Orlando
Philip Maymin
Basketball News Services
Usher, one of the new owners of the Cleveland Cavaliers, guaranteed a victory last night against the visiting Orlando Magic, and LeBron James & Co. delivered. Now Orlando Magic superstar rookie Dwight Howard is threatening to burn his Usher CD's and throw away his Usher necklace. But the problem in the 111-92Orlando loss wasn't R&B: it was shooting.
Of all the Cavaliers who attempted at least nine field goals, only one (James) failed to convert on more than half his attempts. James went 9-of-22. The three other big shooters shot 5-of-9 (Jeff McInnis), 10-of-13 (Drew Gooden), and 7-of-11 (Zydrunas Ilgauskas).
Of all the Magic who attempted at least nine field goals, three failed to convert on more than half their attempts. Only Jameer Nelson went 7-12. The three other big shooters shot 8-of-16 (Steve Francis), 4-of-13 (Hedo Turkoglu), and 2-of-9 (DeShawn Stevenson).
Can you tell the Magic miss the shooting accuracy of Grant Hill, who is second only to Kelvin Cato (who does not shoot much) on the Magic in field goal percentage? Hill will miss one more game.
NEXT GAME
The Magic (31-28, third in the Southeast) finish their three game road trip with a visit to the Toronto Raptors (25-35, fifth in the Atlantic) TONIGHT. The game starts at 7:00pm Eastern and will be broadcast on WRBW, SCORE, and NBA League Pass.
TEAM NOTES
Check out the Orlando Magic Ask-A-Player archive! Here is a sample:
Q: Steve, what is that tattoo on your arm?
A: “It is a tattoo of my mom, in memory of her.â€
Q: Hedo, which NBA player is the hardest to defend?
A: For me, it was always Jamal Mashburn.
INJURY UPDATE
Doug Christie(bone spurs) andAndrew DeClercq(knee) are on the injured list.Grant Hill(shin) is recuperating.
Mike Bianchi ofThe Orlando Sentinelwrites: It appears now as though Doug Christie will be out for the season with a cryptic case of bone spurs, and maybe we all owe Christie an apology.The initial inclination was to call Christie a quitter because he decided surgery was an option only after he was benched in favor of rookie Jameer Nelson. But dig a little deeper and you will understand that Christie has always been an iron man, not a girlie man. Never judge an individual until you've walked in his bone spurs... Contrary to popular perception, Christie's foot injury didn't suddenly pop up after he was benched last week. He didn't lose his starting job and then concoct a phantom injury. I believe he lost his starting job because of a very real injury. The fact is, Christie was hampered last season and missed the entire preseason this year with plantar fasciitis -- a chronic inflammation of the tissue along the bottom of the foot. He told the Sacramento Bee that he needed an injection just to be able to play for the Kings in the postseason. And did you know he actually had foot surgery during the offseason?
Brian Schmitz ofThe Orlando Sentinelwrites: Three little-used Magic players will be counted on to fill the void left by guard Doug Christie.Christie was placed on the five-game injured list (bone spurs, left ankle) by the club, but he is not expected to return this season... Along with sixth man Hedo Turkoglu, forwards Pat Garrity and Stacey Augmon and guard DeShawn Stevenson, all are expected to help provide some defense and scoring off the bench. The Magic did have a surplus of shooting guards and small forwards.
Brian Schmitz ofThe Orlando Sentinelwrites: His team won the game as he predicted, but famed R&B singer Usher lost a fan Tuesday night. "I'm going to burn all his CDs when I get home," Orlando Magic rookie Dwight Howard said, only half-joking."And I'm going to throw away my chain. I got an Usher necklace." The celebrity part-owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers made a live guarantee during the game that his Cavs would beat the Magic -- and they did 111-92 at Gund Arena.
The Associated Press writes inThe Ledger:Gooden's inconsistency had prompted Cavs coach Paul Silas to replace him for two games as a starter by Robert Traylor. The benching seemed to awaken Gooden, who had one of his best all-around games this season against the team that traded him last summer... The Magic were without AllStar forward Grant Hill, who is nursing a sore left shin after getting kicked last week. Hill, averaging 19.3 points per game, is also expected to miss Wednesday's game in Toronto. Magic coach Johnny Davis said the club is being extra cautious with Hill, who is having a remarkable comeback season after missing most of the past four years with ankle injuries and surgery.