Friday, July 9, 2010

Orlando Magic Fans Should NOT Feel the HEAT!

LeBron James decided that he will be heading to South Beach, and join Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade in Miami, to form literally an All-Star studded team. The majority of us were awed by the announcement, while a wave of relief overcame us, due to the nagging length of time these players took to announce their decisions.

After that initial shock to my system, a few thoughts came to mind.
1. I realized that this meant Orlando would not be the lone elite team in the Southeast division.
2. Another scenario that came to mind was the fact that we would play Miami a total of 4 times a year, which meant we would see this team more than any other elite NBA team (Boston, L.A.).
3. Then my mouth started to salivate at the possibility of having an in-state rivalry, only six hours apart, which pitted two of the top teams in the NBA against one another in the same backyard.
4. If you’re the opposing team, WHO DO YOU DOUBLE TEAM? You double team Lebron, Wade will get you! If you double team Wade, Lebron will get you! If you double team, Wade and Lebron, Bosh will get you!

Miami, especially Pat Riley, deserve tremendous credit for what they have brought to their organization, but when looking at the Heat’s roster, there are some gaps that stare you right in the face.
1. The first being they have barely any money left, and still need to sign 9 players to tag along with this core of three, and Beasley/Chalmers being the other two signed.
2. Then the fact that Miami doesn’t have size on their side. Bosh is more finesse and hated having center obligations in Toronto, James plays the 3, and Wade plays the two. Who would be able to defend against Dwight Howard, Yao Ming, Andrew Bynum, etc. deep in the post?
3. Mario Chalmers is a point guard, true, but he doesn’t have a passing game developed, and he is not a great spot up shooter.
4. Lebron, Wade, and Bosh are all not going to maintain the stats they did before coming together because they can’t all have 30 shots per game.
5. They need to create a zone offensive system because the opposing team will play zone defense, and some are very good at it like Boston, Orlando, L.A., etc. This is going to be difficult as all three of these players are use to 80 percent of the game being isolation type of play.

Now for the Orlando side, as for the rest of the league, commentators are really finding any team that can withstand this Heat trio. Orlando don’t forget got to The Finals in ’09, and the Eastern Conference Finals ’09 &’10. Orlando is not a squad that you can push over very easily.

The Heat have a weakness in their front court, and the Magic have the best front court player in the league in Dwight Howard (who is training with Hakeem this summer) and a training Marcin Gortat, who wants to get a better shot so that he can play alongside Howard as a 4 in some cases. Howard and Gortat are two seven footers that take up a lot of paint space, which means penetration will be difficult for the opposing team, which means LeBron and Wade will find it more difficult to penetrate, which is where the majority of their points come from, as they both are not strongly suited in jump shooting.

Take out Marcin Gortat and leave him as a back-up center and with rumors that Stan Van Gundy maybe leaning toward a more traditional line-up, let’s replace Gortat with Brandon Bass. Bass has a beautiful 15-18 footers jump shot that is consistent, he is very strong, which is great for defending, and he is a player that puts his effort into the game and hustles. Pietrus, Carter, Nelson, (Barnes and Redick is they return) are all sound enough perimeter defenders that can help with that zone defense needed. Newly acquired Chris Duhon is great at the pick-and-roll, passing, and is a great defensive point guard. The Magic can use Rashard or Anderson at the 4 spot to lure Bosh out. Rashard can play the 3 , which is where he has statistically been the most successful. Orlando is not a push over team in the least bit.

David Aldridge when asked about the best team in the NBA after LeBron’s announcement, said that the Heat are the obvious choice due to the tri, but don’t count out Boston (who is regrouping) and Orlando, who he expects will make moves in the coming days in order to upgrade the team. Orlando fans should be ecstatic when David Aldridge says these things because he is usually right on the money, and knowing GM Otis Smith, and how e says one thing but does something else that works, Orlando fans should be watching and thinking about what the Heat brings to the table, but still believe in the Magic because the Magic are still in that elite team kitchen.

Here Is the Video of David Aldridge, he speaks about Orlando around the 1:20 mark.

Here It Is & Remember GO HOLLAND!!!