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Orlando Magic
7. Eastern Conference - Southeast
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In the
high-flying Francis, Orlando got
a point guard who plays hard, scores a bunch and could make locker room discord disappear.
Bob Rosato/SI
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Record: 21-61 (15th in East)
Points Scored: 94.0 (12th in NBA)
Points Allowed: 101.1 (29th)
Coach: Johnny Davis
(second season with the Magic)
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Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley are two
of the three players -- along with Allen Iverson -- to average 40 minutes in each of the last three seasons.
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| KELVIN CATO |
| POS. |
PVR |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
BPG |
SPG |
FG% |
FT% |
| C |
72 |
6.1 |
6.8 |
1.0 |
1.39 |
0.75 |
44.7 |
67.6 |
| DWIGHT HOWARD (R) |
| POS. |
PVR |
PPG |
RPG |
BPG |
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| PF |
82 |
25.5 |
18.3 |
8.0 |
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| CUTTINO MOBLEY |
| POS. |
PVR |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
SPG |
FG% |
3FG% |
FT% |
| SG |
64 |
15.8 |
4.0 |
3.2 |
1.34 |
42.6 |
39.0 |
81.1 |
| STEVE FRANCIS |
| POS. |
PVR |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
SPG |
FG% |
3FG% |
FT% |
| PG |
38 |
16.6 |
5.5 |
6.2 |
1.76 |
40.3 |
29.2 |
77.5 |
| GRANT HILL |
| POS. |
PVR |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
SPG |
FG% |
3FG% |
FT% |
| SF |
90 |
14.5 |
7.1 |
4.2 |
0.97 |
49.2 |
25.0 |
81.9 |
| BENCH |
PVR |
2003-04 Stats |
| G-F |
HEDO TURKOGLU |
139 |
9.2 ppg |
4.5 rpg |
1.00 spg |
40.6 FG% |
41.9 3FG% |
| F |
PAT GARRITY |
162 |
10.7 ppg |
3.8 rpg |
0.77 spg |
41.9 FG% |
39.6 3FG% |
| F-C |
TONY BATTIE |
222 |
5.6 ppg |
4.9 rpg |
0.92 bpg |
0.36 spg |
44.3 FG% |
| G-F |
DESHAWN STEVENSON |
233 |
11.4 ppg |
3.7 rpg |
2.0 apg |
0.65 spg |
43.2 FG% |
| G |
JAMEER NELSON (r) |
249 |
20.6 ppg |
4.7 rpg |
5.3 apg |
2.97 spg |
47.5 FG% |
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What does the club that had the worst record do next? Unload four starters
Over the summer Magic executives agreed to be the subjects of a so-called reality-series documentary that chronicled the team's tumultuous off-season. The film, which aired in August on the Sunshine Network in Orlando, was titled Under the Lights, but that's probably because Extreme Makeover was already taken. After last year's train wreck of a season -- Orlando won a league-low 21 games and had the most fractious locker room this side of Los Angeles -- rookie general manager John Weisbrod purged the roster, dealing four starters and bringing in nine new players. "We needed to start fresh and get guys who weren't going to be bigger than the team," Weisbrod says, taking a none-too-veiled dig at Tracy McGrady.
The effectiveness of Weisbrod's summer cleaning will depend largely on the play of Steve Francis. Acquired from Houston along with guard Cuttino Mobley and center Kelvin Cato for McGrady, Francis is still on the short list of the league's most dynamic playmakers. But he would just as soon hit the DELETE key on 2003-04. Though he was an All-Star for the third straight season, Francis shot just 40.3%, seemed confused in the Rockets' methodical half-court offense and even led the league with 19 technical fouls. But for Weisbrod, a former NHL player, Francis's passion remained persuasive. "When the scoreboard is on," Weisbrod says, "Steve Francis comes to play."
Although Francis initially balked at the trade, he has since put on a good face -- as well as 15 pounds of muscle. He also joined forward Grant Hill (remember him?) in organizing a team-bonding trip to Las Vegas. "Of course we're going to have doubters after what happened last season," Francis says, "but we can be good."
-- L. Jon Wertheim
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