Orlando
Philip Maymin
Basketball News Services
Whatever your favorite word is, be it debut, premier, or bruhaha, tonight's first Magic preseason game is a fresh start for the team that finished 21-61 last season and saw virtually the entire roster and front office revamped over the summer. Tonight marks the debut of Dwight Howard in an NBA game, and may also see some action, however cautiously limited, of Grant Hill and Pat Garrity, notably absent due to injury from last year's woeful season. Curiously, the game is not expected to be broadcast anywhere.
Howard's introduction to the NBA games should be a fantastic sight but it doesn't appear that anyone will actually see it except for the fans who make it out to the TD Waterhouse center. Speaking of which, if the Magic owners aren't able to secure a new arena within the next two years, they may well have to move, and the DeVos family would look to sell the franchise. With that in mind, perhaps they regret not picking up Emeka Okafor instead, since the value of a franchise tends to skyrocket when expenses are low and championship rings are near. If the decision truly was a win-now or win-later, they ought to have gone with win-now.
On the other hand, Howard may well progress faster than anyone expected. After badly missing both free throws in a scenario coach Johnny Davis put him in at the end of practice, telling him they were down two with three seconds to go and need both buckets, he stayed late and ran through a gruelling drill of dunking five times and shooting five free throws. He made 16 of his next 20. It is that kind of work ethic that separates the men from the boys, and at age 18, Howard is right on the cusp of that transition.
NEXT GAME
The Orlando Magic (21-61 last season) host the Memphis Grizzlies (50-32 last season) in their first game of the preseason tonight at 7pm. There are no plans to broadcast this game.
TEAM NOTES
Check out yesterday's Magic Practice Report.
INJURY UPDATE
No injuries to report.
Roscoe Nance ofUSA Todaywrites: Someday Dwight Howard is likely to be the Orlando Magic's go-to-guy. But for now Howard, the No. 1 overall pick in the June NBA draft, is the Magic's go-get-me guy.Veterans have him fetch them water, tape, towels and whatever else they can think of.
John Denton ofFlorida Todaywrites: The Orlando Magic had just completed their wind sprints Monday and before the team splintered head coach Johnny Davis decided to test the mettle of prized rookie Dwight Howard. Davis called Howard up to the free throw line and painted a scenario in which the Magic were down two points with 3 seconds to play. Mind you, this was just Howard's second visit inside TD Waterhouse Centre and his veteran teammates were only adding to the pressure with catcalls. Clank! The first shot was on line, only to rim out. The second, however, was woefully short, just barely grazing the rim. One teammate even took to calling him "Shaq," a reference to Howard's bad free throw form... He was determined to right this wrong. So he conducted a laborious drill in which he would dunk the ball five times and then shoot five free throws. The drill eventually left him doubled over with fatigue, but Howard proudly made 16 of his next 20 free throws.
Brian Schmitz ofThe Orlando Sentinelwrites: Orlando Magic forward Pat Garrity, nursing a sore hip, said he'll be available tonight for the team's home preseason opener against the Memphis Grizzlies."That's if I can get minutes," Garrity laughed. Getting playing time might be a laughing matter for players now. But at some point, it could result in some grumbling, considering the Magic have perhaps their deepest team in the franchise's 16-year history. Or maybe the Magic can do what the Grizzlies have done: Win while using a 10-man rotation, keeping everybody relatively happy.
Brian Schmitz ofThe Orlando Sentinelwrites: Within the next 24 months, the DeVos family will know whether it will stay in the basketball business or get out entirely.If the Magic can't secure a new arena in that time and must relocate to another city, Magic President Bob Vander Weide tells us, "We'd likely get out if we have to move." Vander Weide is the son-in-law of billionaire Magic owner Rich DeVos, who purchased the club in 1991.
Steve Master ofThe Daytona Beach News-Journalwrites: But for the rebuilt Orlando Magic, the pre-season that starts at home tonight against the Memphis Grizzlies carries atypical significance.For All-Star forward Grant Hill, it's a milestone in his latest -- and perhaps last -- comeback attempt from ankle problems that have tormented both his career and the Magic franchise. For rookie Dwight Howard, the No. 1 pick in the 2004 draft, it's the first confrontation with NBA big men -- a key step on the steep learning curve for high school players jumping directly to the NBA. For veteran newcomers Steve Francis, Cuttino Mobley and Kelvin Cato, it's a chance to make a positive first impression on an Orlando faithful that suffered through a miserable 21-61 season a year ago. And for Coach Johnny Davis, it's a precious opportunity -- one of seven pre-season contests -- for this collection of mostly new faces to garner some cohesiveness before the season-opener Nov. 3 against Milwaukee.
Dick Scanlon ofThe Ledgerwrites: Will Dwight Howard be the next KG or the next Kwame? The first clues will be provided tonight when the 18-year-old Howard, the first overall pick in the NBA Draft, makes his exhibition debut with the Orlando Magic against the Memphis Grizzlies.