, 4th seed
(Don’t forget to check out Monday’s NBA season predictions podcast.)
Comments (0)Defending The Magic
Hey, Otis Smith. How? Why? What? You just signed Rashard Lewis to a franchise player contract when everyone knows he is definitely NOT a franchise player. You just turned your best transaction - getting Darko from the Pistons - in to NOTHING by letting the big man walk.
That being said, the signing of Lewis has convinced Dwight Howard to stay on and sign an extension. The best young big man in the world will be part of your core until 2013. Young Thunder is the franchise player, not Lewis. So, how do you sign a #2 guy for max money?
On the court, Rashard is the perfect player for Orlando. He’s joined a team that will hide his flaws. At the defensive end, Howard will reject any shot taken by the player Lewis is guarding, Tony Battie will gobble up rebounds and set screens for ‘Shard, Trevor Ariza will use his athleticism to board, Jameer Nelson and Carlos Arroyo should create opportunities so Lewis doesn’t always have to do it on his own. ‘Shard is a one trick pony, he scores, scores and scores. If you surround him with players that will do everything else, your team can be successful. That’s what a team is. Yes, it’s better to have 5 guys on the floor that are more well-rounded if you want to be looking down on teams in the standing for years on end (see: Spurs), but as Orlando matures and adds parts, I think the supporting cast can complement Lewis and Howard. Did they overpay for their ultimate need?
Watching the Magic this year, all I kept thinking was they need someone to score from the outside. Grant Hill couldn’t do it, but Lewis can. Of course, I understand the thinking that giving all these ducats to a guy who isn’t a build-your-team-around kind of player sort of cripples your growth towards a championship. Now, I assume that Otis Smith didn’t bid against himself. I know I’m being naive here; this ass backwards type of move has happened before. ESPN’s Chad Ford points out (Insider) that Smith likely did just that, but I still can’t fathom how someone put in the position of GM can possibly do that (it’s time for a fantasy GM reality show). And maybe I’ve been drinking a little to much of the Rashard Lewis Kool-Aid. He’s never been happy in Seattle and I was always under the impression that he would become motivated and propel his game once he skipped town. He keeps telling us that he wants to be the team’s go to guy. As it was pointed out in the comments of our last podcast by Lazlo, ‘Shard has never shown he can be The Man. And, on a side note here - why am I the only one getting the hate from the commenters? Just ’cause ‘Skeets is off making lots of funnies while Ufford is gone on With Leather, it doesn’t mean he should escape the wrath (shameless plug, that). Back to Lewis. In a way, with the Magic, he won’t have to be the guy taking the big shots. Once Howard develops his inside game, Thunder will take the last minute attempts, but when teams double Dwight, it will be up to Lewis to make the big one. Rashard will be 28 in August - it’s his time to peak.
So, was Lewis the beneficiary of a weak free agent class? Yes. Was he the best available fit for the Magic on the market? No doubt about it. With Grant leaving, maybe the Magic didn’t feel comfortable not having a guy signed to a max contract. Either way, with the salary cap rising at the clip it’s been flying at, I’m sure Smith is hoping for more $$$ to sign the necessary role players. Personally, I feel Lewis was the best player available to enhance Howard’s skills. Smith acted very quickly, overestimating Lewis’ value, but ‘Shard makes this team a lot better. Whether he can perform near the level of a player usually given franchise dollars is up to him. He hasn’t proven it in the past.
Comments (9)I Do Know What You’re Saying
Dwight Howard — just prior to “walkin’ it out” — has a pretty good idea why the States lost to Greece:
“Me and CB didn’t get in the games that much, know what I’m saying? And in order to win you got to have two bigs in the game, you know what I’m saying? You can’t do it with the little folks all the time.”
Makes sense. Now someone make DJ Jelly Team USA’s coach …
DJ Jelly with Chris Bosh and Dwight Howard in Tokyo Japan [YouTube]
Comments (1)Pat Garrity, The Treasurer
Oh, me? Yeah, I’m just checking out the pretty nifty dunk mix tape I just edited. Yeah, I pieced together all my NBA highlights and then dropped a hardcore beat on top of it. Yeah, yeah, just got it uploaded on YouTube and everything. Huh? Oh sure, I think it’s fairly… well, what do the kids say nowadays, “banging”? Yes, yes, it’s quite banging. Quite a banging video indeed.
Pat Garrity Dunk Mix Tape [YouTube]
Comments (6)The End of a Dark-o Era
Darko Milicic has been hiding behind the Wallace brothers for almost three years now. The athletic 20-year-old has finally been given the green light to go ahead and earn some real minutes with the Magic.
Looking at the situation in Orlando, there is a great deal of upside for both Darko and the distant future of this franchise. The team is now almost past the Tracy McGrady-Grant Hill era that grossly failed. By the summer of 2007, the contract of Hill expires and the potential for a spending spree begins.
Milicic finds himself on a roster where he can play his outside game with the hulking Dwight Howard down low. He will also have the luxury of making mistakes on a young squad that will take plenty of time to become a contender. You have to remember Darko still hasn’t got those rookie heebie-jeebies out of his system, so you can’t expect too much right away.
But is Darko a stiff? Could Joe Dumars have been wrong in drafting a kid out of the Serbian ghetto over college stars like ‘Melo, Wade and Bosh? The beauty of this deal is provided by the NBA’s salary cap. Dumars needs room to sign the man he stole off the Magic’s roster in 2000 – Ben Wallace – as well as Chauncey Billups. The cap has indirectly given Orlando hope by forcing the trade of a young talent.
Or maybe they’ll receive the Darko we heard about in Detroit – a 7 foot whiner who will eventually take his ball and cry all the way home to Serbia & Montenegro.
Comments (1)“Is This Couch Real Leather?”
Yes, it’s official: Steve Francis has been traded to the New York Knicks for Trevor Ariza and Penny Hardaway. Pretty amazing stuff, huh? (No, not really.)
But whatever, at least the Magic organization is thinking of the average NBA fan. I mean, first they free Darko for us … now they bring back Li’l Penny? Wow. Orlando is now my seventh favourite team.
Francis Dealt To Knicks For Penny, Ariza [ESPN]
Update: My sources tell me that Francis won’t be a Knick for long. Yeah, according to my sources, Francis is going to be shipped to Denver before the deadline. Hey, let’s keep saying, “my sources”. Anyways, we’ll see…
Comments (4)All-Star Memories
With the glitz and glamour of All-Star weekend nearly upon us, NBA.com asked more than 30 players and former players for their favorite All-Star memories.
It’s a pretty fun read, but they definitely left a few notable players off the list:
Steve Francis:
My favourite All-Star memory is without a doubt the 3-point contest in ’04 that starred Cuttino Mobley. What a show. I totally remember watching in awe as Cat picked up money ball after ball, caressed them oh so gently between his soft, supple fingertips, and then – Oooh! – he just stroked, and stroked, and stroked those balls all night long.
Kevin Garnett:
When that motherfucker Vince just motherfuckin’ killed that motherfuckin’ net there in motherfuckin’ Oakland.
Chris Andersen:
Oh dude, last year. I was like, totally shroomin’ and shit, and I was like, dunking you know? But yeah, the net sort of looked like it was moving all weird and shit, and I remember everyone was booing at me, and I thought they were booing ‘cuz I was wearing a hat, but then I realized I wasn’t wearing a hat, so then I was like, shit, dude, you gotta go get a hat on. Ah man, sweet times, dude.
Antonio Davis:
Probably the time I started for the Eastern Conference All-Stars. … What? I did!
Wang ZhiZhi:
Huh?
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The Basketball Jones is a NBA blog and podcast, written and recorded five times a week by J.E. Skeets, Tas Melas and Jason Doyle. Comments, questions and cold hard cash are always welcome and much appreciated. Contact us.
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