Magic Offense Falls Flat in Mile High City
By Zach Palmer
The Orlando Magic could not get things together offensively and only a furious late rally nearly led to a win against the Denver Nuggets.
YOUR AS COLD AS ICE YOU’RE WILLING TO SACRIFICE OUR L…..
Yes, the Magic offense is as cold as ice, and yes the fans unconditional love for the team is waning. The Magic shot less than 40 percent from the field Wednesday night as they fell to the Denver Nuggets 93-90 at Pepsi Center on Wednesday.
The Nuggets were led by dynamo point guard Ty Lawson who scored 25 points while the Magic were led by Nikola Vucevic who scored 20 points and added 11 rebounds.
| Score | Off. Rtg. | eFG% | O.Reb.% | TO% | FTR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orlando | 90 | 89.1 | 44.3 | 19.6 | 14.4 | 18.2 |
| Denver | 93 | 92.6 | 49.3 | 15.8 | 19.7 | 35.1 |
Nikola Vucevic (ORL) — 20 pts., 11 rebs.; Victor Oladipo (ORL) — 17 pts.
Ty Lawson (DEN) — 23 pts.; Arron Afflalo (DEN) — 17 pts.
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This game was a tight, yet brutal snooze fest from beginning to end.
Orlando’s biggest lead of the game was one which occurred on a few different occasions in the third period while the Nuggets largest lead was 11. Orlando made another late, but furious comeback, this time spearheaded by Andrew Nicholson. Nicholson played a season-high 21 minutes and scored 11 points including two late 3-pointers that rallied the Magic to within three.
The Magic were given a chance to tie the game after Nate Robinson missed a shot with 15 seconds left. Now what came next was particularly curious.
Victor Oladipo grabbed the rebound off the Nate Robinson miss and nobody called a timeout. So let’s breakdown who is on the court with the Magic down three, Elfrid Payton (Probably should not be in when you need a three, but should be when you need a defensive stop) Victor Oladipo, Evan Fournier, Tobias Harris and Nikola Vucevic. Andrew Nicholson just hit two 3-pointers to get you back into the game, might be good to have him in. Elfrid Payton is not going to hit a three pointer here, he should be out.
So how does the possession go? Oladipo dribbles down the court, gets trapped, wastes a few seconds looking where to dump the ball off (probably a good idea to have called that timeout by now, especially since Jacque Vaughn sugested in his postgame comments that the play was for a quick two and Oladipo missed Vucevic in the paint because of the trap at the top of the key) he gets it to Payton who is absolutely terrified to have the ball down three with so little time left.
Payton drives in to test the defense and then backs out after his space is impeded, or perhaps realizing he needed a 3-pointer with so little time left now. He whips the ball across the court. Fournier ends up with the ball shoots a three of the dribble *Clank*. Just a terrible, awful, no good way for that one to end.
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Game Notes:
- Andrew Nicholson did a fairly good job defensively tonight. Based on Jacque Vaughn’s comments about searching for guys who will play the right way Andrew may have earned himself some playing time next game.
- Channing Frye was abysmal tonight. His shot was off and without that he doesn’t bring much to the team. His elbow may still be injured, if so he should sit until it’s right.
- Something I have noticed the past two games is Victor Oladipo’s jumper has a hitch in it. He has been fairly unsuccessful shooting it from the perimeter the past two games.
- On the other hand I like the way Oladipo has played recently. He is taking the jumper less and trying to attack the basket. He is still not getting to the line enough but if he keeps at it he will end up there more often.
- Kyle O’Quinn looks completely uncomfortable playing power forward. He has not looked right since the Magic inserted him into the starting lineup. His confidence is shot.
Rookie Report:
Elfrid Payton: Payton did not play all that well tonight. There were multiple times tonight where Elfrid had an easy look at the hoop and passed it up to give a teammate a jump shot. At some point you are being too unselfish. Defensively Payton did not fair much better. Payton was caught snoozing off the ball by Ty Lawson on multiple occasions which lead to open jumpers for Lawson. Rough night for the rookie.