My coach, Patrick Ewing, has told me a lot of stories about Alonzo Mourning, and ‘Zo was one of the big men who helped when I was first coming into the league. He gave me advice on how to approach the game of basketball and life, and I’ve always admired the way he played the game.
Me and all of my teammates were talking before the game and I had to get out there at halftime to see if ‘Zo was going to cry. We all figured that ‘Zo was going to shed a few tears because he was always such an emotional player. He did cry, but it’s all good. He’s really led the way for a lot of young big men who have come after him. I appreciate everything he’s done for me and for the game of basketball.
Watching the event at halftime, I was even getting a little bit teary-eyed, just seeing how emotional it was. It was a special night for him and I was happy that we were there to witness it.
Seeing that No. 33 go up in the rafters, made me think about my own career. Hopefully, one day after a long Magic career I’ll have my jersey retired, too. It’s a long way off and it’s just a dream, but that has to be the coolest feeling ever. I can see it now, No. 12 going up as the fans cheer. How cool would that be?
I got my 5,000th rebound Monday night, and I give credit for that to God for keeping me healthy throughout my five-year NBA career. It’s an honor that I’ve been able to accomplish what I have.
The most important thing of the night was that we beat Miami again and stayed ahead of the Celtics. We feel lie we’re going to have to win the rest of our games if we want to get that No. 2 seed and also get our goal of 60 win s. I think we can do it, but we’ve got a tough grind ahead of us.
OK, I’m out. Take care everybody. -- DWIGHT
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
DWIGHT FASTEST TO 5,000 REBOUNDS IN HISTORY IN MAGIC WIN
Orlando franchise center Dwight Howard made NBA history Monday night when he became the youngest player ever to grab 5,000 rebounds in a career in the Magic’s 101-95 defeat of the Miami Heat.
Dwight’s 5,000th rebound was a thing of beauty as he swooped inside of Miami’s Jamaal Magloire, elevated and snatched a rebound away from the reserve Heat center with 2:55 left in the third quarter. By the end of Monday’s game, Dwight had 5,006 career rebounds.
Dwight hit the 5,000-board milestone at 23 years, 112 days. He eclipsed the previous record of 25 years, 128 days set by the immortal Wilt Chamberlain. Dave Cowens (25, 153), Walt Bellamy (25, 197), Moses Malone (25, 265) and Kevin Garnett (25, 296) were also among the youngest to 5,000 rebounds in NBA history.
The feat is nothing new to Dwight, who was already the youngest in league history to 1,000, 2,000, 3,000 and 4,000 rebounds. Clearly, the Magic’s all-star center is on a path to greatness and at this rate will go down someday as one of the game’s best centers ever.
``Thank God, first, to be able to play without any major injuries in my career,’’ Dwight said. ``So it’s an honor for me.’’
Dwight dominated all phases of Monday’s game, scoring 22 points, grabbing 18 rebounds and delivering a key blocked shot as the Magic overcame Dwyane Wade’s 42 points.
With Dwight patrolling the paint, the Orlando-Miami series has become mostly one-sided. The Magic have won 12 of the past 13 games against the Heat, losi ng only this January in Miami. Of course, Dwight has been a major part of the reason for Orlando’s domination of its rivals to the South. He’s had 12 straight double-doubles against the Heat.
But on this night Dwight was more worried about the Boston Celtics than the Miami Heat. The Magic hold a slim lead over the Celtics in the race for the elusive No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. The Magic have an impressive six-game winning streak after stopping Miami’s six-game home winning streak.
``We have to come out every night and grind it out. We want to try and win the rest of the games for the season,’’ Dwight said. ``We have a hard task in front of us. Miami had been playing great at home so to come in here and win it feels great.’’
On a night when Dwight made rebounding history and battered Jermaine O’Neal and Magloire with a bevy of nice moves in the paint, it was a stout defensive stop that was the highlight of the night for Dwight. And it showed once again why he should be the runaway winner of the Defensive Player of the Year.
Tied at 87-all with 3:47 to play, Miami point guard Mario Chalmers drove down the right side of the lane and put up a layup try. Silly, rookie. Dwight stuffed the shot with two hands, igniting a Magic fastbreak that led to Courtney Lee’s go-ahead layup. It was the play that set the Magic on their way to their 55th victory.
For the game, Dwight made eight of 11 shots and six of nine free throws. He had a spin-lob dunk from Hedo Turkoglu, but his two prettiest moves of the night came in the fourth quarter. On one possession, Dwight drove to the middle of the lane, faked left and went back right for a soft layup off the glass.
And with 50 seconds to play and the Magic clinging to a three-point lead, Dwight corralled a lob pass from Turk and finished over O’Neal in traffic to ice the victory.
Dwight’s 5,000th rebound was a thing of beauty as he swooped inside of Miami’s Jamaal Magloire, elevated and snatched a rebound away from the reserve Heat center with 2:55 left in the third quarter. By the end of Monday’s game, Dwight had 5,006 career rebounds.
Dwight hit the 5,000-board milestone at 23 years, 112 days. He eclipsed the previous record of 25 years, 128 days set by the immortal Wilt Chamberlain. Dave Cowens (25, 153), Walt Bellamy (25, 197), Moses Malone (25, 265) and Kevin Garnett (25, 296) were also among the youngest to 5,000 rebounds in NBA history.
The feat is nothing new to Dwight, who was already the youngest in league history to 1,000, 2,000, 3,000 and 4,000 rebounds. Clearly, the Magic’s all-star center is on a path to greatness and at this rate will go down someday as one of the game’s best centers ever.
``Thank God, first, to be able to play without any major injuries in my career,’’ Dwight said. ``So it’s an honor for me.’’
Dwight dominated all phases of Monday’s game, scoring 22 points, grabbing 18 rebounds and delivering a key blocked shot as the Magic overcame Dwyane Wade’s 42 points.
With Dwight patrolling the paint, the Orlando-Miami series has become mostly one-sided. The Magic have won 12 of the past 13 games against the Heat, losi ng only this January in Miami. Of course, Dwight has been a major part of the reason for Orlando’s domination of its rivals to the South. He’s had 12 straight double-doubles against the Heat.
But on this night Dwight was more worried about the Boston Celtics than the Miami Heat. The Magic hold a slim lead over the Celtics in the race for the elusive No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. The Magic have an impressive six-game winning streak after stopping Miami’s six-game home winning streak.
``We have to come out every night and grind it out. We want to try and win the rest of the games for the season,’’ Dwight said. ``We have a hard task in front of us. Miami had been playing great at home so to come in here and win it feels great.’’
On a night when Dwight made rebounding history and battered Jermaine O’Neal and Magloire with a bevy of nice moves in the paint, it was a stout defensive stop that was the highlight of the night for Dwight. And it showed once again why he should be the runaway winner of the Defensive Player of the Year.
Tied at 87-all with 3:47 to play, Miami point guard Mario Chalmers drove down the right side of the lane and put up a layup try. Silly, rookie. Dwight stuffed the shot with two hands, igniting a Magic fastbreak that led to Courtney Lee’s go-ahead layup. It was the play that set the Magic on their way to their 55th victory.
For the game, Dwight made eight of 11 shots and six of nine free throws. He had a spin-lob dunk from Hedo Turkoglu, but his two prettiest moves of the night came in the fourth quarter. On one possession, Dwight drove to the middle of the lane, faked left and went back right for a soft layup off the glass.
And with 50 seconds to play and the Magic clinging to a three-point lead, Dwight corralled a lob pass from Turk and finished over O’Neal in traffic to ice the victory.
Monday, March 30, 2009
DWIGHT NAMED EASTERN CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Orlando Magic all-star center Dwight Howard strengthened his bid for the MVP and the Defensive Player of the Year awards when he was named the Eastern Conference’s Player of the Week on Monday.
It is the third time this season that Dwight has earned that honor.
Dwight led Orlando to a 3-0 record last week, averaging 23.7 points on 61.4 percent shooting from the field. He added 14.3 rebounds and 3.3 blocks for the Magic, who clinched its second consecutive Southeast Division title.
During Orl ando’s 84-82 win over Boston on March 25, Dwight posted 24 points, 21 rebounds and four blocks. He saved the win against the Celtics by swatting Paul Pierce’s layup attempt with three seconds remaining.
Dwight also had 29 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks in a 106-102 win over the Knicks last Monday. And he capped last week with 18 points, eight rebounds, five assists and two blocks as the Magic defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 110-94.
Dwight leads the Magic in scoring (21.0) and leads the NBA in rebounding (13.9) and blocked shots (2.99). He is attempting to become just the fifth center ever to lead the NBA in those two categories in the same season.
San Antonio point guard Tony Parker was named the Western Conference’s Player of the Week. Parker averaged 27.5 points and 8.3 assists in leading San Antonio to a 3-1 week. Parker recorded back-to-back 30-point, 10-assist games on March 24 vs. Golden State and March 25 at Atlanta. On March 29 at New Orleans, Parker scored his 10,000th career point, becoming the fourth Spur player to accomplish the feat.
It is the third time this season that Dwight has earned that honor.
Dwight led Orlando to a 3-0 record last week, averaging 23.7 points on 61.4 percent shooting from the field. He added 14.3 rebounds and 3.3 blocks for the Magic, who clinched its second consecutive Southeast Division title.
During Orl ando’s 84-82 win over Boston on March 25, Dwight posted 24 points, 21 rebounds and four blocks. He saved the win against the Celtics by swatting Paul Pierce’s layup attempt with three seconds remaining.
Dwight also had 29 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks in a 106-102 win over the Knicks last Monday. And he capped last week with 18 points, eight rebounds, five assists and two blocks as the Magic defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 110-94.
Dwight leads the Magic in scoring (21.0) and leads the NBA in rebounding (13.9) and blocked shots (2.99). He is attempting to become just the fifth center ever to lead the NBA in those two categories in the same season.
San Antonio point guard Tony Parker was named the Western Conference’s Player of the Week. Parker averaged 27.5 points and 8.3 assists in leading San Antonio to a 3-1 week. Parker recorded back-to-back 30-point, 10-assist games on March 24 vs. Golden State and March 25 at Atlanta. On March 29 at New Orleans, Parker scored his 10,000th career point, becoming the fourth Spur player to accomplish the feat.
PASSING A SIGN OF GROWTH FOR DWIGHT
With all-star center Dwight Howard, the dunks, rebounds and blocked shots are going to come every night. But it’s a new aspect of Dwight’s game – his ability to pass the ball out of double teams – that has made him an even more dangerous offensive threat.
As teams have had to double-team Dwight more and more to stop his steadily expanding offensive game, Dwight has become more adept at finding open shooters. His wife shoulders, long reach and ability see above the traps has made him a good passer out of double-team defenses.
Three times in the past two weeks Dwight has totaled at least five assists in a game. He burned Washington for what was a career-best seven assists on March 13. Then, five days later he had seven more assists against Milwaukee, a game in which he also scored 29 points and showed off his all-around game.
And when Milwaukee’s double-teams came one after another last Friday night in Orlando, Dwight contributed five assists to go with his 18 points and eight rebounds.
More and more, he’s making teams pay for trying to trap him along the baseline. It is a sign of his growth and maturity as an offensive threat that he’s able to see the traps coming and find the open player. But Dwight stressed that his passing abilities are still a work in progress as he works to fully learn the trapping tendencies of defenses.
``I’m trying now to make the easy pass instead of the home run pass,’’ Dwight said. ``It’s been working instead of me looking all the way across the court to pass. The touch pass back out to someone close to me is a better pass for our team. If they20double, they leave guys like Hedo (Turkoglu) and Rashard (Lewis) and J.J. (Redick) open for shots. And if they don’t double I have a chance to use the wide variety of shots that I have now.’’
In his fifth year in the NBA, Dwight admits that the game has ``slowed down’’ for him somewhat, making his ability to read defenses easier. Also, doing his homework on teams before games has helped the process. It’s not uncommon for Dwight to study an opposing team’s defensive tendencies for hours before a game.
``I try to slow the game down in my mind. Before the defense comes I try to think about where I can pass the ball,’’ Dwight said. ``Before the game there’s a lot of things you can do to get your mind right. Knowing where the double teams come from, the top or the baseline, that helps a lot.’’
Magic coach Stan Van Gundy preaches to Dwight to remain patience in the post. By analyzing the defense first before making his move, Dwight can make the proper read and then go to work. And when Dwight is passing out of double teams as well a s he has been doing lately, it makes it easier for the Magic to run their offense through him during games.
``He’s had some very good nights passing out of the post lately,’’ Van Gundy said. ``He’s playing with very good patience right now. Teams will be coming at him harder and harder and he just has to keep making good decisions.’’
Dwight’s improved passing skills could have a big benefit on him offensively as well. If he continues to find open shooters for 3-pointers, teams likely will be able to double-team him less and less in the future.
``Even when teams are doubling Dwight, he’s done an outstanding job of passing the ball,’’ Magic assistant coach Patrick Ewing said. ``That hurts them. They are damned if they do and damned if they don’t. If they don’t double, he’s going to destroy them. If they do double and he does a good job passing out they’re going to be in trouble that way too.’’
As teams have had to double-team Dwight more and more to stop his steadily expanding offensive game, Dwight has become more adept at finding open shooters. His wife shoulders, long reach and ability see above the traps has made him a good passer out of double-team defenses.
Three times in the past two weeks Dwight has totaled at least five assists in a game. He burned Washington for what was a career-best seven assists on March 13. Then, five days later he had seven more assists against Milwaukee, a game in which he also scored 29 points and showed off his all-around game.
And when Milwaukee’s double-teams came one after another last Friday night in Orlando, Dwight contributed five assists to go with his 18 points and eight rebounds.
More and more, he’s making teams pay for trying to trap him along the baseline. It is a sign of his growth and maturity as an offensive threat that he’s able to see the traps coming and find the open player. But Dwight stressed that his passing abilities are still a work in progress as he works to fully learn the trapping tendencies of defenses.
``I’m trying now to make the easy pass instead of the home run pass,’’ Dwight said. ``It’s been working instead of me looking all the way across the court to pass. The touch pass back out to someone close to me is a better pass for our team. If they20double, they leave guys like Hedo (Turkoglu) and Rashard (Lewis) and J.J. (Redick) open for shots. And if they don’t double I have a chance to use the wide variety of shots that I have now.’’
In his fifth year in the NBA, Dwight admits that the game has ``slowed down’’ for him somewhat, making his ability to read defenses easier. Also, doing his homework on teams before games has helped the process. It’s not uncommon for Dwight to study an opposing team’s defensive tendencies for hours before a game.
``I try to slow the game down in my mind. Before the defense comes I try to think about where I can pass the ball,’’ Dwight said. ``Before the game there’s a lot of things you can do to get your mind right. Knowing where the double teams come from, the top or the baseline, that helps a lot.’’
Magic coach Stan Van Gundy preaches to Dwight to remain patience in the post. By analyzing the defense first before making his move, Dwight can make the proper read and then go to work. And when Dwight is passing out of double teams as well a s he has been doing lately, it makes it easier for the Magic to run their offense through him during games.
``He’s had some very good nights passing out of the post lately,’’ Van Gundy said. ``He’s playing with very good patience right now. Teams will be coming at him harder and harder and he just has to keep making good decisions.’’
Dwight’s improved passing skills could have a big benefit on him offensively as well. If he continues to find open shooters for 3-pointers, teams likely will be able to double-team him less and less in the future.
``Even when teams are doubling Dwight, he’s done an outstanding job of passing the ball,’’ Magic assistant coach Patrick Ewing said. ``That hurts them. They are damned if they do and damned if they don’t. If they don’t double, he’s going to destroy them. If they do double and he does a good job passing out they’re going to be in trouble that way too.’’
Friday, March 27, 2009
I’M SEEKING PERFECTION
I’m somewhat of a perfectionist in everything I do, whether it’s my tie perfectly matching my shirt and jacket or my play on the court. I can have a 20-point, 20-rebound game, but if I miss a few free throws or turn the ball over too much then I’m not entirely happy with my effort.
I want to be one of the best big men to ever play the game, and that can’t happen if I settle for second best at anything. I expect myself to be aggressive and compete at the highest level every night.
That’s why even though I was really happy with the Boston win, I’m kind of disappointed how we ended that game. We a lmost lost a big lead in that game. They came back from 16. You play a good team like that, you get them down, you have to bury them.
We’ve got to have games where we let good teams know we’re for real. You do that by putting them in the hole and keeping them there. We gave Boston life. We’ve got to bury teams.
That’s important as we go down the stretch of the regular season and into the playoffs. We want to go into the postseason playing our best basketball. That’s how we’re going to win a championship.
Starting tonight with our game against Milwaukee, we can’t let teams off the hook when we have them down. We have to bury them. That’s kind of what we did to the Bucks last week in Milwaukee and we need to do it again tonight. We have to have that mindset the rest of the way.
Beating teams and keeping them down, that’s how we are going to earn the respect that we deserve. That’s how teams are going to see that we are for real. We have to prove it every night we step on the floor.
Wish us luck. Peace. -- DWIGHT
I want to be one of the best big men to ever play the game, and that can’t happen if I settle for second best at anything. I expect myself to be aggressive and compete at the highest level every night.
That’s why even though I was really happy with the Boston win, I’m kind of disappointed how we ended that game. We a lmost lost a big lead in that game. They came back from 16. You play a good team like that, you get them down, you have to bury them.
We’ve got to have games where we let good teams know we’re for real. You do that by putting them in the hole and keeping them there. We gave Boston life. We’ve got to bury teams.
That’s important as we go down the stretch of the regular season and into the playoffs. We want to go into the postseason playing our best basketball. That’s how we’re going to win a championship.
Starting tonight with our game against Milwaukee, we can’t let teams off the hook when we have them down. We have to bury them. That’s kind of what we did to the Bucks last week in Milwaukee and we need to do it again tonight. We have to have that mindset the rest of the way.
Beating teams and keeping them down, that’s how we are going to earn the respect that we deserve. That’s how teams are going to see that we are for real. We have to prove it every night we step on the floor.
Wish us luck. Peace. -- DWIGHT
Thursday, March 26, 2009
DWIGHT’S DEFENSE SAVES WIN AGAINST CELTICS
If there was any question as to who should win the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year award – and really at this point it should be a slam dunk – Dwight Howard delivered a resounding exclamation point Wednesday with a game-saving blocked shot.
Dwight’s two-handed stuff of Boston superstar Paul Pierce at the rim saved an 84-82 victory for the Magic against the Celtics. It also gave the Magic a leg up in the battle for the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference and locked up a second consecutive Southeast Division title for the Magic.
Afterward, all anyone could talk about was Dwight’s emphatic, game-saving blocke d shot – his fourth such stuff of the night. And Dwight, much to his credit, predicted the way the play would unfold before Pierce ever went down the lane.
``I told the guys when we came out of the huddle that they are going to give the ball to Paul Pierce. Please block out my man and I’ll try to go and get a big block,’’ Dwight recalled. ``It happened just the way we drew it up and I’m just glad he didn’t get the shot off.’’
The big block was just part of a dazzling night for the Magic’s franchise center. He entered the game averaging just 14 points against the Celtics, but he broke out of a mini-slump against Boston by hitting 11 of his first 14 shots and scoring 24 points.
More importantly, and one of the main reasons why Dwight should be the runaway favorite to win the Defensive Player of the Year award, was the 21 rebounds he gobbled up. Two of those rebounds came in heavy traffic in the final minute when the Magic were clinging to a one-point lead.
Remarkably, it was the eighth time this season that Dwight has registered a game with at least 20 points and 20 rebounds. To put that in perspective, the rest of the league has six combined (one by six different players). And Dwight had his league-leading 56th double-double … by the end of the first quarter, the fourth time he’s accomplished that feat this season.
When asked afterward about his standing in the MVP race, Dwight instead talked of his pursuit of a championship rather than individual awards. And he stressed that his defensive contributions mean more to the Magic’s sparkling 53-18 record than some scoring records.
``Twenty points and 20 rebounds are a lot more valuable than 40 points because a lot of my rebounds are on the defensive end and that way teams don’t get a second chance to score,’’ Dwight said. ``It’s better for me to try and get rebounds than trying to score a lot of points.’’
As for his perceived place in the MVP voting behind LeBron20James, Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade, here’s what Dwight said: ``It doesn’t bother me. Like I’ve been stressing, it’s about winning a championship. I’m all about team first and it’s not a cliché. I want to win a championship and it’s not all about MVP or what I can do individually. It’s about winning banners, that’s it.’’
Dwight said the win was important to a Magic team out to show that it’s a legitimate powerhouse in the NBA. The Magic are hungry for national respect, and a tough, hard-nosed win against a champion like Boston can provide that sort of acclaim.
The way Orlando won, by jumping on Boston early and getting gritty defensive stops down the stretch, will give the Magic confidence against the Celtics in the playoffs, Dwight said. And make no mistake about it, the Celtics and the Magic are on course to butt heads again in the playoffs in less than six weeks. And Dwight feels the Magic will be up to the task of beating Boston in a seven-game series.
``We’ll see them again and that’ll be a great test for us,’’ Dwight said. ``We understand that closing out the season strong is big for us. And when we see Boston again we understand now what we have to do to beat the Celtics. We’re not going to beat them playing their game. We have to play our game throughout 48 minutes and throughout a series to beat them.
``We’re confident that we can beat anybody. You’ve got to have that confidence that you can beat anybody. If you don’t believe in yourself nobody else will. We feel we can beat anybody put in front of us when we play our type of basketball.’’
Dwight’s two-handed stuff of Boston superstar Paul Pierce at the rim saved an 84-82 victory for the Magic against the Celtics. It also gave the Magic a leg up in the battle for the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference and locked up a second consecutive Southeast Division title for the Magic.
Afterward, all anyone could talk about was Dwight’s emphatic, game-saving blocke d shot – his fourth such stuff of the night. And Dwight, much to his credit, predicted the way the play would unfold before Pierce ever went down the lane.
``I told the guys when we came out of the huddle that they are going to give the ball to Paul Pierce. Please block out my man and I’ll try to go and get a big block,’’ Dwight recalled. ``It happened just the way we drew it up and I’m just glad he didn’t get the shot off.’’
The big block was just part of a dazzling night for the Magic’s franchise center. He entered the game averaging just 14 points against the Celtics, but he broke out of a mini-slump against Boston by hitting 11 of his first 14 shots and scoring 24 points.
More importantly, and one of the main reasons why Dwight should be the runaway favorite to win the Defensive Player of the Year award, was the 21 rebounds he gobbled up. Two of those rebounds came in heavy traffic in the final minute when the Magic were clinging to a one-point lead.
Remarkably, it was the eighth time this season that Dwight has registered a game with at least 20 points and 20 rebounds. To put that in perspective, the rest of the league has six combined (one by six different players). And Dwight had his league-leading 56th double-double … by the end of the first quarter, the fourth time he’s accomplished that feat this season.
When asked afterward about his standing in the MVP race, Dwight instead talked of his pursuit of a championship rather than individual awards. And he stressed that his defensive contributions mean more to the Magic’s sparkling 53-18 record than some scoring records.
``Twenty points and 20 rebounds are a lot more valuable than 40 points because a lot of my rebounds are on the defensive end and that way teams don’t get a second chance to score,’’ Dwight said. ``It’s better for me to try and get rebounds than trying to score a lot of points.’’
As for his perceived place in the MVP voting behind LeBron20James, Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade, here’s what Dwight said: ``It doesn’t bother me. Like I’ve been stressing, it’s about winning a championship. I’m all about team first and it’s not a cliché. I want to win a championship and it’s not all about MVP or what I can do individually. It’s about winning banners, that’s it.’’
Dwight said the win was important to a Magic team out to show that it’s a legitimate powerhouse in the NBA. The Magic are hungry for national respect, and a tough, hard-nosed win against a champion like Boston can provide that sort of acclaim.
The way Orlando won, by jumping on Boston early and getting gritty defensive stops down the stretch, will give the Magic confidence against the Celtics in the playoffs, Dwight said. And make no mistake about it, the Celtics and the Magic are on course to butt heads again in the playoffs in less than six weeks. And Dwight feels the Magic will be up to the task of beating Boston in a seven-game series.
``We’ll see them again and that’ll be a great test for us,’’ Dwight said. ``We understand that closing out the season strong is big for us. And when we see Boston again we understand now what we have to do to beat the Celtics. We’re not going to beat them playing their game. We have to play our game throughout 48 minutes and throughout a series to beat them.
``We’re confident that we can beat anybody. You’ve got to have that confidence that you can beat anybody. If you don’t believe in yourself nobody else will. We feel we can beat anybody put in front of us when we play our type of basketball.’’
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
DWIGHT READY FOR TRUE TEST AGAINST CELTICS
Orlando Magic all-star center Dwight Howard knows that this test tonight against the Boston Celtics will be a much truer one than when the two teams met earlier this month in Boston.
Orlando won that game 86-79, but it came with Celtics stars Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo out because of injuries.
So when the Magic and Celtics face off tonight at Amway Arena, both teams will be fully intact. And Dwight, for one, is ready for the test between the Magic and the Celtics.
``It’s a big game. They have a lot of their guys back, so we are looking forward to it,’’ Dwight said. ``They won their last couple of games and I think it is going to be a good matchup. They are the defending champions and they are playing well. We want to come out with a lot of energy, and hopefully, we can get a good win.’’
The Magic’s best way to get a good win is to get Dwight going early and often in the game. He battered New York senseless Monday night, scoring 13 points in the first quarter and 29 for the game. Add in his 14 rebounds and four blocked shots and it was a truly dominant performance.
But Boston has been one of the few teams who have managed to slow Dwight down the season offensively. Dwight did hit the Celtics for 18 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks in the win earlier this month, but other games against Boston have been a struggle. In the three games this season against the Celtics, Dwight has averaged 14.3 points on 42.9 percent shooting _ among his season lows against any opponent. But he's still b een a dominant force on the defensive end of the floor, averaging 13.7 rebounds and 4.0 blocks in the three games against the Celtics.
Boston usually sends big men at Dwight in waves, using Kendrick Perkins, Garnett, Leon Powe and Big Baby Davis inside. The referees allow those players to be extremely physical with Dwight (not to mention plenty of grabbing, holding and pulling on his jersey). But Dwight isn’t bothered by it and is vowing to break out tonight against the Celtics and have a big game in front of ESPN’s nationally televised audience.
``We are going to play our normal game. We are going to attack inside and out and we are going to run,’’ Dwight said. ``The last time we beat them, we did a good job of running and getting easy shots and not letting their defense set. Hopefully, we can do the same thing again this time.’’
Orlando won that game 86-79, but it came with Celtics stars Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo out because of injuries.
So when the Magic and Celtics face off tonight at Amway Arena, both teams will be fully intact. And Dwight, for one, is ready for the test between the Magic and the Celtics.
``It’s a big game. They have a lot of their guys back, so we are looking forward to it,’’ Dwight said. ``They won their last couple of games and I think it is going to be a good matchup. They are the defending champions and they are playing well. We want to come out with a lot of energy, and hopefully, we can get a good win.’’
The Magic’s best way to get a good win is to get Dwight going early and often in the game. He battered New York senseless Monday night, scoring 13 points in the first quarter and 29 for the game. Add in his 14 rebounds and four blocked shots and it was a truly dominant performance.
But Boston has been one of the few teams who have managed to slow Dwight down the season offensively. Dwight did hit the Celtics for 18 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks in the win earlier this month, but other games against Boston have been a struggle. In the three games this season against the Celtics, Dwight has averaged 14.3 points on 42.9 percent shooting _ among his season lows against any opponent. But he's still b een a dominant force on the defensive end of the floor, averaging 13.7 rebounds and 4.0 blocks in the three games against the Celtics.
Boston usually sends big men at Dwight in waves, using Kendrick Perkins, Garnett, Leon Powe and Big Baby Davis inside. The referees allow those players to be extremely physical with Dwight (not to mention plenty of grabbing, holding and pulling on his jersey). But Dwight isn’t bothered by it and is vowing to break out tonight against the Celtics and have a big game in front of ESPN’s nationally televised audience.
``We are going to play our normal game. We are going to attack inside and out and we are going to run,’’ Dwight said. ``The last time we beat them, we did a good job of running and getting easy shots and not letting their defense set. Hopefully, we can do the same thing again this time.’’
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