Orlando
Philip Maymin
Basketball News Services
The per-minute plus-minus ratings of the Orlando Magic, as computed by 82games.com, tell an interesting tale. Steve Francis, so far the last-second hero and high-flying dunker of the season, surprisingly enough tends to be off the floor when the Magic build a lead and on the floor when they lose it. Dwight Howard, Tony Battie, and Kelvin Cato are in a similar position.
Among the best in the ratings, which are computed essentially as the plus-minus of each player weighted to reflect 48 minutes of performance, are Grant Hill and Jameer Nelson, and to a lesser extent Pat Garrity, Hedo Turkoglu, and Cuttino Mobley. When these guys are on the court, not necessarily together, the Magic tend to build a lead. When these guys sit, the lead vanishes.
Francis was a net positive player last year for the Rockets. In fact he was the best starter in that type of production, with Yao Ming close behind him. Partially it may be random at this point, with very little of the season having been played. And it presumably wouldn't be so bad if the lead simply increased at a slower rate when he was on the court versus when he sits, but that doesn't happen to be the case. The Magic score fewer points than their opponents when Francis is on the floor.
Tonight, they face the Lakers, whose best player has a fantastic rating merely because his team performs very very poorly when he's not on the floor. When Kobe Bryant is on the floor, the Lakers actually neither build nor lose their lead: for all his effort, Bryant merely keeps them equal.
NEXT GAME
The Magic (3-2) welcome the Los Angeles Lakers (3-3) TONIGHT, Friday, November 12th at 7:00 p.m. Eastern/4:00 p.m. Pacific time. Of course, they welcome them because they come without Shaquille O'Neal, making them a very beatable opponent, especially in the Magic's own crib. The game will be broadcast on WRBW and NBA League Pass. Tickets are still available for this game at the TD Waterhouse Centre.
TEAM NOTES
The Saint Joseph's basketball team will be on hand to watch alum Jameer Nelson and the Magic face the Sixers on Sunday in Philadelphia. The NCAA frowns upon NBA clubs giving free tickets to student-athletes, so the Hawks are being honored at the game. Nelson, a rookie point guard for Orlando, played four seasons at Saint Joe's. As a senior, he led the Hawks to a 27-0 regular-season record and was named co-college player of the year, along with Emeka Okafor.
INJURY UPDATE
Kelvin Cato(ankle) is questionable for tonight's game versus the Lakers, as isCuttino Mobley(groin); Andrew DeClercq(knee) has had his return postponed until January; Brandon Hunter(Achilles) andMario Kasun(knee) room with him on the Magic's injured list.
Dick Scanlon ofThe Ledgerwrites: The annual visit of the Los Angeles Lakers has been a festive occasion, featuring sellots and colorful posters with messages for Shaquille O'Neal.Now the big center, gone for so long from the Magic, is also gone from the Lakers, having been traded to the Miami Heat. The Magic (3-2) have yet to lose at home, but are coming off a a disappointing loss at Washington on Wedneday night. Neither Mobley (strained groin) nor center Kelvin Cato (sore knee) played in that game.
Jason Garcia and Mark Schlueb ofThe Orlando Sentinelwrite: Orange County's tourist-tax revenue has rebounded to record levels, and the Orlando Magic still want money for a new arena.However, the county's top financial watchdog wants to bank the extra cash, at least for now.
Ted Bertrand ofThe Bowdoin Orientwrites: The Orlando Magic, losers of seventeen straight games last year and the worst team in the NBA, have a legitimate shot at the playoffs this year.After their terrible season, the Magic knew that they could not win with this team and decided it was time to shake things up. So they traded the greatest offensive weapon in the game, Tracy McGrady, at the peak of his dominance. A move like this usually comes back to haunt teams, but this move may work out for the Magic.