<font size="6"><u><font color="blue">Orlando Magic Season Preview</font></u></font> <font color="blue">By: kobimel</font> Last season, the Orlando Magic fans around the country were disappointed as the Magic got a dismal 21-61 record. Despite Tracy McGrady averaging 28 points, 6 rebounds, and 5.5 assists per game, the Magic weren?t good enough as a TEAM to win. But that was last season. This season, the Magic are a whole different squad. They now have Steve Francis, Kelvin Cato and Cuttino Mobley, along with Grant Hill, who is attempting another comeback from his ankle injury. Newcomer from the draft Dwight Howard is going to help out, too. They lost T-Mac, but if they can play as a team, the east should watch out from the Magic this season. <font size="4"><u> <font color="blue">Off-season Transactions</font></u></font> ? June 29th: Traded Tracy McGrady, Juwan Howard, Tyron Lue, and Reece Gaines to Houston for Steve Francis, Cuttino Mobley, and Kelvin Cato ? July 7th: Signed first round picks Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson ? July 14th: Signed Hedo Turkoglu ? July 29th: Signed Michael Bradley ? August 2nd: Signed Stacey Augmond ? August 12th: Re-signed Deshawn Stevenson ? August 16th: Signed Mario Kasun The Magic improved their bench a lot this offseason, getting Hedo Turkoglu and Michael Bradley through free agency. Hedo can be a force on defense, and his height makes him very intimidating against other SF?s on offense. Michael Bradley is still young, and he has never really had a chance to prove himself yet. He can be either helpful or a flop for the Magic this season. We?ll just have to wait and see. One of the biggest trades this off-season was Orlando trading Tracy McGrady to Houston for Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley. McGrady reportedly had not wanted to be part of a rebuilding process, as the Magic were going to be in, and demanded a trade. So the Magic made the best out of a bad thing, and traded T-Mac for a star point guard (Francis) and his sharp shooting partner (Mobley). They also got a center in Kelvin Cato. <font size="4"><font color="blue"><u>Breaking Down the Trade</u></font></font> Point Guard: The Magic improved greatly at the point guard position because of this trade. They lost Tyron Lue, and got Steve Francis in return. Francis is sure to bring W?s to Orlando this season, with his shooting, passing, and defensive skills. Shooting Guard: At shooting guard, the Magic lost one of the best offensive players in the league, Tracy McGrady, but got another great offensive player in return, Cuttino Mobley. Offensively, Mobley is great because of his shooting skills, but McGrady takes the cake with his all-around offensive game. On defense, both players aren?t very good. Let?s take a look at the 03-04 defensive stats for both players: McGrady: 4.60 drpg, 1.39 spg, .61 bpg in 39.9 mpg Mobley: 4.00 drpg, 1.34 spg, .41 bpg in 40.4 mpg So even on defense, which is McGrady?s weak spot, we see that he has better stats than Mobley. This means that the Magic got weaker at the shooting guard spot, but replaced a star with a great role player. Small Forward: N/A Power Forward: Here, the Magic lost Juwan Howard, and got nobody in return. That means that Dwight Howard, who was drafted by the Magic with the 1st pick straight from high school, will fill in the starting power forward spot. Juwan wasn?t too great of a loss, and Dwight should be able to fill his shoes by next year. Dwight has some help off the bench, too, from Tony Battie, Michael Bradley, and Pat Garrity. Center: The Magic lost no one in this position in the trade, and got Kelvin Cato, who can help them out a lot on the boards. Cato averaged 6.8 rebounds per game with Houston last season, along with 1.39 blocks. He?s going to bring 7 years of experience to this team, too, and can be a helpful mentor to Dwight Howard. Improved ? Shooting ? Defense ? Rebounding Lost ? Youth In my opinion, the Magic made a great deal. They got a scoring and playmaking point guard, a sharpshooter, and a defensive and rebounding presence for a offensive superstar, a declining power forward, and a developing point guard. <font color="blue"> <u><font size="4">The 2004-2005 Orlando Magic</font> </font></u> <font color="blue">Starters</font> <font color="blue">Kelvin Cato-C 6?11?, 275 lbs 04-05 Predicted Stats: 5.7 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 2.1 apg, .22 spg, 1.82 bpg</font> Rebounder and Mentor Cato is going to be an important piece of the Magic this season. He?ll have to rebound and defend well, but not score too much since he is on a team of shooters. He has never been a great scorer, so that will be good for him. He will have to be aggressive on the boards and teach younger players like Dwight Howard and Mario Kasun. <font color="blue">Dwight Howard-PF 6?11?, 240 lbs 04-05 Predicted Stats: 10.6 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 3.0 apg, 1.57 spg, 2.2 bpg</font> Is He Ready? Dwight Howard was a stand-out in high school. He could be an amazing player in 2 or 3 years. The question is, can he contribute now? Well, so far, it looks like he can. Howard has been getting solid stats in the games he?s played so far, both in the preseason and the regular season. If he can put on a few pounds, he can be a very good rebounder and shot blocker. And with Kelvin Cato and Tony Battie around him, he could learn a lot about what it takes to be a powerful big man in the NBA. <font color="blue">Grant Hill-SF 6?8?, 225 lbs 04-05 Predicted Stats: 15.3 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 4.0 apg, 1.21 spg, .43 bpg</font> Another Comeback? Yep, it?s Hill again. He?s making another comeback attempt at the NBA, after barely playing in the last 3 seasons because of an ankle injury. Hill was a superstar and seemed like a lock-in for the Hall of Fame back in his days with the Detroit Pistons. From what I?m seeing so far, Hill is playing strong and showing people around the country that he can still play, and play well. <font color="blue">Cuttino Mobley-SG 6?4?, 215 lbs 04-05 Predicted Stats: 17.1 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 3.5 apg, 1.30 spg, .37 bpg</font> Shooting Star Mobley has always been a great shooter. His three point shooting is very appreciated in tough games. He?s a very good offensive player, and an amazing free throw shooter, with a 83% career average from the free throw line. Even though he is undersized for a shooting guard, he is better fitted at the shooting guard position then as a point guard. If he can improve his defense, Mobley can be a very important player for Orlando this year. <font color="blue">Steve Francis-PG 6?3?, 200 lbs 04-05 Predicted Stats: 24.4 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 7.1 apg, 1.81 spg, .34 bpg</font> The Franchise Steve Francis is going to have a great season. No doubt about it. Now, becomes the lone superstar on a team again, like he was before Yao. But unlike in Houston, he has a much better supporting cast. His 2 buddies from Houston, Kelvin Cato and Cuttino Mobley, have come with him. Francis is going to have a high-scoring year, but expect him to pass quite a lot too. His rebounding has always been great for a PG, but with Dwight Howard and Tony Battie, two great rebounders, on the team, his rpg is going to be a little lower. With help from the bench and role players, Francis can carry this team to one of the top 5 seeds in the east. <font color="blue">The Bench</font> <font color="blue">Hedo Turkoglu-SF 6?10?, 220 lbs 04-05 Predicted Stats: 6.7 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 1.8 apg, .28 spg, .70 bpg</font> After coming off a solid season in San Antonio, Turkoglu is going to be an important bench player for the Magic. Though Hedo has never been a good defender, his rebounding off the bench can make up for that. He can also shoot well, but like Cato, he won?t have to shoot much this season. Turkoglu is going to be a big boost off the bench, also bringing experience with two great teams, San Antonio and Sacramento, to the table. <font color="blue">Jameer Nelson-PG 6?0?, 190 lbs 04-05 Predicted Stats: 6.4 ppg, 1.2 rpg, 4.0 apg, 1.03 spg, .11 bpg</font> Nelson is the only PG on the bench for the Magic, so he?s going to have an important roll. His passing has always been good, and he is quick to steal the ball. But don?t expect his ppg average to be much bigger than his height. Still, Nelson will be another key off the bench. <font color="blue">Tony Battie-PF/C 6?11?, 240 lbs 04-05 Predicted Stats: 7.6 ppg, 6.0 rpg, .8 apg, .45 spg, 1.20 bpg</font> Tony Battie is most well known for his incredible rebounding skills. He should get lots of minutes backing up Howard, and his scoring is going to be a little higher than last year do to his increase in minutes. Dwight Howard is going to learn a lot from Battie, who has lots of experience. <font color="blue">DeShawn Stevenson-SG 6?5?, 210 lbs 04-05 Predicted Stats: 12.1 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 2.2 apg, .71 spg, .37 bpg</font> Stevenson was picked straight out of high school in 2000 by Utah, and hasn?t really had a breakout season yet. This season, he should get an increase in minutes and will be a main backup for Cuttino Mobley. His scoring increased dramatically last season, and it should increase a little more this season too. If he shows that he can play, Stevenson could be Orlando?s scoring answer if Mobley isn?t available. <font color="blue">Andrew DeClercq-C 6?10?, 255 lbs 04-05 Projected Stats: 3.4 ppg, 4.6 rpg, .5 apg, .62 spg, .82 bpg</font> Andrew DeClercq has never been an amazing player, but he is always a defensive force off the bench when he?s healthy. His main roll this season is going to be backing up Kelvin Cato at the C spot. His rebounding and defense have always been his strong point, and that?s exactly what the Magic need from him this season. <font color="blue">Pat Garrity-PF/SF 6?9?, 238 lbs 04-05 Projected Stats: 8.4 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 1.0 apg, .57 spg, .31 bpg</font> Last season, Garrity was plagued with an injury. He returns this season, and should be a big piece of the shooting off the bench. Garrity will have to share his minutes with Turkoglu and Battie, but his scoring will still be there. He?s always been more of an outside shooter, and his career 41.3 three point percentage shows it. Expect Garrity to help out the Magic a lot in crunch time off the bench. <font color="blue">Stacey Augmond-SG/SF 6?8?, 213 lbs 04-05 Projected Stats: 4.2 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 1.3 apg, .20 spg, .30 bpg</font> Augmond is reaching the end of his career, but he can still be helpful. He?s not an amazing rebounder, but he?s a pretty good scorer. His defense was at its peak at the beginning of his career, but it?s been going downhill since. Don?t expect much from Augmond this year, who?ll be on the bench for most of the season. <font color="blue">The Injured List</font> <font color="blue">Michael Bradley-PF 6?10?, 225 lbs 04-05 Projected Stats: .9 ppg, 1.2 rpg, .4 apg, .14 spg, .02 bpg</font> Michael Bradley is still young, and is still waiting for his breakout season. Unluckily for him, that won?t be this season. With Garrity coming back at PF, along with Howard and Battie, there won?t be much of a chance for Bradley to play this season. <font color="blue">Brandon Hunter-SF/PF 6?7?, 266 lbs 04-05 Projected Stats: .7 ppg, .4 rpg, .3 apg, .10 spg, .04 bpg</font> Hunter still has a long career ahead of him, as only a 1 year pro. Nobody expects much from him this season, and with Turkoglu, Garrity, and Augmond at the SF spot, he won?t be able to play much. Brandon will have to do much more at practice then in real games. <font color="blue">Mario Kasun-C 7?1?, 260 lbs 04-05 Projected Stats- .2 ppg, .9 rpg, .1 apg, .3 spg, .09 bpg</font> Kasun came out of Croatia to the NBA Draft this season. He can be the next Vlade Divac, or he could be the next international big man flop. It all depends on his determination. He?s going to have to learn a lot and watch a lot more than play this season, like Nenad Krstic of the New Jersey Nets will. I expect the Magic to get around 4th-6th seed in the playoffs this year. I don?t think they can really be contenders for the title, or even the Eastern Conference Finals, but I can see a huge improvement over last season.
I really appreciate what you did kobimel! Just a few sitenotes on Kasun: Yes, he is from Croatia, but he played in Germany (not the best league in Europe but not that bad either) before coming to Orlando. He was the starting Center of the then German Champions "Opel Skyliners". He wasn't very impressive there and got into foul trouble way too early (he wasn't good at defense) and he surely won't develop into the next Vlade Divac, he possibly remains on the IL for the whole season.
thanks for the appreciation. and thanks for the info on kasun, too. i didn't know much about him before.
That was an awesome preview! I attended Orlando Magic Basketball Camp and I met Kasun there so I hope he gets healthy!
The Magic lost "youth" this offseason? Wow, someone didn't do their homework. We brought in Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson as rookies, and the players that we traded for are by no stretch of the imagination over the hill. The whole reason McGrady wanted to leave was the lack of veterans that were going to be on our roster. This isn't an old team, and any team with only 4 players on the roster over the age of thirty is not old. If you remember correctly, one of the main reasons that analysts are saying that the Magic aren't going to go much of anywhere this season is due to their lack of experience. Decent guide otherwise I suppose.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting TarHeel:</div><div class="quote_post">That was an awesome preview! I attended Orlando Magic Basketball Camp and I met Kasun there so I hope he gets healthy!</div> I'm not so sure whether he is really injured, yes he is on the IL but that doesn't mean much. Only 12 active players are allowed and three more on the IL, doesn't matter if they are not injured but you still need an excuse. Basically I think he is not good enough to make the active roster and once DeClerq is back he is a lock on the IL.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting explosive:</div><div class="quote_post">The Magic lost "youth" this offseason? Wow, someone didn't do their homework. We brought in Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson as rookies, and the players that we traded for are by no stretch of the imagination over the hill. The whole reason McGrady wanted to leave was the lack of veterans that were going to be on our roster. This isn't an old team, and any team with only 4 players on the roster over the age of thirty is not old. If you remember correctly, one of the main reasons that analysts are saying that the Magic aren't going to go much of anywhere this season is due to their lack of experience. Decent guide otherwise I suppose.</div> I didn't mean they lost youth in the offseason, I ment the lost youth in the TRADE.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting kobimel:</div><div class="quote_post">I didn't mean they lost youth in the offseason, I ment the lost youth in the TRADE.</div> Juwan Howard? Tyronn Lue? They are by no means young players. Lue is 27 and Juwan is 31. Reece Gaines is young and 'youthful,' but IMO he was a waste of talent on the Magic roster. (Hopefully things will go better for him in Houston.) We traded McGrady who has the youth, but got 3 starters in return. Steve Francis & co. better fit Orlando's new tempo - which is based on youth. Comparing McGrady and Mobley stat wise doesn't really fit. We already know both of their abilities and it's near impossible to compare them stat wise since McGrady had to do it all. Mobley doesn't have the explosive offense that McGrady does but he plays slightly better D. Regardless, good writeup.
