Denton: Magic-Pistons Notes
By John Denton
November 3, 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.
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – When it comes to Dwight Howard’s much-debated, much-analyzed stroke at the free throw line, the Orlando Magic superstar center prefers silence.
After a summer in which he worked more on his free throw form than any other part of his expanding game, Howard has asked his teammates to limit their suggestions and tips during those times when he does slump. For Howard, he feels the road to success at the free throw will be paved by less thinking and more comfort at the stripe.
``What I’ve been trying to tell my teammates is that there are always a lot of people in my ear when it comes to my free throws,’’ Howard said. ``I have to hear it every day in the media and every day when I go to practice – people telling me what I need to do and what I don’t need to do. Sometimes, when you hear that stuff all the time you tend to think too much.
``Guys have tried not to say too much about me shooting them and they just want me to go up there and make them,’’ Howard continued. ``I’ve told them, `Hey, just let me go up there and shoot ‘em.’ I’ve been working all summer on free throws and nobody said anything, so why start now? I feel good at the line, and when I’m not as worried about making them or missing them, then they tend to fall.’’
They certainly fell for Howard Sunday in Toronto. He made 14 of 16 tries, making the Raptors pay for sending players at him in waves with the purpose of using all of their fouls. He made four of eight free throws in Tuesday’s ugly 85-80 loss to the Detroit Pistons.
Howard entered this season a 60.1 percent career free throw shooter. He made 59.4 percent during the regular season last year and 63.6 percent in 23 playoff games. He has a goal of 70 percent from the stripe this one, a mark he feels is very attainable because of the consistency in his stroke.
GORTAT ADJUSTING: Magic coach Stan Van Gundy admitted that reserve center Marcin Gortat is going through somewhat of a tough stretch after playing especially well during the preseason.
Gortat saw big minutes in the preseason when Howard either sat out of a game or picked up early foul trouble. He played 21 minutes a game in the preseason, averaging 8.0 points and 7.5 rebounds a game. He had three big games with 14 points and 14 rebounds against Houston, 15 points and eight rebounds against Indiana and 12 points and seven rebounds versus Memphis.
But Gortat’s minutes shrunk considerably in the first three games, getting just 44 minutes total. Van Gundy said that shortening of minutes has had an effect on Gortat, who signed a $34 million contract extension with Orlando over the summer. In the first three games, he made just four of 11 shots and grabbed only nine rebounds.
``Marcin has to get back to playing well in quick bursts,’’ Van Gundy said. ``He played really well in the preseason and last year when he was a limited minutes guy he did really well. Then, in the preseason he got big minutes and that led to him getting comfortable and trying to play his way into games. He has to adjust to again. He’s been one of the best at being productive in those four- and five-minute stretches, and we’ve got to get him back to that again.’’
ETC: Howard was hit hard early in the third period and re-injured the shoulder that he originally hurt on Sunday in Toronto. After a brief stay on the bench, Howard went to the locker room to have the shoulder examined. … Detroit forward Tayshaun Prince didn’t play Tuesday night because of a lower back strain. It ended his streak of 496 consecutive games played and his NBA-best streak of 439 consecutive starts. Portland point guard Andre Miller is the NBA’s leader in consecutive games played at 532. Prince, who last missed a game on April 13, 2003, won’t travel with the Pistons to Toronto on Wednesday or to Orlando on Friday. … Magic forward Matt Barnes will face one of his former teams Wednesday night when the Magic host the Phoenix Suns at Amway Arena. Barnes spent one bizarre season in Phoenix, thinking he was joining a championship-contending team, but instead one that fired coach Terry Porter in midseason and missed the playoffs completely. Said Barnes: ``It was a roller coaster from the time I signed there. There was a coaching change we went back to Alvin Gentry. It was good, but it definitely could have been a lot better there.’’ Magic forward Rashard Lewis missed the fourth game of his 10-game suspension for taking a banned supplement Tuesday night. Lewis is travelling with the team and worked out for almost an hour following the morning shootaround. Lewis said the magnitude of the suspension didn’t fully hit him until he missed the season-opener last week. Said Lewis: ``I knew for months (the suspension) was coming, but it didn’t really hit me hard until the night of the first game and I wasn’t there. I’m just glad the team is winning and that’s taken some of the stress off.’’
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 DentonNovember 3, 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.
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – When it comes to Dwight Howard’s much-debated, much-analyzed stroke at the free throw line, the Orlando Magic superstar center prefers silence.
After a summer in which he worked more on his free throw form than any other part of his expanding game, Howard has asked his teammates to limit their suggestions and tips during those times when he does slump. For Howard, he feels the road to success at the free throw will be paved by less thinking and more comfort at the stripe.
``What I’ve been trying to tell my teammates is that there are always a lot of people in my ear when it comes to my free throws,’’ Howard said. ``I have to hear it every day in the media and every day when I go to practice – people telling me what I need to do and what I don’t need to do. Sometimes, when you hear that stuff all the time you tend to think too much.
``Guys have tried not to say too much about me shooting them and they just want me to go up there and make them,’’ Howard continued. ``I’ve told them, `Hey, just let me go up there and shoot ‘em.’ I’ve been working all summer on free throws and nobody said anything, so why start now? I feel good at the line, and when I’m not as worried about making them or missing them, then they tend to fall.’’
They certainly fell for Howard Sunday in Toronto. He made 14 of 16 tries, making the Raptors pay for sending players at him in waves with the purpose of using all of their fouls. He made four of eight free throws in Tuesday’s ugly 85-80 loss to the Detroit Pistons.
Howard entered this season a 60.1 percent career free throw shooter. He made 59.4 percent during the regular season last year and 63.6 percent in 23 playoff games. He has a goal of 70 percent from the stripe this one, a mark he feels is very attainable because of the consistency in his stroke.
GORTAT ADJUSTING: Magic coach Stan Van Gundy admitted that reserve center Marcin Gortat is going through somewhat of a tough stretch after playing especially well during the preseason.
Gortat saw big minutes in the preseason when Howard either sat out of a game or picked up early foul trouble. He played 21 minutes a game in the preseason, averaging 8.0 points and 7.5 rebounds a game. He had three big games with 14 points and 14 rebounds against Houston, 15 points and eight rebounds against Indiana and 12 points and seven rebounds versus Memphis.
But Gortat’s minutes shrunk considerably in the first three games, getting just 44 minutes total. Van Gundy said that shortening of minutes has had an effect on Gortat, who signed a $34 million contract extension with Orlando over the summer. In the first three games, he made just four of 11 shots and grabbed only nine rebounds.
``Marcin has to get back to playing well in quick bursts,’’ Van Gundy said. ``He played really well in the preseason and last year when he was a limited minutes guy he did really well. Then, in the preseason he got big minutes and that led to him getting comfortable and trying to play his way into games. He has to adjust to again. He’s been one of the best at being productive in those four- and five-minute stretches, and we’ve got to get him back to that again.’’
ETC: Howard was hit hard early in the third period and re-injured the shoulder that he originally hurt on Sunday in Toronto. After a brief stay on the bench, Howard went to the locker room to have the shoulder examined. … Detroit forward Tayshaun Prince didn’t play Tuesday night because of a lower back strain. It ended his streak of 496 consecutive games played and his NBA-best streak of 439 consecutive starts. Portland point guard Andre Miller is the NBA’s leader in consecutive games played at 532. Prince, who last missed a game on April 13, 2003, won’t travel with the Pistons to Toronto on Wednesday or to Orlando on Friday. … Magic forward Matt Barnes will face one of his former teams Wednesday night when the Magic host the Phoenix Suns at Amway Arena. Barnes spent one bizarre season in Phoenix, thinking he was joining a championship-contending team, but instead one that fired coach Terry Porter in midseason and missed the playoffs completely. Said Barnes: ``It was a roller coaster from the time I signed there. There was a coaching change we went back to Alvin Gentry. It was good, but it definitely could have been a lot better there.’’ Magic forward Rashard Lewis missed the fourth game of his 10-game suspension for taking a banned supplement Tuesday night. Lewis is travelling with the team and worked out for almost an hour following the morning shootaround. Lewis said the magnitude of the suspension didn’t fully hit him until he missed the season-opener last week. Said Lewis: ``I knew for months (the suspension) was coming, but it didn’t really hit me hard until the night of the first game and I wasn’t there. I’m just glad the team is winning and that’s taken some of the stress off.’’
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.
