Orlando
Philip Maymin
Basketball News Services
Doug Christie is already averaging the highest steals per game of his career in Orlando. His three steals against the Pacers over the weekend make his 2004-2005 average so far more than 50% higher than his career average of 1.90 steals per game. Those numbers look to get a little less variable as he adds another notch to his Orlando Magic belt with a home game against the world champion Pistons tonight.
Christie of course is flattered that part of the reason he was brought here was because of the words of respect uttered by Grant Hill about his game to GM John Weisbrod. "To hear that from a guy like Grant," Christie toldFlorida Today,"it's the ultimate compliment."
So far Christie is coming off the bench behind Hedo Turkoglu, part of the reason being Christie has been involved in a sum total of one Magic practice to date. If Turkoglu continues to start at shooting guard, which to me seems a little odd, given that would probably be a better role for Hill to fill, and let Turkoglu play more of the forward spot, at least on defense, though the two positions are quite similar, in any event, if Turkoglu continues to start, the Magic have themselves a nice mix. Christie is never going to be the points-per-minute machine that Turkoglu is, and Turkoglu is never going to be in the running for defensive accolades. The two can play side-by-side or in serial and have an interesting impact on the game.
Head coach Johnny Davis has a nice little problem in his lap: who to start, who to finish, and who gets the bulk of the minutes. With different skills, it makes it almost too easy. Need defense? You got Christie. Need offense? You got Turkoglu.
NEXT GAME
The Magic (20-16, third in the Southeast) take on the Detroit Pistons (23-14, first in the Central) TODAY. Tip-off is slated for 7:00 p.m. Eastern/6:00 p.m. Central time. The game will be broadcast on the Sunshine Network, WDWB Channel 20 in the Detroit area and NBA League Pass. Tickets are still available for this game at the TD Waterhouse Centre.
TEAM NOTES
The Orlando Magic Youth Foundationwill award more than $760,000 in grants to local non-profit agencies at today's game vs. Detroit. This year, the OMYF has contributed $1,020,900 to the community.
The Crystal Ball on the Magic web site asks: Is Doug Christie a good fit to the Magic puzzle? So far, more than half of the nearly 2,000 respondents have said YES. Less than 20% have said NO. The rest are not sure.
INJURY UPDATE
Brandon Hunter(elbow) and Andrew DeClercq(knee) are on the Magic's injured list.Stacey Augmon(personal reasons) is questionable for today's game. DeClercq may be ready to go later this month.
John Denton ofFlorida Todaywrites: "When I came here last season Grant told me that I played the game the way that it's supposed to be played," Christie recalled."To hear that from a guy like Grant, it's the ultimate compliment. That's just the way I was raised. The open guy gets the ball. You play hard, you involve your teammates and be a positive influence. That's what I do. Hearing those things from Grant, it makes all the hard work and sacrifice worth it." Christie makes his home debut tonight for the Magic (20-16) when they host the Detroit Pistons. But like on Saturday when he came off the bench against the Indiana Pacers, Christie will be used in a reserve role. Hedo Turkoglu will continue to start for now even though the matchup against Richard Hamilton would seem to be an unfavorable one. Monday was Christie's first practice with the Magic and his role could ultimately change as he learns more of the plays. After all, before Saturday he had started every game that he had played in for the past nine seasons.
The Miami Heraldwrites: Orlando traded for guard Doug Christie, whose wife is infamous for traveling on every road trip and communicating with him using hand signals during games.The Magic wanted Christie for his defense. Ironically, he's not even the one in his own marriage capable of being the most suffocating.
Courtney Eiland ofThe Howard University Hilltopwrites: With Francis and Mobley having such a close friendship throughout their NBA career, the trade became more of an emotional process for the two. "It's the most drastic thing that ever happened in my career," Francis said to the Orlando Sentinel."It's a steppingstone to ultimately obtaining one of my goals [win a title]. Hopefully, I'll be able to do that."
Dick Scanlon ofThe Ledgerwrites: It has taken the Detroit Pistons half a season to adjust to the role of NBA champions.But they seem to have the hang of it as they visit the TD Waterhouse Centre tonight to take on the Magic. After upsetting the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals, the Pistons staggered to a 7-8 start that included their infamous brawl with the Indiana Pacers on Nov. 19 and the six-game suspension of Ben Wallace. Over the last month, however, the Pistons have dominated the Eastern Conference. They have won six straight road games and now lead the league in rebound percentage. Since Christmas, the Pistons have played like the team that won the NBA championship. Going into Monday's home game against Phoenix, the Pistons had a better winning percentage (.611) than they had last Feb. 19, when they made the big threeway trade for Rasheed Wallace. They were 34-22 (.607) on that date.