# Orlando Magic vs. Utah Jazz Game Thread



## hobojoe

Wednesday November 17, 2004
Orlando Magic vs. Utah Jazz, 7 p.m. ET









Orlando Magic
Coached by: Johnny Davis 

Projected Starting Lineup:




































S. Francis  | D. Stevenson  | Grant Hill  | D. Howard  | K. Cato 

Key Reserves:






















T. Battie  | H. Turkoglu | P. Garrity 












Philadelphia 76ers
Coached by: Jerry Sloan 

Projected Starting Lineup:




































K. McLeod | G. Giricek | A. Kirilenko | C. Boozer | Jar. Collins 

Key Reserves:






















M. Okur | M. Harpring | R. Bell 



Key Matchup:
Battle of the Small Forwards-















Grant Hill vs. Andrei Kirilenko


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## JNice

This is gonna be a seriously tough one. I don't think we matchup too well with this team.

Grant Hill has been great, but he is going to have a tough time scoring against Andrei. His best offense this year has been his quick pull-up midrange jumper off the dribble. I'm afraid if he tries that against Andrei it will be returned to sender.

Our saving grace may be that Francis had a terrible game against Philly and most great players follow-up a bad game with a really good one.


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## hobojoe

> Originally posted by <b>JNice</b>!
> This is gonna be a seriously tough one. I don't think we matchup too well with this team.
> 
> Grant Hill has been great, but he is going to have a tough time scoring against Andrei. His best offense this year has been his quick pull-up midrange jumper off the dribble. I'm afraid if he tries that against Andrei it will be returned to sender.
> 
> Our saving grace may be that Francis had a terrible game against Philly and most great players follow-up a bad game with a really good one.


Agreed 100%. 

We're going to have to play a damn near perfect game to win this one. We do have a few things going for us though. 

1. We're at home, where we're 3-0 this season and play considerably better.
2. Grant Hill's a smart player, I don't think he's going to force the issue against a great defender in Kirilenko. He's going to know that he's going to have to leave the game in the hands of Francis, and our long range shooters(Garrity and Turkoglu). 
3. Like you said, Francis sucked today, hopefully he'll bounce back Wednesday. He's played his best ball at home, like the team has. Hopefully that trend will continue.


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## Captain Obvious

Shouldn't Mobley be back by then too?


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## hobojoe

> Originally posted by <b>Captain Obvious</b>!
> Shouldn't Mobley be back by then too?


I'm hoping he is, but there are no guarantees with him. It's almost certain that Cato will play, but Mobley's status is still unsure.


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## lw32

> Originally posted by <b>hobojoe</b>!
> 
> 
> I'm hoping he is, but there are no guarantees with him. It's almost certain that Cato will play, but Mobley's status is still unsure.


Rumor has it Mobley could be a possible target for Denver come December 15th. This is a bit OT, but hobo what do you think of a Mobley for Nene, Skita swap? I don't know what could possibly be mentioned, but thats an enticing offer. We might not need to be that loaded in the front court however. I'm flip-flopping on whether or not I'd accept that trade in Weisbrod's position. Sure, Nene could be great but Mobley is allready a solid player. We would probably either shift Nelson or Turkoglu into the line-up, and possibly move Francis to the 2. It's all speculation though.

As for the Utah game, I can't see us beating them. Although it will be fun to see how Howard matches up against Boozer. McLeod looks like a capable point guard, I don't know how Sloan does it but he always seems to pick efficient and solid players out of no-where. Kirilenko should have a good game against Hill, and it'll be a real test to see just how Hill's feeling against one of the more athletic defenders in the league.
Also, Howard will be facing another top rebounder, so it'll be interesting to see how many he can grab while having to box out Boozer the whole game. Good tests for the team here.


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## hobojoe

> Originally posted by <b>Lachlanwood32</b>!
> 
> Rumor has it Mobley could be a possible target for Denver come December 15th. This is a bit OT, but hobo what do you think of a Mobley for Nene, Skita swap? I don't know what could possibly be mentioned, but thats an enticing offer. We might not need to be that loaded in the front court however. I'm flip-flopping on whether or not I'd accept that trade in Weisbrod's position. Sure, Nene could be great but Mobley is allready a solid player. We would probably either shift Nelson or Turkoglu into the line-up, and possibly move Francis to the 2. It's all speculation though.


I wouldn't be surprised at all if we moved Mobley to Denver in the near future. Mobley hasn't played well at all in the 4 games where he's been healthy, and the more I think about it, the more I think he's not going to fit into the Magic's system. A trade to Denver makes perfect sense given their dire need of a shooting guard and a threat from 3-point range, both of which Mobley could fill. A few months ago I'd say there's no way they give up Nene and Skita for a guy like Mobley, but now that they have K-Mart, Nene could be expendable. If there was/is any way we can get our hands on Nene for Mobley, I pull it off in a second. Cato's been playing great, but Nene is young, athletic, a good defender and has a lot of potential. Another factor to consider is that Mobley can opt out of his contract after this season, which I think he probably will given his contract status and his role on the Magic. I could see him going somewhere else for more money where he can get more playing time. I wouldn't be opposed to trading Mobley at al, especially for someone like Nene.


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## DwyaneWade4MVP

my prediction: 
orlando - utah
99 - 90


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## lw32

> Originally posted by <b>hobojoe</b>!
> I wouldn't be surprised at all if we moved Mobley to Denver in the near future. Mobley hasn't played well at all in the 4 games where he's been healthy, and the more I think about it, the more I think he's not going to fit into the Magic's system. A trade to Denver makes perfect sense given their dire need of a shooting guard and a threat from 3-point range, both of which Mobley could fill. A few months ago I'd say there's no way they give up Nene and Skita for a guy like Mobley, but now that they have K-Mart, Nene could be expendable. If there was/is any way we can get our hands on Nene for Mobley, I pull it off in a second. Cato's been playing great, but Nene is young, athletic, a good defender and has a lot of potential. Another factor to consider is that Mobley can opt out of his contract after this season, which I think he probably will given his contract status and his role on the Magic. I could see him going somewhere else for more money where he can get more playing time. I wouldn't be opposed to trading Mobley at al, especially for someone like Nene.


I just can't see what else Denver could consider trading us. The trade works under the salary cap too. Weisbrod did announce today that the Magic had no intentions of trading Mobley, and that Denver hadn't contacted him since the draft-day move. So it all could be rumors too. It seems as if both teams have a piece that the other wants though, and I don't believe that Skita's value is high at all at the moment otherwise Kiki would have locked him up on a long-term, low money deal. He's really just in the trade for salary-cap purposes. A Nene/Howard front line would be very athletic, but I think we would lose a lot in Mobley. Perhaps if Turkoglu continues to play well, it will force Weisbrod to look at options come December 15th.


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## hobojoe

> Originally posted by <b>Lachlanwood32</b>!
> 
> 
> I just can't see what else Denver could consider trading us. The trade works under the salary cap too. Weisbrod did announce today that the Magic had no intentions of trading Mobley, and that Denver hadn't contacted him since the draft-day move. So it all could be rumors too. It seems as if both teams have a piece that the other wants though, and I don't believe that Skita's value is high at all at the moment otherwise Kiki would have locked him up on a long-term, low money deal. He's really just in the trade for salary-cap purposes. A Nene/Howard front line would be very athletic, but I think we would lose a lot in Mobley. Perhaps if Turkoglu continues to play well, it will force Weisbrod to look at options come December 15th.


Mobley will be missed, that's probably true. I don't know about you, but I would definitely give up Mobley to get a young, athletic, multi-talented guy who's still very raw in Nene. Tskitzivilli is just a throw in, but who knows what he can do in a change of environment. He could turn out to be a tremendous steal in this trade if it were to occur. My rationale is, at this point we need to be looking to address the shooting guard position long term anyway. Mobley's almost 30, and like I mentioned earlier can bolt after this season, and he isn't fitting in very well with the team on the court anyway. He's not the long-term solution there. If we could lock up a frontcourt of Dwight Howard and Nene, that would be amazing in my opinion. It's certainly worth trading Mobley and leaving the shooting guard position as a question mark for. Besides, we'd still quite a few trade assets that we could use to address the shooting guard spot at least for the short term.


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## hobojoe

Magic GM has no intentions of trading Mobley  



> ORLANDO -- The Orlando Magic held trade talks recently with the Denver Nuggets regarding one of the Magic's shooting guards, but those discussions certainly didn't involve Cuttino Mobley, general manager John Weisbrod said Monday.
> 
> Weisbrod had preliminary talks with the Nuggets three weeks ago when the Magic were trying to unload unhappy guard Keith Bogans. Orlando ended up shipping Bogans to Charlotte for power forward Brandon Hunter on Nov. 1.
> 
> Denver since has lost veteran Voshon Lenard for the season to an Achilles injury and is in the market for another shooting guard. But Weisbrod said that he has no intentions of trading Mobley.
> 
> "I haven't spoken to (Denver GM) Kiki (Vandeweghe) since the summer," Weisbrod said, referring to the draft-day trade he pulled off with the Nuggets for guard Jameer Nelson. "I think we made some calls to their people when we were snooping around trying to move one of our shooting guards.
> 
> "But that was before Lenard went down hurt, and Cuttino was not a part of those talks. Now, we've had a bunch of calls from teams regarding Cuttino, but he's not going anywhere. I really like that guy."



Take it for what it's worth...


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## lw32

> Originally posted by <b>hobojoe</b>!
> Magic GM has no intentions of trading Mobley
> Take it for what it's worth...


Weisbrod does seem like a straight shooter, he really doesn't seem like the kind of guy that would "bluff" about trade talks but you never know. I just can't see how he wouldn't be listening to trade offers for Cuttino, and I would be surprised if Denver doesn't contact him soon about a Nene for Mobley deal. It just makes sense for both teams, although if he does trade Mobley I've got to believe that we should have never traded Bogans away.


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## Captain Obvious

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=1924014

Couple of things relevant to tomorrow's game in that article. Mobley will probably return Saturday at Indiana, and Cato should be back tomorrow. Perhaps more importantly, Carlos Arroyo has been activated off the injured list .

EDIT: As for the Denver-Orlando situation, I would gladly do Mobley for Nene/Skita. That trade could happen now. However, I think it would be in both teams interest to wait so Orlando could include a big (Bradley or Kasun) and Denver could add a wing (Johnson or White).


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## JNice

This would be a tough call for me. I think it would seriously hurt the team this year. Mobley for Skita and Nene would throw the balance of the team off, trading one wing for two bigs. And losing Mobley would mean either DeShawn permanently starts at SG or at the very least that Nelson would need to play major minutes, both of which would hurt the team this year. Plus, you run the risk, although it shouldn't matter, of alienating Stevie or Cato trading one of their boys.

Also, I'm not so sold on Nene and I don't think anyone is sold on Skita. And while Dwight may look like a future center, that might never happen. And while Nene might be able to handle playing C, is that really where he wants to be? I'd hate to see another Juwan Howard / Drew Gooden type situation going on.

If I am Orlando right now, I think I stand pat and let the season take its course, at least for awhile.


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## hobojoe

> Originally posted by <b>JNice</b>!
> This would be a tough call for me. I think it would seriously hurt the team this year. Mobley for Skita and Nene would throw the balance of the team off, trading one wing for two bigs. And losing Mobley would mean either DeShawn permanently starts at SG or at the very least that Nelson would need to play major minutes, both of which would hurt the team this year. Plus, you run the risk, although it shouldn't matter, of alienating Stevie or Cato trading one of their boys.
> 
> Also, I'm not so sold on Nene and I don't think anyone is sold on Skita. And while Dwight may look like a future center, that might never happen. And while Nene might be able to handle playing C, is that really where he wants to be? I'd hate to see another Juwan Howard / Drew Gooden type situation going on.
> 
> If I am Orlando right now, I think I stand pat and let the season take its course, at least for awhile.


That's all fine and good, but really how much has Mobley helped the team so far this year? He's displayed some pretty terrible shot selection, and has also shown that he doesn't really fit in all that well with our fast break offense, and without a legitmate post presence he's not nearly as effective in the the half court offense. I'm all for trading Mobley right now if it can possibly bring us Nene, there's just no way I could pass up that deal. I can't possibly see Nene and Howard ending up like Gooden and Juwan Howard because both of them have the body of a center, and are built like a center, and Nene has already shown he can play center. Starting DeShawn Stevenson isn't nearly as bad as it sounds. If Mobley was permenately gone(traded), Stevenson would settle down and play his game. But what really is important in this equation is that regardless of whether Stevenson started or not, he wouldn't play very much and we'd see a lot more of the Hill/Francis/Turkoglu/Howard/Cato(or Nene) lineup that I love, and I know you do too JNice, without Mobley on the team. Overall, there are just WAY too many pro's for me to decline a trade like that.


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## Captain Obvious

If we did something down the road like this:

Orlando Trades:
Cuttino Mobley 
Michael Bradley
2nd rounder

Denver Trades:
Nene
Skita (not gonna spell it )
Rodney White

Orlando:
Francis, Nelson
Turkoglu, Stevenson
Hill, White, Augmon
Howard, Garrity
Cato, Nene, Battie

Denver:
Miller, Boykins
Mobley, Buckner, Johnson
Anthony, Russell
Martin, Bradley, Johnson
Camby, Elson

Looks good for both teams.


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## JNice

Slightly OT: Charlotte is currently beating Utah. Keith Bogans with 25 pts, 4 rebs, 3 asts in 21 mins. :no:


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## hobojoe

> Originally posted by <b>JNice</b>!
> Slightly OT: Charlotte is currently beating Utah. Keith Bogans with 25 pts, 4 rebs, 3 asts in 21 mins. :no:


Bogans finished with 28. :no: 

But back on topic of this thread, it could be a good thing for us that the Jazz actually had to play a tough game tonight against Charlotte. The Bobcats gave Utah all they could handle, and now the Jazz have to travel to Orlando to play a game tomorrow night, and the Magic should be well rested since they haven't played since Sunday afternoon.


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## JNice

> Originally posted by <b>hobojoe</b>!
> 
> 
> Bogans finished with 28. :no:
> 
> But back on topic of this thread, it could be a good thing for us that the Jazz actually had to play a tough game tonight against Charlotte. The Bobcats gave Utah all they could handle, and now the Jazz have to travel to Orlando to play a game tomorrow night, and the Magic should be well rested since they haven't played since Sunday afternoon.


Yeah, hopefully the Charlotte bigs got some good shots on the Jazz guys. If anything, if Charlotte could nearly steal a game from Utah, then Orlando definitely should be able to at home.


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## Yyzlin

Why did the Magic decide to keep Stevenson instead of Bogans again? Anyways, the Mobley trade would be unbelievably good. We would be without a true shooting guard except for Stevenson, but having Nene and Skita for the future would be fantastic. That's where the Magic's best hopes lie.


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## JazzMan

Arroyo is back in the starting lineup, and hopefully he will play better than he did last night. If not, McLeod and Eisley are no mugs.

The Magic are unbeaten at home, but the Jazz are currently unbeaten on the road.

It's a tough one to call, especially when you have a vested interest in the result.


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## Captain Obvious

Very tough one to predict but I'm going to say Magic 106-99. Of course I wouldn't be surprised if the Jazz beat us handily. You can never tell with this team.


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## hobojoe

There's no doubt the Jazz are better than the Magic, but given all the circumstances, if we're ever going to beat the Jazz tonight's the time. They played yesterday and had to travel to Orlando, the Magic haven't played since Sunday and the game's in Orlando. I'll say the Jazz win a close one, but I think it could go either way given the circumstances. 98-95, Jazz win.


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## hobojoe

NBA.com's Preview of Tonight's Game 

ORLANDO, Florida (Ticker) -- The Utah Jazz look to extend their unbeaten road record when they continue their four-game Eastern swing against the Orlando Magic. 

Utah bounced back from a 22-point deficit to beat the Charlotte Bobcats, 107-105, on Tuesday to go 3-0 away from Salt Lake City. The Jazz have topped 100 points in six of seven games. 

Raja Bell scored six consecutive points in the final minute, including a 3-pointer with 18 seconds left and also the go-ahead free throws with 15 seconds remaining. 

Carlos Boozer scored a season-high 34 points, including 16 in the third quarter, and added 13 rebounds. 

Orlando is 3-0 at home with victories over Milwaukee, Dallas and the L.A. Lakers. But the Magic come off a 96-87 loss at Philadelphia on Sunday. 

Poor shooting hurt the Magic against the 76ers. Steve Francis was 3-of-15 from the field and combined with Pat Garrity and Hedu Turkoglu to go 11-of-41. 

Rookie Dwight Howard has had double-digits in rebounds in all seven games for Orlando. 

Kelvin Cato is expected to return to the lineup after suffering a sprained right ankle. But Cuttino Mobley remains sidelined with a strained groin and will not be ready to play until this weekend. 

Utah has won 11 of the last 15 meetings against Orlando and leads the series overall, 20-11.


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## magicfan187

> Originally posted by <b>hobojoe</b>!
> 
> Carlos Boozer scored a season-high 34 points, including 16 in the third quarter, and added 13 rebounds.
> 
> Rookie Dwight Howard has had double-digits in rebounds in all seven games for Orlando.


cant wait to see how bad dwights shuts out boozer tonight:grinning:


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## Captain Obvious

I love how Francis gets so excited every time Howard gets a dunk :laugh:.

34-30 Jazz with Battie on the line. We're coming back.


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## Captain Obvious

Half funny, Half scary: Hill just got an and-one and he ran into a camera man after the play and sort of shook out his ankle. When he did that they acted all concerned and zoomed in on his ankle, but then I realized it wasn't even his bad ankle .

46-43 Jazz. Good game so far.


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## JNice

> Originally posted by <b>Captain Obvious</b>!
> Half funny, Half scary: Hill just got an and-one and he ran into a camera man after the play and sort of shook out his ankle. When he did that they acted all concerned and zoomed in on his ankle, but then I realized it wasn't even his bad ankle .


:laugh: 

I noticed that too. He still makes me nervous every time he revs up and heads to the basket, but maybe I should just stop worrying about it. He hasn't shown any sign at all so far this season of even being in discomfort.

Not a great half by Orlando, but they are still in it. Howard looks like he'll get his 10+ again. He gets his hands on so many rebounds it is nuts. 

And how about that Kirilenko guy. His shot blocking ability is nuts. He comes from everywhere.

Grant was looking great again in the first half. He shook Kirilenko and Bell a couple times and had a sweet turnaround over Bell. I thought he'd really struggle this game. I guess not.

Amazing after all the time off, Hill looks like he is already our best player. Now I really hope to hell he doesn't go down again. He really is a joy to watch.


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## JNice

Dwight's got his 10. 8 sraight games.


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## Captain Obvious

Hill is going off!


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## Captain Obvious

Francis puts Giricek on a poster and gives the Magic a brief lead.


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## JNice

> Originally posted by <b>Captain Obvious</b>!
> Francis puts Giricek on a poster and gives the Magic a brief lead.


That was nice.


Hey, that Boozer guy is pretty good.


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## JNice

Ugh. Stevenson stinks. I miss Bogans.


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## JNice

Francis, Hill, and Howard doing their parts. We need some Hedo and Garrity bombs to win this one.


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## Captain Obvious

I love watching this team play.


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## JNice

Perfect fastbreak by Francis, Hill, and Hedo. A fastbreak without one of the three guys stopping at the 3pt line! Amazing!


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## JNice

Cato makes a big difference for this team. I have no idea what his stats are, but he has had a tremendous positive impact.


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## JNice

Dwight Howard with 4 fouls to play with in the fourth quarter.


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## Captain Obvious

> Originally posted by <b>JNice</b>!
> Dwight Howard with 4 fouls to play with in the fourth quarter.


Actually it looks like he won't play because our brilliant coach has him glued to the bench.


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## Captain Obvious

> Originally posted by <b>JNice</b>!
> Ugh. Stevenson stinks. I miss Bogans.


DeShawn has made some decent plays too, I can't really complain about his play that much.

Why is Francis missing all these free throws ?


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## JNice

Maybe Davis is keeping Howard on the bench because his ankle is sore?  

That sucks, he should be out there.


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## JNice

I guess I can't argue, we are winning. Davis appears to like Garrity on the court late.


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## Captain Obvious

In another brilliant move Johnny calls a timeout, temporarily killing our momentum.

As far as Dwight, Sunshine's reporting that he's completely healthy.


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## JNice

After the slow start, Francis has been pretty awesome.


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## JNice

Damn, Grant Hill is pretty good. Taking AK47 to school.


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## Captain Obvious

Hill is absolutely killing AK47. I never thought I'd see anything like this from Hill again. Looks like we might pull this one out. We're one hell of a home team.


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## JNice

> Originally posted by <b>Captain Obvious</b>!
> Looks like we might pull this one out. We're one hell of a home team.


You can say that again. It is like two totally different teams.


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## JNice

I really thought Hill would struggle against AK ... but he has had no problem with AK, Bell, or Harpring.


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## hobojoe

Magic take an 11 point lead with 2 minutes to play. Jazz appear to have tired legs. How about Hill and Francis though, 60 points combined from those two.


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## JNice

Garrity with the dagger.


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## hobojoe

Garrity seals it with a 3!


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## JNice

Hill with the icing.


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## Captain Obvious

Gotta love Hill getting the star call after running over Harpring .


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## JNice

> Originally posted by <b>Captain Obvious</b>!
> Gotta love Hill getting the star call after running over Harpring .


:laugh:


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## hobojoe

107-92 Final. Great win for the Magic, Hill finishes with 32, Francis with 33. Awesome win to get us back on track. We're 5-3 now, our next game is at Indiana on Saturday.


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## Captain Obvious

> Originally posted by <b>hobojoe</b>!
> 107-92 Final. Great win for the Magic, Hill finishes with 32, Francis with 33. Awesome win to get us back on track. We're 5-3 now, our next game is at Indiana on Saturday.


I expect to lose that game but it doesn't matter because to me the important thing was stealing one of two games this week against two excellent teams.


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## HKF

If Howard can keep it together and everyone stays healthy this Orlando team will be formidable.


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## JNice

> Originally posted by <b>Hong Kong Fooey</b>!
> If Howard can keep it together and everyone stays healthy this Orlando team will be formidable.


We are looking a lot like the Magic of the old Shaq, Penny, Nick days ... awesome at home, just ok on the road ... with our fastbreak hot and cold style, the home crowd really helps out.

Our rebounding has been key .. with Cato, Howard, and Battie we are already decent, but with Francis rebounding like a PF and Hill getting his, we are damned good on the boards ...

This team is like the complete opposite of last year.


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## JNice

Franchise with 33 pts, 11 asst, 9 rebs. Awesome.


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## X-Factor

Really disapointed that I didn't get to catch the game, I was busy. Sounded like one hell of a game for the Magic though. Why Dwight Howard with such little minutes?


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## JNice

> Originally posted by <b>Minnesota Magician</b>!
> Really disapointed that I didn't get to catch the game, I was busy. Sounded like one hell of a game for the Magic though. Why Dwight Howard with such little minutes?


It basically came down to the lineup we had on the floor was really working, so Davis stuck with it.

They said he was fine, but Dwight did tweak an ankle early and had it re-taped earlier in the game.


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## X-Factor

As long as it's not something serious thats a sigh of relief, even though, in this game, it didn't look like we needed him too much.


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## JNice

> Originally posted by <b>Minnesota Magician</b>!
> As long as it's not something serious thats a sigh of relief, even though, in this game, it didn't look like we needed him too much.


He was key in the first half. 9 of his 10 boards in the first half and a block or two. 

And as Matt Guokas pointed out a game or two ago, Howard and Cato have gotten very, very good at grabbing boards and making deep outlet passes ... half the time all the way to halfcourt.


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## JNice

Box Score 



> ORLANDO, Florida (Ticker) -- The Orlando Magic have found a winning formula at home. It starts and ends with Steve Francis and Grant Hill.
> 
> Francis scored 33 points and Hill added a season-high 32 as the Magic pulled away for a 107-92 victory over the Utah Jazz to remain perfect at home.
> 
> Hill and Francis are averaging a combined 50.8 points per game at TD Waterhouse Centre, leading the Magic to their first 4-0 home start since the 1998-99 season, when they won their first 10. The tandem, which made 24-of-34 shots vs. the Jazz, has combined to average 33.3 points on the road.
> 
> Francis, who finished with 11 assists and nine rebounds, scored 14 points in the fourth quarter, including 10 during an 18-4 run. His driving layup with 6:39 left gave the Magic the lead for good, 83-82.
> 
> Hill did most of his damage against Utah stopper Andrei Kirilenko. He scored seven of Orlando's last 17 points, capping a 36-17 fourth quarter.
> 
> The Jazz rallied from a 22-point deficit Tuesday to beat Charlotte. Against Orlando, however, they had little left after a 29-point third quarter.
> 
> Carlos Boozer scored 27 points for Utah, which lost for the first time in four road games this season.


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## JNice

Go Bucks!


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## JNice

Hill, Francis shine in win over Jazz

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/spor...gicgamer111804,1,7780631.story?coll=orl-magic



> Grant Hill scored 32 points, his most in 4 1/2 years, and Steve Francis had 33 points and 11 assists, both season highs, to lead the Orlando Magic over the Utah Jazz 107-92 on Wednesday night.
> 
> Mostly shooting jumpers over Andrei Kirilenko, usually a dependable defensive stopper, Hill shot 13-for-18 in his best offensive performance since scoring 36 points against Minnesota on April 10, 2000 when with Detroit.
> 
> Playing a season-high 41 minutes, Hill added five rebounds and five assists. It was the kind of all-around display that had become a distant memory for Hill because of his repeated ankle woes since he signed with Orlando before the 2000-01 season.
> 
> At one point, shortly after the Magic's fifth fast-break basket of the third quarter, Hill told Kirilenko, "I'm not tired."


GHill talking some trash. :laugh:


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## JNice

And this one was called a foul ...


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## Tragedy

ahhh man, its so great to see grant hill playing great... this year is gonna be a great year, not only for him but the nba...

and to think, people wanted him to retire...  

i hope he keeps it up...


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## hobojoe

Francis' stats for this season(including tonight's game):
21.5 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 6.4 apg, 42.8% FG

 Can you say All-Star?


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## JNice

> Originally posted by <b>hobojoe</b>!
> Francis' stats for this season(including tonight's game):
> 21.5 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 6.4 apg, 42.8% FG
> 
> Can you say All-Star?


It'd be sweet to see Francis and Hill both starting in the All-Star game. :laugh: I doubt it would happen, but with the fan voting you never know. Both guys have historically had great support in the fan voting.


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## HKF

> Originally posted by <b>hobojoe</b>!
> Francis' stats for this season(including tonight's game):
> 21.5 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 6.4 apg, 42.8% FG
> 
> Can you say All-Star?


I told you, this would be a renaissance season for Francis. He should have his best seasons of his career as a Magic.


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## JNice

> Originally posted by <b>Hong Kong Fooey</b>!
> 
> 
> I told you, this would be a renaissance season for Francis. He should have his best seasons of his career as a Magic.


About time for an avatar change don't you think?


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## Captain Obvious

> Originally posted by <b>JNice</b>!
> Hill, Francis shine in win over Jazz
> 
> http://www.orlandosentinel.com/spor...gicgamer111804,1,7780631.story?coll=orl-magic
> 
> 
> 
> GHill talking some trash. :laugh:


Well, that's a right he's definitely earned . Francis and Hill are both over 20 ppg and if they keep playing like this they should both be all-stars, even if they're not starters. Of course Howard will be there as well in the rookie game, and maybe even Nelson if he improves.


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## HKF

> Originally posted by <b>JNice</b>!
> 
> 
> About time for an avatar change don't you think?


Give me a new poster and you got a deal. Where's that Devin Harris dunk or that Childress dunk on Yao. Actually, I'm going to get the Newble kicking Dunleavy in the face one.


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## Benedict_Boozer

Great to see Hill playing well. He seems to get better and less tentative each time I watch him.

What if he rounds into "franchise Hill" form as the season goes on  

Magic would be deadly.


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