The season is now less than two weeks away so it’s about time I start previewing the Magic position by position. First up? The Guards.
There are two huge storylines in the Magic backcourt are clear; the acquisition of eight-time All-Star Vince Carter and the return of All-Star Point Guard Jameer Nelson, but the Magic have a lot of other weapons in their backcourt.
- Point Guards
Jameer Nelson
2008-09 Statistics: 42 games played, 16.5 ppg, 5.4 apg, 3.5 rpg, 1.2 spg .503 FG%, .453 3Pt%,
Nelson made his first All-Star team but was injured prior to the game and didn’t even get to play. He missed the rest of the season and most of the postseason before returning for the NBA Finals. Nelson is a good ball-handler, a good passer, a tough player, an excellent shooter and a fantastic floor leader. Nelson has looked very good in training camp and in the preseason and looks like he is back at full strength.
Nelson has excellent shooting ability. He shot an incredible .503% from the field and .453% from downtown last year. Rafer Alston often struggled with his shooting even though he saw many open looks. Nelson should have no problem knocking down those open same open looks. Nelson also is an outstanding pick-and-roll Point Guard.
Nelson can usually get into the paint with ease and he’s picked up right where he left off in the preseason.
As I’ve mentioned before, people have always underestimated and underrated Jameer Nelson and it looks like they are doing it again. Bad idea.
Jameer on coming back from his injury:
"Well like I said, it’s just one step at a time. I know who I am as a player. I know what I can do. The first thing you have to understand is to know your game and I know my game so as long as I stay in attack mode, everything else will fall into place."
Jason Williams
2008-09 Statistics: Did Not Play
It has been over a year since Williams has played professional basketball, but he’s not far removed from being the starting Point Guard for a Championship team. He signed with the LA Clippers prior to the 2008 season but walked away from his contract, never playing a game. After flirting with the New York Knicks and Memphis Grizzlies during the offseason, Williams finally decided on Orlando.
Williams has averaged 11.4 points per game and 6.3 assists per game during his 10-year NBA career. Williams was a very flashy player early on his career and although he was very fun to watch, he struggled with turnovers and wasn’t the complete Point Guard that he needed to be. Over Williams’ first five seasons, he averaged 2.86, 3.65, 2.08 and 3.29 and 2.21 turnovers per game. He has not averaged over two turnovers per game since then. He averaged a career-low 1.36 turnovers per game in his last season in the NBA (2007-08). If Williams can keep his turnovers to a minimum, find the open man and knock down some open shots, he will do just fine as Jameer’s backup.
Magic General Manager Otis Smith on the Williams signing:
"“Jason (Williams) provides depth and leadership to our backcourt,” said Smith. “He is a veteran point guard that knows what it takes to help us reach our ultimate goal. We are excited to add him to our team.”"
Anthony Johnson
2008-09 Statistics: 80 games played, 12 starts, 5.3 ppg, 2.5 apg, 1.8 rpg, .6 spg, .404 FG%, .391 3PT%
Anthony Johnson was a pretty solid backup Point Guard last season and even played well as a starter at tmes. AJ played fairly well in the postseason but then disappeared in the Finals. With the return of Jameer Nelson, AJ didn’t see any time during the finals. Most thought this would end Johnson’s stint with the Magic, but he came back.
And Johnson is once again in for a fight.
He is battling with Jason Williams to be the #2 PG behind Jameer Nelson and with the way the two have been rotated and according to their production, it looks like Johnson has fallen behind. It’s likely that AJ will be the third PG and see minimal playing time.
Anthony Johnson on the talent of the team
"Man, you know, everybody on this team has the ability to shoot the ball. Everybody has had great success in the NBA. Not to say that everybody has a name but we all are proven players. Ryan is a young guy, but he’s shown that he can get it done offensively. With that being said, we have a talented group so we look forward to a lot of great offensive performances this season."
- Shooting Guards
Vince Carter
2008-09 Statistics: 80 GP, 36.8 mpg 20.8 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 4.7 apg, .5 bpg, 1.0 spg, .437 FG%, .385 3PT%
Vince Carter has had as many critics as any player in the NBA and he has had these critics dating back to his last few years in Toronto. Critics say he’s lazy and they say he’s not durable. If Carter is so lazy then why he nearly averaged 20, 5, and 5 while playing almost 37 minutes per game over 80 games for a team that finished 34-48 and missed the playoffs by five games. If Carter isn’t durable, then why has he played in at least 76 games in each of the last four seasons? Carter has only missed more than 25 games twice in his career (besides his rookie season).
Vince Carter is legitimate superstar. He’s an eight-time All-Star who has excellent career averages (23.5 ppg, .447 FG%, 5.5 rpg, 4.3 apg). Carter is a playmaker who can fill the late game role that Hedo Turkoglu played so well last year (although he doesn’t have to with the return of Jameer Nelson).
Carter has struggled with his outside shot in the preseason (.250% from downtown) but he shot much better in his last game. Carter needs to get into the lane more, but when he has attempted to get into the paint, he has done it with ease, so my guess is that he is just trying to get his shot right for the regular season. With Stan Van Gundy’s motivation and coaching, Carter should become an effective defender. I expect Carter to once again average over 20 ppg and make his ninth All-Star team.
Vince Carter on what he brings to the offense
"I’ll just give them another scorer, another passer and I think I still have the ability to demand a double team or at least get enough guys to pay attention to me to leave some of our other shooters open, who are knock down shooters. And of course, take some pressure of Dwight. In my opinion, I feel like that’s why I’m here, just to try to make things easier for Dwight and just everybody else on the team. I don’t mind the pressure and all the attention as far as bringing the double teams and what-not. You know, if they want to double team me, we have plenty of guys who can knock down shots. So, that’s what I’m excited about. It’s not, in my mind, about the scoring and putting up big numbers more so than just getting wins. That’s the goal right now, just getting wins."
Mickael Pietrus
2008-09 Statistics: 54 GP, 24.6 mpg, 9.4 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.2apg, .6 spg, .413 FG%, .359 3PT%
I wasn’t sure where to put Pietrus. He is a natural Shooting Guard, but he will log heavy minutes at Small Forward and may even start there, so I’m going to list him at both positions.
Mickael Pietrus has been known as a solid defender and sometimes explosive player throughout his career, but he really had a breakout performance during the postseason last year. He averaged 10.5 ppg and played pretty solid defense on some of the best players in the NBA, including LeBron James. He hit several big shots (the 3-pointer from the wing has become his specialty) that helped the Magic advance to the NBA Finals.
Pietrus looks like he is ready to build on his outstanding postseason. In four preseason games, Pietrus is averaging 14 points per game on .526% shooting, including an incredible .571% from beyond the arc.
It is unknown if Pietrus will be a starter or if he will come off of the bench. Pietrus actually said he prefers to come off of the bench.
"I like to come off the bench. I don’t mind if Matt Barnes starts. It’s just a matter of winning a championship."
I don’t mind if guys start or come off the bench. It’s all about team here and getting this team to the next level. That’s what I’m looking for. I want to give my team the best energy to win basketball games.
Pietrus has starter’s numbers but with the additions of Brandon Bass, Ryan Anderson and Matt Barnes, Van Gundy may be able to fulfill Pietrus’ wish of coming off of the bench. Pietrus will most likely still log around 20-25 minutes per game whether he’s coming off of the bench or he’s starting.
Mickael Pietrus on his wrist injury.
"I want to take care of my wrist first and make sure when I come back in camp we have a good team and we’re not missing anybody. I can’t wait to start tomorrow. I’m happy to see all the guys. We went to the finals last year and I want to go back again. You can tell this flag up here is fresh (Pietrus pointed to the 2008-09 Eastern Conference Champions banner)."
JJ Redick
2008-09 Statistics: 64 GP, 17.4 mpg, 6.0 ppg, 1.3 rpg, .9 apg, .391 FG%, .374 3PT%
JJ played much more last year than he has at any time in his three-year career and he played pretty well at time. His shooting percentages were down but he also had the chance to attempt more shots than he has at any time in his career. He also upped his 2007-08 free throw percentage of .794% to a much more JJ-like .871%.
Where JJ really started to show his true value was in the postseason. He started eight of the 16 games he played in because of Courtney Lee’s injury. He logged 20.4 mpg and scored 6.0 ppg, but he showed great improvement on defense. He played extremely well when he was matched up against Celtics sharpshooter Ray Allen. He had some trouble on Kobe Bryant, but who doesn’t?
JJ has continued to play impressive defense during training camp and the preseason and Head Coach Stan Van Gundy has sang his praises. He also done a much better job of drawing fouls and getting himself to the free throw line, which is something he excelled at while at Duke. If JJ continues to play good defense and hustles on both ends of the floor, and I think he will, he is going to see a lot of time and should be Vince Carter’s primary backup.
"“No question the guy has answered a lot of the questions everybody had about him. He’s answered pretty well,” Coach Stan Van Gundy said.Van Gundy says Redick has become a defender “you can trust,” a deft passer and a heady player who is “a guy other people can play well with.”"
Morris Almond
2008-09 Statistics: 25 GP, 10.2 mpg, 3.7 ppg, 1.4 rpg, .3 apg, .2 spg, .407 FG%, .294 3PT%
Almond is a bit of an unknown. He’s still a very young player (24 years old) with good size 6’6, 225 lbs), but he has not played much NBA basketball. Almond was a monster in the D-League. Back in 2007, Almond scored 51 points in a game against the Austin Toros. Later that season, he broke his own D-League scoring record by scoring 53 points against the Bakersfield Jam, but he has played just 43 NBA games. Almond averaged 25.6 ppg and .446 shooting in 2007-08 in the D-League and 23.9 ppg on .521% shooting in 2008-09.
He has barley played in this preseason, playing in three games and averaging 5.7 mpg. He is scoring just .7 ppg on .200% shooting and grabbing 1.3 rpg. Almond does have some positives. He is pretty good when moving without the ball and especially good using screens to get open. He is a pretty decent rebound.
Almond doesn’t seem likely to make the team since the Magic are in the luxury tax and have as many guaranteed contracts as are needed in the NBA, but if he does, he will probably see little to no action.
Salt Lake City Tribune writer Ross Siler on Almond
"I’ve said it here before not to count out Almond. He’s been a slow starter his entire basketball life, whether it was being stuck in Josh Smith’s shadow in high school or his first two college seasons at Rice. We’ll see if the pattern repeats itself in the NBA."
(Andrew Melnick is Howard the Dunk’s lead blogger. Subscribe to his RSS feed and add him on Twitter to follow him daily.)