Orlando Magic Miss Turkoglu

The Orlando Magic’s victory over Boston Friday night revealed more negatives than positives for the Magic. Yes, they competed hard with the most physical team in the NBA. And yes, they held the offensive juggernaut of Boston to just 78 points. Orlando proved they are an elite team and that they can compete with any NBA power. However they showed another crucial characteristic: they miss a playmaker.

Just last year, they had that playmaker in Hedo Turkoglu. General Manager Otis Smith decided not to pay Turkoglu the big bucks he was looking for and instead made the gamble of replacing him with an old, and at times heartless Vince Carter. It may be that Smith was under a mandate from ownership to cut costs but regardless, they lost their most valuable player. Playing against the East’s best team showed why Orlando Magic management made a mistake.

Throughout the game, the Magic played tentatively. Many times their offense stagnated and they all looked like deer caught in headlights. Confusion was the norm during many stretches of the game as the guys didn’t know what offense to run. Without Turkoglu’s steady hand, the Magic had no direction on offense; this was no clearer than during the crucial times in the game. Without any real playmaker (Jameer Nelson is out, again) or real offensive threat, the ball was incessantly forced into Vince Carter at the end. Fortunately for Orlando, he did hit huge baskets at the end but it’s a guarantee those same shots will not go down as the season goes on. When he wasn’t hitting those big shots, Carter was making poor decisions and turning the ball over. All the criticism he’s received his whole career are especially appropriate after that performance. In the waning minutes of the game when the contest was tight, Vince was again taking deep jumpshots on fadeaways. Even when he tried to be assertive and use his strongest skills by driving to the basket, some of those shots were ridiculous in nature, very circuslike. The only thing Vince gives the Magic that Turkoglu couldn’t is his strong defense, when he’s into it. And that is precisely the big problem with him. He doesn’t play with passion, smarts, or determination. When he did on Friday, he gave Paul Pierce, a superior offensive talent, a lot of problems. On offense when he showed that same fire, the Magic scored every time. The real challenge for Stan Van Gundy for the remainder of this season will be keeping that fire lit.

As far as the future goes for the Orlando Magic, what was even more telling was Dwight Howard’s impact on the game, or lack thereof. At the end of the game he was yet again AWOL. His disappearance in crucial moments is a troubling sign. He has been in the league since 2004 and he should be at a time in his career where he is able to make big plays when his team needs him to. Superman was anything but on Friday. If you were a new watcher tuning into the game you would have thought Howard was just another big out there, not someone who has superstar potential. Dwight Howard has not developed into a complete player yet and you wonder if he ever will. The team should be all his without Hedo Turkoglu dominating the ball at the end of games and Jameer Nelson hurt once again. Instead he goes missing in action. A worst case scenario for the Magic could be that he is a center Vince Carter. Maybe just maybe, he is not a true leader and is someone who shies away from the big moments. Not once did he fight to get great position to post nor did he once demand the ball to go to work on Garnett. If Orlando’s two best players are hermits this is big trouble for the Magic. What do they expect to do in the playoffs?

But the Magic’s troubles go beyond their two All-Stars. Rashard Lewis is weak minded and has a terribly limited offensive arsenal. For standing taller than 6’9, he has no post game whatsoever. He has no significant offensive rebounding ability. He can stand in the perimeter and launch longballs all the while causing matchup problems for the opponent’s bigs. That is his strength on offense, nothing else. He can’t dribble, let alone be the playmaker they so desperately need. His mentality is very reflective of the rest of the roster as well. They’re very easily intimidated by the hooligan-like personalities of Kevin Garnett, Rasheed Wallace and Paul Pierce. The psychological box is just one of many that goes unticked for the Magic this season. If Stan Van Gundy and the Magic want to have a repeat of last year’s brilliant season and become a true contender for the NBA championship, the single most important thing they need is for their new All-Star caliber wingman to be Vincanity.