It's all Gooden: A few weeks ago, when the Magic were 1-19 with no end to the losing in sight, it seemed pretty safe to write the team off for the rest of the season. No team has ever come back from that bad of a start to make the playoffs. Of course, when's the last time that you can remember a division like the Atlantic that still doesn't sport a team with a winning record two months into the season?
Drew Gooden
Forward
Orlando Magic
Profile
2003-2004 SEASON STATISTICS
GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%
28 12.8 8.2 1.4 .438 .660
The good news for the Magic is that since their awful start, they've gone 6-2, albeit against less-than-stellar competition. Now, at 7-21, the Magic are just seven games out of first place and have the second-best eight-game record of anyone in their division.
It should come as no surprise that Tracy McGrady's back to his old self during that stretch, averaging 24.8 ppg, 7.3 rpg and 7 apg.
"We look like a team," McGrady said. "We look like a different team."
But how about second-year forward Drew Gooden? After a slow, slow start in November (9.4 ppg, 6.4 rpg on 37% shooting) he's caught fire in December. Gooden is averaging 15.9 ppg and 9.6 rpg on 50 percent shooting in December. Throw out two really bad games against the Mavs and Wizards in December, and those numbers jump to 18.3 ppg and 11.1 rpg. Gooden has seven double-doubles in December. And here's the big stat, Gooden's doing all of this from off the bench.
"I don't think it matters to him whether he starts or comes off the bench," coach Johnny Davis said of Gooden. "He gives you the same performance, and certainly that speaks to his professionalism, knowing that this is what he needs to do to help the team. He's embraced that role, and as we speak, that's where he'll be."
Gooden doesn't address all of their problems. He's still a pretty soft defender who spends too much time on the perimeter on offense, but at least it's a start. Last year McGrady led all Magic rebounders at 6.5 rpg. With the Magic on the verge of sending Donnell Harvey to the Suns for Robert Archibald (the deal can't be completed until Tuesday) and GM John Gabriel trying to find a taker for Juwan Howard, the team is hopeful it can find a center to help out Gooden defensively.
Jiri or Ricky? It was pretty safe assumption that when the Celtics traded for Ricky Davis that we'd actually get to see him in the starting lineup. Forget about it. Young Jiri Welsch continues to light things up for the Celtics, keeping Ricky planted firmly in the second unit. His 21 points on 8-for-12 shooting was the key to a Celtics win over the Mavericks last week. And he's been the most consistent 3-point shooter on the team of late.
"He's doing so many important things for us," coach Jim O'Brien told the Boston Globe. "The other thing is that I think people think they can go at him, like they're going to post him or isolate him, but he's a good defensive player. He has been such a key element to our team, for him to be a part of what right now is a first-place team.
"And I have made no bones about it . . . I had no idea who this kid was prior to him coming to Dallas. I didn't know what he looked like, I didn't know his skills. To [executive director of basketball operations] Danny Ainge's credit, he really thought highly of this guy and made sure we had him in this trade, and it has paid tremendous dividends."
Honeymoon over in Toronto: The Raptors roared out to a 5-0 start after shipping Antonio Davis and Jerome Williams to the Bulls for Jalen Rose and Donyell Marshall. But since that streak, the team is just 1-5 and is getting killed on the boards. Over the past five games, only the Suns and Warriors have given up more rebounds per game.
They're even getting outrebounded by bad rebounding teams like the Celtics and Magic.
"Inside, we're getting beat up," coach Kevin O'Neill told the Toronto Star. "Chris (Bosh) and Lonny (Baxter, who had four rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench) are young guys who are forced to play better guys night in and night out. And when they have to do that, that's going to take a toll on those guys.
"There's a myriad of problems on the defensive end and the boards. ... We need to have our perimeter (players) give us four or five rebounds apiece."
Ilgauskas hustling? Whether it was the trade rumors or the example of players like Eric Williams, Paul Silas saw a different Zydrunas Ilgauskas last week. Ilgauskas is averaging 16.3 ppg and 10 rpg since the trade that sent Ricky Davis packing to Boston.
"The last few games he has really picked up his intensity," Silas told the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "I think the guys we brought in are helping him there because they play so hard, he's got to pick it up or he stands out like a sore thumb.
"But I thought he played excellent [Saturday] on both ends. He really shored up the middle for us, and when we needed him to score, he scored. It was just a terrific game for Z."
Z said the pleadings of Silas for him to play defense finally sunk in.
"I got the point," Ilgauskas admitted. "If you're not playing defense, you're not going to play at all. I got taken out a couple times in previous games. It gives you extra incentive. Not that I didn't try before, but now I'm more focused."
Ilgauskas said Williams, Battie and Brown brought a defensive mindset with them from Boston.
"Those guys help a lot," he said. "We gave up scoring, but we picked up defense. Defense is not one person. It's a team defense. Sometimes it's hard to pick it up. It's easy to point out one guy who is struggling. But right now, we're helping each other. If someone gets beat, someone else is right there to help."
-----------------------------------------
Peep Show
By Terry Brown
NBA Insider
Monday, December 22
Updated: December 22
9:41 AM ET
DavisBoston Celtics: Head coach Jim O'Brien just can't wait to get on a first-name basis with Ricky Davis and vice-versa. "He's a very good offensive player," said O'Brien in the Boston Globe. "I expect that he's going to have many nights where he's going to be the high scorer for our team. It's tough to get acclimated. He's not in any flow right now, nor should he be. He's just not comfortable right now. When he becomes comfortable, and I want that to be fairly quickly, then I think we'll be a difficult team to guard when we bring him off the bench. But right now, he's thinking too much instead of just using his instincts."
Dallas Mavericks: Michael Finley isn't quite sure what hurt more, playing injured or watching his team lose from the bench. "This stretch when we lost a lot of games, just watching it, my toe seems to hurt even more," Finley said in the Dallas Morning News. "I want to be a part of this process because I think it's very important. When I come back, it's going to be important to step in right away and establish my leadership role on the team and get this team going in the right direction." Finley expects to suit up and play in the team's upcoming Tuesday game after putting himself through rigorous practices. "He looked good," assistant coach Donnie Nelson said. "He was moving with a lot of energy."
Detroit Pistons: After committing four fouls, missing two free throws and causing a lane violation, rookie Darko Milicic, the No. 2 pick of the draft, was put back in Detroit's latest game and scored the team's final bucket. "The fans going crazy for me was a great feeling," Milicic said in the Detroit Free Press. "We played a great game as a team and for me to play six minutes is good. I got a little too aggressive out there, but Coach took me out to settle me down."
San Antonio Spurs: The last thing head coach Gregg Popovich wants for his team is a little rest and relaxation while it's riding a 10-game win streak. "We finally get the time off," Pop said in the San Antonio express News, "and it's the last thing we need. We need to keep playing and have that flow. You can't control it, but it would have been better for us to have the time off at the beginning of the year." The Spurs play only four games in the next 15 days and the players aren't complaining. "It's been so crazy at the beginning of the season," Tim Duncan said. "It seems like we've been going non-stop. To get some time at home and some relaxation time is great. Hopefully, we won't lose our edge at all."
Van HornNew York Knicks: Antonio McDyess will tell you that the Knicks don't need any new players. They just need the old Keith Van Horn. "I couldn't believe how well he was shooting," said McDyess in the New York Times after they beat the Hawks. "It was unconscious-like. When he got it in his hands, just pulling up, it wasn't hitting rim or nothing, straight net. I tell him all the time: 'Just play that way all the time, Keith. Play your game. You know what you can do.' If he continues to play like that he'll be a big help to us." But it was all new for at least their coach. "I've never seen him actually that assertive in wanting the ball," Don Chaney said. "I'd like to see him that way all the time."
Drew Gooden
Forward
Orlando Magic
Profile
2003-2004 SEASON STATISTICS
GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%
28 12.8 8.2 1.4 .438 .660
The good news for the Magic is that since their awful start, they've gone 6-2, albeit against less-than-stellar competition. Now, at 7-21, the Magic are just seven games out of first place and have the second-best eight-game record of anyone in their division.
It should come as no surprise that Tracy McGrady's back to his old self during that stretch, averaging 24.8 ppg, 7.3 rpg and 7 apg.
"We look like a team," McGrady said. "We look like a different team."
But how about second-year forward Drew Gooden? After a slow, slow start in November (9.4 ppg, 6.4 rpg on 37% shooting) he's caught fire in December. Gooden is averaging 15.9 ppg and 9.6 rpg on 50 percent shooting in December. Throw out two really bad games against the Mavs and Wizards in December, and those numbers jump to 18.3 ppg and 11.1 rpg. Gooden has seven double-doubles in December. And here's the big stat, Gooden's doing all of this from off the bench.
"I don't think it matters to him whether he starts or comes off the bench," coach Johnny Davis said of Gooden. "He gives you the same performance, and certainly that speaks to his professionalism, knowing that this is what he needs to do to help the team. He's embraced that role, and as we speak, that's where he'll be."
Gooden doesn't address all of their problems. He's still a pretty soft defender who spends too much time on the perimeter on offense, but at least it's a start. Last year McGrady led all Magic rebounders at 6.5 rpg. With the Magic on the verge of sending Donnell Harvey to the Suns for Robert Archibald (the deal can't be completed until Tuesday) and GM John Gabriel trying to find a taker for Juwan Howard, the team is hopeful it can find a center to help out Gooden defensively.
Jiri or Ricky? It was pretty safe assumption that when the Celtics traded for Ricky Davis that we'd actually get to see him in the starting lineup. Forget about it. Young Jiri Welsch continues to light things up for the Celtics, keeping Ricky planted firmly in the second unit. His 21 points on 8-for-12 shooting was the key to a Celtics win over the Mavericks last week. And he's been the most consistent 3-point shooter on the team of late.
"He's doing so many important things for us," coach Jim O'Brien told the Boston Globe. "The other thing is that I think people think they can go at him, like they're going to post him or isolate him, but he's a good defensive player. He has been such a key element to our team, for him to be a part of what right now is a first-place team.
"And I have made no bones about it . . . I had no idea who this kid was prior to him coming to Dallas. I didn't know what he looked like, I didn't know his skills. To [executive director of basketball operations] Danny Ainge's credit, he really thought highly of this guy and made sure we had him in this trade, and it has paid tremendous dividends."
Honeymoon over in Toronto: The Raptors roared out to a 5-0 start after shipping Antonio Davis and Jerome Williams to the Bulls for Jalen Rose and Donyell Marshall. But since that streak, the team is just 1-5 and is getting killed on the boards. Over the past five games, only the Suns and Warriors have given up more rebounds per game.
They're even getting outrebounded by bad rebounding teams like the Celtics and Magic.
"Inside, we're getting beat up," coach Kevin O'Neill told the Toronto Star. "Chris (Bosh) and Lonny (Baxter, who had four rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench) are young guys who are forced to play better guys night in and night out. And when they have to do that, that's going to take a toll on those guys.
"There's a myriad of problems on the defensive end and the boards. ... We need to have our perimeter (players) give us four or five rebounds apiece."
Ilgauskas hustling? Whether it was the trade rumors or the example of players like Eric Williams, Paul Silas saw a different Zydrunas Ilgauskas last week. Ilgauskas is averaging 16.3 ppg and 10 rpg since the trade that sent Ricky Davis packing to Boston.
"The last few games he has really picked up his intensity," Silas told the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "I think the guys we brought in are helping him there because they play so hard, he's got to pick it up or he stands out like a sore thumb.
"But I thought he played excellent [Saturday] on both ends. He really shored up the middle for us, and when we needed him to score, he scored. It was just a terrific game for Z."
Z said the pleadings of Silas for him to play defense finally sunk in.
"I got the point," Ilgauskas admitted. "If you're not playing defense, you're not going to play at all. I got taken out a couple times in previous games. It gives you extra incentive. Not that I didn't try before, but now I'm more focused."
Ilgauskas said Williams, Battie and Brown brought a defensive mindset with them from Boston.
"Those guys help a lot," he said. "We gave up scoring, but we picked up defense. Defense is not one person. It's a team defense. Sometimes it's hard to pick it up. It's easy to point out one guy who is struggling. But right now, we're helping each other. If someone gets beat, someone else is right there to help."
-----------------------------------------
Peep Show
By Terry Brown
NBA Insider
Monday, December 22
Updated: December 22
9:41 AM ET
DavisBoston Celtics: Head coach Jim O'Brien just can't wait to get on a first-name basis with Ricky Davis and vice-versa. "He's a very good offensive player," said O'Brien in the Boston Globe. "I expect that he's going to have many nights where he's going to be the high scorer for our team. It's tough to get acclimated. He's not in any flow right now, nor should he be. He's just not comfortable right now. When he becomes comfortable, and I want that to be fairly quickly, then I think we'll be a difficult team to guard when we bring him off the bench. But right now, he's thinking too much instead of just using his instincts."
Dallas Mavericks: Michael Finley isn't quite sure what hurt more, playing injured or watching his team lose from the bench. "This stretch when we lost a lot of games, just watching it, my toe seems to hurt even more," Finley said in the Dallas Morning News. "I want to be a part of this process because I think it's very important. When I come back, it's going to be important to step in right away and establish my leadership role on the team and get this team going in the right direction." Finley expects to suit up and play in the team's upcoming Tuesday game after putting himself through rigorous practices. "He looked good," assistant coach Donnie Nelson said. "He was moving with a lot of energy."
Detroit Pistons: After committing four fouls, missing two free throws and causing a lane violation, rookie Darko Milicic, the No. 2 pick of the draft, was put back in Detroit's latest game and scored the team's final bucket. "The fans going crazy for me was a great feeling," Milicic said in the Detroit Free Press. "We played a great game as a team and for me to play six minutes is good. I got a little too aggressive out there, but Coach took me out to settle me down."
San Antonio Spurs: The last thing head coach Gregg Popovich wants for his team is a little rest and relaxation while it's riding a 10-game win streak. "We finally get the time off," Pop said in the San Antonio express News, "and it's the last thing we need. We need to keep playing and have that flow. You can't control it, but it would have been better for us to have the time off at the beginning of the year." The Spurs play only four games in the next 15 days and the players aren't complaining. "It's been so crazy at the beginning of the season," Tim Duncan said. "It seems like we've been going non-stop. To get some time at home and some relaxation time is great. Hopefully, we won't lose our edge at all."
Van HornNew York Knicks: Antonio McDyess will tell you that the Knicks don't need any new players. They just need the old Keith Van Horn. "I couldn't believe how well he was shooting," said McDyess in the New York Times after they beat the Hawks. "It was unconscious-like. When he got it in his hands, just pulling up, it wasn't hitting rim or nothing, straight net. I tell him all the time: 'Just play that way all the time, Keith. Play your game. You know what you can do.' If he continues to play like that he'll be a big help to us." But it was all new for at least their coach. "I've never seen him actually that assertive in wanting the ball," Don Chaney said. "I'd like to see him that way all the time."
