Aggressive Nelson Equals Magic Success

Shapecity · Nov 22, 2008

Dwight Howard is the unquestioned heart and soul of the Orlando Magic with his thunderous dunks and Karch Kiraly-esque blocked shots, but could it be that he's not even the biggest X-factor on the team?

Of late at least, that designation falls on pint-sized point guard Jameer Nelson, who seems to have a distinct hand in whether the Magic are successful on a given night.

When Nelson is good -- as he has been lately as Orlando (8-3) has ripped off a four-game winning streak and a run of eight victories over the last nine games -- the Magic usually follow his lead. But on those nights when the barely 6-foot Nelson's aggressiveness and energy wane, Orlando's usually potent offense tends to sputter and misfire.

As the Magic head into tonight's game in Indiana (5-5), the statistics clearly back up how important Nelson is to Orlando's offensive flow. In the Magic's eight victories, he's averaging 15.3 points and 4.6 assists a game while shooting a robust 53.8 percent. But in the three losses, Nelson's numbers have dipped to 9.7 points and 4.3 assists a game while hitting a dismal 33.3 percent of his shots.

"What it tells me is that when he's aggressive and looking to score, we're a pretty good basketball team," Magic general manager Otis Smith said candidly. "When he's just swinging the ball from side to side, we're not that tough."

Nelson has been at his aggressive best of late, scoring 17, 21, 15 and 22 points and handing out 14 assists in the past four wins against Oklahoma City, Dallas, Charlotte and Toronto. He was never better than Tuesday against Toronto when he made 10 of 15 shots -- most of them when the Raptors inexplicably left him alone on repeated pick-and-roll plays -- and he's finally snapped out of a shooting slump by hitting a 33 of 55 shots (60 percent) of late.

"My strength is attacking and scoring. As long as I stay in attack mode, whether its getting a shot for myself or for someone else, it's going to help the team," Nelson said. "Coach (Stan Van Gundy) mentions that the team needs me to be a scorer at times. It's my job to know when and how much I need to score. I'm not one of those guys who needs 25 shots for my team to win."

Tonight against Indiana, Nelson will be facing T.J. Ford, the then-Toronto point guard many expected to dominate him in the playoffs last spring. But Nelson outplayed Ford and Jose Calderon last spring, leading the Magic to a playoff series victory. Ford was traded to the Pacers over the summer as part of the Jermaine O'Neal deal.

Van Gundy has pleaded with Nelson to stay aggressive and to bring energy on a more consistent basis. When he's active, aggressive and locked in mentally, Nelson drives the Orlando engine offensively.

He outplayed Philadelphia's Andre Miller in one of the Magic's biggest wins so far, totaling 16 points, nine assists and two steals. He demolished Oklahoma City's Earl Watson and Russell Westbrook with eight first-quarter points, 17 for the game and a career-best 10 rebounds. And last week against future Hall of Famer Jason Kidd, he poured in 21 points and keyed a fourth-quarter rally for a victory.

"I joke with him sometimes that I didn't draft him to be a point guard," cracked Smith, who helped spearhead the draft-night trade for Nelson. "He's a guard, a scoring guard and that's what we need him to be. We're pretty good when he's attacking and we've told him that."

Added Howard: "When Jameer is aggressive and getting into the lane, teams have to pick their poison. Come and get Jameer and it's a dunk for me. Leave him alone and Jameer is going to score."

Nelson quietly despises the notion that he's a "shoot-first, pass-second" point guard, but he did struggle with the transition of becoming more of a distributor than a scorer. On a team loaded with scorers in Hedo Turkoglu, Rashard Lewis and Howard, Nelson knows he is responsible for keeping teammates happy the way a quarterback would be with wide receivers. But at the same time, he has to do that while not allowing it to sap his aggressiveness.

After all, when he's penetrating the lane and staying in attack mode, the Magic are a dramatically better team.

"The big three (of Howard, Lewis and Turkoglu) get plays called for them, so coach is going to make sure they get their touches," Nelson said. "But I can't be a guy who just swings the ball from side to side because teams are not going to guard me if I do that. That's not my role. My role is to attack."
Click to expand...

Source: Florida Today

Dark Defender · Nov 22, 2008

Jameer has been nice and steady which is exactly what they need.

A perimeter shot here and there and some driving the rest of the time.

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Aggressive Nelson Equals Magic Success

Shapecity S2/JBB Teamster Staff Member Administrator

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Aggressive Nelson Equals Magic Success

Shapecity S2/JBB Teamster Staff Member Administrator

Dark Defender The Dark Passenger

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