Orlando
Philip Maymin
Basketball News Services
It's all over, folks. With Philadelphia's surprising overtime win against the Heat last night, Orlando's postseason bid was finally and officially rejected. Their final four games have none of the drama of a Final Four and none of the playoff implications. The focus now turns to next year, Jameer Nelson, Steve Francis, and Doug Christie.
According to Francis, Nelson will be the starting point guard next season and Francis will move into the shooting guard role. According to Christie, he won't be here next year at all.
The Christie thing is very confusing. Christie claims GM John Weisbrod did not defend Christie publicly while he was undergoing medical treatment, letting a variety of news sources claim that he had just decided to end his season without any real health reasons. Meanwhile, Weisbrod is saying that not only will they not buy-out Christie's last remaining year, they won't even look to trade him (with the presumed usual exception that anyone's a commodity if someone else has interest).
In any case, there's only a few more games to go, and they have all suddenly lost all meaning. The only good development here is that the Magic are in the lottery again. The way the balls bounce, there's a chance they could get a top-three pick.
NEXT GAME
The Magic (35-43, third in the Southeast) continue their road trip in Chicago as they take on the Bulls (44-34, second in the Central) TONIGHT. The game starts at 8:30pm Eastern and will be broadcast on Sun Sports and NBA League Pass. The last time these two met, just one week ago, the game went into overtime and victory was a mere one point margin.
TEAM NOTES
Q: Hedo, do you want any tattoos?
A: "No, I don’t want any."
Q: Steve, who is the funniest guy on the team?
A: "Dwight Howard"
Read more inside the Orlando Magic Ask-A-Player Archive.
INJURY UPDATE
Hedo Turkoglu(wrist) is on the injured list and out for the remainder of the season.Doug Christie(ankle) is also on the injured list and out indefinitely.Andrew DeClercq (knee) is on the injured list.Grant Hill(shin) is out indefinitely.
Brian Schmitz ofThe Orlando Sentinelwrites: With Jameer Nelson seated next to him and listening intently, Steve Francis said Thursday he was not planning on being the Orlando Magic's starting point guard next season.Francis says he'll concentrate this summer on returning as a shooting guard.
Chris Tomasson ofThe Rocky Mountain Newswrites: What distinction do New Jersey Nets forward Clifford Robinson and Orlando Magic forward Stacey Augmon share?Robinson (38), coached by Lawrence Frank (34), and Augmon (36), coached by Chris Jent (35), are older than their coaches.
Dick Scanlon ofThe Florida Ledgerwrites: John Weisbrod said he isn't angry at Doug Christie.In fact, he expects Christie to play for the Magic again next season. "All indications, post-operation, are that he's going to be 100 percent healthy," Weisbrod said Thursday. "We're certainly not going to trade him or buy him out. So if he wants to play basketball, he'll have to do it here. "I feel badly that he's ultimately making things more difficult for himself. He's going to have to come back and lay in the bed that he's made here."
Corey Long ofThe Florida Ledgerwrites: Well, if the first year of the Dwight Howard era is any indication, it looks like the Magic made the right move.At 6-11, 250 pounds, Howard instantly gave the Magic a legitimate inside presence they haven't had since Ben Wallace. In his first season, Howard has averaged double-digit rebounds (10.1), he's near the top five in offensive rebounds (3.5) and he averages almost two blocks a game. His offense has improved quicker than anyone could've expected. He averaged 13.9 points in March and is averaging over 17 ppg in April. His 31 double-doubles are top 15 in the league.
George Diaz ofThe Orlando Sentinelwrites: We knew the Magic would be a work in progress after General Manager John Weisbrod gutted a team that finished with a league-low 21 victories in 2004.Nine new players were among the top 12 in the depth chart, two more if you included Hill and Pat Garrity, who played all of two games in 2003-04. A quick start gave us false hope before the Magic stumbled over the slippery slope of the long season, losing their tenuous grip on the playoffs with a miserable March and April.