Back to the States
By Nick Adams | October 22, 2007
On Monday, the Magic played basketball for the first time on U.S. soil in over a week returning from China where they had a very successful trip winning all three exhibition games and improving their overall preseason record to 5-1.
"We are glad to be home," said Jameer Nelson. "It was kind of hard to sleep the last couple of days and most of our bodies are getting caught up, but this is why we get paid to play basketball."
Coach Van Gundy did not lay off on the team today as he pushed the team through a regular three hour practice while still preaching energy and intensity.
The team isn't acting negatively about Van Gundy pushing them to hard, but instead, they are fully aware of the sacrifices they must take in order to be successful.
"Pushing us this hard is only going to make everyone better," added Nelson, "and it is going to turn this organization into a championship organization."
Making Van Gundy's high demands slightly easier were the returns of Trevor Ariza, Keyon Dooling, and Rashard Lewis to almost full practice form.
Each player has missed significant preseason action while nursing minor injuries; however, Van Gundy says they should all be ready for Thursday's exhibition game.
Thursday's exhibition game will conclude the Magic's preseason as they look to extend their five game winning streak against the defending NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs, 7 PM, at Amway Arena.
Preseason Overview...
Team
As stated above, the Magic have won five games in a row, and their only loss of the preseason was a 94-93 last second defeat courtesy of the Atlanta Hawks.
As a team, the Magic are putting up some very impressive numbers.
Offensively, the Magic are averaging 104 points per game with five players averaging in double figures. This average is nearly ten points higher than last season's game average of 94.8 points.
A major reason for the team's offensive success has been their tremendous shooting. They are shooting 50 percent from the field and 43 percent from beyond the arc. Last in three-point attempts a year ago, the Magic are averaging nearly 19 three-point attempts per game.
Free-throw shooting (.744) has also improved nearly five percent from last season.
The team's main goal of being the best defensive team in the NBA has been evident in preseason as they are only allowing 87.3 points per game.
Individuals
Individually, Dwight Howard, J.J. Redick, and Jameer Nelson have been most impressive.
Howard, developing a smoother shooting stroke, has led the team in scoring averaging 18.8 points while improving his free-throw shooting by more than 10 percent. Howard is also creating havoc on the defensive end averaging 3.3 blocks.
Redick is pleading his case for the starting shooting guard spot by averaging 11.5 points while shooting an outstanding 48 percent from downtown. Redick is getting the opportunity to showcase his skills by leading the team in minutes per game at 29.8.
Nelson, in competition with Carlos Arroyo and Keyon Dooling for starting point guard, has stepped up to the challenge in leading the Magic's high scoring attack by dishing out 31 assists while only committing seven turnovers.
On Monday, the Magic played basketball for the first time on U.S. soil in over a week returning from China where they had a very successful trip winning all three exhibition games and improving their overall preseason record to 5-1."We are glad to be home," said Jameer Nelson. "It was kind of hard to sleep the last couple of days and most of our bodies are getting caught up, but this is why we get paid to play basketball."
Coach Van Gundy did not lay off on the team today as he pushed the team through a regular three hour practice while still preaching energy and intensity.
The team isn't acting negatively about Van Gundy pushing them to hard, but instead, they are fully aware of the sacrifices they must take in order to be successful.
"Pushing us this hard is only going to make everyone better," added Nelson, "and it is going to turn this organization into a championship organization."
Making Van Gundy's high demands slightly easier were the returns of Trevor Ariza, Keyon Dooling, and Rashard Lewis to almost full practice form.
Each player has missed significant preseason action while nursing minor injuries; however, Van Gundy says they should all be ready for Thursday's exhibition game.
Thursday's exhibition game will conclude the Magic's preseason as they look to extend their five game winning streak against the defending NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs, 7 PM, at Amway Arena.
Preseason Overview...
Team
As stated above, the Magic have won five games in a row, and their only loss of the preseason was a 94-93 last second defeat courtesy of the Atlanta Hawks.
As a team, the Magic are putting up some very impressive numbers.
Offensively, the Magic are averaging 104 points per game with five players averaging in double figures. This average is nearly ten points higher than last season's game average of 94.8 points.
A major reason for the team's offensive success has been their tremendous shooting. They are shooting 50 percent from the field and 43 percent from beyond the arc. Last in three-point attempts a year ago, the Magic are averaging nearly 19 three-point attempts per game.
Free-throw shooting (.744) has also improved nearly five percent from last season.
The team's main goal of being the best defensive team in the NBA has been evident in preseason as they are only allowing 87.3 points per game.
Individuals
Individually, Dwight Howard, J.J. Redick, and Jameer Nelson have been most impressive.
Howard, developing a smoother shooting stroke, has led the team in scoring averaging 18.8 points while improving his free-throw shooting by more than 10 percent. Howard is also creating havoc on the defensive end averaging 3.3 blocks.
Redick is pleading his case for the starting shooting guard spot by averaging 11.5 points while shooting an outstanding 48 percent from downtown. Redick is getting the opportunity to showcase his skills by leading the team in minutes per game at 29.8.
Nelson, in competition with Carlos Arroyo and Keyon Dooling for starting point guard, has stepped up to the challenge in leading the Magic's high scoring attack by dishing out 31 assists while only committing seven turnovers.
