Aside from handing the Indiana Pacers their only home defeat of the season,
the Orlando Magic had a rough go toward the end of last month.

A couple of easier matchups have helped the Magic get off to a good start in
February.

Seeking a third straight victory overall, visiting Orlando tries for a
seventh win in its last eight meetings with Indiana as the teams face each other
for the third time in 12 days Saturday night.

It was a forgettable conclusion to January for the Magic (14-9), who
finished the month with five losses in six games – with their only win over that
stretch coming 102-83 at Indiana on Jan. 24. After that win, Orlando suffered a
season-worst four straight defeats – including a 21-point home loss at the hands
of the Pacers (16-6) on Sunday.

The Magic, though, may have put their woes behind them this week. Two days
after snapping their skid with a 109-103 win over road-weary Washington, Orlando
beat Cleveland 102-94 on Friday. The Magic committed a season-low five turnovers
and held the Cavaliers to 36.7 percent shooting from the field.

“We did good job of spacing the floor out, moving the ball and getting each
other involved,” said Jason Richardson, who returned following a two-game
absence (knee) to score 19 points – his second-highest total of the season.

Dwight Howard had 19 points and 16 rebounds and finished two blocks shy of a
triple-double. His 9-of-16 effort from the foul-line, however, helped allow
Cleveland to cut what was a 21-point lead to five with 2:12 to play after
continuously sending him to the line.

“That’s the game plan,” Howard said. “Until I get better at the line they’re
gonna continue to do it. It is what it is. I shot them better. I just gotta
continue to work on them. They’ll fall.”

The Magic had outscored the Pacers by an average of 14.5 points while taking
six straight in the series before Sunday’s loss. Orlando has still won its last
four visits to Indiana while limiting the Pacers to 40.3 percent shooting.

Indiana, however, has now won a season-best four straight overall after
prevailing 98-87 at Dallas on Friday. Second-year swingman Paul George made 7 of
11 from 3-point range and finished with a career-high 30 points.

“Yeah, he’s oozing confidence, as is our whole team,” coach Frank Vogel
said.

While George was been held to a combined 13 points in the two games versus
the Magic this season, he could fare better this time.

“I’ve grown into a confident player. I feel like I can knock down any shot,”
said George, averaging 12.4 points on the season. “I’ve got a comfort level out
there right now.”

The Pacers have to like their chances of keeping things going in front of
their home crowd at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, where they’ve allowed just 87.9
points per game while going 6-1. Indiana is holding teams to 39.3 percent
shooting on its own court – the second-best mark in the league.

Orlando guard Jameer Nelson is all but certain to miss his fifth consecutive
game with concussion-like symptoms. He could return Monday when the Magic host
the Los Angeles Clippers.

Glen Davis will also be unavailable against the Pacers as he serves the back
end of a two-game suspension for conduct detrimental to the team.

The Orlando Magic parted ways with Larry Hughes last night, reports the Sentinel: “The Magic are down to one less guard after waiving guard Larry Hughes after Wednesday night’s win against the Washington Wizards. Hughes played almost 14 minutes, scoring two points on 1-of-4 shooting. Hughes was was signed as a free agent by Orlando on Dec. 9. He appeared in nine games this season with the Magic, averaging 1.3 ppg. in 12.7 minpg. The Magic might be signing another point guard, with Jameer Nelson (concussion) not expecting to return until Monday at the earliest. Chris Duhon is now their lone point guard.”

The Orlando Magic have lost five of their last six games, and their offensive woes include point totals of 56, 67 and 69 in three of those losses.

What has gone wrong for the Magic offensively? Let’s take a closer look at two aspects of their game using our video review tools, ones similar to those used by NBA teams.

Inside Game

Orlando’s offense has missed opportunities inside during the six-game stretch, shooting 49 percent from inside five feet.

This is something the Magic did very well last season. They made nearly 64 percent of their attempts from inside five feet, which ranked fifth in the NBA. They were hovering around 60 percent for this season prior to this slump.

This is something that has been an issue for Ryan Anderson, Glen Davis and even Dwight Howard. Anderson and Davis are making barely 50 percent of their shots from this close, putting them near the bottom of the league rankings.

Howard, who ranked sixth in the league last season making 72 percent of his shots from inside five feet, has hit just 60 percent this season.

Pick-and-Roll

The Magic are averaging more than 19 turnovers in their last six games, compared to 14.0 turnovers in their first 15 games. They also have gone cold on three-point attempts. Orlando’s gone from shooting 40 percent from long range in their first 15 games to making around one-third of its attempts in this 1-5 stretch.

There is a connection between this ineffectiveness and the issues with the Orlando pick-and-roll offense, something on which the Magic rely heavily.

The performance difference can be seen in the chart on the right.

The Magic have run the seventh-most pick-and-roll plays this season (which includes shots resulting from passes off a pick-and-roll).

Orlando is shooting just 32 percent on three-point attempts off of pick-and-roll plays over the last six games, compared with 41 percent in its first 15. But the Magic now are committing turnovers on these plays nearly twice as often, not giving themselves the best chance to score.

Tonight the Magic host the Washington Wizards, who don’t rate well at forcing turnovers on pick-and-roll plays (only one team generates them less often when defending the ballhandler), so the Magic should be able to get their shots off those plays. If those shots don’t fall against a 4-17 opponent at home, it’s a sign of just how far the Magic have fallen this season.

(Sports Network) – The Orlando Magic try to avoid a fifth straight loss this evening when they welcome the hapless Washington Wizards to Amway Center.

Orlando’s latest loss came in Philadelphia on Monday, as the Magic dropped a 74-69 decision to the Sixers.

Dwight Howard led the way for Orlando with his 16th double-double this season, scoring 17 points with 11 boards. Ryan Anderson also had a double-double with 14 points and a season-high 20 rebounds but Orlando dropped its fourth straight.

“For whatever reason we are struggling. I don’t want to make excuses,” said Magic coach Stan Van Gundy, whose team played its sixth game in eight days. “I think we’ve identified some things (to fix) but we haven’t had a lot of practice time.”

The Sixers held the Magic to 33.3 percent shooting and forced 15 turnovers. Orlando, of course, was without its starting backcourt of Jameer Nelson (concussion) and Jason Richardson (rest) for the sixth time in eight nights, but still managed only nine points in the third quarter.

“It’s easy to come up with the reasons,” Van Gundy said for his team’s poor play recently. “I could be a sportswriter doing that. I don’t mean that even jokingly. … It’s always easy to find the reasons. That’s not hard. The hard part is to solve it. To make it better.”

Orlando will have a terrific opportunity to make it better tonight, as they face a Wizards team that is just 4-17 on the season and is coming off an embarrassing loss at the hands of the Chicago Bulls on Monday.

Derrick Rose lit the Wiz up for 35 points in that one and Washington fell, 98-88.

John Wall scored 20 points, while Nick Young had 17 and JaVale McGee added 16 points with nine rebounds for Washington, which has dropped seven of nine.

The Wizards learned earlier that forward Andray Blatche is expected to miss between three and five weeks with a strained calf.

“Rose just had a hell of a game,” said interim coach Randy Wittman. “He’s a hell of a player. He made shots, from a man-to-man perspective, that there’s nothing you can do (about).”

Washington has dropped seven straight to the Magic.

Everyone is talking about what is going to happen when the Magic lose Dwight Howard.

What will they get in return? Will the team remain competitive?

Who will step up as the de facto leader in the absence of the three time Defensive Player of the Year?

I believe that last one we have an answer to, at least. Ryan Anderson has quickly emerged as one of the best three point gunners in the NBA, and the look of satisifaction after he makes one, is tantamount to the proverbial “money shot.” It’s nice to see a player who enjoys his success that much without making an arse of his opposition by taunting them. After LeBron James jumped over John Lucas, he looked over his shoulder at Lucas as though he was supposed to do something, like prostrate himself before King James. Anderson and many of the NBA’s more humble stars don’t go for those kinds of theatrics.

Anderson is a legit star at this point and is now averaging exactly what I set the over/under at him on going into this season, 16.6 points per game. He started off red hot, leading the Magic in scoring, but has had some particularly poor performances off set the rest of his brilliance. On the 23rd, at Boston, Anderson scored 0, going 0 of 8 from the floor, including 0 of 4 from behind the arc. If you throw out that game, a 5 point game, and an 8 point game, his scoring average would be over a full point higher at 17.7 per game. I realize that is like saying “take away all of a player’s bad games and this is what he is,” but who cares. The point is that as long as a shooter like Anderson isn’t having a horrible night, he can still make a pretty big impact.

He did that last game against the Philadelphia 76ers, grabbing 20 boards in a game which the teams combined for only 143 points. The Magic failed to score 70 once again, and are beginning to draw serious criticism from around the league. How can a team go from dominating the likes of the Lakers, to losing badly to a New Orleans Hornets team without their best player in Eric Gordon?

I guess Howard is as good as gone at this point, but I’m placing my faith in Anderson. Will he carry the Magic to 50 wins? No, probably not, not unless the Magic get a decent compensation package for Howard, but Anderson could team up favorably with a good point guard if the Magic could land one in the deal. There has been talk of a Blake Griffin for Dwight Howard swap, but that is another article for another day.

Anderson would team favorably with a lot of players who could be on the block, because he doesn’t have to clog the paint and he stretches the court, which opens up passing lanes and driving lanes. When Anderson and teammate J.J. Redick get cookin’, the result is Jameer Nelson playing a lot better, and Dwight Howard drawing less aggressive double teams. Anderson’s impact on other players goes largely unnoticed though, because he averages less than one assist per game (0.7).

Maybe at some point Anderson will gain the ability to begin to create for teammates, most especially because he is a perimeter player. It was something Redick couldn’t do when he entered the league out of Duke, but since he has learned to pump fake and put the ball on the floor, and Anderson has shown an ability to do that at times too. The problem is that when Anderson does it, he doesn’t seem to keep his head up to the possibility of finding teammates. That may come in time.

All in all, with Anderson you are getting a guy who I compared to Troy Murphy in his prime with more upside back before the season began on November 30th. That projection has seemed to be deadly accurate, as Anderson is ranking in the top 10 in Fantasy Basketball leagues, for those who enjoy pure statistics as a measure of impact.

But Anderson has been good for some time. His offensive rating this year is 125, and it was 122 last year and his usage rate is 22%, which is very high for a non-guard. If he starts picking up assists, that number will further rise.

There are other things it would be nice to see from Anderson, but it may be asking too much. He doesn’t block many shots for a guy who stands a true 6’10″, but he has limited athleticism, and isn’t going to rise high above the rim and throw shots in the second row like his teammate Dwight Howard does.

But you can’t ask for everything. Anderson is already on his way to remaining a top power forward for a long time because he is only 23 years old, still many seasons away from hitting his true prime.

The Magic may lose Howard, but whatever they add to the mix to compliment Ryan Anderson very well may keep the Magic relevant—at least as a playoff team.

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

The Associated Press

Published: Tuesday, January 31, 2012 at 6:56 a.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, January 31, 2012 at 6:56 a.m.

PHILADELPHIA – Andre Iguodala had 14 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to their third straight win, 74-69 over the Orlando Magic on Monday night.

The Sixers raced to their best start in nearly a decade by taking advantage of a soft schedule for the first third of the season. It gets tough from here. Orlando was the first opponent in a long run of games against winning teams that includes home games this week against Chicago and Miami.

Led by Iguodala’s burst in the third quarter, the Sixers outlasted the stumbling Magic. Dwight Howard’s 17 points and 11 rebounds weren’t enough in Orlando’s fourth straight loss.

Howard wants out of Orlando and criticized his teammates Friday for not playing hard enough in a loss to New Orleans.

Copyright 2012 NewsChief.com – All rights reserved. Restricted use only.

Andre Iguodala had 14 points and 11 rebounds to lead the surprising Philadelphia 76ers to their third straight win, 74-69 over the Orlando Magic on Monday night.

The Sixers raced to their best start in nearly a decade by taking advantage of a soft schedule for the first third of the season, but it gets tough from here. Orlando was the first opponent in a long run of games against winning teams that includes home games this week against Chicago and Miami.

Led by Iguodala’s burst in the third quarter, the Sixers (15-6) outlasted the stumbling Magic and won despite posting their lowest point total of the season. Dwight Howard’s 17 points and 11 rebounds weren’t enough in Orlando’s fourth straight loss.

Howard wants out of Orlando and criticized his teammates Friday for not playing hard enough in a loss to New Orleans. He missed eight of 13 free throws overall against Philadelphia and the Magic missed 14 of 17 shots from the floor in the third. Ryan Anderson had 14 points and 20 rebounds.

The Magic missed nine straight shots during a 6-minute stretch in the third that allowed the Sixers to build a double-digit lead. Jodie Meeks hit a 3-pointer for a 53-40 lead and the 76ers withstood three late 3s by Orlando that trimmed the final margin.

The Magic scored only nine points in the third quarter. Howard had all three baskets.

With 6 minutes left in the game, the Magic had yet to reach 50 points.

Long the fourth pro team in Philadelphia, the improved Sixers are winning back fans one victory at a time. They improved to 11-2 at home in front one of their largest crowds of the season (16,299). Heading into a timeout in the third, the Atlantic Division leaders walked off toward the huddle to a standing ovation.

Coming off a triple-double against Detroit on Saturday, Iguodala fell four assists shy of a repeat effort. The rest of the Sixers struggled to score, but Philadelphia didn’t need to do much against an Orlando team that has completely unraveled.

Sixers first year CEO Adam Aron conducted as he mingled with fans and the team’s retro theme song was blasted for the enthusiastic crowd. Aron and the new ownership group have overhauled the game-night atmosphere, but the biggest change has come on the court.

They’ll need more than a catchy tune to get through the next two weeks. After Chicago and Miami, the Sixers play Saturday at Atlanta. They return home next week for games against the Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Clippers.

Fans yelled “On the list!” at Howard, a reference to placing the Sixers on his short list of teams where he’d like to be traded.

Before the game, Howard walked around the locker room with a brick in each hand, playfully swinging them around and yelling, “I’m going to knock somebody in the head!”

He shot more bricks from the free throw line, not a total surprise considering he shoots 46 percent from the line.

Evan Turner scored 12 points for the Sixers and Thaddeus Young had 10.

Notes: Magic point guard Jameer Nelson did not travel with the team, sidelined with concussion-like symptoms after taking an inadvertent blow to the head and jaw in Orlando’s loss at New Orleans on Friday. Coach Stan Van Gundy said Nelson could be sidelined another week. … The 76ers played again without starting center Spencer Hawes (left Achilles strain) and his backup, rookie Nik Vucevic (left quad strain). … Iguodala moved into fourth place on the team’s career steals list, passing Charles Barkley. … Orlando’s nine points in the third was the low against Philly for a quarter.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Coach Doug Collins has talked about the 76ers playing consistently and on an even keel, night in and night out, no matter whom the opposition, in order to keep on rolling.

And almost a third of the way of the way through the season, this is exactly what they are doing. On Monday at Wells Fargo Center, it worked again, this time producing a 74-69 victory over the Orlando Magic.

The point total was the lowest the Sixers (15-7) have finished with in any game this season, but it was achieved because they held the Magic (12-9) to just 26-for-78 shooting in the game.

Gradually, game by game, this year is becoming a series of mini-accomplishments that are starting to build, and allaying the fears that this season, which will be one third complete by the end of this week, is a fluke.

The latest step saw the Sixers easily beat an Orlando team – they led by 19 in the fourth quarter – that had previously owned them. They held the Magic below 50 points until they finally hit 51 when Ryan Anderson scored on a put-back to make the score 68-51 Sixers with 3 minutes, 20 seconds left.

On numerous occasions the crowd rose to its feet and serenaded the Sixers with applause, the loudest of which came when Elton Brand swatted a short jumper by Orlando’s Dwight Howard right back in his face late in the fourth.

The victory ended the Magic’s six-game winning streak at the Wells Fargo Center, and it marked just the second time in the last 13 meetings that the Sixers had beaten the Magic.

Coming off a triple-double, the Sixers’ Andre Iguodala was superb again, finishing with 14 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists. Tony Battie scored eight points and grabbed nine rebounds, and Brand had eight points and seven rebounds.

Howard finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds, and Anderson finished with 14 points and a game-high 20 rebounds.

The Sixers were once again without starting center Spencer Hawes (strained left Achilles tendon), but Orlando was shorthanded as well, playing without its starting backcourt of Chester’s own Jameer Nelson (concussion-like symptoms) and Jason Richardson (rest).

Fatigued or not, Orlando, playing its sixth game in eight nights, held the Sixers to 37 points in the first half, their lowest total since the New York Knicks held them to 35 in the first half of an 85-79 loss earlier this month.

Still, the Sixers led by four points at halftime because their defense reduced the Magic to a 12-for-36 shooting wreck. This covered up for their shaky 17-for-41 effort.

But the Sixers were able to shake off the offensive malaise of the first half, and Orlando was not. The Sixers held Orlando to nine points in the third, the first time this season the Sixers had held an opponent under 10 points in any quarter.

With Orlando making just three field goals the entire quarter, the Sixers were able to extend their lead to 58-42 at the end of the quarter.

Orlando has struggled this season and is in a particularly grueling stretch of the season right now. The Magic was playing its sixth game in eight nights on Monday. They had lost three in a row, most recently falling to Indiana, at home on Sunday, by 21 points.

The Sixers’ schedule is about to become significantly more demanding than it has been since the start of the season. Howard is easily the best big man in the league, but now the Sixers are about to face some of the better teams in the NBA.

Contact staff writer John N. Mitchell at jmitchell@philly.com or on Twitter @deepsixer3

AP Photo/H. Rumph Jr

Philadelphia 76ers’ Elton Brand (42) reacts after scoring against the Orlando Magic in the first half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, Jan. 30, 2012, in Philadelphia.

Andre Iguodala had 14 points and 11 rebounds to lead the surprising Philadelphia 76ers to their third straight win, 74-69 over the Orlando Magic on Monday night.
The Sixers raced to their best start in nearly a decade by taking advantage of a soft schedule for the first third of the season, but it gets tough from here. Orlando was the first opponent in a long run of games against winning teams that includes home games this week against Chicago and Miami.
Led by Iguodala’s burst in the third quarter, the Sixers (15-6) outlasted the stumbling Magic and won despite posting their lowest point total of the season. Dwight Howard’s 17 points and 11 rebounds weren’t enough in Orlando’s fourth straight loss.
Howard wants out of Orlando and criticized his teammates Friday for not playing hard enough in a loss to New Orleans. He missed eight of 13 free throws overall against Philadelphia and the Magic missed 14 of 17 shots from the floor in the third. Ryan Anderson had 14 points and 20 rebounds.
The Magic missed nine straight shots during a 6-minute stretch in the third that allowed the Sixers to build a double-digit lead. Jodie Meeks hit a 3-pointer for a 53-40 lead and the 76ers withstood three late 3s by Orlando that trimmed the final margin.
The Magic scored only nine points in the third quarter. Howard had all three baskets.
With 6 minutes left in the game, the Magic had yet to reach 50 points.
Long the fourth pro team in Philadelphia, the improved Sixers are winning back fans one victory at a time. They improved to 11-2 at home in front one of their largest crowds of the season (16,299). Heading into a timeout in the third, the Atlantic Division leaders walked off toward the huddle to a standing ovation.
Coming off a triple-double against Detroit on Saturday, Iguodala fell four assists shy of a repeat effort. The rest of the Sixers struggled to score, but Philadelphia didn’t need to do much against an Orlando team that has completely unraveled.
Sixers first year CEO Adam Aron conducted as he mingled with fans and the team’s retro theme song was blasted for the enthusiastic crowd. Aron and the new ownership group have overhauled the game-night atmosphere, but the biggest change has come on the court.
They’ll need more than a catchy tune to get through the next two weeks. After Chicago and Miami, the Sixers play Saturday at Atlanta. They return home next week for games against the Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Clippers.
Fans yelled “On the list!” at Howard, a reference to placing the Sixers on his short list of teams where he’d like to be traded.
Before the game, Howard walked around the locker room with a brick in each hand, playfully swinging them around and yelling, “I’m going to knock somebody in the head!”
He shot more bricks from the free throw line, not a total surprise considering he shoots 46 percent from the line.
Evan Turner scored 12 points for the Sixers and Thaddeus Young had 10.
Notes: Magic point guard Jameer Nelson did not travel with the team, sidelined with concussion-like symptoms after taking an inadvertent blow to the head and jaw in Orlando’s loss at New Orleans on Friday. Coach Stan Van Gundy said Nelson could be sidelined another week. … The 76ers played again without starting center Spencer Hawes (left Achilles strain) and his backup, rookie Nik Vucevic (left quad strain). … Iguodala moved into fourth place on the team’s career steals list, passing Charles Barkley. … Orlando’s nine points in the third was the low against Philly for a quarter.