Orlando
Philip Maymin
Basketball News Services
It's been 17 games already and it's not too early to say that Dwight Howard is for real. One of the ways to see if someone's a star or just has good padded stats is to check his bio on NBA.com where any participation in top lists are mentioned. A very solid role player might be on one or two lists, perhaps on a per-48-minute basis. Howard's main page lists an incredible 13 accolades.
His main contributions are in rebounds, blocks, and field goal percentage. He's a member of every rebounding list: defensive, offensive, and total, and per-game as well as per-48-minutes. Similarly for blocks. And he ranks seventh-overall in the league with a 54.7 field goal percentage.
He is already Orlando's best rebounder, the only one averaging more than 10 per game, and he is averaging a double-double for the season already. All this despite the fact that he is only playing about a half hour a game: 32 minutes.
I wasn't going to compare him to Emeka Okafor just yet but perhaps a quick peek: Okafor has earned 10 different accolades for rebounding, double-doubles, and blocks. His numbers are slightly higher than Howard's: 13.6 points and 11.2 rebounds per game. But he's doing it in 36 minutes of action.
On the other hand, Howard is blocking nearly 20% more shots, averaging 1.88 per game to Okafor's 1.56. And that's not because he's fouling more: he's actually averaging fewer fouls (2.4 to 3.3) than Okafor.
Dwight Howard is the real deal.
NEXT GAME
The Magic (11-6, tied for first in the Southeast) play the second of their six-game Western Conference road trip TONIGHT. They take on Jerry Sloan's Utah Jazz (8-10, fifth in the Northwest) at 9:00pm Eastern. The game will be broadcast on the Sunshine Network and NBA League Pass. Tony Battie, coming off his one game suspension, will start in place of the injured Kelvin Cato.
TEAM NOTES
Orlando center Kelvin Cato suffered a subluxated left shoulder during the third quarter last night @ Denver and did not return to the game. He will fly back to Orlando today and will miss the remainder of the Magic’s West Coast trip (five games). Cato will undergo an MRI tomorrow and his status will be re-evaluated.
Michael Bradley, along with his wife Ellen, have started the Michael Bradley Family Foundation, an organization that is based around developing and enhancing children’s lives and helping families in need.
Hedo Turkoglu will wear a new uniform next summer. Not the blue and white of the Orlando Magic or the red and white of the national team of Turkey, but the silver and gray of the Turkish army.
INJURY UPDATE
Pat Garrity(foot),Michael Bradley(hamstring), andAndrew DeClercq(knee) are all on the injured list.Kelvin Cato(shoulder) is not joining the Magic on their remaining road trip, instead heading back to Orlando for medical testing. He could be out as long as three weeks.
Brian Schmitz ofThe Orlando Sentinelwrites: Adversity has made its first official visit to the Orlando Magic's 2004-05 season, and it didn't even bother to knock.Injuries are haunting the Magic's promising start, players falling all around Grant Hill, an ironic reversal if ever there was one. The Magic were en route to Utah on Tuesday, smarting from Monday night's blow-out loss to the Denver Nuggets. But starting center Kelvin Cato was headed to Orlando for medical testing, his shoulder badly hurting after taking a hard tumble in the game.
Brian Schmitz ofThe Orlando Sentinelwrites: Orlando's three-game winning streak ended Monday night in a 115-102 loss to the Denver Nuggets. . . . C Kelvin Cato (left shoulder) could be out for as long as three weeks. F/C Tony Battie, coming off a one-game suspension for an elbowing incident Saturday night in a victory against the Memphis Grizzlies, will start at center in place of the injured Cato. . . . The Magic beat the Jazz 107-92 in Orlando on Nov. 17.
Steve Dilbeck ofThe LA Daily Newswrites: This is not the same ABA Stars team that played at the Forum in 2001 with Paul Westhead as coach. That team became the Orange County Surf, then after the league went on hiatus for a year, the Long Beach Jam. This is a new team, and everything is very new. The league provided the uniforms, but little else. Warm-up suits are expected to arrive today before their game at Taft against the Jam. There is a Web site, but if you call it up to check out their cheerleaders, be warned it is a picture of the Orlando Magic cheer team that was used for the template and still remains.