Orlando
Philip Maymin
Basketball News Services
In Grant Hill, the Magic have a guy that can play any position but center on the floor, but the versatility doesn't end there. Steve Francis can play either guard spot, as can Cuttino Mobley. The Magic have eight swingmen that can play one of two positions. And Pat Garrity, who used to be a prototypical three-point shooting power forward in the mold of a Walter McCarty, will apparently be learning both the small forward and shooting guard spots as well. Not only have the Magic gotten more defensively oriented, they've gotten incredibly versatile as well.
The versatility is epidemic. Even Tony Battie, who has played center throughout most of his career, will at certain points slide over to power forward.
One of the more frequent lineups will likely be Hill at point and Francis at the off guard. That change alone could result in the freeing up of Francis's skill, akin to the move Philadelphia made (though rescinded this year) of moving Allen Iverson to the shooting guard spot.
With so much versatility in the back- and middle-court, there can only be one expectation for the offense: run run run. Fast breaks will finally happen like clockwork.
If Hill returns to even three-quarters of his All-Star talent, these guys are a lock for the playoffs.
NEXT GAME
The Memphis Grizzlies come to town 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.
INJURY UPDATE
Andrew DeClercq(recovering from second knee surgery) will likely miss three to four weeks.Stacey Augmon(sore hamstring) missing most of yesterday's practice after "tweaking" his muscle.
John Denton ofFlorida Todaywrites: Cuttino Mobley knows a thing or two about trying to fill the shoes of a departed superstar, arriving in Houston the year after Hall of Famer Clyde Drexler retired.Mobley, acquired this summer by the Orlando Magic in a trade with the Rockets, will be in a similar situation now as the shooting guard replacing Tracy McGrady.
John Denton ofFlorida Todaywrites: As the rumors were morphing into reality and Steve Francis was about to leave the Houston Rockets for the Orlando Magic via a blockbuster trade, calls came flooding into his cell phone.And the majority of the messages were not from family or future teammates, but instead NBA veterans familiar with the cold, cruel world of professional sports. Sure, Francis had given the Rockets his all for four seasons and finally gotten them to a playoff level before being blindsided this summer by the trade.
Tim Povtak ofThe Orlando Sentinelwrites: Veteran forward Stacey Augmon missed most of practice Wednesday with a sore hamstring muscle, becoming the first minor casualty in the Magic's training camp.Augmon, 36, is expected back soon, but Coach Johnny Davis didn't want to take any chances of making it worse by him practicing. "He just tweaked it," Davis said.
Brian Schmitz ofThe Orlando Sentinelwrites: Grant Hill continued to look sensational Wednesday in his comeback bid, doing everything in practice but toot Coach Johnny Davis' whistle for him.Hill demonstrated again that his left ankle was sound, especially after being knocked into a goal stanchion and onto the floor. Moreover, he showed his Orlando Magic teammates just how you make up for the loss of Tracy McGrady, a two-time NBA scoring champion.
Ken Hornack ofThe News Journal Onlinewrites: Pat Garrity can't help looking around Orlando Magic training camp and wondering not so much why is he still here but how is he still here.The people he has seen come and go since being acquired by the Magic in the summer of 1999 could fill an entire section of the team's media guide.
Dick Scanlon ofThe Ledgerwrites: Either Kelvin Cato or Tony Battie will start for the Magic, becoming the 10th different player in 10 years to start the season opener at center.Shaquille O'Neal was the last center to start two straight openers for Orlando in 1993 and 1994... Since O'Neal left Orlando in 1996, the Magic's opening-day starting centers have been Felton Spencer (1996), Rony Seikaly (1997), Ike Austin (1998), Michael Doleac (1999), John Amaechi (2000), DeClercq (2001), Pat Burke (2002) and Juwan Howard last season.
David Driver ofThe Morning Callwrites: The Irish team included two inside players with NBA experience: Marty Conlon and Pat Burke. Conlon spent nine seasons in the NBA and Burke played 62 games for the Orlando Magic in 2002-03.