The Orlando Magic take on the Miami Heat Wednesday night. You can read my preview here.
Magic Head Coach Stan Van Gundy would like Dwayne Wade to head west when he’s a free agent at the end of the season.
"“I would really suggest…West,” Van Gundy laughed, with tongue firmly in cheek.“I like him. I’m concerned about him. If he doesn’t go back to Miami, the West would be his best bet.”You can’t blame Van Gundy for wanting Wade to move to the Western Conference and out of the East, far away from the Magic’s division. He wishes Wade could leave before facing the Magic tonight at Amway Arena."
You can read Brian Schmitz’s story here.
Miami is keeping an eye on Jason Williams.
"“I still see the same energy. I still see the same quickness, the same speed,” Heat power forward Udonis Haslem said after Tuesday’s practice. “He’s not hesitating out there on the court. You really can’t tell that he’s been out a year, at all.”In his three emergency starts, Williams is averaging nine points, 4.7 assists, 3.3 rebounds and two steals in an average of 33.7 minutes. He leads the NBA with a 4.83-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. He is coming of a 16-point performance in Sunday’s victory in Toronto."
Click here to read the full story.
Jameer Nelson’s injury was more severe then the Magic thought.
"Orlando Magic PG Jameer Nelson said Tuesday that the tear in his lateral meniscus in his left knee was more extensive than doctors previously thought.“It was a little bigger than they thought,” Nelson said. “It doesn’t make any difference if you had to go in and fix it. Don’t worry. I’ll still have my hops.”Dr. Craig Mintzer, the club’s team doctor, performed Nelson’s surgery on Nov. 18.Some teammates have been forecasting a quicker return for Nelson then the original four-to-six week prognosis.When asked about how far he was from a come back, Nelson said, coyly, “Weeks. Four to six. That’s what I say. I don’t know.”But Nelson also said he wasn’t coming back last season after sustaining a shoulder injury — and surprised everyone by playing in the NBA Finals.“I just got to get it right,” he said.Nelson said he started electrical stimulation treatments on Tuesday.He was injured late in the Magic’s game Nov. 16 against the Charlotte Bobcats at Amway Arena."
See this and other Magic notes here.
Dwight Howard has updated his official blog.
"The media asked me a bunch of questions today after practice about why I spend so much of my free time doing charity work in the community and the answer is really pretty simple: It’s because I just enjoy giving back. I’ve been given everything in this life that I could ever imagine. So a big part of my life outside of the NBA is giving back to other people less fortunate than me. So I take pride in giving back.This is just something that I’ve been doing my whole, entire life. You can ask my parents, my homeboys back in Atlanta, or the people at my church – that’s just the way I’ve always been since I was a kid. If I had $5 I’d give my last $5 to somebody else who needs it more. If I saw you with no shirt on and you were cold, I’d give you my shirt.I’ve tried to never change who I am as far as giving back and wanting to do for others. It’s just me, wanting to give my last so that others have enough."
Read Dwight’s blog here.
Chad Waylon Pouncy previews Orlando’s week ahead here.
"Jameer Nelson underwent surgery on a torn meniscus in his left knee. He is expected to be out four to six weeks.Jason “White Chocolate” Williams will be Nelson’s replace going forward. Williams has looked very good, and looks much younger than he did two years ago in Miami"
The Magic have moved up to #1 in the Bleacher Report’s Power rankings.
"1. Orlando Magic (11-3, .786): 1st in EastAlthough Orlando has struggled with injures early on thus far (Carter four games, Anderson four, and now Nelson out for the next month) the team continues to rack up the wins.With such incredible depth, there is no reason that the Magic should drop any lower than the second seed in the East throughout the entire year."
You can find that here.
Didn’t get enough of Dante and Galante during summer league? Don’t worry.
"“MAGIC OVERTIME WITH DANTE & GALANTE” COMING SOON TO A TV NEAR YOU– We’re not sure how, but yes, they’re back – From a cubicle in Orlando, Fla. – Bored out of your mind? Have absolutely, positively nothing else to do? We may have the answer. Or maybe not. Back by popular demand (ok, not really), the Orlando Magic and Sun Sports introduce the continuation of “Magic Overtime with Dante & Galante.” “Magic Overtime with Dante & Galante” will make its season debut on Monday, November 30 at 6 p.m., with special guest, NBA All-Star Rashard Lewis. The show will air weekly on Sun Sports every Monday at 6 p.m. The show will also re-air on Sun Sports each Tuesday at 3 p.m. and Thursday at both 11:30 a.m. and 11 p.m. Episodes can also be seen in their entirety at both www.OrlandoMagic.com and www.magicovertime.com.“Magic Overtime with Dante & Galante” will be available to over 6.5 million homes all across Florida on Sun Sports (pretty scary!), so have fun, all three of you who will actually watch it. Yes, these guys have been advised to keep their day jobs at the Orlando Magic. No, they are not Mike & Mike of ESPN Radio fame. Not even close. For more information (or not), log onto www.magicovertime.com. On further review, just delete this press release. You’ll be glad you did. About “Magic Overtime with Dante & Galante”: Dante Marchitelli serves as Radio Manager for the Orlando Magic and enters his 12th season with the club. George Galante is Director of Communications for the Orlando Magic and enters his 14th season with the organization. “Magic Overtime with Dante & Galante” provides insight on your favorite players, coaches and personalities that you can’t find anywhere else. Previous guests on “Magic Overtime with Dante & Galante” include Dwight Howard, Rashard Lewis, Jameer Nelson, TNT’s Ernie Johnson and Lil Wayne. Guests on “The Dante & Galante Internet Show” have included Hall-of-Famers Bill Walton and Dominique Wilkins, Jeff Van Gundy and many more. Fans can send e-mails by logging onto www.magicovertime.com for the chance to win Magic tickets, autographed merchandise and much more throughout the season. They can also become a Fan of the show on Facebook and follower the duo on Twitter.Previous shows can be watched anytime by visiting www.magicovertime.com or www.orlandomagic.com, the official Web site of the NBA’s Orlando Magic."
Programming Note: If you tune to ESPN Classic at noon on Wednesday, they will be showing a battle between the Heat and Magic from January 2, 2000. I won’t spoil you with the winner, but the game went into Overtime. This was Orlando’s “Heart and Hustle” team that was known for their hard-work. The Magic lacked talent, but still managed to finish 41-41, just one game out of the playoffs.
OrlandoMagic.com has a new update on J.J. Redick and Ryan Anderson’s rap group featuring a potential addition to the group.
(Andrew Melnick is Howard the Dunk’s lead blogger and a contributor at NFL Mocks Subscribe to his RSS feed and add him on Twitter to follow him daily.)