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Orlando Magic 2008/2009 Season Preview
The reason for the improvement can be traced back to center Dwight Howard and forward Hedo Turkoglu.
Howard has now established himself as the league's top center, especially with Houston's Yao Ming constantly plagued by the injury-bug. He is a rebounding and shot-blocking machine who continues to show improvement on the offensive end.
As for Turkoglu, no one ever questioned his talent during his days with the Sacramento Kings, but rather his toughness. Some of that had to do with the fact that the sharp-shooter saw only minutes off of the bench because of the team's talented rotation of players.
However, Turkoglu proved himself to be more than worthy of a spot on any team's starting five last season. He made several clutch, game-winning shots and provided a much-needed veteran presence on such a young team.
Shooting guard Rashard Lewis is certainly overpaid but still a quality player. He just needs to become a bit more assertive on the offensive end. Point guard Jameer Nelson showed made some strides as a starter but is still better suited coming off the bench.
The team made one splash in free agency, signing guard Mikael Pietrus away from the Golden State Warriors. Pietrus might thrive in Orlando, where he will get a lot more playing time than he did under Warriors head coach Don Nelson.
It is also worth noting that they selected shooting guard Courtney Lee in the NBA Draft. Lee was a star at Western Kentucky who helped lead them to the Sweet 16 this past season and can really fill it up in a hurry.
The drafting of Lee seems to seal the fate of guard J.J. Redick, who hasn't been traded yet and can't be happy about the fact that he seems destined to be buried on the bench.
Orlando should once again find themselves competing for a Southeast division title, but I still think they are a player or two short of becoming one of the beasts of the Eastern Conference.
Posted 8/15/2008
The Orlando Magic took a big step forward last year by winning the Southeast division and advancing to the second round of the playoffs.The reason for the improvement can be traced back to center Dwight Howard and forward Hedo Turkoglu.
Howard has now established himself as the league's top center, especially with Houston's Yao Ming constantly plagued by the injury-bug. He is a rebounding and shot-blocking machine who continues to show improvement on the offensive end.
As for Turkoglu, no one ever questioned his talent during his days with the Sacramento Kings, but rather his toughness. Some of that had to do with the fact that the sharp-shooter saw only minutes off of the bench because of the team's talented rotation of players.
However, Turkoglu proved himself to be more than worthy of a spot on any team's starting five last season. He made several clutch, game-winning shots and provided a much-needed veteran presence on such a young team.
Shooting guard Rashard Lewis is certainly overpaid but still a quality player. He just needs to become a bit more assertive on the offensive end. Point guard Jameer Nelson showed made some strides as a starter but is still better suited coming off the bench.
The team made one splash in free agency, signing guard Mikael Pietrus away from the Golden State Warriors. Pietrus might thrive in Orlando, where he will get a lot more playing time than he did under Warriors head coach Don Nelson.
It is also worth noting that they selected shooting guard Courtney Lee in the NBA Draft. Lee was a star at Western Kentucky who helped lead them to the Sweet 16 this past season and can really fill it up in a hurry.
The drafting of Lee seems to seal the fate of guard J.J. Redick, who hasn't been traded yet and can't be happy about the fact that he seems destined to be buried on the bench.
Orlando should once again find themselves competing for a Southeast division title, but I still think they are a player or two short of becoming one of the beasts of the Eastern Conference.
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