The 2003-04 season was one to forget for the Orlando Magic. After a season-opening victory against the New York Knicks, the Magic lost 19 games in a row and finished with a league-worst 21-61 record. And that was merely a prelude to the shakeup that would occur within the team during the off-season.
In one of the biggest trades of the summer, the Magic shipped their best player, Tracy McGrady, as well as Juwan Howard, Tyronn Lue and Reece Gaines to the Houston Rockets in a seven-player deal that landed them Steve Francis, Cuttino Mobley and Kelvin Cato. Drew Gooden, Gordon Giricek, and Keith Bogans round out the list of important Orlando contributors from last year that were not on the roster to start this season.
Many new faces were brought in to rebuild the team. Hedo Turkoglu was signed as a free agent from the San Antonio Spurs. Tony Battie was acquired, along with draft picks, from the Cleveland Caveliers in exchange for Gooden. In the draft, the team used the first overall pick to select high-schooler Dwight Howard and then traded with the Denver Nuggets for Jameer Nelson, the 2003-04 Player of the Year out of St. Joseph's.
In addition to the new faces, Grant Hill returned to the court this season for the first time in two years in what he proclaimed to be his last comeback attempt to play in the NBA.
The outlook for the team was not especially high coming in, but the Magic have exceeded most, if not all, expectations so far. Orlando is 8-5 out of the gate, which is good enough for fifth in the East. To put that into perspective, last season the Magic already had 5 losses on Nov. 7 and didn't have their eighth win until Christmas Day.
The re-emergence of Hill in the backcourt is the key to the Magic's solid start. He is averaging 20 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.4 steals per game. Hill is playing the point-forward almost as well as he did before ankle problems kept him off the court for the better part of the past several years.
Francis has kept up his solid point guard play from his Houston days, putting up 20.4 ppg, 7.1 rpg, and 6.2 apg. Mobley has been hobbled of late, but has scored 14 points a night when he has been playing, a decent contribution. Turkoglu, who had seldom started in his career until this fall, has fit right in thus far. He is averaging 16 points per game and is showing why he was one of last year's more coveted free agents.
The frontcourt, while not quite as impressive as the back, has gotten the job done. Howard has shown great progress in his first season and is making his case for Rookie of the Year honors. He is averaging nearly a double-double while shooting 52.3 percent from the field, the best on the team among the players getting significant minutes. He has combined with Cato, a defensive specialist, for almost five blocks per game. Role players such as Battie, Pat Garrity and DeShawn Stevenson have provided crucial minutes and have done well in their limited appearances.
There are a few factors that could dictate where the Magic go from here. The most important, without question, is Hill's health. So far he has had no problems with his ankle despite playing 35 minutes per game. However, if the ankle causes him problems, the team will be extremely hard-pressed to replace his contributions on both ends of the floor.
In addition, while Orlando is clearly a perimeter team, it might want to diversify its offense. The four main perimeter players are averaging over 55 shots per game. Howard, while only averaging 9.4 points, is doing so on less than seven shots per game. He also averages almost four offensive rebounds each time he takes the court and often creates many of his shots through his own efforts. His solid play under the basket and high field-goal percentage should increase his scoring as the season progresses.
Cato, who averages 5.5 shots per game, could benefit from a few more looks every so often. Any increase in scoring from the low post will help free up space for Hill and Francis, the focal points of any opponent's defensive strategy.
As long as the team, and Hill especially, stays healthy, the Magic should make the playoffs in the weak Eastern Conference. While they may not be ready to overtake the Detroit Pistons, Miami Heat or Indiana Pacers for supremacy to the East of the Mississippi, they are certainly headed in the right direction. This year's squad is doing its best to put memories of last season's disaster behind it.<$>
