2011-12 Orlando Magic Preview
After franchise center piece Dwight Howard asked for a deal, the Magic have since been the focus of attention heading into the beginning of 2011-12 NBA year. Trade conversation has centered around Dwight Howard as several trade rumors seemed to come up every single day. But trade conversation has since calmed down and we may see Howard in an Orlando uniform until likely half the season, and then he would probably be dealt to the Nets, Lakers or Mavs. If the Magic start out fast and play well to maintain their identity as championship competitors, then they may be able to convince Howard to remain in town. As it looks now though, it’s hard to see them regaining their momentum after being taken down by the Atlanta Hawks in the opening round of the postseason last season.
Stan Van Gundy has his work cut out for him this year, because the team don’t have a lot of talent on their roster to make a deep run in the playoffs again. But Orlando still has a shot as long as they have Howard on the team. During the 2009 season, no one believed they could reach the Finals but Howard proved that he is the special kind of player capable of making his team a contender. It’s going to be very hard to duplicate that level of success this time around though, as the trade of Howard looms in the landscape of Orlando’s future.
Howard put up 22.9 points and 15.1 boards per night last season, but the rest of the roster struggled and failed to reach their potential. The Magic dealt away Brandon Bass for Glen Davis and Von Wafer, they let go of Gilbert Arenas and his awful contract and were able to bring back Jason Richardson and Earl Clark. But the overall team level of talent may just not be enough to talk Howard into remaining after this year.
Orlando Magic point guard Jameer Nelson is the anchor that can bring Orlando back to the top tier. He has the skill to be an all-star but he needs to stay on the corut. He hasn’t stayed injury free for a full year in seven seasons that he wore a Magic uniform. Last season he put up just 13.1 points/game. For the Magic to be a serious threat he has to be putting up at least 16-18 points a night.
The rest of the starting lineup leaves much to be desired as they feature over-paid, past their prime players in Jason Richardson and Hedo Turkoglu. Although Turkoglu has played well in Van Gundy’s offense, an upgrade would certainly have helped at small forward. Glen Davis is not a better player than Bass but looks to be a better fit next to Howard, overall the team should’ve fielded a better starting 5 if they truly wanted Howard to stay.
The Magic do have some interesting pieces off the bench. They have J.J. Redick and Ryan Anderson who are capable scorers. Backup point guard Chris Duhon is a solid player that can start if Nelson gets injured, and they also have Quentin Richardson who can still shoot the ball despite struggling last year.
Pick: 2nd in the East’s Southeast Division – Our top NBA handicapper says this pick is based off the notion that Howard stays in Orlando this year. Although he could very likely be dealt by the deadline, it’s not a foregone conclusion. With Howard, this team can still win a lot of contests and battle for the fourth seed versus the Knicks in the East. If they do trade Howard, they will clearly be worse off, but they can still creep in to the postseason depending on what they get back.
If you want to beat the NBA spreads then check out our NBA picks for tonight.