Are the Orlando Magic hopeless?

[cordobes]

Case Against-

They do not commit to playing defense 1st like Cleveland and Boston do.

If that's all you have, that's a really weak case against them.

Def. Eff. (pts. all. per 100 possessions)

Cleveland 99.3
Boston    100.0
Orlando   101.0

The next team is around 104. Orlando is on Cleveland and Boston level defensively - an entirely different one relatively to the rest of the league.

Orlando's biggest flaw is rebounding.

[KCattheStripe]

What exactly do they have to prove to show their a championship team? .

Win a championship.

Or at the very least not get their butts whipped by Detroit.

[Who]

The problem with Orlando isn't their jump shooting ... it's relying on Hedo Turkoglu to be the king maker.

Orlando only go as far as Hedo can take them. They're too reliant on his playmaking and ability to create his own offense. It makes the Magic vulnerable (Nelson being the x factor).

[Chris]

The problem with Orlando isn't their jump shooting ... it's relying on Hedo Turkoglu to be the king maker.

Orlando only go as far as Hedo can take them. They're too reliant on his playmaking and ability to create his own offense. It makes the Magic vulnerable (Nelson being the x factor).

This has been my feeling all along.  Although I will say that Nelson is starting to win me over.  Generally, I think any team with an undersized PG (who is not absolutely special like Paul, or Isiah) as their go-to finisher, they will have trouble come playoff time.

[nickagneta]

Don't let anyone tell you otherwise, this Orlando team is for real. They have one problem however. Boston is a very bad match for them in the playoffs.

Their offense runs through Nelson and Turkoglu. Stuff them up and their offense will falter. Rondo and Pierce are just to good of ma on man defenders and will force Hedo and Nelson away from their sweet spots and out of their rhythm. Then couple that with the fact that once the C's get into their playoff defensive form, they are the best team in the league at defending the three. Also, Boston is one of the best rebounding team's in the league and if Boston's bigs can keep Howard limited on the boards, Bostn will dominate tha aspect of the game.

Orlando is definitely for real and unless you're a team that is committed to defense and rebounding, they will be very hard to beat. The problem with that is that in order for Orlando to advance they have to go through two of the best rebounding teams in the league(using rebounding differential) and the two best defensive teams in the league in Boston and Cleveland.

[BballTim]

What exactly do they have to prove to show their a championship team? .

Win a championship.

  No way!!

[Toine43]

Orlando's biggest flaw is rebounding.

Huh?

[Toine43]

It's interesting that in this entire thread, Rashard Lewis's name has been typed exactly two times. (Once in that list of who the Magic starters are, and the other time saying he can't stop KG)

[Chris]

It's interesting that in this entire thread, Rashard Lewis's name has been typed exactly two times. (Once in that list of who the Magic starters are, and the other time saying he can't stop KG)

That's because he is a complimentary player.  A good one, but a complimentary player none the less.  Those guys don't win playoff series.

[Fafnir]

It's interesting that in this entire thread, Rashard Lewis's name has been typed exactly two times. (Once in that list of who the Magic starters are, and the other time saying he can't stop KG)

That's because he is a complimentary player.  A good one, but a complimentary player none the less.  Those guys don't win playoff series.

A complimentary player getting paid like an MVP candidate. Just an awful contract.

[illantari]

Hopeless?  I would say they're doing pretty well right now.  Coming off a win over the Fakers, they've somehow managed to keep the Nuggets at 26% shooting in the first tonight.  (Chauncey is 0-4 with nothing else but 3 TOs). 

Doc thinks they're the best team in the NBA right now, apparently.  I would say they're getting a decent bit of respect.

[Fafnir]

Hopeless?  I would say they're doing pretty well right now.  Coming off a win over the Fakers, they've somehow managed to keep the Nuggets at 26% shooting in the first tonight.  (Chauncey is 0-4 with nothing else but 3 TOs). 

Doc thinks they're the best team in the NBA right now, apparently.  I would say they're getting a decent bit of respect.

Denver has tied up the game.

Orlando is a tough team, but I don't think they're a title team yet. They won't be able to beat both Cleveland and Boston. The only way they pull it off is they get on the opposite bracket from both of those teams, which is unlikely.

[cornbreadsmart]

they're not all hopeless. pretty sure dwight howard believes he's saved. the other non-christians? ouch sorry. did'nt make the cut.

[cordobes]

Orlando's biggest flaw is rebounding.

Huh?

Huh what? They're a bad rebounding team compared with other contenders and rebounding is hugely important in play-offs basketball. They sacrifice OR to play good transition defense (successfully) and that's an understandable trade-off, but they also give too many second chance scoring opportunities to teams that crash the boards. Besides that, all their rebounding comes from the center position and there's a huge drop-off from the starter to the backup (with the 3rd string, Gortat, being a better rebounder than Battie).

[nickagneta]

they're not all hopeless. pretty sure dwight howard believes he's saved. the other non-christians? ouch sorry. did'nt make the cut.

cordobes is right. Orlando ranks 16th in the league in rebounding differential with a differential of -0.1. That means for the most part they outrebound their opposition as much as that opposition outrebounds them.(as an aside Boston leads the league in this category) Also, Orlando ranks 17th in the league in offensive rebounds allowed.


Don't confuse Orlando being a good rebounding team with Dwight Howard being a great rebounder. They are proof that you can have the best rebounder in the game and still not be a good rebounding team.