Denton: Magic-Suns Postgame Analysis
By John Denton
December 11, 2009
Note: The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Orlando Magic. All opinions expressed by John Denton are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Orlando Magic or their Basketball Operations staff, partners or sponsors. His sources are not known to the Magic and he has no special access to information beyond the access and privileges that go along with being an NBA accredited member of the media.
PHOENIX – An Orlando Magic team that went 31 days and eight games without losing on the road has now lost two road games in as many nights. And as excruciating as Thursday’s 17-point collapse was against Utah, Friday’s loss versus the Phoenix Suns might have been even more difficult to stomach.
The Magic’s wounds in the tensest moments of a 106-103 loss to the surprising Suns were mostly self-inflicted, causing much angst among an Orlando team eager to get past the loss to the Jazz a night before.
But the Magic (17-6) lost down the stretch because of two gaffes: Veteran point guard Anthony Johnson’s gutsy performance was ruined by a turnover with 34 seconds to play when he dribbled the ball off the foot of Mickael Pietrus. Then, the Magic failed to block out Amar'e Stoudemire, who snagged an offensive rebound with eight seconds to play and dunked to put the Suns up three. When Magic center Dwight Howard moved up to contest Steve Nash’s dribble-penetration, the defense didn’t rotate properly to box out Stoudemire.
Rashard Lewis missed a 3-point heave from the corner with 2.5 seconds to play and the Magic couldn’t get up a shot off two jump balls, but it was the offensive rebound allowed to Stoudemire that irked the team most.
``The (Stoudemire) rebound in that situation is the big problem,’’ coach Stan Van Gundy huffed. ``The Miami game we lose on two rebounds at the end. We get a chance here at the end if we’ve only got to go for two. We’re a good defensive rebounding team, but for the three years I’ve been here we just don’t get rebounds in key situations. We went bigger, but we just can’t get rebounds when it counts.’’
As for Johnson, his turnover was just one of 21 on the night for the Magic. But it ruined an otherwise great effort in which he scored 11 fourth-quarter points and nearly helped the Magic pull off their biggest come-from-behind victory of the season.
``MP was trying to get to the corner because he loves the corner threes and I was trying to look off Nash to get MP open because he had it rolling in the second half. But the ball got away from us and that’s unacceptable,’’ Johnson said. ``I feel like I let my team down with that turnover with 35 seconds to go in the game.’’
The Magic went from Nov. 8 to Dec. 9 without losing on the road, setting the franchise record for most consecutive road wins in one season with eight. But that run came to an end Thursday in Utah when the Magic blew a 17-point lead and lost 120-111 to the Jazz.
That game was marred somewhat by Rashard Lewis’ refusal to re-enter the game in the second quarter. But Lewis and Van Gundy talked the matter out at Friday’s team meeting and deemed it ``a non-issue.’’
And Magic general manager Otis Smith backed that up by laughing off the notion of any sort of disciplinary action being handed out to Lewis. He called Lewis one of the most ``selfless’’ players on the team and said the refusal to re-enter Thursday’s game wasn’t malicious.
Lewis struggled from the 3-point line (three of 11), but got to the free throw line nine times and scored 24 points. Pietrus, who was shut out in Thursday’s loss, added 23 points and four 3-pointers. Howard had the 300th double-double of his career (10 points, 18 rebounds), but he had just one field goal attempt and missed nine of 17 free throws.
Phoenix, 16-7 despite playing the most road games in the league, remained the NBA’s lone unbeaten team at home at 8-0. The Suns beat the Magic in the Valley of the Sun for an eighth consecutive time. The Magic did rout the Suns 122-100 back in Orlando on Nov. 4.
A Magic team still without starting point guard Jameer Nelson was battered for a second consecutive night by an all-star point guard. Deron Williams burned Orlando for 32 points, 15 assists and eight rebounds on Thursday. Nash did the damage on Friday with 20 points and 18 assists. Stoudemire had 28 points and 10 rebounds, the only one on the offensive end being the carom with eight seconds to play.
Here’s a look back at the good, bad and ugly from a frustrating night for the Magic, who finished the West Coast swing 2-2:
THE GOOD
---- Lewis wasn’t turning down anything Friday night, getting up 16 shots and 11 3-pointers. What was especially good to see from him was the constant attacking of the basket, something that resulted in the nine free throw attempts (all makes).
And Pietrus came up big a night after whiffing in Utah. Van Gundy has demanded that he shoot the ball more, especially from the corner, and Pietrus was certainly plenty aggressive on Friday.
He got up 15 shots, including a dazzling drive in which he was fouled and flipped the ball back over his head with English on it for a spectacular 3-point play.
---- Nash and Stoudemire looked like a reincarnation of John Stockton and Karl Malone what with the way they executed almost flawlessly in dozens of pick-and-roll sets. Nash found shooters Jared Dudley (19 points), Jason Richardson (16 points) and Grant Hill (12 points for open shots). Meanwhile, Stoudemire burned Orlando for short jumpers and dunks, allowing him to make 12 of 21 shots.
---- The Magic struggled playing with a 17-point lead in the Utah loss, but they actually thrived after falling behind by as many as 19 on Friday.
Orlando gamely fought back to within three points of the lead in the first half by raining in four 3-pointers from Lewis and Ryan Anderson. The Magic clearly outplayed Phoenix much of the second quarter, scrapping for more loose balls and moving the ball better on the offensive end of the floor.
---- Orlando’s work just before the half seemed to take a serious hit when Jared Dudley hit a 3-pointer at the end of the shot clock with 3.5 seconds left in the quarter. But Jason Williams wisely pushed the ball back at the Suns and found Matt Barnes, who sank a 3-pointer at the horn to draw Orlando back within 61-52 by halftime.
Barnes has played much better of late, snapping out of a recent shooting funk. He stuffed the stat sheet with eight points, four rebounds and a steal.
THE BAD
---- Phoenix’s strategy was to make sure Howard got as few field goal attempts as possible. Howard had a dunk off a pick-and-roll to make it 4-2 and then didn’t get off a shot the next two quarters.
That was because Phoenix either double-teamed or hacked Howard each time he touched the ball. Through three quarters, Brook Lopez (five), Channing Frye (four), Amare Stoudemire (three) and Jarron Collins (three) had guarded Howard and all racked up the fouls.
Howard started off strong from the free throw line, but missed six in a row at one point of the third quarter.
``It was frustrating, but I just have to play through situations like that,’’ Howard said of the constant fouling. ``I’ve been working hard on my free throws and I had been making them, but (Friday) I didn’t.’’
---- Magic star guard Vince Carter hobbled off with 9:32 to play in the third period and spent plenty of time on the floor getting stretched out because of a left knee/hip flexor problem. Carter did not return to the game, but his injury isn’t believed to be serious yet it has lingered for a couple of weeks.
His shooting woes continued (three of 10), but he at least made plays for others Friday night by handing out six assists in 23 minutes. Carter had 34 points in the Thursday loss in Utah.
THE UGLY
---- The Magic got off to a good enough start and led 9-7 three minutes into the game, but then the wheels fell off. Orlando unthinkably turned the ball over on seven consecutive possessions – four times by Howard, twice on Williams passes and another time when Lewis traveled.
By the time the Magic scored again 6 ½ minutes later, Phoenix had run off 17 consecutive points.
``It was just bad basketball and we’re not doing a good job handling the basketball,’’ he said. ``I think we’ve really got to look at, quite honestly, who we’re playing and who we’re playing.
``We have couple of guys who turn it over because they’re trying to make plays, but the others need to be low turnover guys,’’ Van Gundy continued. ``We just can’t have four or five high turnover guys out there. J-Will is a low-turnover guy and he had four. Dwight always has some problems. We stepped out of bounds three times and that’s absurd. It was just a very difficult night when we didn’t play well, but we fought hard and stayed in the game. If we just get a rebound at the end, who knows?’’
And the Magic weren’t much better to start the second period, giving up eight straight points that gave the Suns their biggest lead of the night at 41-22.
---- Don’t try telling Van Gundy that the Magic deserved kudos for digging out of a 19-point hole when they were on the second night of a back-to-back and at the end of an eight-day roadtrip. Did you win the game or not? That’s all Van Gundy concerns himself with.
``You know what, we lost. They made a good effort, but you don’t get anything for that,’’ he said. ``It’s all about winning and losing. I’m happy with their effort and I’m not trying to put a negative spin on it, but the bottom line is if we would laid down and lost by 40 it’s the same result.’’
John Denton writes for Orlandomagic.com. His Orlando Magic ``Behind the Scenes’’ segment can be heard on ESPN 1080 AM on Thursday at 5:05 p.m. Submit questions to John for his ``Ask J.D.’’ mailbag feature that will appear every Friday at AskJD@orlandomagic.com.
By John DentonDecember 11, 2009
Note: The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Orlando Magic. All opinions expressed by John Denton are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Orlando Magic or their Basketball Operations staff, partners or sponsors. His sources are not known to the Magic and he has no special access to information beyond the access and privileges that go along with being an NBA accredited member of the media.
PHOENIX – An Orlando Magic team that went 31 days and eight games without losing on the road has now lost two road games in as many nights. And as excruciating as Thursday’s 17-point collapse was against Utah, Friday’s loss versus the Phoenix Suns might have been even more difficult to stomach.
The Magic’s wounds in the tensest moments of a 106-103 loss to the surprising Suns were mostly self-inflicted, causing much angst among an Orlando team eager to get past the loss to the Jazz a night before.
But the Magic (17-6) lost down the stretch because of two gaffes: Veteran point guard Anthony Johnson’s gutsy performance was ruined by a turnover with 34 seconds to play when he dribbled the ball off the foot of Mickael Pietrus. Then, the Magic failed to block out Amar'e Stoudemire, who snagged an offensive rebound with eight seconds to play and dunked to put the Suns up three. When Magic center Dwight Howard moved up to contest Steve Nash’s dribble-penetration, the defense didn’t rotate properly to box out Stoudemire.
Rashard Lewis missed a 3-point heave from the corner with 2.5 seconds to play and the Magic couldn’t get up a shot off two jump balls, but it was the offensive rebound allowed to Stoudemire that irked the team most.
``The (Stoudemire) rebound in that situation is the big problem,’’ coach Stan Van Gundy huffed. ``The Miami game we lose on two rebounds at the end. We get a chance here at the end if we’ve only got to go for two. We’re a good defensive rebounding team, but for the three years I’ve been here we just don’t get rebounds in key situations. We went bigger, but we just can’t get rebounds when it counts.’’
As for Johnson, his turnover was just one of 21 on the night for the Magic. But it ruined an otherwise great effort in which he scored 11 fourth-quarter points and nearly helped the Magic pull off their biggest come-from-behind victory of the season.
``MP was trying to get to the corner because he loves the corner threes and I was trying to look off Nash to get MP open because he had it rolling in the second half. But the ball got away from us and that’s unacceptable,’’ Johnson said. ``I feel like I let my team down with that turnover with 35 seconds to go in the game.’’
The Magic went from Nov. 8 to Dec. 9 without losing on the road, setting the franchise record for most consecutive road wins in one season with eight. But that run came to an end Thursday in Utah when the Magic blew a 17-point lead and lost 120-111 to the Jazz.
That game was marred somewhat by Rashard Lewis’ refusal to re-enter the game in the second quarter. But Lewis and Van Gundy talked the matter out at Friday’s team meeting and deemed it ``a non-issue.’’
And Magic general manager Otis Smith backed that up by laughing off the notion of any sort of disciplinary action being handed out to Lewis. He called Lewis one of the most ``selfless’’ players on the team and said the refusal to re-enter Thursday’s game wasn’t malicious.
Lewis struggled from the 3-point line (three of 11), but got to the free throw line nine times and scored 24 points. Pietrus, who was shut out in Thursday’s loss, added 23 points and four 3-pointers. Howard had the 300th double-double of his career (10 points, 18 rebounds), but he had just one field goal attempt and missed nine of 17 free throws.
Phoenix, 16-7 despite playing the most road games in the league, remained the NBA’s lone unbeaten team at home at 8-0. The Suns beat the Magic in the Valley of the Sun for an eighth consecutive time. The Magic did rout the Suns 122-100 back in Orlando on Nov. 4.
A Magic team still without starting point guard Jameer Nelson was battered for a second consecutive night by an all-star point guard. Deron Williams burned Orlando for 32 points, 15 assists and eight rebounds on Thursday. Nash did the damage on Friday with 20 points and 18 assists. Stoudemire had 28 points and 10 rebounds, the only one on the offensive end being the carom with eight seconds to play.
Here’s a look back at the good, bad and ugly from a frustrating night for the Magic, who finished the West Coast swing 2-2:
THE GOOD
---- Lewis wasn’t turning down anything Friday night, getting up 16 shots and 11 3-pointers. What was especially good to see from him was the constant attacking of the basket, something that resulted in the nine free throw attempts (all makes).
And Pietrus came up big a night after whiffing in Utah. Van Gundy has demanded that he shoot the ball more, especially from the corner, and Pietrus was certainly plenty aggressive on Friday.
He got up 15 shots, including a dazzling drive in which he was fouled and flipped the ball back over his head with English on it for a spectacular 3-point play.
---- Nash and Stoudemire looked like a reincarnation of John Stockton and Karl Malone what with the way they executed almost flawlessly in dozens of pick-and-roll sets. Nash found shooters Jared Dudley (19 points), Jason Richardson (16 points) and Grant Hill (12 points for open shots). Meanwhile, Stoudemire burned Orlando for short jumpers and dunks, allowing him to make 12 of 21 shots.
---- The Magic struggled playing with a 17-point lead in the Utah loss, but they actually thrived after falling behind by as many as 19 on Friday.
Orlando gamely fought back to within three points of the lead in the first half by raining in four 3-pointers from Lewis and Ryan Anderson. The Magic clearly outplayed Phoenix much of the second quarter, scrapping for more loose balls and moving the ball better on the offensive end of the floor.
---- Orlando’s work just before the half seemed to take a serious hit when Jared Dudley hit a 3-pointer at the end of the shot clock with 3.5 seconds left in the quarter. But Jason Williams wisely pushed the ball back at the Suns and found Matt Barnes, who sank a 3-pointer at the horn to draw Orlando back within 61-52 by halftime.
Barnes has played much better of late, snapping out of a recent shooting funk. He stuffed the stat sheet with eight points, four rebounds and a steal.
THE BAD
---- Phoenix’s strategy was to make sure Howard got as few field goal attempts as possible. Howard had a dunk off a pick-and-roll to make it 4-2 and then didn’t get off a shot the next two quarters.
That was because Phoenix either double-teamed or hacked Howard each time he touched the ball. Through three quarters, Brook Lopez (five), Channing Frye (four), Amare Stoudemire (three) and Jarron Collins (three) had guarded Howard and all racked up the fouls.
Howard started off strong from the free throw line, but missed six in a row at one point of the third quarter.
``It was frustrating, but I just have to play through situations like that,’’ Howard said of the constant fouling. ``I’ve been working hard on my free throws and I had been making them, but (Friday) I didn’t.’’
---- Magic star guard Vince Carter hobbled off with 9:32 to play in the third period and spent plenty of time on the floor getting stretched out because of a left knee/hip flexor problem. Carter did not return to the game, but his injury isn’t believed to be serious yet it has lingered for a couple of weeks.
His shooting woes continued (three of 10), but he at least made plays for others Friday night by handing out six assists in 23 minutes. Carter had 34 points in the Thursday loss in Utah.
THE UGLY
---- The Magic got off to a good enough start and led 9-7 three minutes into the game, but then the wheels fell off. Orlando unthinkably turned the ball over on seven consecutive possessions – four times by Howard, twice on Williams passes and another time when Lewis traveled.
By the time the Magic scored again 6 ½ minutes later, Phoenix had run off 17 consecutive points.
``It was just bad basketball and we’re not doing a good job handling the basketball,’’ he said. ``I think we’ve really got to look at, quite honestly, who we’re playing and who we’re playing.
``We have couple of guys who turn it over because they’re trying to make plays, but the others need to be low turnover guys,’’ Van Gundy continued. ``We just can’t have four or five high turnover guys out there. J-Will is a low-turnover guy and he had four. Dwight always has some problems. We stepped out of bounds three times and that’s absurd. It was just a very difficult night when we didn’t play well, but we fought hard and stayed in the game. If we just get a rebound at the end, who knows?’’
And the Magic weren’t much better to start the second period, giving up eight straight points that gave the Suns their biggest lead of the night at 41-22.
---- Don’t try telling Van Gundy that the Magic deserved kudos for digging out of a 19-point hole when they were on the second night of a back-to-back and at the end of an eight-day roadtrip. Did you win the game or not? That’s all Van Gundy concerns himself with.
``You know what, we lost. They made a good effort, but you don’t get anything for that,’’ he said. ``It’s all about winning and losing. I’m happy with their effort and I’m not trying to put a negative spin on it, but the bottom line is if we would laid down and lost by 40 it’s the same result.’’
John Denton writes for Orlandomagic.com. His Orlando Magic ``Behind the Scenes’’ segment can be heard on ESPN 1080 AM on Thursday at 5:05 p.m. Submit questions to John for his ``Ask J.D.’’ mailbag feature that will appear every Friday at AskJD@orlandomagic.com.
