Miami vs Orlando on TNT

[westkoast]

Anyone catch the Heat/Magic game tonight on TNT?  Quite a blowout but not exactly a great opponent either.  Grant Hill is out 3-4 weeks with a sports hernia and the rest of the team looked like they all had sports hernias also.

Few things worth mentioning:

Jason Williams looked great tonight on both ends of the floor.  Especially on the defensive end up against Francis.  Very impressive game tonight.  I saw him take one rushed shot and that was it.

Shaq is not quite in playing shape yet.  Doesnt look too far off though.   His extra "strength" seems to be putting a toll on his lungs.   He wasn't very active, save some put backs, but he still managed to chip in the usual Shaq fashion.

I remember a certain poster here saying Gary Payton is not as slow as a few of us have made him out to be     There was one play in the game where Payton was neck and neck with Francis in the Heat paint and by the time Gary got to half court Francis was already to the basket.  He just couldnt keep up.

The Magic put up this crazy forcefield that kept Walker from getting anywhere near the paint to grab rebounds or shoot in an area that would get him a higher pct.

Stan Van Gundy couldn't make it to the game so he was replaced by Ron Jeremy.  No one seemed to notice and the Heat rolled over the Magic anyways.

[Wolverine]

I caught a decent portion of it.

Dwight Howard still has a lot of work to do on his offensive game.  I'll admit I focused on him most of the game (he's on my fantasy team), and by the looks of things, it will be another inconsistent year from him on the offensive end.  His teammates' passing didn't help any, but he needs to do a better job of positioning himself for the entry pass.  He was getting pushed around an awful lot.  However, when he did have the ball on the low block, his moves were very solid.  One drop-step in particular was very nice.  All in all, it will probably be another year before he breaks out on the offensive end.  But that's okay, because he still gets me boards and blocks (and as an added bonus, I still have a keeper option on him for next year)!

I was impressed by the play of Jason Williams, too.  He was anticipating really well on the defense end, which led to a couple of steals.  He played under control, and his passes were crisp and accurate.

Shaq was Shaq.  A monster on those offensive boards.

What happened to Jameer Nelson starting at the point and Stevie Franchise playing the two?  The only time I saw Nelson was (I believe) in the fourth quarter.  I guess that experiment didn't work out too well.

[guest-koast]

I caught a decent portion of it.

Dwight Howard still has a lot of work to do on his offensive game.  I'll admit I focused on him most of the game (he's on my fantasy team), and by the looks of things, it will be another inconsistent year from him on the offensive end.  His teammates' passing didn't help any, but he needs to do a better job of positioning himself for the entry pass.  He was getting pushed around an awful lot.  However, when he did have the ball on the low block, his moves were very solid.  One drop-step in particular was very nice.  All in all, it will probably be another year before he breaks out on the offensive end.  But that's okay, because he still gets me boards and blocks (and as an added bonus, I still have a keeper option on him for next year)!

I was impressed by the play of Jason Williams, too.  He was anticipating really well on the defense end, which led to a couple of steals.  He played under control, and his passes were crisp and accurate.

Shaq was Shaq.  A monster on those offensive boards.

What happened to Jameer Nelson starting at the point and Stevie Franchise playing the two?  The only time I saw Nelson was (I believe) in the fourth quarter.  I guess that experiment didn't work out too well.

I'd imagine the Nelson/Francis combo won't be used all that much.  That's kind of an undersized back court to put up against some of the other teams in the league.

Orlando's passing was pathetic.  Every kind of pass...lob, bounce pass, entry pass, outlet pass, you name it all HORRIBLE.   Jason Williams did a great job of exposing the obvious weakness and turned it into some easy points.  I agree Wolv, he was very under control and made all the right decisions.  Save that one three point shot 4 feet behind the top of the arc but I could live with that if I was Stan Van Gundy with the way he played the rest of the time.