Rashard Lewis tallied 30 points while Dwight Howard grabbed 15 boards and had 4 blocks, yet it was the Celtics who left Monday victorious. And while Boston's ability is certainly not to be taken lightly, it was the Magic that defeated themselves having only hit 42% of their field goals and shooting a mere 19% from behind the arc; the Magic's free throw shooting was also lackluster, having missed a total of ten.
Whatever be the reason, poor shooting, an injury stricken team, the lack of Dwight Howard in the offensive game plan, the fact remains that the Magic were simply not on the level of the Celtics as they went down (though for only the second time this season on the road) 88-107. And while Orlando will have the better part of two months to prepare for another bout with, perhaps, the most explosive team in the league, their focus now has shifted towards Minnesota and, perhaps more importantly, adding another number to the win column.
Al Jefferson will pose the biggest threat to Orlando come Wednesday, the center is leading his team with an average of 21 points per game and 10 rebounds, and while Jefferson is coming off of what could be considered his worst performance of the season, he has certainly been a player of value having lead the team in scoring in ten games and having only 5 games in which he wasn't the leading rebounder.
And yet it is with Jefferson where the Timberwolves seemingly start and stop. They've been labeled "dangerous", they've been called "explosive" yet they only have 4 wins to show for their troubles and if not for the team that was once Seattle, would be the worst team in the Northwest. Yes, come Wednesday, the Magic should have an easy win on their hands.
What Wednesday's game will hopefully bring, besides a victory, is more involvement from J.J. Redick, who, in spite of getting a good amount of minutes, is simply not showing up, having only scored 10 points in the Magic's last two games. Here we have a guy who has set ACC records for most career points, most consecutive free throws made, and most career ACC tournament points; and set several Duke records, including most points in a single season; a guy who wanted to leave Orlando for not getting enough time on the court; a guy who, due to injury, now has a chance to prove his worth and, just simply, isn't coming through. We need more from Redick, plain and simple.
We also need more consistency out of Anthony Johnson, who, despite coming off of a season high 16 points on Saturday, only put up 4 last night. Johnson, who averaged 20 minutes and 5 points per game for the month of November, has been a scoring roller coaster for Orlando having 6 games in which he's scored 3 or less points and 9 games in which he's scored 5 or more. Johnson has proven to still have value, even this late in his career, but he needs to be dependable when the Magic need him most, not the question mark he's been thus far this season.
Orlando still stands as the number 3 team in the East, they still retain a two game lead over the Hawks in the Southeast, but the Magic need more out of these next two games (Minnesota and Oklahoma City) then perhaps any other team that will take the court this week, for no matter who their opponent is, Orlando faces Boston and Cleveland every single night, and with the Cavs just a hair away, we certainly can't afford to take our foot off the gas now.
Until next time, from Florida's Space Coast, this is the Magic Mule,
Danny West
Keywords: Al Jefferson, Anthony Johnson, Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Danny West, dannywest, Dwight Howard, J.J. Redick, Minnesota Timberwolves, Oklahoma City, Orlando Magic, Rashard Lewis
