Orlando Magic Blog – Page 55 – NBA Blog

Coach Stan Van Gundy, Mickael Pietrus spar over playing time

Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel reports:

Coach Stan Van Gundy and General Manager Otis Smith met Thursday before the Magic’s practice. The topic, in a nutshell:

Dealing with changes that are good for the team … but not so good for players involved.

Their meeting came in the wake of small forward Mickael Pietrus’ shouting match with Van Gundy near the bench on Wednesday night.

Frustrated with his dwindling role, Pietrus was pulled out of the game by Van Gundy after just three minutes into the final period during the Magic’s blow-out victory against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Amway Center.

Teammates, including co-captain Dwight Howard, tried to calm Pietrus. One player said that MP wanted to be traded if he’s not playing regularly, although MP told me he didn’t want to leave a contender.

Timberwolves suffer worst loss in franchise history

Jerry Zgodda of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports:

Tonight’s 42-point blowout loss set a franchise record, by one point over a 1996 game at Miami (Kevin Garnett’s rookie year) and last November’s unforgettable 146-105 loss at Golden State.

That’s the only Wolves record that fell, although a couple dropped for the Magic.

The 78 first-half points scored was one shy of the 79 the Wolves allowed Phoenix in the first half last March in Phoenix.

But it was the most a Magic team has ever scored in a first half, three more than the 75 they put on Sacramento in January 2009.

Dwight Howard, who got into foul trouble and left the game for a good stretch after just two minutes, set a franchise record for most blocks in a quarter, blocking six in the third.

Magic at Knicks game postponed due to MSG asbestos-related debris issue

The Orlando Magic at New York Knicks game scheduled for tonight (November 2) will instead be played another night, and it’s possible that additional games in Madison Square Garden may have to be relocated.

Here is the information sent out by the Knicks:

Following last night’s Rangers game, during overnight maintenance of Madison Square Garden, which included cleaning asbestos-related materials in the attic above the ceiling, some debris fell into the Arena.

Out of an abundance of caution, we are postponing tonight’s Knicks v. Magic game. We will be working with the city and independent experts, ATC Associates and GCI Environmental Advisory, to evaluate and determine the most appropriate course of action. As the safety of our customers and employees are our top priority, we will not reopen the Garden until we are absolutely assured the Arena is safe.

Ticketholders are advised to retain their tickets, and return to nyknicks.com for rescheduling information. We will announce information about future events as soon as they have been determined.

Madison Square Garden apologizes for any inconvenience.

NBA suspends Jason Williams for making contact with referee

Jason Williams of the Orlando Magic has been suspended without pay for one game for making contact with a game official following his ejection, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

The incident occurred with 58 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter of the Magic’s 112-83 victory over the Washington Wizards at Amway Center on Thursday, Oct. 28.

Williams will serve his suspension tonight when the Magic face the Miami Heat at American Airlines Arena.

Magic-Heat October 22 preseason game canceled

The NBA preseason game scheduled for Friday evening between the Orlando Magic and the Miami Heat at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, FL has been canceled due to unsafe playing conditions on the arena floor.

The game will not be rescheduled.

Magic waive Stanley Robinson

The Orlando Magic have waived forward Stanley Robinson, President of Basketball Operations/General Manager Otis Smith announced tonight after the Magic’s preseason game vs. Dallas. Orlando’s roster now stands at 14 players.

Selected in the second round (59th overall) of the 2010 NBA Draft by Orlando, Robinson (6’9”, 210, 7/14/88) played in five preseason games with the Magic, averaging 2.0 ppg. and 2.4 rpg. in 8.2 minpg.

Robinson played in 126 career games during his four years at the University of Connecticut, averaging 9.8 ppg., 6.2 rpg., 1.0 apg. and 1.03 blkpg. in 26.3 minpg. He helped the Huskies reach the NCAA Final Four in 2008-09.

Preseason a magical time in Orlando

Surprise, surprise, the Orlando Magic is off to a strong start in the preseason.

The Magic christened its new arena, Amway Center, with a 135-81 rout of the New Orleans Hornets Sunday, improving to 3-0 in preseason play.

The Magic has won 17 consecutive preseason games, with its last preseason loss coming on Oct. 6, 2008 (vs. Atlanta, 118-101).

Last preseason, the Magic went 8-0, marking the first time in the organization’s history that the team went undefeated in preseason action. Under Stan Van Gundy , the Magic is 23-2 (.920) in preseason outings.

Several other teams are off to fast starts, including the Boston Celtics (3-0), Memphis Grizzlies (3-0) and New Jersey Nets (3-1).

On the other end of the spectrum, the Indiana Pacers (0-3), Philadelphia 76ers (0-3), Los Angeles Lakers (0-2), and New Orleans Hornets (0-2) are each still searching for their first win.

The question of whether preseason success predicts a long run in June, however, likely is best left to the basketball oracles.

— From NBA News

Orlando Magic open new arena in style, destroy Hornets 135-81 (preseason)

The AP reports:

May 28, 2010 - Boston, MASSACHUSETTS, UNITED STATES - epa02178061 Orlando magic center Dwight Howard walks along the baseline as the final seconds tick off in the fourth quarter of game six of the Eastern Conference finals at the TD Bank Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, USA 28 May 2010. The Celtics defeated the Magic 96-84 to beat the Magic 4 games to 2 and advance to play either the Los Angeles Lakers or the Phoenix Suns in the NBA Finals.

Rashard Lewis, J.J. Redick and Ryan Anderson scored 23 points apiece, and the Magic opened their new arena in style with a 135-81 rout of the New Orleans Hornets on Sunday night.

Orlando built a big lead from the start to kick off an early celebration that was more than a decade in the making. Van Gundy dressed to impress, played his starters big minutes and did everything possible to treat a capacity crowd to a blowout victory.

“If it takes a new arena to get Stan to wear a suit,” Orlando’s Dwight Howard said, “we’re going to have to get one every year.”

Peja Stojakovic had 20 points and Emeka Okafor added 13 points for the Hornets, who lost their second straight preseason game in as many nights. Even though it was a preseason game, they took little comfort such a loss…

The emotion of having their long-sought dream realized was overwhelming for some Magic executives, bringing tears to the eyes of team president Alex Martins — who, along with senior vice president Charlie Freeman—was instrumental in getting the funding for the $480 million arena and making sure every detail was built to sparkle. The Magic contributed almost $100 million.

Magic exercise option on Ryan Anderson

The Orlando Magic have exercised their fourth-year team option on forward Ryan Anderson, President of Basketball Operations/General Manager Otis Smith announced today. Per team policy, terms of the deal are not disclosed. Anderson is now under contract through the 2011-12 season.

Anderson (#33, 6’10”, 240, 5/6/88) played in 63 games last season for the Magic, averaging 7.7 ppg. and 3.2 rpg. in 14.5 minpg., while shooting .370 (78-211) from three-point range. He started in six outings, averaging 15.0 ppg. and 5.0 rpg. in 25.6 minpg. during that span. Anderson also appeared in nine playoff games, averaging 2.6 ppg. and 3.4 rpg. in 9.9 minpg.

Originally selected in the first round (21st overall) of the 2008 NBA Draft by New Jersey, Anderson was acquired by the Magic from the Nets, along with Vince Carter, in exchange for Rafer Alston, Tony Battie and Courtney Lee on June 25, 2009. He has played in 129 career NBA regular season games with New Jersey and Orlando, averaging 7.6 ppg. and 4.0 rpg. in 17.2 minpg, while shooting .368 (147-400) from three-point range.

Fan poll results: Six East locks to make playoffs

An InsideHoops.com front page poll asking fans to predict the eight Eastern conference teams that will qualify for the 2010-11 NBA playoffs had the following results:

Celtics     2,046 votes
Heat    2,045 votes
Magic    2,011 votes
Bulls    1,985 votes
Hawks    1,886 vote
Bucks    1,658 votes
Bobcats    1,011 votes
Knicks    1,074 votes
Wizards    637 votes
Sixers    481 votes
Pistons    336 votes
Nets    333 votes
Cavaliers 333 votes
Pacers    229 votes
Raptors    173 votes

Fans felt that the six teams — the Magic, Celtics, Heat, Bulls, Hawks and Bucks — are strong locks to make the playoffs.

After those teams, the Bobcats and Knicks came in next, with the 7th and 8th highest votes.

InsideHoops.com editor says: These are some pretty fantastic results. Look at the top eight teams, in order. That’s pretty close to what an East power ranking list should look like.

Missing the playoffs but getting good support were the Wizards, receiving the 9th highest votes.

Orlando Magic's Dwight Howard (12) is congratulated by teammates Rashard Lewis (L), Jameer Nelson (14) and Vince Carter (15) during overtime in Game 4 of their NBA Eastern Conference playoff series against the Boston Celtics in Boston, Massachusetts May 24, 2010. REUTERS/Adam Hunger (UNITED STATES - Tags: SPORT BASKETBALL)