Orlando Magic News & Notes: Magic All Stars

The Orlando Magic will take on the Utah Jazz tonight at 10:30. Read my preview here.

John Denton says that the Magic are motivated by a lack of respect.

"In some ways, the Magic have garnered a measure of respect this season by earning their way onto the national television stage 24 times – the most in the history of the franchise. Two of those games come the next two nights – Thursday against Utah on TNT and Friday in Phoenix on ESPN. “We’re getting some recognition now, but we have to keep playing because now that people are kind of recognizing us as an elite team we have to know that everybody is going to give us their best shot,’’ Magic forward Rashard Lewis said. “Teams and fans across the NBA are starting to notice that we are an elite team and we have to be ready to take those punches that they are going to give us.’’ The Magic have proven themselves to be elite in almost every way of late. At 17-4, they have equaled the franchise’s best 21-game start ever and with a win Thursday against Utah they can go where no Magic team ever has (as in 18-4). The eight straight road wins are the most ever in any one season and they are on pace to shatter the team mark of 27 road victories set each of the past two seasons."

You can find that story here.

You can find several more stories about the Magic, including the early returns on the All-Star voting if you click the link below.

Brian Schmitz discusses how Dwight Howard treats fans on road trips.

"“He rubbed my belly!” Mari Calalang shrieked.A very pregnant Mari was at Staples Center in Los Angeles on Tuesday night when the playful Orlando Magic star stopped to sign autographs and chat with fans before warm-ups.“It’s a girl? That’s great,” Howard told her.Mari was with her 11-year-old daughter Lani, and husband, Fred, a native Orlandoan and naval officer stationed in San Diego, an Iraqi tour under his belt.“Dwight seems really down to Earth to be as famous as he is,” she said. “He stopped and took the time to talk to us and sign stuff. I was shocked! He rubbed my belly!”"

Read the full story here.

Dwight Howard discusses how much support he receives on these road trips.

"Playing at Staples Center the other night, I was shocked when I looked around and saw all the blue and white No. 12 jerseys in the crowd. I don’t care how many all-star games I go to or points I score or shots I block, I’m still amazed that people out there want to wear my jersey or buy my shoes. It’s like a dream come true, but you still can’t really believe it!!!Seeing those fans, it’s inspiring to me because it just lets you know that there are a lot of people who appreciate what you do on the basketball court. It’s tough because some nights you want to sign everybody’s autograph and take every picture, but I have to recognize that we have to play a game, too."

Click here to read Dwight’s blog.

Matt Barnes wants to know why Bulls big man Joakim Noah received a lesser fine.

"“His [Noah’s] fine was less and he hit somebody,” Barnes said.Barnes says his fine is excessive. He threw a ball out of frustration after the Magic’s game against the Miami Heat ended on Nov. 24 at Amway Arena in Orlando."

Read that and other Magic notes here.

J.E. Skeets says that Magic Head Coach Stan Van Gundy is going to compete in the 3-point contest.

"Van Gundy, whose three-point shot resembles that of a young Craig Hodges, was announced today as one of six Three-Point contestants during a press conference in Dallas. Van Gundy will be joined by defending champion Daequan Cook(notes) of the Heat, rookie Brandon Jennings(notes) of the Bucks, Matt Bonner(notes) of the Spurs, Anthony Morrow(notes) of the Warriors and Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro — if he isn’t fired by then."

Read that story here.

Ken Berger discusses the NBA’s ticket revenue slide here.

The Magic are the 13th most valuable franchise in the NBA. You can find a list of the NBA team’s values here.

Dwight Howard is first in All Star Votes among Eastern Conference Centers and Vince Carter is second among Guards, meaning if the voting remains this way, both players will start the All Star Game.

"ORLANDO’S HOWARD AND CARTER AMONG LEADERS AS 2010 NBA ALL-STAR BALLOTING PRESENTED BY T-MOBILE FIRST RETURNS ANNOUNCEDNEW YORK, Dec. 10, 2009 – Orlando’s Dwight Howard and Vince Carter are among the Eastern Conference leaders after the first returns of 2010 NBA All-Star Balloting presented by T-Mobile, the NBA announced today.The 2010 NBA All-Star Game, which will air live on TNT and ESPN Radio in the U.S., and reach fans in more than 200 countries and territories in more than 40 languages, will be played at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, before an expected crowd of more than 80,000 – the largest group ever to witness a live basketball game – on Sunday, Feb. 14, 2010.Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers and Carmelo Anthony of the Denver Nuggets top the Western Conference, while Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat and LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers lead the Eastern Conference. Bryant, who shared All-Star MVP honors with Shaquille O’Neal last season, is the overall leader with 692,518 votes.The guards in the Eastern Conference are paced by Wade, the leading vote-getter in the conference with 672,227 votes, followed by Carter (292,002). James, a two-time All-Star MVP (2006, 2008), leads all Eastern Conference forwards with 649,327 votes, followed by the Boston Celtics’ Kevin Garnett (533,187), MVP of the 2003 All-Star Game. Howard paces all centers with 625,279 votes; the Cleveland Cavaliers’ O’Neal is second among centers in the East (206,657).In the Western Conference, Bryant, a three-time All-Star MVP, who also garnered the honor in 2002 and 2007, is followed at guard by the Houston Rockets’ Tracy McGrady (281,545). Anthony, the league’s leading scorer, paces forwards in the West (588,958) with the Dallas Mavericks’ Dirk Nowitzki (366,300) second. The Phoenix Suns’ Amar’e Stoudemire (447,776) is the leading vote-getter among Western Conference centers, with the Lakers’ Andrew Bynum (299,484) following.2010 NBA All-Star Balloting presented by T-Mobile, with associate partner 2K Sports, allows fans around the world to vote daily for their favorite players as starters for the 2010 NBA All-Star Game. For the first time in balloting history, fans can vote for All-Stars any time by texting a player’s last name from their mobile phones. Fans can cast one SMS vote per day, per phone number.There are several ways fans can cast their votes, including: at each NBA arena; in 20 languages on NBA.com; and through mobile phones by texting the player’s last name to 6-9-6-2-2 (“MYNBA”), via Web2Go® on T-Mobile phones or wap.nba.com for any wireless carrier. A T-Mobile-branded All-Star Balloting widget is also available on NBA.com so that fans can “grab” the widget and place it on their blogs, social network pages, or personal Web sites allowing others to vote directly from the widget. Paper balloting will continue through Jan. 10, while wireless balloting and voting on NBA.com will conclude Jan. 18.Updated results for the Eastern and Western Conferences will be issued regularly leading up to the announcement of the All-Star starters on Thursday Jan. 21, prior to a TNT doubleheader. Following the completion of fan voting and the starting line-up announcement, the head coaches in each conference will vote to determine the remaining All-Stars in their respective conference, which will be announced Thursday, Jan. 28 prior to a TNT doubleheader.The NBA All-Star ballot lists 120 players – 60 each from the Eastern and Western conferences – with 24 guards, 24 forwards, and 12 centers from each conference comprising the list. Voters select two guards, two forwards and one center from each conference. The 120 players on the ballot were selected by a panel of media who regularly cover the NBA: Mike Breen (ABC/ESPN), Eddie Sefko (Dallas Morning News), Doug Smith (The Toronto Star and President, Pro Basketball Writers Association) Marc Spears (Yahoo! Sports), Marc Stein (ESPN.com) and Ian Thomsen (Sports Illustrated).NBA All-Star 2010 in Dallas will bring together some of the most talented and passionate players in the league’s history for a global celebration of the game. The week leading up to the 59th NBA All-Star Game will feature a full slate of community-enhancing activities and fan festivals, including NBA All-Star Jam Session presented by adidas and the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge & Youth Jam. This will be the second NBA All-Star in Dallas. The city also hosted the event in 1986.In conjunction with All-Star Balloting, 2K Sports will give fans the opportunity to experience Dallas and the best of basketball by entering the NBA® 2K10 Sweepstakes for a chance to win a trip to NBA All-Star 2010 and have their likeness as a digitized player incorporated in next year’s game, NBA® 2K11.The leaders of both the Eastern and Western Conference players for the first returns of the 2010 NBA All-Star voting program are attached:2010 NBA ALL-STAR BALLOTINGEASTERN CONFERENCEForwards: LeBron James (Clev) 649,327; Kevin Garnett (Bos) 533,187; Chris Bosh (Tor) 303,550; Paul Pierce (Bos) 131,379; Josh Smith (Atl) 109,404; Danny Granger (Ind) 100,122; Andre Iguodala (Phi) 75,146; Michael Beasley (Mia) 58,461; Hedo Turkoglu (Tor) 55,416); Rashard Lewis (Orl) 46,073; Luol Deng (Chi) 37,428.Guards: Dwyane Wade (Mia) 672,227; Vince Carter (Orl) 292,002; Gilbert Arenas (Was) 212,526; Ray Allen (Bos) 208,276 Derrick Rose (Chi) 196,059; Allen Iverson (Phi) 136,976*; Joe Johnson (Atl) 118,964; Rajon Rondo (Bos) 113,371; Jose Calderon (Tor) 68,084; Mike Bibby (Atl) 48,935. Centers: Dwight Howard (Orl) 625,279; Shaquille O’Neal (Cle) 206,657; Andrea Bargnani (Tor) 67,310; Al Horford (Atl) 52,747; Andrew Bogut (Mil) 45,920; Brook Lopez (NJ) 39,420; Jermaine O’Neal (Mia) 38,956; Rasheed Wallace (Bos) 36,855; Kendrick Perkins (Bos) 19,408; Brad Miller (Chi) 17,188; Tyson Chandler (Cha) 14,062; Samuel Dalembert, S. (Phi) 13,969.2010 NBA ALL-STAR BALLOTINGWESTERN CONFERENCEForwards: Carmelo Anthony (Den) 588,958; Dirk Nowitzki (Dal) 366,300; Pau Gasol (LAL) 280,758; Tim Duncan (SA) 271,321; Kevin Durant (OKC) 177,205; Trevor Ariza (Hou) 168,167;Shawn Marion (Dal) 161,653; Luis Scola (Hou) 134,321; Ron Artest (LAL) 99,209; Lamar Odom (LAL) 85,817; LaMarcus Aldridge (Por) 70,588.Guards: Kobe Bryant (LAL) 692,518; Tracy McGrady (Hou) 281,545; Steve Nash (Pho) 272,135; Chris Paul (NO) 248,049; Jason Kidd (Dal) 207,247; Jason Terry (Dal) 131,422; Aaron Brooks (Hou) 131,167; Chauncey Billups (Den) 112,509; Brandon Roy (Por) 106,416; Deron Williams (Utah) 94,715; Manu Ginobili (SA) 75,392.Centers: Amar’e Stoudemire (Pho) 447,776; Andrew Bynum (LAL) 299,484; Nene (Den) 90,439; Marc Gasol (Mem) 75,765; Greg Oden (Por) 73,874; Al Jefferson (Min) 48,676; AntonioMcDyess (SA) 46,323; Mehmet Okur (Utah) 35,606; Marcus Camby (LAC) 35,471; Andris Biedrins (GS) 28,287; Emeka Okafor (NO) 19,827; Spencer Hawes (Sac) 10,733.*While Allen Iverson appears among Western Conference guards on the paper ballot because he began the season with Memphis, his votes will count towards the Eastern Conference guards due to his signing with Philadelphia Dec. 3."

Dwight Howard will be meeting fans this Sunday at the Adidas outlet. Here’s the word from Adidas.

"Orlando basketball fans are invited to meet Magic center Dwight Howard on Sunday December 13 at the adidas Outlet Store at Orlando Premium Outlets. The NBA superstar will meet and greet fans and sign autographs. Fans who purchase $50 worth of adidas gear will be guaranteed a spot in Dwight’s autograph line.Adidas and Dwight are also hosting a text-to-win contest for fans to win autographed memorabilia and Magic game tickets. Up until 2pm on Sunday, fans can text DWIGHT to 234327 (adidas) for a chance to win. During Sunday’s autograph session, the adidas DJ will announce the three winners of the exclusive prizes.EVENT INFO:WHAT: Dwight Howard autograph sessionWHERE: adidas Outlet Store (Orlando Premium Outlets 8200 Vineland Avenue Orlando, FL, 32821)WHEN: Sunday December 13, 5-6 pm ETEXTRAS: Fans can text to win autographed memorabilia and Magic game tickets"

(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.)