During this losing streak the Magic have actually shot better from 3 than they have for most of the season, over the last 5 games they’ve attempted more free throws than their season average. They have an offensive rating of 105.9 and a defensive rating of 112.3 both higher than their season average. The defense has definitely slipped up during the losing streak as over the last 5 games they have a defensive rating of 120.3 WAY above their season average of 102.3. So it’s gotta be turnovers right? No, the Magic have had generally the same amount of turnovers during this stretch as they have during the season. There are fluctuations every few games where the Magic probably could have won had they not turned the ball over as much so it is definitely a problem.

So when you look at the stats the Magic have not played much worse over this stretch of losses than they have during the entire season. There are spots here and there where they’ve improved/not played as well. For instance they’ve been better on offense but slightly worse on defense. So why is this losing streak happening if they’re playing on the same level they’ve played all season? Surely they have to be able to pull out a win every once in awhile right?  Injuries are definitely a factor with Jameer Nelson being injured at the beginning of the streak, Glen Davis being injured during the majority of it, E’Twaun Moore and Gustavo Ayon have also been missing time as of late.

Look at the Magic’s losses over the last 9 games. Besides a blowout against the Raptors this team has not had any losses exceeding 8 points and 2 of the losses came in overtime. The team is simply falling apart at the end of games due to a lack of ability in closing a team out. When the Magic are behind by 5 points or less or tied with their opponent (the generally accepted “clutch” numbers) they shoot below 40% with their FG% getting lower and lower as the game gets closer to an end. In the last 10 seconds the Magic are shooting 25% when they are behind or tied with their opponent. This is not over the losing streak this is for the season. Their TS% also drops like a rock during “clutch time”. In the final 30 seconds under “clutch factors” the team has only made 2 shots. Ouch.

The Magic are a bad team. They aren’t going to win very many games this season, their start to the season was very flukey and it’s unlikely they are going to be making the playoffs. However they play hard every night and that is going to keep them close in a lot of games. However eventually skill level will overcome and this team is just not good enough to win very man games at the end. The players they go to at the end of games are usually JJ Redick and Jameer Nelson. I watched a game the other night against the Bulls where on one of the final possessions of the game the Magic tried to inbound the ball to JJ. The Bulls defenders immediately closed in on him knowing he was the Magic’s biggest offensive threat on the court. Unfortunately for the Magic they don’t have enough consistent scorers to pull them out of tough situations at the end of games. (DO THEY LACK THE CLUTCH GENE!?) This well lead to losses.

Obviously the Magic suffering in the closing moments of games isn’t the only reason for this losing streak but it’s a huge factor and it points out a problem the Magic have been having all season. If you look at their losses there aren’t very many blowouts, most of the losses are in the single digits or low double digits. This is just one of the many problems this losing team is going to have this season.

He added a new clip of must-see footage to his bumble reel, which contained him dribbling behind his back, stumbling to the floor, passing the ball 15 feet over his teammate’s head, and then taking down another teammate to the floor with him.

I guess he was going for the lob, as Kenneth Faried seemed to think so, but didn’t take into account the actual distance between himself and the rim.

Amid breakout seasons from Byron Mullens and Kemba Walker, the Bobcats have supplemented their youth with veterans such as Ben Gordon and Ramon Sessions, acquisitions that were critiqued by some this past offseason.

The memes of last year’s NBA laughing stock are now becoming few and far between, and head coach Mike Dunlap is making sure that opponents no longer look past the Bobcats on their schedules.

The East-leading New York Knicks hung on to beat the Bobcats last night, but not before polarizing sixth man J.R. Smith delivered a buzzer beating step back shot that avoided send the game into overtime.

[Refrain 1]
2 bounce passes go round the outside
round the outside, round the outside
[Repeat Refrain 1]

[Refrain 2]
Guess whos back, back again
Ricky’s back, tell a friend
Guess who’s back, guess who’s back,
guess who’s back
Guess who’s back…

[Verse 1]
I’ve created a star, cuz nobody wants to
see Barea no more they want Ricky I’m Spanish liver
well if you want Ricky, this is what I’ll give ya
a little bit of puppy breath with some cinnamon
some defense that’ll jumpstart our team quicker than a
block when Pek sends someone to the hospital

Get Passes to Derrick Williams when he’s cooperating when I’m rocking the court while K-Love’s operating
you waited this long now stop panicking cuz I’m back,
I’m on the court and dominating
I know that you got a job Mr.Adelman but our shooting problems are complicating
So the NBA wont let me be or let me be me so let me see
they tried to shut me down as I took a 3 but it feels so empty without Rubio
So come on and let the talent dip, hands on your hips, forget that,
bum on the court and some on your bench and get ready cuz this quarter’s about to get heavy
I just settled all my injuries.

FUCK YOU KOBE!!!

[Chorus X2]
Now this looks like a job for me so everybody just follow me
cuz we need a little defensive fluidity,
cuz it feels so empty without Rubio

[Verse 2]
Little hellions team feeling gone
embarrassed, the team still listen to Kahn
they start feeling like prisoners, helpless,
’til someone comes along on a mission and yells RUBIO
A Point Guard, For other teams he’s scary, could start a fastbreak, running three man weaves to avoid the double
so let me just revel and bask, in the fact that I got everyone wanting me back
and it’s a disaster such a catastrophe for you to see so little of me that you have to ask for me?
Well I’m back
fix your team, tune it, then I’m gonna
enter in and up the win column goes
The center of attention back for the winter
I’m interesting, the best thing since KG
Investing in me, I’m done resting
Testing “Attention Please” feel the tension soon as someone mentions my knee
here’s my 10 assists my 2 steals are free
A hero, who sent, you sent for me?

[Chorus X2]

[Verse 3]
An assist a jumpshot, I’ll go pass for pass with anybody who’s talking this dish, that score.
Chris Paul you can get your ass kicked
worse than them Derrick Rose “humble” fans, and Nash
you can get stomped by Westbrook, you 38 year old  Canadian who can’t blow by me
You don’t know me, you’re too old let go its over, nobody listens to Dantoni
Now let’s go, just give me the signal I’ll be at the rim with a new group of fan girls
I’m the Wolves hope, No more suspense ever since Barkley turned himself into a symbol
But sometimes the shots just fall, everybody only wants to discuss how I ball
So this must mean my crossover is disgusting, but its just me my game is just obscene
Though I’m not the first king of crossing
I am the worst thing since Vlade Divac, to do basketball so unselfishly
and use it to get myself wealthy (Hey)
there’s a concept that works
20 million other euro league point guards emerge
but no matter how many point guards in the league it’d be so empty without Rubio

[Chorus X2]

I expected people to have Serge Ibaka under a magnifying glass to start the season but that doesn’t appear to be the case. While James Harden has been wowing people in Houston (hes’ been pretty amazing) Serge Ibaka has quietly been having a great start to the season as well. He’s above the league average in most categories and while it’s definitely a small sample size he appears to be on his way to having another great season. Don’t believe me? Ibaka has a TS% of .644, and an eFG% of .604. Ibaka is also averaging 17 points per 36 minutes on 12 attempts, Per 36 minutes, with a usage% of 19.1. Lets compare that to Blake Griffin who is averaging 18  points per 36 on 15 attempts per 36 with a usage% of  26.3. That’s insane, Ibaka is averaging one less point despite touching the ball less. His efficiency to start the season has been fantastic.

While Ibaka’s start in scoring has been great his rebounding has stayed about the same as it’s always been. Interesting enough the Thunder grab a little more defensive rebounds with him off the floor than they do on the floor but they grab more offensive rebounds with him on the floor than they do off the floor. However the difference is so small that’s it’s not worth making a huge fuss about. The Thunder commit more fouls with Ibaka off the floor than they do when he’s on the floor so whoever they’re bringing in to replace him fouls a lot more on defense than he does, this is good because the last thing you want is one of your scoring big men in foul trouble.

All in all Ibaka appears to be having a great start to the season and is well on his way to earning that max contract that so many people crushed him for.

Courtesy of @bochurney and his awesome photoshop skills

I think we all saw what happened last night. The Spurs defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder on a game winning shot by Tony Parker. Game over. Everybody on Oklahoma City played terribly and Scott Brooks drew up one of the worst final plays I’ve ever seen. Everybody just kind of stood around and waited for Kevin Durant to make his cut and then Westbrook made the pass…Westbrook made the pass…Westbrook TRIED to make the pass. Well Kevin Durant didn’t really make a strong effort at going after the ball leading to a Kawhi Leonard steal which lead to the Parker game winner. Westbrook went 6-21 and had 6 Turnovers…he had a bad game it happens. Well so I thought. Everybody and their grandmother was crushing Westbrook after the game. “He doesn’t make the players around him better” “He’s not really that great a passer.” “What was he thinking on that final play?” Criticism all around for a guy who was getting praised not so long again for his play in the Western Conference Finals and the NBA Finals. There is no guy in the NBA who is more scrutinized when he has a bad game and no player that is more praised for having a great game than Russel Westbrook. This fascinates me about Westbrook. There is also another PG who in a way is similar.

Rajon Rondo, the “purest” of PG’s in the NBA as his fans like to say. “He’s a pass first PG” “He gets his teammates involved”  He’s so underrated” “He’s arguably the best PG in the NBA ” “He is the best PG in the NBA cause he’s pure” “BEHIND THE BACK PASS FAKE!” and then those who are not so much his fans “He can’t shoot” “Defenses aren’t afraid of him” “He’s so overrated” “He cherry picks games” “He just pads his assist stats by giving up easy lay ups to pass the ball” Just like how Westbrook is the most scrutinized and most praised player in the NBA Rondo is the most underrated and overrated player in the NBA at the exact same time. The skills Rondo excels at, passing, defense, and penetration are often overrated by his fans and overlooked by those who dislike him for his weaknesses which are shooting, giving up scoring opportunities to pass the ball, and the occasional stagnant offense of the Boston Celtics. Maybe it’s because he plays in Boston and that’s where the overpraise comes in and that’s probably also where the major dislike of Rondo comes in. Fans spend so much time looking at the jersey that they forget Rondo is a great player who’s defense more than makes up for his struggles in shooting.

Two amazing PG’s who are up there as some of the best players in the NBA. Rondo and Westbrook are cursed. Rondo cursed that no matter how great he becomes his fans will always overpraise him and those who dislike him will forever say he’s not as good as (Player A) because (Insert reason here).
Westbrook is cursed in that no matter how many great games he plays, no matter how many games he wins, no matter how many awards he wins, the one time he has a bad game the criticism will come crashing down. Westbrook and Rondo will always be Two Fascinating PG’s.

Awards

MVP: This award will probably come down to if voters are bored with voting Lebron. It could be a two horse race with Lebron and and Kevin Durant, although Chris Paul and Dwight Howard might have something to say about that. A few dark horse candidates for this award are Kevin Love and *gasp* James Harden if the Rockets can sneak into the playoffs. Ultimately though, I think this award comes down to KD and Lebron. If it’s close, it’ll probably go to Durant for the purpose of wanting someone new to win the award. So, my pick is Durant.

Rookie of the Year: Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard and Bradley Beal are looking like the favorites for this award. Some dark horses are Lithuanian big man Jonas Valanciunas and  do-it-all Michael Kidd Gilchrist. I think Lillard takes this award because he will most likely score the most points, and rookies who lead other rookies in PPG, usually win the award.

Defensive Player of the Year: Dwight Howard. This is really a one man race, as he is the most dominant defensive player in basketball. Although last year with everything going on with the Dwight-Saga he wasn’t as active on that end of the floor, I expect him to return to form and win this award easily.

Coach of the Year: This award is usually the biggest wildcard, but I think the favorites are: Frank Vogel, Doc Rivers, Rick Adelman, Dwane Casey, and Erick Spoelstra. My pick is Casey, as they can make the playoffs for the first time since the Bosh-era with the addition of Valanciunas.

Most Improved Player: DeMar Derozan, Jamal Crawford, and Raymond Felton are my three possible  favorites to win. Derozan has reportedly worked on his strength and being able to post up, using his size, and that can only help. Jamal Crawford actually practiced shooting this year, something he shockingly has never done before. Last year was the worst season of his career, so it’s possible for him to win with the fact that he practiced shooting and playing with Chris Paul helps. Raymond Felton was *insert fat joke here* and terrible last year. He was overweight, and looked like a completely different player than the one with the Knicks a year earlier. Now, he has returned to New York, and looks to be in shape and actually played well in the preseason. It’s a close call, but I’ll go Derozan.

Sixth Man of the Year: Jason Terry, Manu Ginobli, Kevin Martin, Taj Gibson, and Ray Allen. Kevin Martin, just traded from Houston to Oklahoma City, was pretty bad last year. But, if he can return to getting to the free throw line like he used to, he could easily provide the Thunder a valuable weapon off the bench. Terry and Manu are usual competitors for this award. Taj Gibson’s defense will propel him to finish somewhere in the top five sixth men of the year. Ray comes to Miami to give them a lethal three point shooter off the bench, giving Wade a rest, and occasionally playing alongside him. However, this award goes to Manu if he doesn’t start enough games to disqualify him from qualifying for it.

Playoff Seeding and Championship Predictions

East:

1. Miami
2. Boston
3. Indiana
4. Brooklyn
5. New York
6. Atlanta
7. Chicago
8. Toronto

West:

1. LAL
2. San Antonio
3. Oklahoma City
4. Denver
5. LAC
6. Memphis
7. Utah
8. Houston

Finals: Lakers-Heat.

Winner: Heat in six.

On Sunday night, in preseason action, the Los Angeles Lakers fell short in their game against the Sacramento Kings. This game was deemed as “important” by a large part of the basketball universe  because it was Dwight Howard’s first game in the Laker purple and gold, so a ton of eyes were glued to NBA TV’s broadcast of the game. Howard didn’t disappoint, as he had 19 points on 8-12 shooting, 12 rebounds, and 4 blocks in 33 minutes of playing time. But, that’s not what I plan on discussing here. Fellow Oncourt Onslaught columnist Chris Barnewall already touched on Howard’s play in his live-diary of the game that you can go read here.

No, I’m here for a much different reason. I’m here for something that is as normal as Dwight Howard having a great game like he did on Sunday. I’m here to talk about the one player on the Lakers that can divide a room by merely mentioning his name. Yes, I’m here to discuss the one, the only, Kobe Bryant.

You see, Kobe Bryant had a decent enough game on Sunday. He totaled 21 points on 6-12 shooting (while going 8-8 from the free throw line), had 5 rebounds, as well as 3 assists. According to all reports, he also fit in very well on offense with new additions Steve Nash and Dwight Howard, which should be encouraging to the Laker faithful as we approach the new NBA season.

The story was mainly about Dwight Howard’s debut, Bryant should have just faded away with another game well played. But, Kobe forced his way into the discussion with one particular play late in the game.

Late in the game, with 17.4 seconds remaining, Bryant inbounded the ball to Pau Gasol on the left wing. Bryant then got the ball back on a handoff and dribbled across the perimeter to the right wing where he proceeded to launch an off-balance three-pointer to try and tie the game. All of this happened while the defender played great defense, and gave a great contest to the shot. Bryant missed the shot and the Kings got by with a preseason victory.

It’s funny to me how one man can polarize nearly all of the basketball forums and sites across the internet. When speaking of Kobe Bryant, it seems as if there are only two opinions that can be chosen, which are both filled with hyperbole. One side is full of Kobe fans that think he is this generation’s greatest player, and whose undying love for Bryant will never change. The other one consists of those that are made out to be Kobe-haters, jealous of all his rings and accomplishments, and whose sole purpose in life is to tarnish Bryant’s name.

In reality, it lies somewhere in the middle. A lot of Kobe fans are fairly objective, and can recognize his faults and recent decline on the basketball court on their own. The same goes for the Kobe “haters”, who are equally objective and recognize that while his production has gone down, he is still a very good basketball player.

However, there is one recurring case in which both sides absolutely lose their minds and start wars of words all across the internet.  This case always involves a potentially game winning shot, and pending on the results of that shot, both sides will be at each other’s figurative throats arguing over whether Bryant should have attempted the shot or not.

And boy, you better believe that wild shot by Bryant on Sunday instantly polarized the internet. One side was made up of non-Laker fans that contended that (In the spirit of former NFL coach Herm Edwards) “You play to win the game.” They said that there was more than enough time to run a play, which is true since there was 17.4 seconds left on the clock, and that a play could have gotten off a better shot. Bryant’s clutch-time statistics and lamented at how bad they were.

The other side, that was mainly supported by Laker fans, responded by pointing at Bryant’s five NBA Championship rings, claiming that “It was only preseason.” There was “nothing to worry about.” They defended Bryant by saying, rightfully so, that Bryant has taken and made many tough shots in the clutch and he has come through for the team, so they trusted him with the ball late in games.

I tend to fall in line with the “haters”. I have every reason to hate Bryant, because as a kid I was a fan of the San Antonio Spurs, who played Kobe and the Lakers a ton in the Playoffs throughout the years. But, I like to think that as I have grown, I have become fair in my own assessments of Kobe Bryant. There have been many instances in which Bryant has won a game for his team. He has come up in the clutch for the Lakers so many times that I can’t keep count. He’s obviously one of the greats of our time, and all time for that matter. He has accomplished so much in his career, and when he retires he should be celebrated by all.

But, I do agree with the thinking that he isn’t as good as most people, including Kobe himself, think he is in the clutch, as far as shooting goes. feel like he has a flair for the dramatic, a gigantic ego, and will go out of his way to have the glory for himself.

I wanted to know how well Kobe compared in the 2011-2012 season to other players in the clutch, so I went to basketball-reference.com and used the Shot Finder tool. The definition of “clutch” I used was any shot that was in the last 5 minutes of the 4th quarter or in overtime while the scoring margin was 5 or less. I also narrowed down the search to players who have taken at least 50 shots with this criteria so that I could compare Bryant to other go-to guys throughout the league instead of other players who aren’t regularly called on to carry the load for their team down the stretch.

The evidence showed that while taking the most shots in the league that matched this criteria (there were only 30 players on the list), Bryant only shot at a clip of 36.1% from the field. This was good enough to put him at 25th in the league, or, in other words, the 5th worst in the league. Interestingly enough, Pau Gasol, another Laker, finished in 4th when it came to FG% in the clutch, while only taking the 26th most shots.

In addition to this set of data, I also checked how Bryant compared to other players when attempting to tie the game or take the lead within the last minute of the game. I wanted to do this because this can be considered a more extreme type of “clutch time”. I tried to eliminate any outliers by eliminating any shots outside of 30 feet, and again tried to compare him only to the league’s “go-to” players, so I made sure that only players who have taken at least 10 of these types of shots during the season were listed, and there were only 14 players who matched the criteria in this case.

In this case, Bryant took the 2nd most of this type of shot, and shot at a clip of 40.9%, which was good enough for 5th on the list. Although this is a fairly good rate for this type of shot, it must also be considered that this is over one season, and only consists of 22 shots by Bryant, so it is an extremely small sample size to base a conclusion on.

When evaluating this type of information, the main thing that matters is what your definition of clutch is. It can be argued that shots taken later in the game are more important because there are less opportunities to tie/win the game, but, I tend to be of the belief that larger sample sizes provide a clearer picture. For this reason, I put more weight into the first set of data that shows Kobe as a fairly poor shooter in the clutch. Although he is still Kobe, and is still always a threat to put the ball in the basket later in the game, the evidence clearly shows that Bryant isn’t a superhuman that can make any shot whenever he wants to, and so he must simply be treated as any other player in these situations.

How does all of this relate to this year though?

On Sunday night after the game, a lot of the anti-Kobe crowd like to argue that Bryant should not have taken that shot because there was more than enough time to run a play. And, although it was only a preseason game, I’d like to pretend that this were a regular season game, or even a playoff game. The whole reason that the preseason is played is so teams can figure out how they will play in the regular season, so I disagree with the contention from the pro-Kobe crowd that it was “only preseason”, and that it didn’t matter. Because of that, I’m curious as to why the Lakers didn’t at least try to run a play for the win instead of playing hero-ball and living or dying by a player who has shown that he isn’t the most efficient player in the clutch.

This is going to happen many times over the season, and the Lakers will have to be prepared. They have many options in Bryant, Gasol, Nash, and Howard; and they can spread the floor and make the defense play the whole team instead of just predictably giving the ball to Bryant for another unlikely heroic attempt.

Those that aren’t fond of  Bryant believe that this can become a running theme throughout the season, I tend to disagree. Though it is a problem at this point, and while Mike Brown isn’t nearly the most competent offensive coach in the world, I’m hard-pressed to believe that he won’t take advantage of the balance across his team in late game situations. And while Kobe may at times get in the way of his own success, I feel like he will also recognize that Nash, Howard, and Gasol will benefit him down the stretch during games, so he will learn to differ to them as much as necessary so he can win his sixth ring.

All of this, of course, remains to be seen. The Lakers will probably steamroll through the NBA regular season for the most part, and become the team that is loved by everyone, whether they are a Kobe fan or not. But all it will take is one late game miscue to remind everyone about why Kobe Bryant is the league’s most polarizing player.

Missed the beginning of the game cause the TV was being used

Beginning of the 2^nd quarter the big names aren’t in yet

7 min left in the 2^nd quarter Dwight and Nash come in. Hang on I feel sick

Dwight still with his trademark “AYEEE!” when he doesn’t get a call

Dwight gets incredibly deep in the post on Chuck Hayes. Hayes fouls immediately on entry pass

Dwight was probably surprised to receive an entry pass from someone who knew how to make one. Yeah that’s right I’m looking at you Jameer.

Haha Dwight looked surprised when Nash gave him the ball immediately off a Pick and Roll.

Beautiful play by Nash where he drives in and just shakes Brooks off and makes a nice leaning jumper. He banked it in of course. The nausea continues.

It feels kinda ironic the Magic had a pre-season game the same night Dwight debuted in his and they were both on NBATV. I blame Dwight.

All 4 big names are out on the floor right now. Nausea increases. This just isn’t fair.

Kobe in the right place at the right time and gets a lucky steal, he actually passes the ball to Nash (probably cause it’s pre-season) who dishes it to Ron Artest (not calling him that) who is wide open in the corner. Artest misses. HA!

Dwight Howard runs over a Kings defender. Having Steve Nash and arguably the fastest big man in the NBA is again, unfair. Got a bucket near me now.

Dwight Howard sets screen for Kobe. Kobe makes a bounce pass to Dwight who drives in for a 3 point play (misses the FT of course) The missed FT probably saved my dinner.

Dwight Howard cleans up a Kobe air ball (it was not a pass) and I am running to the bathroom

Dwight goes back on the other end and blocks a shot. Dinner=lost. I’m sick.

This isn’t fair. It is not fair at all. What did I do to deserve this? Why am I watching this? I must hate myself. Just think of Darko on the Celtics. Now think about how people think that’s actually a good signing. Laugh to myself.

Replay confirms that was definitely a Kobe airball that everybody thinks was a pass.

BREAKING: Dwight’s back is okay

Dwight hits the floor HARD and the Staples Center panics. He gets up and is okay.

Kobe hits a buzzer beating shot before the half ends. Great the “clutch” narrative will never end will it?

Halftime. Still feel sick. It’s all Dwight’s fault.

A couple tweets Sean Highkin found on twitter. His twitter handle is @shighkinNBA

“Chris Duhon is gonna be the Sixth Man of the year. MARK MY WORDS!!!!!”
“Duhon is an underrated pick up”
“WOAH! WHEN WE GET DUHON?!!! GREAT PICKUP!#LAKERSNATION”
“Duhon was a good pickup for the Lakers”

Alright so enough of that. Yeah if you were one of these tweets you’re wrong in every way possible and you obviously didn’t watch Duhon last year. He is awful.

2^nd half begins. Lakers starting lineup is still out there. Mike Brown must want Dwight to get used to playing with these guys.

Dwight and Pau miscommunication leads to easy fast break dunk for Demarcus Cousins. Why am I pointing this out? Cause it’s seriously the one bad thing I’ve seen Dwight do all night.

Dwight misses a hook shot after getting good position. That’s surprising as that’s usually a automatic for him.

THOMAS ROBINSON RAISES HIGH INTO THE AIR AFTER NOT BEING BOXED OUT AND SLAMS THE BALL IN! OH MY!

Kobe makes an awful pass and Thomas in an attempt to make a play tries to steal the ball while Nash rolls his ankle. He appears to be trying to run it out.

Dwight goes to work in the post. He doesn’t look pretty doing it but he gets the job done. But for some reason people think he has no post game. These people are wrong.

Steve Nash walks off to the locker room. Most likely to have his ankle looked at. I know I’ve been joking around on here but I hope he’s okay. Never cheer for an injury.

Antawn Jamison is just awful. The entire Lakers bench is just awful.

Looks like the Lakers bench will play out the rest of the game.

Nevermind. For some reason the starters are back in the game. I guess they want chemistry.

Nash looks fine ankle doesn’t appear to be bothering him. Still bad at defense though.

Dwight still affecting shots greatly, Jimmer had a wide open lane to the basket until Dwight showed up and forced a miss.

It’s obviously cause of lack of effort since it’s pre-season but the Lakers starters are not putting away the Kings like you would expect.

Dwight has 17 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 blocks. I hate everything.

The thing Dwight seems to struggle with the most is his passing which is usually not all that bad.

Dwight alley-oop from Steve Nash…getting sick again

17.4 seconds left in the game. Lakers down by 3. I think we all know who is shooting the ball here…

WELP! Ball got inbounded to Pau who handed it off to Kobe who took a leaning contested 3 pointer. SO CLUTCH!

Just an FYI I do not care that Kobe missed a game tying shot in the final seconds of a pre-season game. It’s more of the shot he took was hilariously bad.

Game over. Kings 97 Lakers 92. Score doesn’t matter cause it’s pre-season.

If there is anything you want to take from this game it’s that Dwight looks perfectly healthy, the Lakers look scary, and the bench is awful. Especially that Chris Duhon guy, and Jamison, Jamison is bad too.

Dwight was drafted in 2004 as the number one overall pick. The team had just come off one of the worst seasons in team history. Us Magic fans had just gotten over a nasty break up with Tracy McGrady who was fed up with management and wanted out. The pick of Dwight Howard over Emeka Okafor was largely criticized. How could the Magic take a high schooler over a college player? Well that’s what Orlando did and it was a great decision. Nothing against Okafor who is a fine player but Dwight is lightyears better than him. With T-Mac out and Dwight in the future had begun. After some rough years with different coaches Dwight steadily rose as one of the best centers in the league. His dunks dazzled us and his defense impressed us. After 2007 in which the Magic were quickly ousted by Detroit in their first playoff appearance since 2003 Brian Hill was fired and Stan Van Gundy was brought in to which Dwight claimed “Basketball will be fun again” and fun it was. 2008 saw the Magic and Dwight explode. Dwight even competed in the dunk contest that year. This happened.

watch?v=t7uOU3AHCrc

SUPERMAN WAS BORN! Magic fans went crazy and we reached the 2nd round of the playoffs for the first time since the 90′s on the back of our young superstar rising center. Some were saying he might be the best center in the league. He certainly had a nickname now.

2009. My favorite year as a Magic fan. Nobody had the Magic in the Finals that year. But they reached the Finals. Largely behind the great play of Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis but also largely because of the defense and dunks of Dwight Howard and had the ball rolled the other way a few times this post might have looked a little different. The year after the finals Dwight was on a mission. His offense had improved a little but he was still the dominating defensive player he was. The Magic rode him and dominated all the way to the ECF where they were soundly defeated by the Celtics. While many of us didn’t know it then. This was the end of the good times for the Magic and Dwight Howard.

2011 Dwight came out with an offensive flurry proving that he had the offensive game many wondered about him. He carried this team. It wasn’t enough. An awful mid season trade lead to a team that was a shell of it’s former self and lead to a first round exit. The Magic managed to go backwards every year since 2009 and that was it. The fun was over.

Coming out of the lockout Dwight demanded a trade. “Dwight why do you want to leave?” we asked! We never really got an answer. A season of strangeness and rumors emerged as Dwight played. Where will he go? The Lakers? The Mavericks? THE NETS!? YOU WANT TO GO TO THE NETS!? WHY THE NETS!? We all screamed confused as to of all teams why Dwight wanted to go to the Nets. Then it hit me. This wasn’t about winning. This was about his brand and his market. It was about him wanting to go to a large market. In a way I understood it. I didn’t like it but I understood it. But then you signed a clause that would keep you in Orlando for another year? “Maybe he will stay” we said. “There’s hope” If only we knew what you would do I would have been screaming my head off that they trade you right then and there.

In one famous moment Stan Van Gundy, diet pepsi in hand, ousted Dwight for the team killer he was. Dwight demanded Stan be fired. It was out. Stan knew it. Dwight knew it. We knew it. Things were going to change. After another first round exit where Dwight was injured it was time for changes. Alex Martins gave Dwight his wish and fired Stan Van Gundy. “Well maybe now that they did that he’ll want to stay?” No he demanded another trade the minute the Finals ended. We were done with it. At that moment any liking for Dwight left in the Magic fan base was gone. He was nothing to us. Dwight had singlehandedly destroyed an entire team in one season. He asked for people to be fired and yet he still wanted a trade. There was obviously no “loyalty” here. It was an overgrown baby destroying his old toy so he could go to his shiny new one.

We all know the story by now. An offseason of “where will Dwight go next” took place and Dwight was finally traded. Dwight, Chris Duhon, Earl Clark, and Jason Richardson were all traded to the Lakers/Sixers (J-Rich). The Magic will be recieving Arron Aflallo, Al Harrington, draft picks and some other players in the trade. A lot of people had problems with it but I’m just relieved to be done with this. No longer will we have to listen to the latest Dwight rumor. The team can finally start to rebuild. We can finally look towards the future. Be glad Magic fans. This season is a fresh start. A new beginning. Lets go Magic.