Denton: Magic-Bucks Notes
By John Denton
December 30, 2009
Note: The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Orlando Magic. All opinions expressed by John Denton are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Orlando Magic or their Basketball Operations staff, partners or sponsors. His sources are not known to the Magic and he has no special access to information beyond the access and privileges that go along with being an NBA accredited member of the media.
ORLANDO – Orlando Magic star center Dwight Howard was a part of the next-to-last draft class allowed to jump from high school to the NBA in 2004, and he wishes that preps stars still had the chance to pursue their pro dreams out of high school.
Instead, players now are forced to wait a year after high school. Most attend college, but at least one, Milwaukee point guard Brandon Jennings, played professionally in Italy before making a splash in the NBA this season.
Looking back on his experiences jumping from the preps to the pros, Howard admitted that the transition was a difficult one, but his was aided by help from former teammates Grant Hill, Tony Battie and current Magic point guard Jameer Nelson. Howard, now 23, realized early on that he had plenty to learn about life after coming to the NBA as an 18-year-old.
``I wish (high school players) could still come straight to the NBA, but everybody has to go through something different to get to this level,’’ said Howard, who is remarkably already in his sixth NBA season after being selected No. 1 overall in 2004. ``High school-to-the-NBA is really tough physically and mentally, too. It’s something that you have to be well prepared for. Coming out of high school and not knowing how to manage money and deal with money and all the things that come with playing in the NBA, all those things take time to learn. You might even have to go through a couple of bad experiences to learn from them.’’
Howard said his transition from high school to the NBA was eased by the fact that he landed with a solid organization with the Magic. The help Howard got along the way, he said, helped him become the all-star player that he is today.
``Those were the rough days of life, going from a young buck to the man that I am now. I was a sheep thrown out there with the wolves,’’ Howard joked.
``Really, it was fun for me because I was around a great team, a great organization and a great city. All of that stuff was a factor in my career and I was blessed to come to Orlando and be able to come to a team that was faith-based, but also one that had great leadership,’’ he continued. ``We had (General Manager) Otis (Smith) coming up and (head coach) Stan (Van Gundy) getting here. It’s all a key factor in my success, along with Jameer and Tony Battie and Grant Hill. All of those guys did a good job of molding me into a well-groomed young man.’’
POINT OF EMPHASIS: Off the past four days since playing on Christmas Day, Orlando’s players got two days off to rest and then practiced on Monday and Tuesday.
Van Gundy’s message throughout the past two practices revolved around limiting the number of turnovers and making sure the team doesn’t lose focus when it comes to pounding the ball inside to Howard on the post.
Van Gundy and Howard were both highly frustrated that Howard got just seven shots in the loss to the Celtics. His seven turnovers factored into that, but too often the Magic settled for the first jump shot available and didn’t make the Boston defense slide from side to side with ball movement.
Van Gundy wants to try and move Howard around more rather than just trying to anchor him on the post. The idea is to get him the ball closer to the basket rather than having him have to dribble so much or play out of double teams.
``One of our priorities the last few days is getting him the ball deeper and for him to play out of there,’’ Van Gundy said. ``We’ve all got a responsibility to establish him more down low. Dwight has a responsibility of working harder to get the ball deeper, players have a responsibility of getting him the ball when he’s open and I have a responsibility with play-calling to find things that will get him the ball in deep spots. That’s been a focus the past few days.’’
ETC: Jason Williams, who moved back into a reserve role after Jameer Nelson returned following knee surgery, was a starter in his previous 10 seasons as an NBA player. He admitted that having to play off the bench as a reserve this season took some adjusting. Said Williams, who entered Wednesday’s game second in the NBA in assist-to-turnover ratio (4.28-to-1): ``It took me a while to get used to (coming off the bench), but at the end of the day it’s just five on five and the goal is still 10 feet high.’’ … Nelson’s minutes climbed in his first three games back from the knee surgery – from 14 to 29 to 32 minutes – but Van Gundy said the Magic are still closely watching Nelson for signs that he might be favoring his knee. Nelson’s time in practice on Monday and Tuesday was limited to avoid overuse. Said Van Gundy: ``We’re constantly keeping an eye on the knee and hopefully his play gets better as he gets more rhythm and he stays healthy. Those are clearly the two concerns.’’ … Tuesday was the 19-year anniversary of former Magic point guard Scott Skiles setting the NBA record for assists in a game with 30. As fate would have it, Skiles was in Orlando Tuesday night as head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks. … Magic star guard Vince Carter said he’s usually able to put losses behind him quickly, but the sting from Friday’s 86-77 loss to the Celtics lingered throughout the weekend. Orlando shot just 33 points and its eight-point second quarter was one point shy of a franchise low. Said Carter: ``That was a tough one. We didn’t play well, but we gave ourselves a chance to win, but we couldn’t finish the deal. We have a lot more games to go, so we just have to push that one aside and not let it linger.’’
John Denton writes for Orlandomagic.com. His Orlando Magic ``Behind the Scenes’’ segment can be heard on ESPN 1080 AM on Thursday at 5:05 p.m. Submit questions to John for his ``Ask J.D.’’ mailbag feature that will appear every Friday at AskJD@orlandomagic.com.
By John DentonDecember 30, 2009
Note: The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Orlando Magic. All opinions expressed by John Denton are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Orlando Magic or their Basketball Operations staff, partners or sponsors. His sources are not known to the Magic and he has no special access to information beyond the access and privileges that go along with being an NBA accredited member of the media.
ORLANDO – Orlando Magic star center Dwight Howard was a part of the next-to-last draft class allowed to jump from high school to the NBA in 2004, and he wishes that preps stars still had the chance to pursue their pro dreams out of high school.
Instead, players now are forced to wait a year after high school. Most attend college, but at least one, Milwaukee point guard Brandon Jennings, played professionally in Italy before making a splash in the NBA this season.
Looking back on his experiences jumping from the preps to the pros, Howard admitted that the transition was a difficult one, but his was aided by help from former teammates Grant Hill, Tony Battie and current Magic point guard Jameer Nelson. Howard, now 23, realized early on that he had plenty to learn about life after coming to the NBA as an 18-year-old.
``I wish (high school players) could still come straight to the NBA, but everybody has to go through something different to get to this level,’’ said Howard, who is remarkably already in his sixth NBA season after being selected No. 1 overall in 2004. ``High school-to-the-NBA is really tough physically and mentally, too. It’s something that you have to be well prepared for. Coming out of high school and not knowing how to manage money and deal with money and all the things that come with playing in the NBA, all those things take time to learn. You might even have to go through a couple of bad experiences to learn from them.’’
Howard said his transition from high school to the NBA was eased by the fact that he landed with a solid organization with the Magic. The help Howard got along the way, he said, helped him become the all-star player that he is today.
``Those were the rough days of life, going from a young buck to the man that I am now. I was a sheep thrown out there with the wolves,’’ Howard joked.
``Really, it was fun for me because I was around a great team, a great organization and a great city. All of that stuff was a factor in my career and I was blessed to come to Orlando and be able to come to a team that was faith-based, but also one that had great leadership,’’ he continued. ``We had (General Manager) Otis (Smith) coming up and (head coach) Stan (Van Gundy) getting here. It’s all a key factor in my success, along with Jameer and Tony Battie and Grant Hill. All of those guys did a good job of molding me into a well-groomed young man.’’
POINT OF EMPHASIS: Off the past four days since playing on Christmas Day, Orlando’s players got two days off to rest and then practiced on Monday and Tuesday.
Van Gundy’s message throughout the past two practices revolved around limiting the number of turnovers and making sure the team doesn’t lose focus when it comes to pounding the ball inside to Howard on the post.
Van Gundy and Howard were both highly frustrated that Howard got just seven shots in the loss to the Celtics. His seven turnovers factored into that, but too often the Magic settled for the first jump shot available and didn’t make the Boston defense slide from side to side with ball movement.
Van Gundy wants to try and move Howard around more rather than just trying to anchor him on the post. The idea is to get him the ball closer to the basket rather than having him have to dribble so much or play out of double teams.
``One of our priorities the last few days is getting him the ball deeper and for him to play out of there,’’ Van Gundy said. ``We’ve all got a responsibility to establish him more down low. Dwight has a responsibility of working harder to get the ball deeper, players have a responsibility of getting him the ball when he’s open and I have a responsibility with play-calling to find things that will get him the ball in deep spots. That’s been a focus the past few days.’’
ETC: Jason Williams, who moved back into a reserve role after Jameer Nelson returned following knee surgery, was a starter in his previous 10 seasons as an NBA player. He admitted that having to play off the bench as a reserve this season took some adjusting. Said Williams, who entered Wednesday’s game second in the NBA in assist-to-turnover ratio (4.28-to-1): ``It took me a while to get used to (coming off the bench), but at the end of the day it’s just five on five and the goal is still 10 feet high.’’ … Nelson’s minutes climbed in his first three games back from the knee surgery – from 14 to 29 to 32 minutes – but Van Gundy said the Magic are still closely watching Nelson for signs that he might be favoring his knee. Nelson’s time in practice on Monday and Tuesday was limited to avoid overuse. Said Van Gundy: ``We’re constantly keeping an eye on the knee and hopefully his play gets better as he gets more rhythm and he stays healthy. Those are clearly the two concerns.’’ … Tuesday was the 19-year anniversary of former Magic point guard Scott Skiles setting the NBA record for assists in a game with 30. As fate would have it, Skiles was in Orlando Tuesday night as head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks. … Magic star guard Vince Carter said he’s usually able to put losses behind him quickly, but the sting from Friday’s 86-77 loss to the Celtics lingered throughout the weekend. Orlando shot just 33 points and its eight-point second quarter was one point shy of a franchise low. Said Carter: ``That was a tough one. We didn’t play well, but we gave ourselves a chance to win, but we couldn’t finish the deal. We have a lot more games to go, so we just have to push that one aside and not let it linger.’’
John Denton writes for Orlandomagic.com. His Orlando Magic ``Behind the Scenes’’ segment can be heard on ESPN 1080 AM on Thursday at 5:05 p.m. Submit questions to John for his ``Ask J.D.’’ mailbag feature that will appear every Friday at AskJD@orlandomagic.com.
