Lewis’ Near-Triple-Double Powers Magic Past Thunder, 108-94

For one night, the Orlando Magic didn’t need Dwight Howard to be Superman – they had a plenty good sidekick in Rashard Lewis.

Fresh off a ten-game suspension stemming from taking a banned substance last season, Lewis came back firing in his second game, finishing one assist short of a triple double. Lewis scored 17 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists in the Magic’s 108-94 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday.

“I think I had a triple-double back in high school and I’m quite sure I’m going to get another one sometime, but the big thing is we won the game,” Lewis said. “We’ve got four scorers out there all the time, so if you pass it to anybody, you can get enough assists.”

Lewis sat out the entire fourth quarter, not able to get his tenth assist, despite pleas from his teammates to coach Stan Van Gundy.

“Maybe I should have put Rashard back in there, but I don’t think in terms of individual awards or accomplishments,” Van Gundy said. “We’re on our eighth starting lineup and that’s more than I used all of last season. I’m more worried about my guys giving a consistent effort every night and we certainly got that tonight.”

Van Gundy has done some creative juggling with his lineup, having to deal with injures, Lewis’ start-to-the-season suspension, and now a torn meniscus for starting point guard Jameer Nelson that’s expected to sideline him for the next four to six weeks.

For one night, Lewis made Van Gundy and the rest of the Magic forget all their woes, and put the rest of the league on notice. If the Magic can get all of their starters healthy and playing at the same time, they really do have a dynamic threat at virtually every position on the court.

Friday, November 20, 2009 at 8:32 pm by bryan

Lewis returns to Magic

The Orlando Magic got a big boost as Rashard Lewis has returned to the team following his 10-game suspension.

Lewis was suspended for taking performance-enhancing drugs, something he said happened accidentally.

He is one of the team’s best players and will take on a larger role this year with the loss of Hedo Turgulu, especially when it comes to outside shooting.

In his first game back, Lewis had to knock off some rust on his way to a 10-point performance.

Lewis said it took him some time to find his rhythm and admitted to rushing shots early in the game.

Thursday, November 19, 2009 at 6:18 pm by steve

Nelson out 4-6 weeks

Orlando Magic point guard Jameer Nelson will undergo knee surgery and miss the next four-to-six weeks.

Nelson was injured in the fourth quarter of Monday’s win over the Charlotte Bobcats, tearing cartilage in his left knee.

The point guard was averaging 13.7 points and 5.5 assists per game this season.

Jason Williams will start at point guard in Nelson’s absence with Anthony Johnson serving as his backup.

The team had to deal with Nelson’s absence last year after he suffered a should injury that dampered their NBA title hopes.

at 6:18 pm by steve

Nelson Out 4-6 Weeks With Torn Meniscus

The Orlando Magic could be regretting trading backup PG Rafer Alston right about now.

Today, the team announced that All-Star point guard Jameer Nelson is set to have arthroscopic surgery on his left knee on Wednesday to repair a torn meniscus, knocking him out for the next four to six weeks.

Nelson was injured during the fourth quarter of Monday night’s win against Charlotte, marking the second straight season where he will miss considerable time with injuries. Nelson missed all of the second half of last season, including the Magic’s run up to the NBA Finals, before he rejoined the team in the six-game series loss to the Lakers in the Finals.

Nelson had been averaging 13.7 points and 5.5 assists per game this season.

Without Nelson at the helm, Orlando will likely turn to soon-to-be 34-year-old Jason Williams for their starting point guard spot, with Anthony Johnson moving in to back him up.

Williams, who took a season off last year, has returned to the NBA to provide the Magic a solid guard that provides some serious energy off the bench. Williams was a starter for the 2005-06 NBA champion Miami Heat. He’s averaged 5.4 points and four assists in 18.4 minutes per game so far this season.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009 at 12:09 am by bryan

Howard, Carter Pace Magic Past Charlotte, 93-81

The Orlando Magic rebounded from a shocking 28-point loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder with a decisive 93-81 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats on Tuesday night, thanks to contributions from center Dwight Howard and new shooting guard Vince Carter.

Carter came off the bench for only the eighth time in 781 career games, but the choice was Carter’s, as he continues to rehabilitate an ankle injury.

“[Magic coach Stan Van Gundy] was like, ‘Cool, you’re going to guard Raja [Bell],’ ” Carter said. “I said, ‘Uh, can I come off the bench?’ He was like, ‘What? Are you sure?’ First of all, I wasn’t in shootaround so I didn’t really get the game plan. I didn’t want to disrupt what was going on.”

Carter’s ankle had tightened up so much at shootaround that Van Gundy initially ruled Carter out of Tuesday’s game against the Bobcats, but a brisk walk in the rain after shootaround loosened Carter’s ankle enough for him to play.

He started the second quarter by misfiring on a 3-pointer, but finished the game 5 of 16, including hitting three 3-pointers, the last of which gave Orlando a 52-33 lead.

“I got here and I was doing the [scouting] board and Vince came in and said he was going to give it a shot,” Van Gundy said. “I was totally surprised.”

One night before his battle with Shaquille O’Neal and the Cavs on Wednesday, Howard chipped in an efficient 15 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists, displaying his versatility with F Rashard Lewis still serving the remainder of his 10-game suspension.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009 at 6:47 pm by bryan

C Howard Fined $15K For Ref-Bashing

The NBA announced on Tuesday that Magic center Dwight Howard would be fined $15,000 by the league for publically ripping NBA referees on his blog.

Howard went on his blog last week and vented some of his frustrations about the officiating after fouling out of the Magic’s loss to Detroit after only 16 minutes of play.

“How can that be, ya’ll? It was crazy. They called me for a charge on a flop, a push off when the defender was on me and two fouls on blocked shots.”

In the blog, Howard wrote that he hadn’t played “that little in a game since I was 10 years old in pee-wee ball.” He said, “What really bothers me is they are letting guys hammer me at one end of the floor, yet I’m being called for everything.”

Howard has not allowed the foul trouble to limit him in the early going, as he has come out of the gates with a 19.4 point, 11.0 rebound, 1.5 block per game average.

He did make mention of shoulder soreness in the same blog entry, however; the shoulder does not appear to be bothering him too much, as he turned in a coolly efficient 15 point, 10 rebound, 6 assist night last night against Charlotte.

at 6:46 pm by bryan