Orlando
Philip Maymin
Basketball News Services
Weisbrod proclaimed the following: "In my estimation, if you go position by position, and you take the starter's from last year's team, other than Tracy, none of them would beat out our second-string guys this year." That's a huge statement, and if true, speaks not only to the huge talent and market value that McGrady had, but also to the overall offseason the Magic had.
But is it true?
Point guard: Steve Francis and Jameer Nelson. Last year's starter: Tyronn Lue. Point for Weisbrod.
Shooting guard: Cuttino Mobley and Stacey Augmon and DeShawn Stevenson. This was McGrady's position. Neutral.
Small forward: Hedo Turkoglu and Pat Garrity and Grant Hill. Last year's starter: Keith Bogans/DeShawn Stevenson. Point for Weisbrod.
Power forward: Dwight Howard and Turkoglu/Garrity/Battie. Last year's starter: Juwan Howard. Questionable point.
Center: Kelvin Cato and Tony Battie. Last year's starter: Andrew DeClercq. Point for Weisbrod.
For the point guard, small forward, and center spots, Weisbrod is unquestionably right. Wouldn't you rather have Nelson than Lue? Garrity or Hill over Bogans or Stevenson? Battie over DeClercq?
At shooting guard, he admits they took a step back, but virtually every player in the league would be a step back once you lose McGrady.
But at the power forward spot, it is a more questionable claim. Who exactly will be backing up Dwight Howard at the four? It is more of a backup power forward by committee approach, with the Magic needing to rely on a little Turkoglu, a little Garrity, a little Battie, and maybe even some Michael Bradley there. They have plenty of frontcourt beef but none of them are really prototypical power forwards the way Juwan Howard was.
Juwan was the team's second leading scorer and top rebounder. You're not going to get 17 and 7 out of Dwight's backup or backups, even in total.
Is Weisbrod forgetting how much Juwan brought to this club? Does he really think Juwan Howard wouldn't have beat out the first-string power forward, let alone the second-string?
"From a depth standpoint," Weisbrod concluded, "that's good." If he were right, I'd agree. As it stands, the power forward spot is going to be one of the team's biggest weaknesses.
The Magic have plenty of depth at the center and at the small forward positions but when you lose Drew Gooden and Anderson Varejao in the same day, you're going to lose a lot of depth at the four. Now they'll just to rely on a LeBron-like season from Dwight Howard so that their backup hole isn't exposed too much.
NEXT GAME
The Memphis Grizzlies come to town one week from yesterday on Tuesday, October 12th to open the Magic's pre-season slate. Tip-off is at 7:00 p.m. EDT and as of this time, there are no scheduled plans to broadcast the game.
TEAM NOTES
A free scrimmage will be open to the public on Saturday, October 9, at 6:30pm in the UNF Arena in Jacksonville. Camp will conclude Sunday with a closed practice at the TD Waterhouse Centre, and the team is slated to participate in the Great Magic Seat Rush from 2-5 p.m. that afternoon back in Orlando at TD Waterhouse Centre. The event is free and open the public.
Our own James Buell ofHoopsworld.comwrites: This is the seventh and - long waited - final installment in a seven part series on the future of the Orlando Magic.Next week we’ll have an update from training camp.
Dick Scanlon ofThe Ledgerwrites: Johnny Davis has been around the NBA for 27 years.The Magic's coach owes a lot to the league and believes in it. But there are some things Davis just doesn't get about the way the league markets itself. He wonders if some wrong messages are being sent.
Ken Hornack ofThe Daytona Beach News-Journalwrites: Hill made it through his first practice with the Magic in 20 months Tuesday without showing any indication of pain in his left ankle.But to be on the safe side, Magic coach Johnny Davis told Hill before training camp began at the University of North Florida to pull himself out if trouble arose.
John Denton ofFlorida Todaywrites: A season after finishing last in the NBA in four major defensive categories, general manager John Weisbrod sought out tough-minded stoppers to fill out the roster.Late last season, when the Magic were giving up uncontested layups in bunches, Weisbrod lamented that the Magic were "an easy team to play against."