The Mind of Mullin: POSTGAME: MAGIC

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

POSTGAME: MAGIC - 12/22/08

Randolph has one of his best games
and hopes to continue to gain Nelson's trust

MVW: Anthony Randolph

The Good
Anthony Randolph: 26 min, 4-8 fg, 3-4 ft, 12 reb, 3 bs, 11 pts
Andris Biedirns: 25 min, 9 reb, 5 ast, 3 stl
Jamaal Crawford: 32 min, 3-6 3pt, 18 pts
Anthony Morrow: 28 min, 5-10 fg, 1-1 3pt, 4 reb, 13 pts
Marco Belinelli: 30 min, 4-4 ft, 6 reb, 12 pts

The Bad
Jamaal Crawford: 32 min, 7-21 fg, 3 reb, 1 ast, 3 to
C.J. Watson: 11 min, 1-7 fg, 0 ast, 4 pts
Andris Biedrins: 24 min, 2-9 fg, 1-6 ft, 3 to, 5 pts

The Ugly
Rob Kurz: 19 min, 0-6 fg, 0-2 3pt, -26 +/-, 4 pf, 3 to, 2 pts

Best and Worst +/-
Ronny Turiaf: -9
Marcus Williams: -9
DeMarcus Nelson: -9
Rob Kurz: -26

Team Statistics
Warriors : Magic
pts - 113 : 81
fg - 29-91 (.319) : 41-85 (.482)
ft - 18-28 (.643) : 15-24 (.625)
3pt - 5-14 (.357) : 16-31 (.516)
reb - 52 : 55
oreb - 18 : 11
ast - 16 : 23
to - 16 : 13
stl - 10 : 10
bs - 5 : 5
fastbreaks - 16 : 13
points in the paint - 30 : 38

Boxscore
Highlights
Popcorn Machine's GameFlow

Belinelli has an 'off' night but manages to pull down 6 rebounds

Notes

starting 5: Crawford/Belinelli/Azubuike/Wright/Biedrins
bench standing for a long time, don't sit until Warriors score first points
Biedrins missing some close range shots off cuts to the rim
Wright gets burned on defense and is quickly replaced by Kurz; Kurz gets bullied by Howard twice and gets to remain in the game; the double-standard continues for Don Nelson
Belinelli playing heavy minutes; fits in new system that emphasizes ball movement, constant player movement, drive and kick
Randolph playing like he's instructed to not shoot right when he touches the ball; passed up some wide open jumpers and is looking for teammates
Randolph steals rebound from Howard and scores; very aggressive on the glass - perhaps the Warriors best rebounder
missed open jumpers killing Warriors
Howard is getting Hall of Fame treatment with the referees
Randolph with sweet recovery and block on Orlando guard
Belinelli unselfish in passing up 3 for an even better 3 from Crawford
Biedrins continues to struggle, 1-7 fg, all shots at the rim; rushing and perhaps bothered by Howard's shot-blocking pressence
Belinelli helping on the boards; pushes the ball up the court
Wright gets back into the game at 2:16 mark of 2nd Q
Courtney Lee loves to play against the Warriors
Morrow with a tip in at the buzzer; Warriors down by only 8! at the half
Orlando hot from beyond the 3 point arch, 7-13 3pt
Warriors out-rebounding Magic 31 to 25, 11 2nd chance points
Crawford cuts the lead to 6 with opening bucket for the 2nd half
weaving on offense benefits Belinelli tremendously, loves to come off screens
Crawford drains 3 off of Azubuike offensive rebound, cuts lead to 4
Nelson looks like one of the best PG's in the NBA, so confident with his perimeter shot now; swishes in a 3 over the out-stretched arms of Wright
all Warriors converge on Howard once he gets the ball in the paint
Biedrins 0-4 from freethrow line; makes layup; 1-2 ft next trip at line
Magic continue to strike from 3; lead back up to 10
Randolph and Turiaf relieve Wright and Biedrins
Morrow shooting well
Magic shooting 13-21 from 3; lead 81 to 63; Jameer Nelson is continuing to play like an All-star
Watson terrible on the break; seems to always look for his own shot rather than dumping it for an easier shot; selfish
GSW 66 ORL 87
Kurz/Randolph/Azubuike/Morrow/Watson start 4th
fast break at 9:18 is prime example of Watson's selfish play, should have dumped it to the trailer but instead forces a shot contested by 2 defenders and gets blocked; prompts Nelson to put in Marcus Williams and DeMarcus Nelson
Gortat has an amazing profile; that nose is huge!
Marcus Williams and Belinelli should play together; love Williams' passing, ability to direct the team, and anticipate what's going to happen - needs to regain shooting confidence
Williams/Belinelli/Jackson/Randolph/Biedrins should be a nice 5
Randolph blocks Redick's 3 pt attempt, gets 2-hand jam at other end
DeMarcus Nelson should have been cut instead of Hendrix; Warriors are loaded with guards; DeMarcus nothing special, but at least Hendrix gives them a big man with great rebounding instincts and another fouler vs. dominant bigs
hopefully, Marcus Williams wins a little more playing time with his solid stint; would like to see him instead of Watson for a while; see what he could do and see if he could pump up his trade value
Randolph played great, Wright redeemed himself after a rough start, Belinelli was ok, Morrow played well; overall a productive loss for the young guns that will build confidence and keep up their morale
Magic's hot shooting was just too much for the Warriors; played decent defense, but couldn't do much to cool off Magic
GSW 81 ORL 113; lose by 32
Warriors in sole possession of 5th worst record in the league; Rubio/Griffin/Harden/Holiday/Jennings/Clark

Crawford has a poor shooting night but
seems to regaining his touch from downtown

Postgame Quotes

Jamal Crawford
On Tonight's Game:

"We had a tough time knocking down shots. I think we all got shots that we are normally used to making. It was just tough on us to knock them down. We pretty much all struggled from the field. Having Dwight Howard out there, you know that there is not going to be too many easy layups. He is going to adjust shots and block shots. They know where to push you because he is right there. It is a nice job on their part as well.”
“We had some really good shots. They were just short or they didn’t go. They are shots that normally go.”

On The Tough Start:

“I am just trying to play my part, but it is a team game. Guys are all trying to step up. As one of the older guys on the team, I am just trying to hold it down until we get some of the other guys back. Monta, Steve, and Corey are out, so when we get our whole team back we will see what we have. It is tough, but the young guys keep it refreshing. They keep you energized. They are out there and working hard. We have to continue to try and get some wins so they can see the rewards from their hard work.”