Magic Too Powerful for Wizards

The Orlando Magic hosted the winless Washington Wizards tonight in a divisional game that got ugly quickly. Orlando dominated the game early and often to grab a 31-14 lead after one quarter. The Magic continued at half-speed from there, effortlessly stymieing Washington’s pesky six point runs and won the game 103-85, almost the same margin they opened it with.

The Wizards looked like a team that was playing their third game in four nights. They were very flat on each side of the floor. Most noticeably on offense, when every possession looked like a two man game where the other three players were only out there for long, clanking rebounds. A combined thirty one shot attempts and five assists from thier starting back court tells a story of quick shots and minimal ball movement. To compound the problem, the Wiz only manage 37% shooting on the night. Sometimes that’s all tired legs can buy.

Washington was at their best when point guard John Wall pushed the tempo and was able to attack the Magic defense before it could settle at the other end. While Wall struggled with some close range shots early, he did finish the game with no turnovers and as the teams second leading scorer. The Wizards have seven rookie or second year players on their roster. This is a squad that’s going to need time to develop rhythm offensively and a leader to dictate the flow. Wall looks like he’s able to be the leader, but Flip Saunders needs to find a way to utilize the youth and athleticism they have to get the most out of his players.

For the home team, this game was nothing more than routine when an outclassed opponent enters their building. Orlando’s offense looked crisp and deliberate with each possession. The experience difference was on display tonight as the core players on the Magic seemed to have a much clearer idea of how to score as a team than the Wizards did. Dwight Howard never looked uncomfortable during this game, he anticipated every double team and kicked the ball out cleanly to his shooters which enabled them to hit 42% from three point range. When Washington decided to roll the dice with only JaVale McGee against the All-Pro, Howard showcased his nifty post game and scored 28 points on only 13 shot attempts. He wasn’t without any help in the front court however, as Ryan Anderson delivered a monster game with 23 points and 15 rebounds. When asked about the swell in the stat sheet Anderson pointed out, “They were really denying me the ball out at the three-point line, so I didn’t get as many open looks as normal so instead I tried to crash the glass.” Anderson’s observation showed in the bottom line as he had a game high seven offensive rebounds.

If Anderson can keep his focus on the boards and Glen Davis can find his role with this team, they could potentially be the toughest front court in the Eastern conference. Rashard Lewis got a hearty cheer from the Amway crowd tonight because of his productive history with the franchise, but they might be better off with the gritty combo of Anderson and Davis than they were with Lewis’ love for the long range shot. Coach Stan Van Gundy is waiting for Davis to develop the kind of inside game this team needs from him, “Last year 50% of his shots were within 12 feet, this year 65% of his shots are outside of 12 feet… So we’re going to continue to talk about that.”

Lastly, when asked about Dwight Howard’s legacy, Van Gundy added, “You’re already talking about a guy early in his career, that you have to say is one of the elite defensive players and elite rebounders in the history of the league.”