# Orlando Magic vs. Washington Wizards Game Thread



## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

NBA.com's Preview of Tonight's Game 

fter a very successful first half to their season, the Washington Wizards kick off the second half Friday when they put a four-game winning streak on the line at the Orlando Magic. 

Just a 25-win team last season, the Wizards eclipsed that mark in the last game of their first half, recording win No. 26 over the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday. 

Gilbert Arenas continued his stellar play with 33 points and nine assists as Washington rallied for a 117-107 victory. 

Antawn Jamison scored 23 points and Juan Dixon added 22 for the Wizards, who scored 35 in the fourth quarter to roll to their fourth straight win. 

They had a seven-game run earlier in the month and carry an 11-2 this month into Friday's meeting with the Magic, another team that enjoyed a strong first half and is making waves in the surprising Southeast Division. 

Orlando, which needed just 39 games to surpass last season's win total of 21, has dropped its last two since notching win No. 22. 

Grant Hill and Steve Francis scored 18 points apiece but the Magic shot just 38 percent (27-of-71) in a 95-83 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday. 

Orlando has won five of its last six at home but dropped a 106-96 decision the first time the teams met November 10 in Washington. Jamison and Larry Hughes, who is out for another 3-5 weeks with a broken right thumb, scored 26 points apiece in the Wizards' win.


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## JNice (Jul 13, 2002)

No question these couple are huge. Hopefully we can pull off two in a row.

I've got this one on TV, so we should win.


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

It'll be extremely important to not let someone like Jarvis Hayes or Juan Dixon beat us with Larry Hughes still out with that fractured thumb. Hayes and Dixon have stepped it up nicely in his absence along with Gilbert Arenas. Jamison killed us last time these two teams met, but he's really slowed down in Washington since his fast start. This would be a nice game for Garrity to have one of his few and far between "good nights".


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

I just saw that Christie will start tonight. Looks like all it took was a couple off nights from Hedo and a couple Magic losses to move him back to his role as 6th man.


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## JNice (Jul 13, 2002)

No Cato tonight. Sinus infection. :no:


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## BallBiologist (Mar 29, 2003)

OMG....why are they showing the heat game instead of the magic game on sunshine.$*(@$*@$(@(*[email protected]


i dont want to see shaq...i want to see dwight dunk


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## Shanghai Kid (Mar 7, 2003)

Good luck tonight guys, should be a fun, up and down game. Some interesting matchups all around, should be very enteraining.


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## JNice (Jul 13, 2002)

Not gonna be a lot of defense tonight.


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## JNice (Jul 13, 2002)

Dwight with 3 field goal attempts in the first 90 seconds. He should be pretty much done for the night.


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

Great start! Must be because you're watching the game, JNice 

12-4 lead for the Magic, Hill and Howard with 6 each already. One thing we have to keep in my mind is how good the Wizards offense is. No lead is safe. I don't care if we open up a 20 point lead, the Wizards can get hot at any time and make up a lead like that. They've done it many times already this year and they're probably the best team in the clutch in the entire NBA. They seem to win every close game they're in.


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## JNice (Jul 13, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>hobojoe</b>!
> Great start! Must be because you're watching the game, JNice
> 
> 12-4 lead for the Magic, Hill and Howard with 6 each already. One thing we have to keep in my mind is how good the Wizards offense is. No lead is safe. I don't care if we open up a 20 point lead, the Wizards can get hot at any time and make up a lead like that. They've done it many times already this year and they're probably the best team in the clutch in the entire NBA. They seem to win every close game they're in.


Yep. This game will probably come down to which team goes cold first and goes down by 12-15 pts.


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## JNice (Jul 13, 2002)

Howard looks energetic tonight. Of course, he has barely touched the ball since scoring 6 pts in 90 seconds.


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

Crappy end to the first quarter. No movement on the offensive end at all, lazy defense at the other end. Of course when Dwight comes out of the game Jamison lights up Garrity.


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

Magic go down 10, but Turkoglu goes on a 8-0 run by himself to pull the Magic back to within 2. Timeout Wizards.


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## JNice (Jul 13, 2002)

Gallopin' Garrity. :laugh:


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

Christie did a terrific job on Arenas in the first half. He played him as well as anyone can. 1-8 from the floor for Gilbert.

Hedo owned the 2nd quarter. 17 points and 3 3's in the quarter alone.


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## Shanghai Kid (Mar 7, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>hobojoe</b>!
> Christie did a terrific job on Arenas in the first half. He played him as well as anyone can. 1-8 from the floor for Gilbert.
> 
> Hedo owned the 2nd quarter. 17 points and 3 3's in the quarter alone.


What's up with Francis? He isn't as energetic as he usually is tonight. I was looking forward to a good Arenas/Francis matchup but it's a dud so far. Jamison/Hill has been nice, we just gotta find a way to stop Hedo.


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>Shanghai Kid</b>!
> 
> 
> What's up with Francis? He isn't as energetic as he usually is tonight. I was looking forward to a good Arenas/Francis matchup but it's a dud so far. Jamison/Hill has been nice, we just gotta find a way to stop Hedo.


I think we're starting to see that Francis isn't very effective when he's not dominating the ball. Since Christie was acquired Francis has been playing off the ball a lot more, and not coincidently in my opinion has been struggling.

Magic up 4, Francis without a FG in the entire game thus far.


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

Magic up 6 headed into the 4th.

Hedo Turkoglu, Grant Hill and Tony Battie have had great games for the Magic. 

Francis- 2 Points (0-9 FG) 7 Turnovers :hurl:


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## JNice (Jul 13, 2002)

Pretty weird game with Francis and Arenas both playing pretty crappy.

I love that Jameer Nelson is starting to play with some real confidence.


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## JNice (Jul 13, 2002)

Here's a Johnny Davis lineup - Nelson, Augmon, Turkoglu, Garrity, and Battie to start the 4th. Lets see how this goes.


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## JNice (Jul 13, 2002)

Great defense by the rim on Augmon. :laugh:


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

That is some awful defense by Washington.

How on earth can they leave Turkoglu that wide open when he's on fire?


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## JNice (Jul 13, 2002)

Arenas heating up. Not good.


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## JNice (Jul 13, 2002)

PUT DWIGHT IN THE DAMNED GAME!!! :upset: 

Damn that pisses me off. Every damned game.


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## JNice (Jul 13, 2002)

Ok, Davis is an idiot. Take Hedo out for Hill, but leave Francis in the game shooting 0-10, while Hedo is having a near career night.


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

Oh **** Gilbert Arenas. Come on now, this getting ****in ridiculous. :upset: :upset:


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## JNice (Jul 13, 2002)

Wow, terrible shot by Arenas.


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## JNice (Jul 13, 2002)

Wow, bad call. Then bad call.

That was a Revlon call if I have ever seen one.


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## JNice (Jul 13, 2002)

Nice, Dwight, two clutch free throws nothing but net.


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## JNice (Jul 13, 2002)

What a choke job by Arenas.


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

Arenas.  

Has anyone else on the Wizards touched the ball in the 4th quarter?


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## JNice (Jul 13, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>hobojoe</b>!
> Arenas.
> 
> Has anyone else on the Wizards touched the ball in the 4th quarter?


He was great there for a while, then really blew it. Missed free throws and some terrible shots.


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## JNice (Jul 13, 2002)

Good, good win. Who woulda thought we could win with Francis going 1 for 12.

Now we need to steal the 2nd game tomorrow night. That would be big.

Dwight with 12 pts and 11 rebs in just 24 mins.


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

Magic Win!!!!!

:bbanana: :wbanana::bbanana: :wbanana::bbanana: :wbanana::bbanana: :wbanana::bbanana: :wbanana::bbanana: :wbanana:


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

Hedo ties his career high with 31 points tonight.


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## JNice (Jul 13, 2002)

Francis was terrible all night, yet hit that big shot in the 4th. All is forgiven for this game.

Doesn't look like Steve-O is adjusting too well to playing more off the ball.


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

Hedo also tied his career high with 5 3-pointers made and set another career high by making 12 shots from the floor. Great, great effort from Turkoglu tonight. He also had a really big play defensively in the 4th quarter. I forgot who he was guarding, but he went up for a shot and Hedo completely stripped the ball from him and started the fast break the other way.


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

Boxscore


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## JNice (Jul 13, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>hobojoe</b>!
> Hedo also tied his career high with 5 3-pointers made and set another career high by making 12 shots from the floor. Great, great effort from Turkoglu tonight. He also had a really big play defensively in the 4th quarter. I forgot who he was guarding, but he went up for a shot and Hedo completely stripped the ball from him and started the fast break the other way.


Jamison. Orlando didn't need too much D to shut-down Jamison late. Arenas did that himself.

That is the drawback to both Arenas and Francis. Both supremely talented. Both also error prone and sometimes straight bone-headed.


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## HKF (Dec 10, 2002)

I have a question. 

In terms of the long term development of this team do you think that John Weisbrod should explore possible deals for Steve Francis? I just don't like the way he plays in Orlando and he's still fishing for his shot too much IMO.

What do you guys think?


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## YoYoYoWasup (Nov 14, 2004)

> Originally posted by <b>hobojoe</b>!
> Boxscore


5 offensive rebounds for Howard. Good lord, this kid is going to be amazing in a couple of years.


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## JNice (Jul 13, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>Hong Kong Fooey</b>!
> I have a question.
> 
> In terms of the long term development of this team do you think that John Weisbrod should explore possible deals for Steve Francis? I just don't like the way he plays in Orlando and he's still fishing for his shot too much IMO.
> ...


Absolutely. I don't think Francis will be in Orlando more than a couple of years.


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

The Wizards finished the 1st quarter on a 25-11 run. Take that away, the Magic won the game 97-76. The Magic played some great ball in the 2nd and 3rd quarters led by Turkoglu.


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## Shanghai Kid (Mar 7, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>JNice</b>!
> 
> 
> Jamison. Orlando didn't need too much D to shut-down Jamison late. Arenas did that himself.
> ...


Jamison isn't really a 4th quarter guy. He runs away from the ball and when he does shoot usually misses. 

Arenas had 18 points in the 4th quarter, he was the only one keeping the Wiz in it. The Wizards usually win close games cause of him but I think he just got exhaused, we rely on him too much without Hughes.


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## HKF (Dec 10, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>JNice</b>!
> 
> 
> Absolutely. I don't think Francis will be in Orlando more than a couple of years.


Okay, then at least I'm not the only one who feels this way. I don't know who he could be traded for (i.e. who would want him), but I just can't see him still in Orlando past the end of next season. I wouldn't be shocked to see Weisbrod try to move him in the off-season either. 

Howard only getting 9 shots is a disgrace. This kid is getting Gasol'ed nightly i.e. frozen out.


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>Hong Kong Fooey</b>!
> I have a question.
> 
> In terms of the long term development of this team do you think that John Weisbrod should explore possible deals for Steve Francis? I just don't like the way he plays in Orlando and he's still fishing for his shot too much IMO.
> ...


Definitely agreed. It may not be very popular at the moment with the team having a pretty good season, but long term it'd definitely be the way to go. In my opinion, to build any championship caliber team you need a point guard who looks to distribute and run the offense first and look for his shot second. This is even more true when you're building around a dominant big man, which we all believe and hope Dwight Howard will become. For the time being, Francis is fine to get the Magic to the playoffs, and maybe to the 2nd round in the next couple of years if the ball bounces our way or we draw a favorable matchup, but the Magic won't be legitimate title contenders with Francis running the show.


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## JNice (Jul 13, 2002)

How about Francis for Ray Allen.


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>YoYoYoWasup</b>!
> 
> 
> 5 offensive rebounds for Howard. Good lord, this kid is going to be amazing in a couple of years.


He had an absolutely huge offensive rebound off a missed layup with under a minute to go. He got fouled and nailed both of his free throws. He played a terrific game, the Magic playmakers and Johnny Davis didn't get him involved in the game nearly enough. He had the first 6 points for the Magic on 3 very nice plays, and was pretty much shut out of the offense for the rest of the game. Ridiculous. What's the excuse for not playing him in the 4th quarter again? Look what he did with the time today, a few huge plays down the stretch including knocking down both of his clutch free throws.


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>JNice</b>!
> How about Francis for Ray Allen.


Ideally, assuming everyone in the NBA was available, I'd like to trade Francis for someone like Mike Bibby. Unselfish point guard who is a very good passer but who can also shoot lights out and score very well when he has to. 

Francis and Garrity for Bibby and Mobley(never heard of him, just a filler) works. :grinning:


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

Postgame Quotes 

About the only quote worth reading in my opinion...



> On Hedo Turkoglu coming off the bench: “Right now I think that’s the role for Hedo. That allows us to get a guy, like Doug Christie, on some of those really explosive perimeter players that we face every night. Even though Doug didn’t shoot the ball particularly well I thought he did a terrific job in terms of making Arenas work for baskets. Now Arenas is tough to guard, evident by the 18 free throws. But when you think about the number of shots he took and how much the ball is in his hands, I thought Doug really made the game difficult for Arenas which is very important when you get down the stretch of the game, like we saw tonight, perhaps fatigue played a part in Arenas missing some of the free throws. It goes hand in hand with tough work throughout the game and at times getting dividends towards the end of it.”


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