Orlando Magic Pre-Season Opener

[JBDuke]

The Magic had their first scrimmage against another team tonight - the Atlanta Hawks.

For those interested in JJ Redick, he did not start - Keith Bogans did. (Not a surprise, given that Bogans is the veteran.) But JJ got the most minutes of anyone on the team - 34. He was the #3 scorer behind Howard and Foyle with 10 points on 4-9 shooting (1-3 from 3). Bogans was scoreless with one shot in 13 mins. JJ's other principle competition for the starting SG spot is Keyon Dooling, who was DNP with a minor injury. Overall, a pretty good showing for our boy.

Shelden, on the other hand, was pretty much a non factor for the Hawks. He played 16 mins, was 0-2 from the floor and 2-2 from the line, with only 3 boards. IMO, Shelden needs to step it up, or he's going to be lost among all the others that Atlanta has in the post.

[Cameron]

Good to see JJ play well early on. Hopefully he can keep it up and get the nod this season. It would be great to finally see JJ get his shot to shine, especially after getting hosed by idiot Brian Hill.

Sorry, Brian, but you are nothing without Shaq and Penny. Have fun on the links.

[lazee]

Sorry, Brian, but you are nothing without Shaq and Penny. Have fun on the links.

He's an assistant coach for the NJ Nets now under Lawrence Frank who used to be his assistant once upon a time.

Keep it up JJ!!

[SilkyJ]

He's an assistant coach for the NJ Nets now under Lawrence Frank who used to be his assistant once upon a time.

Keep it up JJ!!

That's funny. Also, I thought the magic were trying to keep him around in some cushy front office role?

[SilkyJ]

JJ started tonight, again played the most minutes on the team, and had a very productive night. When I checked the boxscore mid-game JJ was the leading scorer on the team with 14pts with about 10 min left in the 3rd quarter.

He finished with 17pts. 2rebs. 3asts. 2tos on 6-9 from the field, 5-8 from 3.

Keep it up JJ.

[Jaymf7]

Here is a link to the box score...

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=271010019

If you click the play-by-play screen, it looks like JJ dominated the first 8 minutes of the game, building a nice lead. He hit big shots, assisted on other baskets, and apparently was very involved on a team with 2 much bigger stars.

Let's hope he keeps it up.

[feldspar]

Dude, where'd my post go?

[JBDuke]

Dude, where'd my post go?

I deleted it, because it had no content that wasn't covered in SilkyJ's post at 9:36 pm yesterday.

In the future, if you have questions about why a post was deleted or modified, please send a Private Message to the moderator who took the action.

[SilkyJ]

Just read that Sheld has been bothered by a hamstring. Let's hope that's why his minutes/production has been limited in 2 preseason games.

Horford, who is probably Sheld's biggest competition for minutes right now, played ~35mins last night while sheld only played ~15. Sheld was still pretty productive though:

Box Score:
http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=271010014

Also, take a look at the shot chart for sheld (you may have to select him from the drop down menu). He is showing his offensive versatility...something he only got to showcase sparingly at Duke (Remember when he hit those 3s early in his senior year!)

Shot chart:
http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/shotchart?gameId=271010014

[feldspar]

I deleted it, because it had no content that wasn't covered in SilkyJ's post at 9:36 pm yesterday.

In the future, if you have questions about why a post was deleted or modified, please send a Private Message to the moderator who took the action.

Pray tell, how am I supposed to know what moderator took the action, Groucho?

ETA: Silky must have edited his post, cause when I read the thread, all that info wasn't in there.

[JBDuke]

Pray tell, how am I supposed to know what moderator took the action, Groucho?

ETA: Silky must have edited his post, cause when I read the thread, all that info wasn't in there.

Duh. My bad. I guess because of my moderator privileges, I see the header of deleted posts and the name of the mod that deleted it. I just logged out and tried it only to find that the post appeared to be completely gone.

Regardless, you can PM the mods collectively by using the "alert" button on a post if you have a moderation question. One of us will get back to you - and hopefully the one that deleted your post will tell you why.

As to whether SilkyJ edited his post, it doesn't look like it to me.

I know you're trying to pad your post count, but copying someone else's post content is just cheezy, feldspar! ;-)

[JBDuke]

Just read that Sheld has been bothered by a hamstring. Let's hope that's why his minutes/production has been limited in 2 preseason games.

Horford, who is probably Sheld's biggest competition for minutes right now, played ~35mins last night while sheld only played ~15. Sheld was still pretty productive though:

Box Score:
http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=271010014

Also, take a look at the shot chart for sheld (you may have to select him from the drop down menu). He is showing his offensive versatility...something he only got to showcase sparingly at Duke (Remember when he hit those 3s early in his senior year!)

Shot chart:
http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/shotchart?gameId=271010014

Thanks for the update, SilkyJ, and sorry for the distractions in this thread. I hadn't heard the news about Shelden, and I was worried that his numbers looked pretty meager if he's going to keep a spot in the rotation or compete for a starting job. I hope he's healthy soon and can show the game we know he has.

[feldspar]

I know you're trying to pad your post count, but copying someone else's post content is just cheezy, feldspar! ;-)

Hey! I'm takin' you off my facebook friends list ;-)

I haven't posted in a while, been busy with a move across the country and getting back into the reffing season. I have a lot of catching up to do to get back in the Top 5. :D :D

[jipops]

I think JJ will do a decent bit of scoring this season, may even average double figures. The biggest concern with Redick is his defense and his ability to defend more athletic guards. The better that is, the more minutes he'll get, therefore the more he'll score.

[TheGodfather]

Judging by the boxscore it looks like it would have been the best JJ vs Adam Morrison matchup yet. Would have loved to be able to see that.

JJ and the Magic travel to China next week. Those preseason games will be televised on the ESPN2.

[JasonEvans]

Thanks for the update, SilkyJ, and sorry for the distractions in this thread. I hadn't heard the news about Shelden, and I was worried that his numbers looked pretty meager if he's going to keep a spot in the rotation or compete for a starting job. I hope he's healthy soon and can show the game we know he has.

I am convinced that Shelden will never get a chance to shine while the dumb-@!#$^@#& who run the Hawks are in charge. They have no idea how to use him and he rarely gets the kind of minutes neccessary to get in the flow of the game. Now that they have Horford and refused to trade that #3 pick (even though they could have gotten a LOT for it), they will likely give Horford every chance to succeed, which will mean fewer minutes for Shel. Also, don't forget that Josh Smith and Marvin Williams get plenty of minutes at the PF position for the Hawks. Even moreso than Horford, the Hawks management/fools are praying that Marvin busts out this season.

And then there is the center position, which is someplace I think Shel could make a bit of an impact, especially in the big-man deficient East-- but the Hawks are married to Zaza Pachullia there even though his definition of defense involved a red cape and the word "ole!"

I continue to root for this team to lose, if only to prove that even if you give a team top-5 draft picks year after year after year some teams will not get better because they have brain-dead fools running the show. I also am dying to see how long they can continue to keep Mike Woodson on as head coach. They are now 69-177 in his 3 seasons at the helm. For those of you who don't do math, that's a .280 winning percentage.

--Jason "The Hawks are a team that aspires to be mediocre" Evans

[dukelifer]

JJ was high scorer tonight with 19 in a win over the Heat. While it is only preseason, JJ is building some confidence.

[lavell12]

JJ is gonna have a break out season. I feel bad for Sheldon b/c he is getting screwed by the Hawks and b/c of JJ he never got the credit he deserved at Duke.

[Indoor66]

JJ was high scorer tonight with 19 in a win over the Heat. While it is only preseason, JJ is building some confidence.

I listened on 610 to the Miami broadcast and noted that Mario Bogans started over JJ, though.

[Jumbo]

I listened on 610 to the Miami broadcast and noted that Mario Bogans started over JJ, though.

Keith Bogans. Mario Boggan was a PF at Oklahoma State last year. Not sure if he's in an NBA camp -- he played with the Nuggets in summer league, but he's not on their preseason roster.

[Ignatius07]

I feel bad for Sheldon b/c he is getting screwed by the Hawks and b/c of JJ he never got the credit he deserved at Duke.

I'm sorry, but someone who gets their jersey number retired (a recognition which I thought was undeserved, just my opinion) cannot be said to never have gotten the credit he/she deserved. His talent was overshadowed by JJ's scoring, but I think having his number retired is about the most "credit" you can receive at Duke.

[lavell12]

I'm sorry, but someone who gets their jersey number retired (a recognition which I thought was undeserved, just my opinion) cannot be said to never have gotten the credit he/she deserved. His talent was overshadowed by JJ's scoring, but I think having his number retired is about the most "credit" you can receive at Duke.

i was more talking about credit from the media and stuff outside of Duke.

[newbdisapain]

Frankly, I would be surprised if he was ever much of a scorer in the NBA, but if you put him on a team with other scorers, especially one which focuses on D, he could be very good. To me, he could be Ben Wallace, with better touch. Is he big enough to handle Shaq, no, but no one else can either.
Of course there is the old saying about women weakening legs, and he appears to have a helluva women.

[jimsumner]

The media voted Shelden Williams first-team All-ACC twice, consensus first-team All-America, and national defensive player of the year. It's hard to make a plausible argument that the media didn't give him the attention he warranted.

[TheGodfather]

The Good news is the Magic renewed JJ's contract.

The Bad news is he re-injured the same hand he hurt a couple weeks ago.

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/sports_magic/2007/10/rashard-jj-jame.html

[Clipsfan]

The Good news is the Magic renewed JJ's contract.

The Bad news is he re-injured the same hand he hurt a couple weeks ago.

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/sports_magic/2007/10/rashard-jj-jame.html

I think that they just exercised the option for the 3rd and 4th years, the terminology used in that blog is slightly confusing.