Orlando
Philip Maymin
Basketball News Services
The Magic dropped their second preseason game in as many nights, falling 96-88to the Atlanta Hawks. Dwight Howard fouled out after 25 minutes of action, finishing with eight points and three rebounds. Steve Francis had one assist and four turnovers but he did manage to score 18 points on 4-6 shooting from the field and 10-15 from the charity stripe.
The Magic were outscored in every period but the first in which they were able to take a 24-20 lead. Though Atlanta's coach Mike Woodson would like to believe it was his team's defense that stifled the Magic in the later quarters, it was actually Orlando's defense that was unable to stop Atlanta's scoring that proved to be the bigger concern, especially in the second and third quarter.
The fourth quarter was essentially a wash, as the Hawks outscored the Magic by a single point, 21-20. It was the second quarter's 31-25 run and the third quarter's 24-19 run that gave the Hawks the advantage.
Turkoglu was invisible in the 23 minutes he was on the floor, going 0-6 from the field including one missed three pointer, never heading to the free throw line, making nary an assist, steal, or block, and committing three fouls and one turnover. He did grab four defensive rebounds but that was about it.
Jameer Nelson was the only player to hand out more than one assist. He had three. But this rookie was also in foul trouble, committing five in his 25 minutes of action.
Are the Magic working out the kinks? Or is their defensive system relying too much on man-to-man defense with players who are getting beat having no choice but to foul?
NEXT GAME
The Magic finally take on Shaq and the Heat on Friday. The game starts at 8:00pm and will be broadcast on the Sunshine network and NBA League Pass.
TEAM NOTES
Brian Schmitz ofThe Orlando Sentinelnotes: There's usually a surprise in most training camps, and free-agent power forward Corsley Edwards has caught the Magic's attention.A former second-round draft pick by the Sacramento Kings in 2002, Edwards played in Italy last season, but he has an NBA-sized body at 6 feet-9, 275 pounds. He is caught up in a numbers game in Orlando, which already has 15 players with guaranteed contracts. He won't make the team, barring injuries, but Davis says Edwards deserves "a longer look" before the club makes a decision.
INJURY UPDATE
Grant Hill(coming back from ankle surgery) is not injured but head coach Johnny Davis is taking it easy with him and did not play him last night, saying that an NBA game is not a controlled practice and he wants to bring Hill along slowly.Pat Garrity(hip flexor injury) is out until Friday.
Brian Schmitz ofThe Orlando Sentinelwrites: Magic forwards Grant Hill and Pat Garrity were held out of Wednesday night's preseason game against Atlanta, but only because Garrity -- yes, Garrity -- wasn't 100 percent... The only trouble Magic rookie Dwight Howard had in his debut Tuesday night in Orlando was finding the players' parking lot.Howard pulled into general parking and the attendant asked him for $5 to park. Howard told the attendant who he was and she finally pointed him to his lot.
John Manasso ofThe Atlanta Journal-Constitutionwrites: But for the second night in a row Howard got in foul trouble."Some nights he'll have trouble with that," Magic coach Johnny Davis said. "You have training camp and preseason to find that out. I want him to gain experience and play significant minutes. Last night he played very well [18 points and 9 rebounds against Memphis]. Foul trouble curtailed what he can do." Howard took the long view of his struggles, admitting foul trouble hurt his game. "Yeah, it did," he said. "But I've got 82 games plus playoffs. It's just the second [preseason] game."
Phillip Ramati ofThe Macon Telegraphwrites: It was evident the Hawks raised their defensive intensity a notch in the second half. The Magic shot just 37 percent from the floor and turned the ball over 25 times, which led to 25 Atlanta points.The Hawks also outrebounded Orlando 46-33, limiting the Magic to just seven offensive rebounds.
Phillip Ramati ofThe Macon Telegraphwrites: All the way back in March, Dwight Howard II stood in the Macon Coliseum, a man-child among boys.Leading Southwest Atlanta Christian to the GHSA Class A championship, the 6-foot-11 wunderkind was dominant almost to the point of absurdity. The only questions at that time were would he jump to the NBA early, and how high would he go in the draft if he did. Howard did jump in, went No. 1 and returned to the sight of his last triumph Wednesday night where a large group of family and friends cheered him on as his Orlando Magic fell to the Atlanta Hawks 96-88.
AccessNorthGeorgiawrites: Orlando, playing for the second consecutive night, did not use Grant Hill, who played 16 minutes against Memphis on Tuesday.He did participate in a morning practice, but Magic coach Johnny Davis is taking a cautious approach, given Hill's recurring ankle injury.
The Ledgerwrites: The Magic (0-2) featured marquee rookies Dwight Howard, the first overall selection in the NBA draft, and Jameer Nelson, the 2003-04 national college player of the year.Howard fouled out after committing six turnovers while scoring 8 points in 25 minutes. Nelson scored 2 points while committing five fouls in 25 minutes.
Bob Finnan ofThe Willoughby News-Heraldwrites: Drew Gooden's tattoo proclaims, "Bay Area's Finest."Gooden, the Cavaliers' starting power forward, claims that distinction after his standout career at El Cerrito (Calif.) High School. Cavaliers coach Paul Silas, however, disputes that notion. Well, who was the Bay Area's finest? "You're looking at him," Silas said.