2011 Orlando Magic Season Preview

The Orlando Magic enter their 22nd NBA Season, later than usual due to the NBA Lockout with a storm hanging over the Franchise.......Hurricane Dwight and yes, it’s a category 5!  That metaphor  describes the Impact that this individual has on not only the Franchise, but the city of Orlando and his future will have a major impact on the franchise, the cities, and the even the business and the buzz around the city.  GM Otis Smith and newly appointed CEO Alex Martins have stated they are doing everything to keep Howard around even after he requested a trade on December 11 however, the young center would like to see a different culture around the team. Do understand that Howard is a automatic 50 win season walking because of his impact on the game, the 3 time defensive player of the year still led the Magic squad to a top 5 defensive team in the league, but the perimeter defense remains well below par and it says a lot when Howard led the team in steals with 1.37 per game and when the Magic ended the season to a disappointing series loss to the Hawks, it was due to guard play being far superior than Orlando’s.

There is agony across Magic nation due to Howard’s request and his situation clouds the rest of the transactions that the franchise has made, Orlando did trade for Glen Davis and Von Wafer, Davis is hoping to keep Howard around and instill that vocal leadership in the locker room that the Magic have been lacking. Davis coming from the Boston Celtics, preaches defensive tenacity and togetherness on the court and came from a culture that have multiple voices in the locker room.  Davis, already showing flashes of leadership by assigning the three rookies Justin Harper, DeAndre Liggins, and Daniel Orton a homework assignment, go home and look up the word family and be ready to present to the team and what does it mean? “We are trying to change the culture around the franchise,” Davis said. Wafer already impressed the coaching staff, referring to his quick step, and has given a different element that Orlando have been missing, someone to get to the paint and break defenses down, Jameer Nelson and Hedo Turkoglu were the only ones that could really get in the to paint, not that its being declared that Wafer is the piece that Orlando has been missing. Orlando is still missing two elements, a dominant post player and a playmaker with slashing ability and it’s very well documented that when you guard Howard one on one and stay home on the shooters, Orlando tends to struggle.  The Orlando Magic are aware that they need a player or two that could showcase those abilities on a consistent basis but I now leave you with 3 of the biggest questions that the Orlando Magic will have for this current season.

Ryan Anderson

1. Who is the Breakout Player for the Magic this Season?

Ryan Anderson is going to get this here, in a contract year, and every year his stats increase, averaging 10.6 ppg 5.5 rpg on .39% 3pt with playing 22.3 minutes a game, he seems to be ready for a bigger role. With him and Glen Davis splitting the four and Orlando still  not having a true backup center for Howard, it will be a three man rotation of these players.

Jameer Nelson

2. Who is the X-Factor to help Dwight?

This is between Turkoglu or Nelson, but my pick would have to be Nelson, the main reason is, this is a guy who can score in bunches, if he stays aggressive, and look for his shot.  At his position, he is asked to do much more, he is not your playmaking point guard that many are looking for to supplement Dwight, but this is someone who could easily take the scoring load off the prime time Center, both Turkoglu and Nelson and known for being wildly inconsistent, but when they are on, this Magic team could play with anybody in the Nation, if this team could get the Jameer of 2009(50% FG, 45% from 3pt), Orlando can easily do some damage often against the NBA.


3.  Will Dwight be traded this season? 


This is the burning question that no one have a clear cut answer to. It really depends on how the Magic comes out the gate, so, keep an eye on the productivity of the team as the season progresses. My thoughts on the situation, is Otis will take a chance on keeping him here, and let Howard make that decision as a free agent if he wants to stay or go.