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O R L A N D O M A G I C
The Orlando Magic barely have had a chance to see their best team take the floor. Since inking a free-agent contract in 2000, Grant Hill has been plagued by ankle problems that have limited him to 18 games. Entering this year, the Magic hope to finally pair him with Tracy McGrady and take aim at the Eastern Conference crown. But Orlando's problems don't end with Hill. Its big men were a liability all season last year, and its frontcourt actually got worse in the offseason. Last year the Magic found out too late what folks in Seattle and New York aleady knew: Patrick Ewing is done. Instead, Horace Grant had to move to center, and Pat Garrity impersonated a power forward. The only new solutions on offer this year are the additions of unpronounceable forward Olumide Oyedeji, undersized draft choice Ryan Humphrey, and whatever is left of Shawn Kemp. The Magic will be a playoff team if Hill plays at all, and thanks to the magnificence of McGrady, they might be even without him. But they're a far cry from fulfilling the promise they held when they signed Hill and McGrady.
The only worry is the back trouble, which had him grimacing throughout last year's playoffs. McGrady shrugged it off en route to a sensational 25.7 point, 7.8 rebound campaign, but back trouble rarely just goes away. If he can stay on the floor, McGrady can do it all. He is a deadly jump shooter who also has the ballhandling skill and quickness to get to the basket, and he is a fantastic rebounder for a perimeter player. Less well-known but equally valuable is his defensive ability. McGrady takes the opponent's top perimeter player every night and is a fantastic shot-blocker off the ball. The real scary thing is that he's only 23.
Garrity can shoot -- he hit 43 percent of his 3-point attempts last year -- but he doesn't create enough attempts for it to matter. Last year he got to the foul line just 71 times, a pathetic total for an NBA power forward who played 30 minutes a night. That's important because he adds nothing else. He is overmatched physically at the power forward spot, as teams consistently steamrolled him in the post, and his contribution on the boards is minimal. All the Magic get is 11 points and four rebounds a night -- not nearly enough to make him a quality starter.
Grant Hill has missed nearly all of the past two seasons with ankle problems, fading from the spotlight faster than you can say "Ralph Macchio." He swears the ankle is fine now, but he said the same thing at the start of last year and his season was over by Christmas. A healthy recovery is important for the Magic because Hill can be a devastating player. He was the game's best small forward while a Detroit Piston -- able to score on the drive or in transition, an outstanding passer and ballhandler and a major force on the glass. It isn't realistic to expect Hill to come back and immediately pump in 25 a night, but he at least needs to be on the court. A healthy Hill, giving 17 points or so and piling up the rebounds and assists, makes the Magic a strong contender in the East. If he can't go, they'll struggle to make the playoffs once again.
However, it would take 80 games of the Hill of old for the Magic to make a run at winning the East this year. The frontcourt is overmatched, especially at the defensive end, and so the team needs to come up with 100-point efforts night after night to win games. The Magic have enough shooters to do it more often than not, but their weaknesses will be exposed by the more physical teams at the top of the conference. |
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Coach: Doc Rivers
