<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'></p> <font size="3" face="Times New Roman, serif">ORLANDO - J.J. Redick knew he had to spend the summer working on his defense if he was ever going to become a key cog for the Orlando Magic. So who better to challenge his every competitive fiber than the incomparable Kobe Bryant?</font></p> <font size="3" face="Times New Roman, serif">And did Redick ever take some abuse? Well, at least the verbal kind.</font></p> <font size="3" face="Times New Roman, serif">Bryant, a noted trash talker and somewhat compulsive competitor, took delight in challenging the former college player of the year at Duke. The two went head-to-head for a week in August at the Team USA workouts in Las Vegas, and Redick says he emerged a better defender after daring to tug on Superman's cape.</font></p> <font size="3" face="Times New Roman, serif">"Kobe took his shots and talked a lot. Even when he missed shots, he was still talking," Redick remembered with a chuckle. "The veterans like to use the phrase 'Young Fella' a lot, so I heard 'Young Fella' all week long. And usually 'Young Fella' was combined with 'You can't guard me.'</font></p> <font size="3" face="Times New Roman, serif">"My thing was to just be competitive. Getting to guard Kobe and Michael Redd every day, that was a great experience for me. Down the line in my career, I'll have to guard those guys."</font></p> <font size="3" face="Times New Roman, serif">Redick said he's made defensive strides to the point he feels he'll at least be in the rotation this season for the Magic, if not the starting lineup at shooting guard. It's a stark contrast to last season, when Redick missed most of the summer with an injured back, hurt his foot on the first day of training camp and never seemed to catch up. His playing time was sparse under former coach Brian Hill, sapping him of any swagger he might have brought with him from Duke.</font></p> <font size="3" face="Times New Roman, serif">The feeling is dramatically different now, Redick said. Needless to say, he's delighted Stan Van Gundy was hired to replace Hill, noting "maybe players won't be looking over their shoulders as much now."</font></p> <font size="3" face="Times New Roman, serif">"I'm not worried about breaking into the starting lineup; right now I'm just trying to break into the rotation," Redick said. "Last year, with how things went and the inconsistency of when I was in there, it was tough. My main thing is consistency. If I play well enough, maybe I'll start. But I just want to play. Everything I've done all summer has given me a chance to get some minutes."</font></p> <font size="3" face="Times New Roman, serif">What Redick did this summer was star on the Magic's summer league team, showing Van Gundy he was willing to at least battle defensively. Then, he spent the week with Team USA battling against Bryant and Redd.</div></font></p> <font size="3" face="Times New Roman, serif">Source: Florida Today</font></p> I'm not sure what to make of this. It's nice to read JJ Redick has improved on defense after matching up against Kobe and Redd all summer. But what does this say about the Orlando shooting guards when Redick is locking them down?</p>
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (shapecity)</div><div class='quotemain'></p> But what does this say about the Orlando shooting guards when Redick is locking them down?</p> </div></p> </p> Haha, not much. Although to be sure, at least he realizes that his offense isn't his defense, and that he has to work on both ends of the court. Duke might've won a title if he had realized that in college.</p>
I think this is his main weakness so if he can get bigger and get better on D he'll be much more of a complete player.</p>
