Ryan Anderson has reportedly been selected as a member of the Team USA Select Team which well help train and prepare against the Men’s National Team as USA Basketball preps for the 2012 London Olympic games. This is a huge honor and opportunity for Ryan as he will get critical training minutes with and against the best in the world.
CSNBayArea.com first reported the roster, citing a source with knowledge of the roster. It is of course subject to change, especially depending on how free agency plays out, but here is the rumored roster:
The list:
DeMarcus Cousins — Kings
Jeremy Lin — Knicks
Klay Thompson — Warriors
Kyrie Irving — Cavaliers
John Wall — Wizards
DeMar DeRozan — Toronto
Paul George — Pacers
Gordon Hayward — Jazz
Kawhi Leonard — Spurs
DeJuan Blair — Spurs
Ryan Anderson — Magic
Taj Gibson — Bulls
Derrick Favors — Jazz
The 2010 Select Team featured all college players, but the 2008 pre-Olympic Select team featured up and coming stars of the time that are now permanent Team USA features such as Derrick Rose, Kevin Durant and Kevin Love.
This season was hard. It was hard for the fans. It was hard for the players. It was hard for the coaches. It was hard for the organization. At some point between December 25th and May 8th, the team somehow managed to squeeze in 71 games of basketball.
Nobody knew what to expect in the strike shortened season. It was Dwight dominated, to say the least. And for once in his 7 years it wasn’t on the basketball court. A more accurate way to describe the season is exhausting.
Just ask the Dwight-less roster that fought their asses off for 5 games against the Indiana Pacers if it was exhausting. The first sustained sign of heart and hustle the team has seen in nearly 2 years. It wasn’t enough in the end, but at least it felt good to cheer for. You felt like there was a group of guys that were 100% bought in and truly played by their motto, #WeAllWeGot.
Big Baby went from having boos rained down on him in February to becoming a team leader in April. He not only took over Dwight Howard’s starting center position, but he even took his role as player ambassador to the fans when he took the mic during the final home game to thank all of the fans for sticking with them during the roller coaster season.
And that’s what it was. From the day that the lockout ended until the day of the trade deadline, the topic was Dwight. After a few days free from the drama, it picked back up when Stan Van Gundy openly and awkwardly announced that he was told directly that Dwight wanted him fired at the beginning of the year. The quiet was too good to be true.
Dwight played his final game on April 7th before being shelved for the season with what turned out to be a herniated disk. He missed a full month of his teammates action sequestered in Los Angeles, trying to heal. The team, sitting at 33-23 on April 7th, would finish the season with a record of 5-11, including the 1-4 showing during the playoffs. No Dwight, no drama, but also no winning.
This season was one of the hardest in memory to truly be a fan. When the franchise player, who professes his love for the city and all things Orlando, still says he doesn’t want to be here… it’s hard not to be jaded. “Look, it’s not you… it’s me. Except, well, it actually really is you. And the way you talk to me. And you don’t respect me. And you don’t let me make personnel decisions. And you are always yelling at me. But besides that I totally want to be here and I love you.”
So the fans cheer and they hope for the best, but something is missing. It was impossible to fully invest yourself into this season. A strike-shortened 66 game season that lasted from December 25th to May 8th. Barely over 4 months. And yet it still wouldn’t die.
Yet here we are, season ended. Season dead. The summer is supposed to be a time of hope, rebuilding, reloading. But for Magic fans it looks to be just another bout of anxiety-filled waiting.
Jameer Nelson, the co-captain and leader for the last 8 seasons will likely choose not to exercise his player option for next year, and become an unrestricted free agent in the next few days. I would say it is unlikely that he would re-sign in Orlando considering what Dwight put him through this season. He also has the chance to control his own destiny. A rarity for a player.
Stan Van Gundy, arguably the best coach in Orlando Magic history, will likely be fired along with General Manager Otis Smith. One of these is a gigantic mistake, the other is absolutely necessary. Both moves will be made to appease a disgruntled superstar in hopes that maybe -just maybe- if we change our haircut, and work out a little more… maybe help out more around the house… that he will stay.
Ryan Anderson, the NBA’s Most Improved Player, is a restricted free agent. Otis has already said that they would match any offer that is presented to him by another team but it is doubtful that Otis will be around to make that decision. Remember, it only takes one team to present a ridiculous offer to make the Magic think twice about the scenario.
And don’t think for a second that the Dwight-drama is over yet. It ‘s just delayed until draft night or July 1st or training camp. It’s hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel knowing the same thing that made this season so unbearable and heart-wrenching for Magic fans, will be firmly entrenched in every story line for the next year.
This season may have been the hardest in recent memory for Magic fans. It was indeed a jaded period, that never seemed willing to die. And for good reason. It looks like another serving of the same insanity next season.
The only thing that can fix things at this point is a few glasses of a nice Cab and a couple games of paddle. Farewell 2011-2012, you won’t be missed.
NEW YORK – Ryan Anderson of the Orlando Magic is the winner of the 2011-12 Kia NBA Most Improved Player Award, the NBA announced today. The annual award is presented to a player who has made a significant improvement from the previous season.
Anderson received 260 of a possible 605 points, including 33 first-place votes, from a panel of 121 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Ersan Ilyasova of the Milwaukee Bucks (159 points, 21 first-place votes) and Nikola Pekovic of the Minnesota Timberwolves (104 points, 10 first-place votes) finished second and third, respectively. Players were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third place vote received.
“It’s very surreal for me to be sitting where I am today. This year has been a culmination of a lot of different things.” -Ryan Anderson upon accepting the award
Anderson established career highs in scoring (16.1 ppg), rebounds (7.7 rpg), field goal percentage (.439) and free throw percentage. He also paced the league and established personal bests in three-pointers made (166) and attempted (422). He increased his scoring from the previous season by 5.5 ppg and his rebounds by 2.2 rpg. Orlando averaged 107.5 points per 100 possessions with Anderson on the court, compared to 94.1 points with the 6-10 forward on the bench.
As part of its support of the Most Improved Player Award, Kia Motors America will donate a new Kia Sorento CUV on behalf of Anderson to the Boys and Girls Club of Central Florida. Kia Motors will present a brand new Sorento to the charity of choice of each of five 2011-12 year-end award winners as part of the “The Kia NBA Performance Awards.” Following this season, Kia Motors will have donated a total of 21 new vehicles to charitable organizations since its support of the NBA’sprestigious year-end honors began with the 2007-2008 season.
Attached (CLICK READ MORE) are the 2011-12 voting results for the Kia NBA Most Improved Player of the Year Award winners. The balloting was tabulated by the independent accounting firm of Ernst & Young LLP.
Just because the actual Orlando Magic players don’t want to fight the Pacers, doesn’t mean that Magic fans don’t want to. Just ask Danny Granger and Krylo Fesenko who were not pleased with the heckling clubbers who wanted no part of them. TMZ Sports has that report:
“Cops rushed in to break up a heated late night exchange between several members of the Indiana Pacers and a pack of angry clubgoers in Orlando early this morning … and the whole thing was caught on tape.
TMZ obtained footage … showing 7’1″ Kyrylo Fesenko confronting a group of people outside of Club 23 around 2:45 AM. “
Magic players, please take note.
More from TMZ, ” As Kyrylo tried to walk away from the situation … the mob grew in numbers and the taunts became louder.
That’s when Kyrylo’s teammate Danny Granger charged towards the clubgoers … only to be restrained by some of his friends.”
In the end, all ended peacefully with Granger and Fesenko continuing on their merry 2:45am way. What lesson did we learn from this? DONT BUMP A 7’1″ GUY UNLESS YOU HAVE LOTS OF FRIENDS. Let’s just all be thankful that Stephen Jackson and Jamaal Tinsley weren’t around.
Third quarter collapse. Even the fans that were loud and proud early began to turn on the effort put forth from their team. The effort was their in the first half as the Magic trailed just 44-38, but the starters came out flat again and were outscored by 15 in the 3rd quarter. In the game, they were outscored by 23.
97-74 loss for Orlando. Series, 2-1 Indiana.
The 3rd quarter tally so far in the series: 83-41, Pacers advantage.
All three games the Magic starters have come out completely flat to start the 1st and 3rd quarters.
- The Pacers have outscored the Magic 46-21 in the first 6 minutes of all 3 games.
- Orlando has had 7 on the scoreboard at that 6 minute mark in each game. Consistent!
- The Pacers have outscored the Magic 37-24 in the first 6 minutes of the 3rd quarters.
- Analysis: it’s hard to win when your best players are getting completely run off the court.
The defensive woes are equally or greater compounded by those on the offensive end. Hedo, Ryan Anderson and Jason Richardson COMBINED to score just 17 points tonight. That 17 point number looks even better considering that Ryan was scoreless heading into the 4th quarter (finished with 7) and Hedo didn’t score again after the 1st quarter (finished with 5.)
The leading scorer for Orlando was once again Big Baby Davis who finished with 22 points but just 4 rebounds. J.J. Redick was the 2nd leading scorer with 13. Davis and Redick also seem to be the only guys on the team playing with an extra level of energy.
Let’s play the bullet game again to take a look at some of the poor stats from the Magic:
- 17 turnovers, just 14 assists.
- The Magic starters accounted for just 12 rebounds. The frontcourt of Turk, Ryan and Baby combined for just 6.
- The Magic never led in the game. They did, however, trail by as much as 29 at one point.
- The only blocked shot in the game came from Ish Smith, the smallest player on the court who happened to play just 4 minutes of garbage time.
- Just 50% from the free throw line as a team. Reminder – Dwight Howard wasn’t shooting any.
- The most important stat to take away though for Orlando as a team, is that this counts as just ONE loss.
“There are team wins and team losses. This was a team loss.” – Stan Van Gundy
The perceived impossible almost happened. The Magic led 44-42 at halftime and it looked like they had a serious shot to go on the road and steal two games against the very talented Indiana Pacers squad. That hope quickly evaporated in the 3rd quarter as Orlando was outscored 30-13 and ultimately lost the game 93 to 78.
In the end, the Magic achieved what they needed to achieve by heading into Hoosier land and stealing 1 of 2 games. They head home now with the goal of holding court, and at a minimum winning 1 of 2 again.
Indiana came out with a fury from the get-go and played with a level of intensity that ultimately broke Orlando’s back in that ugly 3rd quarter. It seemed like the Pacers got every loose ball, every break and every foul call when they pulled away in the 3rd. They started that quarter by out-rebounding Orlando by a tally of 16-1.
The keys in the first half for the Magic were the areas that the team fell apart with in the second half. Specifically the aggressive play and rebounding by Big Baby and Ryan Anderson. Baby had 14 points and 8 rebounds at the half, while Ryan had 8 and 8. Baby finished with just 4 more points and 2 more rebounds and Ryan had just 3 more points and not a single 2nd half rebound before fouling out of the game with 4 minutes remaining.
Big Baby Davis’ 18 points led the Magic in scoring, followed by J.J. Redick’s 13 points. Orlando which attempted 17 threes in the first half, only attempted 8 in the second half thanks to Frank Vogel and Indiana’s halftime adjustment to make sure his team ran them off the line.
“We are going to have to be better offensive, and I am going to have to find something. But we can’t give up 22 fast break points, 25 second chance points and have 16 turnovers It gets back to very basic things and we arent going to have a chance to win doing that.” -Stan after the game.
Indiana was paced (get it?) by a balanced scoring attack of 18 points each from Danny Granger, David West and George Hill. Paul George had 17. The Pacers made a significantly stronger effort to attack the middle in the second half and they did it effectively. Indiana finished the game with 50 points in the paint compared to just 28 for Orlando. Missing Dwight much?
Indiana deserved this victory and played harder -and smarter- than Orlando did tonight. There is plenty of blame to go around for the Magic players, but really it’s hard to harp on them too much. The reality is that they are an inferior team without Dwight Howard and should consider themselves very lucky to escape with the series at 1-1.
“They beat us with their effort and their energy tonight and that is not acceptable.” – Stan Van Gundy
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#WeAllWeGot
Heart and Hustle 2.0 was in full effect last night as the Orlando Magic defeated the Indiana Pacers 81-77. Any win without Dwight Howard in the lineup should be considered an upset, but that point is certainly magnified when you are playing in a hostile environment on the road against what most consider, a “superior” opponent.
Let’s take a spin around the internetz to see what the world is saying about the win.
Andrew Melnick of HowardtheDunk.com gives credit to the “fantastic” Magic defense:
“You can’t say enough about the Orlando defense. They’ve been absolutely awful since Dwight Howard went down, but they couldn’t have played much better Saturday night. The Pacers were just 30-of-87 (34.5%) from the field and posted an effective field goal percentage of 36.8%. The Pacers did a decent job of getting to the free throw line, but went just 13-of-22 from the stripe. The Pacers missed some shots they should easily hit and will most likely shoot better from the line then they did Saturday, but Orlando’s defense deserves a ton of credit. Fantastic performance.”
Philip Rossman-Reich of OrlandoMagicDaily.com points out that the Pacers were mostly in control:
“The very end is what is going to stick out. The Pacers played the better game until the final four minutes. They clearly had advantages in a lot of different places, but they could never pull away from the scrappy and hard-working Magic.”
Evan Dunlap of Orlando Pinstriped Post draws comparison the minutes both teams starter’s played:
“Orlando’s starting unit of Jameer Nelson, Jason Richardson, Hedo Turkoglu, Ryan Anderson, and Davis played 24 minutes together Saturday, according to NBA.com’s stats tool. No other Magic lineup logged more than five minutes together. Contrast that approach with Frank Vogel’s: the Pacers’ head coach called on his starting unit to play only 19 minutes together, due in large part to his decision to play Darren Collisonin George Hill’s stead for all but ten seconds of the fourth quarter.
That choice proved disastrous. Collison shot just 1-of-3 from the field in the fourth, and though he did dish three assists to no turnovers, the offense collapsed without Hill in the game, scoring just 69 points per 100 possessions.”
Nathan of Indy Cornrows discusses the mental weakness that was shown by the Pacers:
“The concerning lack of mental toughness towards the end of quarters certainly carried over throughout the game as every positive push the Pacers had was met with a spirited and hungry Orlando team that seemed more than fed up with being completely disowned against a team that hadn’t so much as a won a playoff series. The understandable frustration definitely came full tilt for the Orlando Magic, and Indiana was left without an answer when it counted.”
Jared Wade of Eight Points, Nine Seconds puts the blame on Danny Granger:
“Offensively the Pacers did almost nothing well tonight and this was most apparent at the end of the game. When it came time to win, the Pacers did everything a team can do to lose. Its captain was the worst offender, and you would be hard pressed to find a worse performance by Danny Granger in any other game of his career if you account for context.”
Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel has quotes from Quentin Richardson and Ryan Anderson that sum up the game perfectly:
“Quentin Richardson brought his teammates together during a break and repeated the mantra: “We all we got! We all we got! We all we got!”
“We’ve been through so much this year as a group and we fought through so much negativity,” Anderson said afterward. “Ultimately, we’ve had to have each others’ backs, and this group right here really has. It’s fun playing knowing guys on the bench are really cheering you on.”"
You know what REALLY sums up proof that the bench guys are cheering on the starters? THE DUHON TRAVEL DANCE!
Here is the official team release on the fan activities scheduled for the 2012 playoffs:
Orlando, Fla. – It’s time for Blue and White Ignite as the 2012 NBA Playoffs tip off this weekend. There are many opportunities for fans and the community to show their spirit as the Magic’s sixth man by wearing blue and white to ignite the team on all game days during the 2012 playoffs. Some highlights of the fan activities surrounding the 2012 Orlando Magic playoffs will include the following:
Blue & white will ignite the energy in Amway Center. Fans whose seats are on the EAST (orange) side of the building, are encouraged to wear WHITE to all home playoff games. Fans whose seats are on the WEST (green) side of the building, are encouraged to wear BLUE to all home playoff games. Fans can confirm their location and what color to wear, by visiting www.orlandomagic.com/
- For Game 3 in the First Round (Weds., May 2), all fans will receive a blue or white 2012 playoff T-shirt on their seat and 5,000 Rally Rackets will be distributed at the door.
- On Saturday, April 28, fans can visit the Orlando Magic Team Shop presented by adidas at the Amway Center to check out the 2012 Playoff retail specials during the Playoff Tip-Off Event. Specials include: spend $50 for a chance to receive a $250 Magic gift card in a FREE grab bag. Each bag contains a collection of unique Magic merchandise, with select lucky bags including either a $5, $10 or $250 gift card. Restrictions may apply.
- Fan Fest on Church Street in front of Amway Center will open two hours prior to tip-off for all home playoff games. Fan Fest will feature the Party Plaza on the West side of Church Street (near Division Ave.) with $2 Budweiser and Bud Light beers. Season Ticket Holders will receive 2 tickets for free Budweiser, Bud Light or Pepsi products. No ticket is required to attend Fan Fest.
- Staring on Monday, April 30 and throughout the playoffs, Magic fans can pick up a Blue and White Ignite window cling at local FAIRWINDS Credit Union locations.
- On Thursday, May 3, Chick-fil-A restaurants around Central Florida will be distributing Magic logo car magnets to fans from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. No purchase necessary. Only available while supplies last.
The NBA has announced the schedule for the Orlando Magic’s first round, best-of-seven playoff series against the Indiana Pacers.
Game 1 – Saturday, April 28 @ Indiana, 7 p.m. (ESPN – Fox Sports Florida)
Game 2 – Monday, April 30 @ Indiana, 7:30 p.m. (NBA TV- Fox Sports Florida)
Game 3 – Wednesday, May 2 @ Orlando, 7:30 p.m. (NBA TV- Fox Sports Florida)
Game 4 – Saturday, May 5 @ Orlando, 2 p.m. (ESPN- Fox Sports Florida)
*Game 5 – Tuesday, May 8 @ Indiana, TBD (TBD)
*Game 6 – Friday, May 11 @ Orlando, TBD (TBD)
*Game 7 – Sunday, May 13 @ Indiana, TBD (TBD)
All Times Eastern – * If necessary
All game on Magic Radio Network (Flagship FM 96.5 and AM 580 WDBO) and in Spanish (AM 1270 WRLZ). Local television schedule to be announced.
Jameer Nelson’s future has been a complete afterthought during this Dwight drama filled season. That will likely change rather quickly.Jameer Nelson has one additional year on his contract, after this season but it is a player option for between $7.8-$8.6M. Andrew Melnick reports on ESPN Florida that Jameer Nelson is likely to decline his player option for next season.
Melnick writes, “Sources have told ESPN Florida that Nelson will likely opt out of his contract, but the reasons why were not specified.”
I have confirmed through sources of my own that Jameer is “leaning heavily” to declining the player option and becoming an unrestricted free agent this summer. Nelson would be required to waive his option within one week of the team’s final playoff game.
Why would Jameer walk away from that money? It’s easy. SOMEONE will pay him millions of dollars a year, for multiple years this summer. With double-digit teams looking to spend this summer, he gets to pick where he goes.If you think he won’t get paid… I’d just refer you to every offseason for the last 15 years.
Coming back presents another year of dealing with the Dwight-what-ifs and with an expiring contract, Jameer would be vulnerable in any trade.
Moving forward, it’s still speculation until the final word from Jameer’s camp is received. While Jameer’s first preference is likely to stay long term in Orlando, it’s looking like for the first time that it may just not be the best decision for either party.
J.J. Redick celebrates after nailing a three. You can tell by the 3 fingers he is holding up.
They tried to blow it… they really did. But in the end, it was too much J.J. Redick who scored a career high 31 points to lead the Magic to the 102-95 victory in Orlando’s regular season home finale.
The Magic led by as many as 17 points in the 2nd quarter before allowing Charlotte to claw their way back into the game in the 2nd half. Luckily, in the end, they were still the historically disastrous Bobcats.
Losing Big Baby Davis in the first half was a huge blow to the dream of obtaining the prestigious sixth playoff seed, but the team fought through and the DREAM WAS REALIZED. YES, GETTING THE SIXTH SEED IS SOMEHOW A GOOD THING.
“I’ve been told by my wife to stop swearing in my press conferences so I can’t say what went through my mind.” Stan on when Glen went down.
— MagicBBallOnline (@MagicBasketball) April 26, 2012
The reward? A week long trip to Indiana, with game 1 most likely to be scheduled for Saturday.
Tonight, the Magic were just lucky enough to pull the victory and save face. To think that just a few months ago this team sat comfortably in the 3 seed, seems so distant. That was many, many injuries ago. J.J. Redick is the only Magic player to play in every game so far this year.
Ryan Anderson had 24 points and 13 rebounds for Orlando and Jameer Nelson just missed a triple-double with 11 points, 9 boards and 9 assists in tonight’s victory.
The Magic travel to the Midwest tomorrow to face off in the season finale against the Memphis Grizzlies. With the 6th seed locked up, the team will rest several starters and those that do play will play limited minutes. Stan did say that if Turk is available (and he may be) he will play meaningful minutes to try and get him back into game shape. From Memphis, the Magic will go directly to Indianapolis.
“It’s getting crazier by the day” – Stan Van Gundy opening his press conference tonight.
Yep.
Orlando, Fla. – Ryan Anderson was named the Aleve-Publix ‘Hustle Player of the Year’ at halftime of the Orlando Magic’s regular season home finale Wednesday evening against the Charlotte Bobcats. At the close of each month this season, Aleve has highlighted the top hustle plays of the month in-game and has allowed Magic fans the opportunity to go online to OrlandoMagic.com to vote for the player they felt showed the most heart and hustle. Due to his constant commitment to playing every game with more excitement than the last, Anderson was selected as the recipient of the 2011-12 Aleve-Publix ‘Hustle Player of the Year’ honor.
Anderson accepted the award from Larry Bond with Bayer Healthcare, who represented Aleve, and Maria Brous with Publix Super Markets. In honor of Anderson’s accomplishments, Bayer Healthcare is donating $5,000 to CECO – the Conductive Education Center of Orlando. CECO is also a 2011 grant recipient from the Orlando Magic Youth Fund, a McCormick Foundation Fund.
