# Official Magic vs. Rockets Game Thread



## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

Orlando Magic vs. Houston Rockets, 7 p.m. ET

  
Orlando Magic
Coached by: Johnny Davis 

Projected Starting Lineup:
          

Key Reserves:
      


  
Houston Rockets
Coached by: Jeff Van Gundy 

Projected Starting Lineup:
          

Key Reserves:
    

Key Matchup:
Battle of the Star Guards-















Steve Francis vs. Tracy McGrady

Game Preview 

Houston is two points away from being a perfect 4-0 this pre-season, and after a return from China and a Thursday romping of the Chicago Bulls, the Rockets and McGrady are showing no signs of jetlag and are ready to take aim at an improving Orlando team. Surprisingly, T-Mac has only led his new team in scoring one of those games, but look for that streak to end when he returns to his home town and the nets that allowed him to lead the league in scoring the past two seasons. Speaking of offensive prowess, the Rockets still have the daunting Ming in the middle, giving the new Magic front line its toughest opposition to date. 

To the dismay of many, the T-Mac-returns-to-Orlando-with-something-to-prove won’t be the only storyline affixed to the match-up between the now-rival squads. Francis, Mobley and Cato will probably want to show their former team a thing or two of their own and will most certainly have the stage to do so. While McGrady will thrive in his new offense, Francis and Mobley are fitting in comfortably too, and this game will probably come down to who wants to prove they belong with their new team more. And with that, Magic fans will likely see what appears to be more like a late-season game rather than a pre-season meeting. 

Last Meeting: The Magic fell 99-87 to the Rockets on January 25, 2004 in Orlando. Yao Ming exploded for 37 points and 10 rebounds to lead Houston, which collectively shot an impressive 49 percent from the field in the game. Steve Francis, Cuttino Mobley and Kelvin Cato, who were traded to the Magic in the off-season, combined for 27 points and eight rebounds. Tracy McGrady led the home team in the losing effort with 31. 

All-Time Series: The Magic lead the all-time series 18-14, including a 12-4 mark in Orlando.


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## dominikan_balla1 (Aug 4, 2004)

i think the magic are goin to win this one..i'll say 

magic-92
rockets-88

its goin to be tight ..fun..close game


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## dominikan_balla1 (Aug 4, 2004)

i hope nba.com has live stats for this game


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## Yao Mania (Aug 4, 2003)

I'm actualy quite curious how Cato will match up against Yao. Cato's practiced and played with Yao all his career, if anyone knows Yao's weaknesses it may as well be Cato...

And T-Mac v.s. Mobley is actually more intriguing then Francis v.s. T-Mac. Last season Mobley did a pretty good job shutting down T-Mac.

Man I'm starting to have a bad feeling about this match for Houston....


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## Yao Mania (Aug 4, 2003)

Live Stats:

http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/nba/boxscore?gid=2004102319

I can't tell who the starters are for Houston aside from Yao, Mo Taylor, and Nachbar.... T-Mac might be given the day off


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## Yao Mania (Aug 4, 2003)

Houston starting line-up:

Yao
Mo Taylor (?)
Nachbar (?)
Gaines (??)
Lue (?)

Gumby must be up to something.... that's the scrubiest starting line-up I've ever seen (with exception to Yao)!!

Is ANYONE following this big pre-season game except me?!?!


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## Yao Mania (Aug 4, 2003)

Steve Francis making a loud statement in this game so far:

10mins, 7-8, 2rebs, 2assts, 2stls, 1blk, 16pts  

Then again, this is the current Houston line-up on the floor:

Mutumbo
Weatherspoon
Nachbar
David Hawkins
Reece Gaines

now THAT's the scrubiest line-up I've ever seen put in a 1st quarter... I feel sorry for the fans watching this game!

29-18 Magic after 1st Q


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## roastedtoaster (Mar 16, 2004)

steve is looking good out there. hill is showing his still has some gas left in the tank, even riding on one wheel. dwight is showing hes for real. 

my first look at the magic this season, and they are looking nice. 

im a big houston fan, and bringing in tmac was a great trade for us, but losing steve really hurt.


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## Q8i (Oct 23, 2004)

The Franchise Is Killin It Out There..
16 Points In One Quarter < Good Stuff !


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## Q8i (Oct 23, 2004)

Magic Are Leadin By 11 Points Right Now
31-20


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## Yao Mania (Aug 4, 2003)

This game is getting ugly, and it's only the beginning of the 2nd Q... 39-22 Orlando

I guess that's what happens when you don't play your starters...


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## dominikan_balla1 (Aug 4, 2004)

the magic are leadin 39-22...wow steve is lookin good..and why is t-mac not playin:upset: ....hill is also lookin good again


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## dominikan_balla1 (Aug 4, 2004)

the magic are up to a blazin start!!


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## Q8i (Oct 23, 2004)

Why Aint T-Mac Playin? Thas So Dumb

47-28 Orlando


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## dominikan_balla1 (Aug 4, 2004)

34-47 magic...jameer nelson is doin really good so far in this game....houston tryin to cut in the lead


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

The Magic are 21-32 from the floor. Francis, Turkoglu and Nelson combined are 13-17 for 28 points. The Reece Gaines Magic fans all know showed up tonight thus far. 11 minutes, 0 points, 0 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 TO. :laugh:


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## Q8i (Oct 23, 2004)

Houston 38, Orlando 50 

Steve Francis 17 Points
Yao Ming 10 Points

3rd Quarter


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

50-39 Magic. Francis has 17 points on 7-10 shooting, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and only 1 TO. Mobley, Turkoglu and Nelson each have 6.


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## The_Franchise (Mar 30, 2003)

You talk about a player playing without confidence, Gaines is something else. Maybe the worst showing ever by a player in the NBA.


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## dominikan_balla1 (Aug 4, 2004)

> Originally posted by <b>Ming Bling</b>!
> You talk about a player playing without confidence, Gaines is something else. Maybe the worst showing ever by a player in the NBA.


lol i would like to say that this guy sucks ..but ..he's still young


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## dominikan_balla1 (Aug 4, 2004)

dwight howard..has 3 pts ..and is 1-5 from the field maybe a little hesitant by yao ming and mo taylor


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>dominikan_balla1</b>!
> lol i would like to say that this guy sucks ..but ..he's still young


He played a total of about 30 minutes of good basketball last year. That's atrocious for a rookie who was supposed to come in and have one of the biggest impacts in the league. He was supposed to come right and battle for the starting spot right away and be the starter by the end of the year. Despite the season being a wash, he still couldn't touch the floor at the end of last year because he's so horrible.


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## dominikan_balla1 (Aug 4, 2004)

something i just realize in the live stats..we only have 4 turnovers!!...in the half!!


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Basketball/NBA/2004/10/23/682454-ap.html



> McGrady understood why he wasn't playing Saturday and joked he probably would've hurt himself because he was so amped up. Still, he couldn't hide his disappointment.
> 
> ....Howard, who also sat out the exhibition game, said he did not appreciate Weisbrod's comments about last year's team.


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

Some great stats for us thus far:

5 Turnovers so far
12-0 Advantage in the fast break
Francis' Statline: 17 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks, 2 TO's
Yao Ming: 5-13 FG
Hill: 10 points, 5-8 FG
Team Assists: ORL- 11 ... HOU- 5


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## dominikan_balla1 (Aug 4, 2004)

64-43 magic...hill is startin to warm-up...magic are playin pretty good defense..only 43 points for the rockets with 5 min. left in the 3rd...dwight howard is missin alot of close shots..he's havin an off night


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>dominikan_balla1</b>!
> 64-43 magic...hill is startin to warm-up...magic are playin pretty good defense..only 43 points for the rockets with 5 min. left in the 3rd...dwight howard is missin alot of close shots..he's havin an off night


For sure, Dwight's having an off night. You have to know going in that there'll be some of those though, with a guy straight out of high school being thrown right in.


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## dominikan_balla1 (Aug 4, 2004)

> Originally posted by <b>hobojoe</b>!
> 
> 
> For sure, Dwight's having an off night. You have to know going in that there'll be some of those though, with a guy straight out of high school being thrown right in.


yea true..he does have 6 rebounds (3 offensive)..2 assists..2 steals..and only 2 fouls so far in 23 minutes


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>dominikan_balla1</b>!
> yea true..he does have 6 rebounds (3 offensive)..2 assists..2 steals..and only 2 fouls so far in 23 minutes


Yep, it's good to see him not in foul trouble for a change. That's going to hinder him more than anything this year in my opinion.


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## dominikan_balla1 (Aug 4, 2004)

85-60 magic...howard is back in the game lets see what he does...wow still only 6 turnovers for the magic thats really good news..hedo turkoglu is doin really good today so far


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## dominikan_balla1 (Aug 4, 2004)

dwight howard has a block!!ive been waitin for block shots from dwight all preseason long...he also made a slam dunk from a good by jameer nelson


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

Magic have 5 players in double figures.

Francis has 17, Turkoglu has 12(on 6-8 FG), Nelson has 11 and 6 assists, and Mobley and Hill each have 10. Howard is a basket and a board away from a double-double despite struggling tonight.


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

Magic up 94-72 with 16 seconds to go in the game.


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

Orlando 95, Houston 72 

Orlando 
Name Min FG 3Pt FT Off Reb Ast TO Stl Blk PF Pts 
G. Hill 21 5-9 0-1 0-0 0 1 2 0 0 0 1 10 
D. Howard 28 3-10 0-0 2-4 4 9 2 0 2 1 3 8 
K. Cato 13 0-1 0-0 0-0 1 4 0 2 1 0 4 0 
S. Francis 24 7-13 1-2 2-4 0 5 3 2 3 2 4 17 
C. Mobley 23 3-7 1-3 3-3 0 1 0 0 2 1 1 10 
T. Battie 16 3-3 0-0 0-0 1 4 1 0 0 0 0 6 
P. Garrity 16 3-5 1-2 2-2 0 3 0 0 1 0 3 9 
H. Turkoglu 18 6-8 0-1 0-0 1 2 1 0 0 2 1 12 
J. Nelson 24 4-9 1-2 2-2 0 0 7 2 2 0 4 11 
S. Augmon 8 1-1 0-0 2-2 0 2 0 0 1 0 1 4 
M. Kasun 12 0-3 0-0 2-2 0 1 2 3 1 2 1 2 
D. Stevenson 17 1-7 0-0 2-3 0 2 0 1 1 1 1 4 
K. Bogans 9 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 1 1 0 0 2 0 
C. Edwards 4 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 
M. Bradley 7 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 0 
A. DeClercq DNP - Right Knee Rehab 

Totals 240 37-77 4-11 17-22 7 37 20 11 14 9 29 95 
Percentages: .481 .364 .773 Team Rebounds: 7


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## dominikan_balla1 (Aug 4, 2004)

good game for us..dwight howard was our only starter to actually play over 25 minutes...jameer had a good game..im really happy hedo had a good game too..and we only had 11 turnovers..man you can tell that our magic players were ready for this game..but since only one houston starter played...about everybody in our team had balanced minutes..hopefully miami plays all of their starters..so we can get a real good test


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>dominikan_balla1</b>!
> good game for us..dwight howard was our only starter to actually play over 25 minutes...jameer had a good game..im really happy hedo had a good game too..and we only had 11 turnovers..man you can tell that our magic players were ready for this game..but since only one houston starter played...about everybody in our team had balanced minutes..hopefully miami plays all of their starters..so we can get a real good test


Well, hopefully the more our starters play together, the more they'll gel and the better they'll get. Naturally, the turnover's should go down as well. The good sign is that Francis has been taking pretty good care of the ball.


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## dominikan_balla1 (Aug 4, 2004)

> Originally posted by <b>hobojoe</b>!
> 
> 
> Well, hopefully the more our starters play together, the more they'll gel and the better they'll get. Naturally, the turnover's should go down as well. The good sign is that Francis has been taking pretty good care of the ball.


hopefully francis can carry that towards the season...i think our team is really startin to gel..and i think that they'll gel sooner than most people think


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## dominikan_balla1 (Aug 4, 2004)

...then again this is preseason


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## Q8i (Oct 23, 2004)

Good Pre Season Game By The Magic.. U Guys Are Lucky, T-Mac Wasn't Playin, Even Tho It's Pre Season


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## lw32 (May 24, 2003)

Just some nice photos from the game. Look at the photo of Howard getting his shot over Ming!


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## dominikan_balla1 (Aug 4, 2004)

yea the howard over yao was nice


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

Some more photos from the game:


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## dominikan_balla1 (Aug 4, 2004)

wow..nice pictures hobojoe..felt like i was seein the game


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## The_Franchise (Mar 30, 2003)

Nachbar must be atleast 6 feet in front of Grant Hill... :no:


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