vs <font color="Yellow">Indiana Pacers</font> at <font color="Blue">Orlando Magic</font> When: Wednesday, November 2 Where: TD Waterhouse Time: 7:00 ET TV: Local, NBA LP Probable Starters Tony Battie vs Jermaine O’Neal Dwight Howard vs Austin Croshere Hedo Turkoglu vs Ron Artest Deshawn Stevenson vs Stephen Jackson Steve Francis vs. Jamaal Tinsley Injuries Grant Hill Keyon Dooling (bruised heel) Mario Kasun (ankle tendinitis) Jeff Foster Team Updates <u>Orlando</u> The Magic's likely starting unit didn't play one preseason game together because of various injuries. Grant Hill and Kelvin Cato missed four games, and DeShawn Stevenson and Francis missed a game each. Linkage: http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/.../510300320/1002 Tony Battie also suffered minor injuries from a car accident, but is said to be ok now. Florida Highway Patrol said it was a bad crash, his car rolled, and he was lucky to have been wearing a seatbelt. He suffered minor injuries along with several cuts and scrapes. <u>Indiana</u> The Ron Artest Experiment: Carlisle said he may use Artest, off the bench this season to bring balanced scoring with the first and second units. Stephen Jackson disagrees and said, “He's one of our All-Stars; he needs to start. He's supposed to be out there from the start." Carlisle has ended the “experiment” and now has Artest starting again. [quoteright] "He can score offensively, but No. 1 he's a defensive stopper, You can stick him on 1s, 2s, 3s and some 4s and say, 'OK, let's go to work.' That overshadows his offensive game. Once he gets a defender going to the basket, he's tough to guard. And he can post up against some and create mismatches because he's so strong." - Dwane Casey on Ron Artest [/QUOTERIGHT] Key Bench Players Jameer Nelson / Fred Jones Key Matchup <font size="1">Dwight Howard vs. Jermaine O’Neal</font> Although O’Neal is listed as a center, it’s only because Jeff Foster is out due to an injury. He’ll probably be matched up against Dwight Howard, and it should be a very interesting matchup. The 'X' Factor(s) Can Dwight hold his own against Jermaine?
Nice preview Ice. I'm sure Ron Artest will be hungry to show the NBA he's back, and Hedo Turkoglu will have a hard time guarding him. The Magic need to attack the rim hard, especially Francis, and look to put O'Neal in foul trouble. Outside of O'Neal, Artest is their best post defender left, and having him guard Dwight Howard will zap away a lot of energy on offense. That being said, the Pacers have a lot to prove this season and their overall depth is just too hard for the Magic to match. Indiana by 12.
This is a great preview and I'm glad you have returned Ice; You have always been one of my favorite posters. I am really looking forward to this game and one thing I will be focusing on is the Dwight Howard and Jermaine O'Neal matchup. O'Neal is one of the best power forwards in the league and it should be interesting to see how Dwight contains him. Howard has supposedly bulked up to 266 lbs. this offseason and we should see how much his inside scoring has improved. Deshawn Stevenson will need to have a decent performance if he wants to keep the job.
i think this will be a big game for artest i think he'll come out with a point to prove to his team his coaches,family,friends,and most of all, his fans.i wouldn't be surprised to see the pacers start with austin and then add either harrison or bender in to increace the size inside. i think o'neal and howard will pretty much cancel each other out in terms of points and rebs.but the most interesting thing for me id to see if sarunas will be able to stay infront of stevie franchise. can't wait predict the pacers by 7!Artest-28,8,3
great preview ice... im interested of course in the howard/o'neal matchup, but i have no doubt that both will post solid numbers. i think howard and o'neal will have all-star years. the matchup that im really interested in for this game is the turkoglu/artest. will turkoglu be able to slow artest down? with grant being out for a while, i hope that turkoglu will shine and fill the forward position. he has had some flashes of promise and i hope that he is ready to step up and defend. im also going to look for him on the perimeter with francis driving the lane and howard posting up.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">[IMGL]http://www.nba.com/media/magic/101905_huddle.jpg[/IMGL]In his long-anticipated return, Ron Artest made the difference for the Indiana Pacers. In his first game in nearly a year, Artest scored 11 of his 16 points in the third quarter, helping the Pacers to a methodical 90-78 victory over the Orlando Magic in the season opener for both teams. An All-Star in 2004, the mercurial Artest was averaging better than 24 points per game last season when he stormed into the seats at The Palace of Auburn Hills on November 19 and began fighting with fans he believed threw a beverage at him. The ensuing brawl devolved into one of the ugliest incidents in NBA history and led to a 75-game suspension for Artest, the longest non-drug ban in league annals. In 40 minutes, Artest made 4-of-14 shots and 6-of-9 free throws, adding five assists in a somewhat modest performance. He was just 1-of-7 in the first half but did some damage in the third quarter, helping Indiana take control for good. Artest capped a 10-0 run with a three-point play and 3-pointer, giving the Pacers a 68-57 lead with with 3:14 left in the third quarter. Moments later, he answered a 3-pointer by Hedo Turkoglu with one of his own, keeping the lead at double digits. Indiana led by at least six points throughout the fourth quarter, when Artest sank three free throws and let All-Star Jermaine O'Neal do most of the work. </div> <div align="center">Recap l Box Score</div>
I was very impressed by the Magic in this game. Even though we lost, we still showed many positive things. For one, Deshawn Stevenson was great. He was matched up against a top defender in Ron Artest and he was scoring at will. He has definently improved since last season and I think he proved tonight that he deserves to be in the starting lineup. Howard scored 12 points against a perenial All-Star in Jermaine O'Neal and he also had 2 blocks. Francis was one rebound and three assists away from a triple double and he played well all night long. Although we lost, it was a promising opening night and hopefully Brian Hill can make some adjustments and we can beat the Grizzlies on Friday.
I've read in many magazines that this is DeShawn Stevenson's last chance as a starter or with the magic. I hope thats a sign of things to come because I like his potential. Came out of high-school so theres that growth period. Hopefully it's over and he's ready to bust out.
