How official is it?  Well we've got a flier! 

First, the info.

What:  A gathering of Blazersedge members at an actual Blazers game.

When:  December 27th versus the Toronto Raptors

How Much:  $17 per ticket plus processing fees.

How to Order:  See the order form on the flyer below.  (Click the link after the flyer to see it full-sized.)  Or contact Lisa Swan at the Blazers' office:

lisa.swan@trailblazers.com   Phone: 503-963-3966  Fax: 503-736-2192  Make sure to ask for the Blazersedge section.

Tickets are ordered through the Blazers this year.  You can pay for them any way you'd pay for normal tickets.  There are only 68 left, so order soon.

Anticipating FAQ's:

1.  Since it is so close to Christmas I am thinking we will not have a formal get-together outside of the game at this event.  (If somebody wants to organize an informal one before or after and it picks up steam, so be it.)   HOWEVER we will have a second get-together this year, and I am thinking we will do that at a sports bar or restaurant in Portland during a ROAD game, so we can all watch and eat and talk together.  That will be in the spring, I'm thinking.

2.  It's possible we will also do the sending kids who can't afford to go project this year.  We need to see how the tickets sell for site members first.  If there are enough left over we will open this event for that.  If not we may try to arrange a separate block or separate event.

Click here to view/download/print the full-size flier!

I look forward to seeing you there!

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

INDIANA PACERS

Record:  36-46, 3^rd in Central Division, 9^th in Eastern Conference

 

Statistical Comparisons

 

Notable:

26th in opponent scoring (105.4 ppg)

27th in turnovers

5^th (tie) in opponent turnovers

 

Others:

7th in the league in scoring (104.0 ppg)

18^th  in ppg differential (-1.4 ppg)

24th in field goal % 

9th in opponent field goal %

8th in three-point % 

17^th in free throw attempts per game

12^th in free throw percentage

7th in assists

11th in steals

9th in blocks

Poor offensive rebounding team

Good defensive rebounding team

 

Movement

 

Significant Additions:  T.J. Ford, Rasho Nesterovic, Jarrett Jack, Maceo Baston, Brandon Rush (R), Roy Hibbert (R)

Significant Subtractions:  Jermaine O’Neal, Ike Diogu, Flip Murray, Kareem Rush

 

Roster

 

Coach:  Jim O’Brien

 

Key Players

PG: T.J. Ford, Jamaal Tinsley, Jarrett Jack

SG:  Mike Dunleavy, Brandon Rush, Marquis Daniels

SF:  Danny Granger, Shawne Williams

PF:  Troy Murphy, Maceo Baston

C:  Jeff Foster, Rasho Nesterovic, Roy Hibbert

 

Comments

 

 I’ve been trying to find a way to summarize how I feel about the Pacers’ chances now that they’ve made the Big Move and bid adieu to long-time (and oft-injured) star Jermaine O’Neal in favor of lightning quick (and oft-injured) T.J. Ford and a cast of mediocre players.  In the end, I had to fall back on my Dr. Seuss.

 

I do not like them, Pacer fans

I do not like them to a man

 

I do not like them in a box

I would not trade them for old socks

 

I do not like that center corps

They’ll struggle hard but never score

 

Would you like Dunleavy then?

 

Why no, indeed, I’ll say again

I would not like to ever trust

A guy so recently a bust

 

Then why not Granger, surely he

Appeals to such a man as thee

 

I do not like him here or there

Though scoring’s good and shooting’s fair

I would not give contract extensions

To guys who lack defense dimensions

 

But T.J. Ford you’d surely take?

He’s awful fast when on the break

 

I would not take him on my team

I would not take him with ice cream

He’ll run the break, then pull up lame

And sit in street clothes, such a shame

And let me see you try to run

With Jarrett Jack…Good luck!  Have fun!

 

I do not like this team you’ve hatched

They’re paper stars, but quite mismatched

They lack a rudder and an anchor

Their back-up point guard’s quite a canker

Their rookies might be overrated

Their power forward’s stats have faded

 

But would you, could you in a pinch?

You won’t enjoy them just an inch?

 

I would not, could not, not an inch

I’ll not back down, I will not flinch

It will not bring me joy a bit

To see these players play like…harrumph, well, that’s enough of that.

 

OK, maybe it’s not that bad.  But you’ve got to admit the Pacers are making the classic run at mediocrity, and those who shoot at mediocre usually end up short of it.  It’s a team of good players bereft of great ones, a team that’s already maxed its point potential but didn’t do anything to help its (self-)crippling defense.  They should still rebound well.  That’ll keep you in a lot of games.  Somewhere in the high 30’s or low 40’s would be about as many wins as you’d expect if things go right.  If things go wrong…ugh.  Jim O’Brien coaching this team may be their single most dependable asset.  He’s good.

 

Read more about the Pacers at one of my personal favorites, IndyCornrows.com

 

CLEVELAND CAVALIERS

Record:  45-37, 2nd in Central Division, 4^th in Eastern Conference

 

Statistical Comparisons

 

Notable:

28th in field goal % 

28^th in free throw percentage

 

Others:

24th in the league in scoring (96.4 ppg)

9th in opponent scoring (96.7 ppg)

16^th  in ppg differential (-0.4 ppg)

10th in opponent field goal %

16th in three-point % 

15^th in free throw attempts per game

25th in assists

18th in steals

7th in blocks

10th in turnovers

24^th (tie) in opponent turnovers

Superb offensive rebounding team

Very Good defensive rebounding team

 

Movement

 

Significant Additions:  Mo Williams, Tarence Kinsey, J.J. Hickson (R)

Significant Subtractions:  Joe Smith, Damon Jones, Devin Brown

 

Roster

 

Coach:  Mike Brown

 

Key Players

PG:  Mo Williams, Daniel Gibson, Eric Snow

SG:  Sasha Pavlovic, Delonte West

SF:  Lebron James, Wally Szczerbiak

PF:  Ben Wallace, Anderson Varejao, J.J. Hickson

C:  Zydrunas Ilgauskas

 

Comments

 

When I lived in Minnesota I used to see people get their cars stuck in snow all of the time.  The routine was almost always the same.  Gun the motor until the tires spin.  Uh oh, now the snow is frozen into ice under the wheels.  OK, use your gloves to dig some of it out.  Now hit the gas again.  No good.  Maybe if I stick a board under the tires.  Ooof!  That’s hard to get in there.  Wait…I only have one board?  Oh well, maybe it’ll get one tire out.  OK, Jimmy…hold this board there while I gun it.  Hey!  That side moved a little!  Did you see that Jimmy!  Jimmy?  What do you mean “My hand?”  What about your hand?  Hmmm…go knock on that person’s door and see if they have any salt or ice melt.  Yes, yes, you can ask for a band-aid too.  Hey Jimmy!  Tell them cat litter might work too!

 

This is what the Cavs feel like to me.  Mo Williams is the latest board under the tire and Ben Wallace is the neighbor’s cat litter.  Maybe these will be the moves that get them unstuck.  Or maybe not.

 

It goes without saying that any team with LeBron James on it is going to be good.  But that’s the thing.  With the guy who’s going to end up the best player of his generation, likely without an argument, you don’t want good.  You want back in the Finals.  I don’t see Mo Williams and Ben Wallace getting them there any better than Drew Gooden and Larry Hughes did last year.  Whatever Williams gives you on offense Wallace will take away.  Reverse it on the other end.  Wallace has never been the same player since he left Detroit and you know Chicago wanted him to be their conference championship piece.  Mo Williams can score and he can pass, but the equation didn’t add up for him in Milwaukee and they needed a point guard.  It just doesn’t feel right.

 

The one thing the Cavs need to do this year to excel is open up the offense.  That’s part of why they acquired Williams and they need to set the engines full speed ahead.  They have the defense and rebounding to succeed.  They need to become more than a “LeBron scores again in the halfcourt” team.  Easy buckets, easy points, try to get around +4 for that point differential instead of breaking even.  That should get them into the playoffs with a nice seed again.  After that the real test comes.  I don’t see them getting past the teams ahead of them, but then maybe LeBron will prove that prediction stupid.

 

Read more about the Cavs at FeartheSword.com

 

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

Read Mike Barrett's observations on the Fanfest here and then peruse everything else he's been writing about training camp if you haven't already.  Great stuff.

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

P.S.  In case you're interested, here are the stats from the scrimmage.  (Use the wide view button in the left sidebar to see them completely.)

	FG	3PT	FT	Assts	O-Reb	D-Reb	Steals	Blocks	Points
11 Sergio Rodriguez	2-6	0-2	1-2	3	2	3	1	0	5
7 Brandon Roy	6-14	1-5	1-1	7	0	4	0	0	14
8 Martell Webster	5-14	1-5	8-8	2	0	5	0	1	19
12 LaMarcus Aldridge	12-19	0-0	1-1	1	2	4	0	0	25
52 Greg Oden	2-5	0-0	1-2	2	0	2	0	1	5
0 Jamaal Tatum	1-3	1-1	0-0	0	0	3	1	0	3
51 Steven Hill	1-1	0-0	0-0	0	0	2	0	1	2
6 Luke Jackson	3-5	0-0	0-0	1	2	0	0	0	6
4 Jerryd Bayless	3-9	0-1	1-2	6	2	2	1	0	7
5 Rudy Fernandez	6-15	4-9	2-3	2	0	2	1	0	18
25 Travis Outlaw	8-19	3-6	1-2	2	0	4	0	1	20
10 Joel Przybilla	2-2	0-0	0-0	3	2	4	0	0	4
1 Ike Diogu	2-5	0-0	1-2	0	0	3	0	0	5
42 Shavlik Randolph	1-2	0-0	0-0	0	0	1	1	0	2
88 Nicolas Batum	3-8	0-1	0-0	1	1	0	2	0	6

Final Score:

Black 74, White 67

 

MILWAUKEE BUCKS

Record:  26-56, 5^th in Central Division, 13^th  in Eastern Conference

 

Statistical Comparisons

 

Notable:

29th in opponent field goal %

27th  in ppg differential (-6.9 ppg)

 

Others:

20th in the league in scoring (97.0 ppg)

23rd in opponent scoring (103.9 ppg)

19th in field goal % 

25th in three-point % 

20^th in free throw attempts per game

22^nd in free throw percentage

14th in assists

21st in steals

20th in blocks

23rd  in turnovers

15^th (tie) in opponent turnovers

Very Good offensive rebounding team

Poor defensive rebounding team

 

Movement

 

Significant Additions:  Richard Jefferson, Luke Ridnour, Tyronn Lue, Adrian Griffin, Damon Jones, Malik Allen, Francisco Elson, Joe Alexander (R)

Significant Subtractions:  Bobby Simmons, Yi Jianlian, Mo Williams, Desmond Mason. Royal Ivey

 

Roster

 

Coach:  Scott Skiles

 

Key Players

PG: Luke Ridnour, Ramon Sessions, Tyronn Lue

SG:  Michael Redd, Charlie Bell, Damon Jones

SF:  Richard Jefferson, Adrian Griffin

PF:  Charlie Villanueva, Malik Allen, Joe Alexander

C:   Andrew Bogut, Dan Gadruzic, Francisco Elson

 

Comments

 

You have to hand it to the Bucks.  After the crap-fest of a season they had last year (I don’t know what they were expecting but I guarantee you it was not 26 wins) they didn’t stand pat.  They dumped just about all of their forward crew plus a few odds and ends and replaced them with a whole new lineup:  five noteworthy departures and eight new arrivals in all.  Normally you’d worry about so much movement disrupting the team, but disrupting what, really?  This team, while full of familiar names, was stuck and going nowhere.  Management decided to heck with a slow recovery…let’s get the defibrillator.  Sometimes it works.  Sometimes it fails.  At least they’re trying.

 

One of the big problems with the Bucks last year is that they were soft.  We’re not talking run-of-the-mill soft here.  Take some uncooked french toast, wrap it in six-ply toilet paper, massage it gently with Q-tips, soak it overnight in Gavin Dawson’s hand moisturizer, and then pound it with meat tenderizer.  That’s how squooshy this team was.  And really, the forward positions were a great place to revamp.  Andrew Bogut and Michael Redd aren’t exactly fearsome, but you’re not going to get equal value trading them either.  Instead you dump Bobby Simmons and Yi Jianlian, both scorers.  Their contributions can be duplicated.  You bring in no-nonsense Richard Jefferson and a cadre of athletes to come off the bench.  Oh…and you got Luke Ridnour too.  There’s an exception to every rule I guess.  Maybe new head coach (and notorious meanie) Scott Skiles can put some backbone into his new point guard. 

 

The one area that’s going to hamstring the team is defense.  They were horrible last season.  That starting guard tandem is likely to be brutal again this year, putting huge pressure on the interior lineup.  This is going to cause coach Skiles to pop multiple forehead veins.  It’s also going to mean that frontline bench has to step up when the starters get run ragged.  I don’t know how much you can depend on names like Allen, Gadzuric, Elson, and Alexander.  My guess is they’d love to see a Przybilla-type defender in there.  (Gadzuric can block shots but isn’t your prototypical lane watchdog.)  The wing positions have enough depth, but I’m worried about the longevity of the frontcourt.

 

Another head-scratcher for the Bucks was how they assembled an offensive squad and yet managed to join the bottom-half crowd in scoring, field goal percentage, and three-point percentage.  It’ll all be different this year but that has to change.  Even with the additions, if this team doesn’t score it doesn’t win.  Perhaps Ramon Sessions will continue his development and become a great distributor.  This team could use that.

 

Defensive rebounding would be the third area of concern.  Better defense will lead to more rebounds, but you hate to see a team that’s so accomplished on the offensive boards and yet gets pulverized at the other end.  Andrew Bogut averaged an impressive 9.8 boards per game last year.  3.1 of those were offensive.  That’s a huge number, but you’d love to see more defensive grabs.  So, too, with Charlie Villanueva.  Between them the two averaged just more than 10 defensive rebounds a game.  That number has to go up this year. You can’t win with your starting frontcourt grabbing a little more than two rebounds per quarter.  Villanueva will get more playing time.  That will hopefully help.

 

In general, bravo to the organization for not standing pat.  Sell some tickets, continue the transition, and see if you can sniff around the Eastern Conference playoff hunt.  The Bucks won’t set the world on fire, but they should have a fighting chance most nights.  This team didn’t lose that much of its offensive potential (which they didn’t exploit that well last year anyway)  but it should be able to run and pound a little bit more.  Redd and Jefferson should make each other more dangerous.  If Villanueva can maintain some of the early-career magic that made him coveted and Bogut provides a steady double-double, the Bucks should be decent.  It’d be a surprise to see them win fewer than 30 again.

 

Read more about the Bucks at BrewHoop.com.

 

CHICAGO BULLS

Record:  33-49, 4^th in Central Division, 11th in Eastern Conference

 

Statistical Comparisons

 

Notable:

30th in field goal % 

 

Others:

18th in the league in scoring (97.3 ppg)

16th in opponent scoring 100.4 ppg)

21st  in ppg differential (-3.1 ppg)

9th in opponent field goal %

14th in three-point % 

18^th in free throw attempts per game

17^th in free throw percentage

11th in assists

9th in steals

6th in blocks

20th in turnovers

8th in opponent turnovers

Very Good offensive rebounding team

Average defensive rebounding team

 

Movement

 

Significant Additions:  Derrick Rose (R)

Significant Subtractions:  Chris Duhon

 

Roster

 

Coach:  Vinny Del Negro

 

Key Players

PG:  Kirk Hinrich, Derrick Rose

SG:  Larry Hughes, Thabo Sefolosha

SF:  Luol Deng, Andres Nocioni

PF:  Drew Gooden, Tyrus Thomas

C:   Joakim Noah, Aaron Gray

 

Comments

 

The Bulls have a lot of nice names.  At minimum you’d be happy to have every player listed under point guard, shooting guard, and small forward plus Drew Gooden somewhere on your team no matter who you are.  The biggest name of all may be first overall pick Derrick Rose, whom many are predicting to bust out with a fantastic career.  He’ll make that backcourt ever so dangerous if he gets rolling.  Despite the slight slip last season Luol Deng is feared around the league.  There’s talent here for sure.  Why, then, aren’t the Bulls better? 

 

The most jarring statistical line in the league might be Chicago’s field goal percentage.  They couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn with a howitzer last year.  They obviously have scorers, but of them only Luol Deng and Aaron Gray shoot an above average percentage for their positions.  Several of their big men are quite below average.  And even Deng’s percentage dropped nearly four points last year.  The Bulls just aren’t getting the kind of shots they need to be effective.  This is one of the things they hope Rose can help with.

 

Another lack appears to be leadership.  Of all of those nice players you’re hard pressed to find one to get everyone else in line.  Kirk Hinrich once looked like that guy but his play suffered last year, which makes it harder.  Deng isn’t really the type for it.  Larry Hughes and Drew Gooden don’t count either.  Where’s the Kevin Garnett, the Brandon Roy, the guy you define as the heart of this team?  This is another thing they hope Rose will eventually help with.

 

I don’t think anybody is sure how the big man experiments the Bulls have embarked upon will work out.  Tyrus Thomas hasn’t stepped up so far.  Joakim Noah seems a fairly thin thread on which to hang your center hopes.  In some ways this team is still suffering from the underwhelming tenure of Ben Wallace, who was supposed to be the answer at that position.  Drew Gooden is a nice player--really nice some nights--but he’s not necessarily a guy you want to go to war alongside.  This is one thing Derrick Rose won’t be able to help with.

 

The most impressive thing about the Bulls is their defense.  They have a great foundation with their wings which really makes the game easier on their inside players, freeing them up to defend their own men and stay in rebounding position.  They force turnovers, block shots, hold the opponent down…just about everything you’d want.  You’d like to see fewer free throw attempts allowed and a lower three-point percentage granted, but in general defense is the least of Chicago’s worries.  This puts them ahead of many teams in the East.

 

Once upon a time Chicago was the young team destined for greatness.  They’re not supposed to be so young anymore.  They’re not old by any means but with Deng entering his fifth season and Hinrich his sixth plus Hughes and Gooden in the starting lineup, they should have enough veterans to do the job.  It’s ironic, then, that so many hopes are pinned on a rookie.  This year will be another struggle to fit those veteran names together, absorb and perhaps be changed by their young star, and adapt to a new system while still coming through with enough wins to stay respectable.  A lot of folks seem to think Chicago is destined for a big jump.  I suspect it might take an adjustment period plus another move or two before we see the best of the Bulls.  That’s OK though.  One thing they have in abundance is time.

 

Read more about the Bulls at BlogaBull.com.

 

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

From the Blazers:

SINGLE-GAME TICKETS TO GO ON SALE TUESDAY; BLAZERS TO LAUNCH ‘TICKET ALERT' SERVICE

Estimated 500 seats for each game will be available initially

PORTLAND, Ore. - Because of increased demand for Trail Blazers season tickets, group tickets and multi-game packages, the team announced today that as few as 500 tickets per game are expected to be available when single-game tickets for all Trail Blazers regular season games at the Rose Garden go on sale this Tuesday, October 7, at noon.

Tickets will be available for as low as $10 at the Rose Quarter box office, at TicketsWest outlets, by calling 503-797-9600 or visiting Trailblazers.com.

"Our season ticket base has more than tripled in two seasons," Trail Blazers Chief Marketing Officer Sarah Mensah said, "so fans accustomed to acquiring tickets on a game-by-game basis should be prepared for a much smaller inventory of available tickets."

To assist single-game buyers in locating tickets throughout the season, the Trail Blazers will launch a new service called ‘Ticket Alert.' Ticket Alert will notify fans by e-mail when additional tickets - those held for potential group sales or sponsorship packages - are released for single-game purchase.

Each Monday, starting October 20, a Ticket Alert e-mail will be sent at noon notifying subscribers of new ticket inventory available for immediate purchase two days before those tickets are released to the general public.

The service is available for a seasonal rate of only $19.95, and will also allow subscribers a 10-percent online discount on Trail Blazers merchandise. For more information, or to sign up for Ticket Alert, visit trailblazers.com.

A limited number of season tickets and 11-game packages still remain. For information on those, or on group ticket opportunities for parties of 10 or more fans can call 503-797-9600.

Also, tickets still remain for all three preseason home games. Fans hoping to see their first glimpse of Greg Oden, Rudy Fernandez and Jerryd Bayless can pick up tickets at the Rose Quarter box office, at TicketsWest outlets, by calling 503-797-9600 or visiting Trailblazers.com.

Preseason home games at the Rose Garden:

Tue., Oct. 7            vs. Sacramento         7:00 p.m.    

Wed., Oct. 8            vs. Golden State      7:00 p.m.             

Sun., Oct. 12           vs. Utah                  3:00 p.m.

Also stay tuned within the next day or so for news about Blazersedge Night at the Garden!

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

Ben is reporting that Steve Blake pulled a hamstring and will be out for at least two days.

At least you know the guys are going hard.

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

This came in this afternoon.

                               PEDOWITZ REPORT RECOMMENDS
              SIGNIFICANT CHANGES TO NBA OFFICIATING PROGRAM

   - No Additional Referees Found to be Involved in Criminal Activity -

NEW  YORK ,  October 2, 2008 - Lawrence B. Pedowitz issued his report to the
National Basketball Association regarding the league's anti-gambling rules,
policies,  and  procedures,  and  its officiating program.  Mr. Pedowitz, a
former  Chief  of  the  Criminal  Division  in the United States Attorney's
Office  for  the Southern District of New York, was appointed by the NBA to
review  and  make  recommendations  on  these  matters  in  the wake of the
indictment and guilty plea of Tim Donaghy.

Following   a   14-month   investigation,   Mr.   Pedowitz  made  extensive
recommendations to improve the league's anti-gambling rules and officiating
program.   The  116-page  report  reflects  the  recommendations  and other
findings  by Mr. Pedowitz and his colleagues from the law firm of Wachtell,
Lipton,  Rose  & Katz.  A complete copy of the Pedowitz Report is available
at http://www.nba.com/media/PedowitzReport.pdf.

The  recommendations  made  by Mr. Pedowitz were substantial.  They include
strengthening  the  NBA's anti-gambling rules, particularly with respect to
the  disclosure  of  confidential information; improving the enforcement of
these  rules  and  creating  a "culture of compliance" among all league and
team  employees,  including through the reorganization of the management of
the  referee  program and the creation of an anonymous hotline for gambling
information;  increasing  the  league's  monitoring of games for suspicious
activity;  and  increasing the league's efforts to eliminate the perception
of  referee  bias,  including by making more information publicly available
about the referee program and increasing access to the referees by fans and
media.

NBA Commissioner David Stern, commenting on the Report, said:

"We  are  very  appreciative  of  the  effort by Mr. Pedowitz and his staff
considering  the  extraordinary  nature  of  the review.  Mr. Pedowitz, who
together  with  his  team conducted approximately 200 interviews, was given
the  broadest  possible  mandate  and was provided unfettered access to our
employees,  records,  data and video library to ensure the independence and
thoroughness of his report.

"We  welcome  the  recommendations  from Mr. Pedowitz in areas where we can
improve - all of which will be adopted, and many of which have already been
adopted,  including  the  hiring  of  Army  Major  General (Ret.) Ronald L.
Johnson  as  the Senior Vice President, Referee Operations.  These measures
are  a beginning, not an end.  We know that the NBA's success hinges on the
integrity of our sport and on competition that allows teams to win based on
their  own skill and performance.  We expect nothing less from our referees
than the highest level of accuracy, professionalism and integrity.

"I have asked Mr. Pedowitz to continue his service by reviewing our program
at   the   end   of  the  season  to  ensure  that  it  comports  with  his
recommendations and aspires to the highest levels of integrity."

Along  with  his  recommendations,  Mr.  Pedowitz  reported  the  following
findings:

·     He found no evidence that any NBA referee other than Mr. Donaghy bet
on NBA games or leaked confidential NBA information to gamblers, and no
evidence that phone calls between referee Scott Foster and Donaghy were
attributable to criminal activity.

·     He found no evidence that any referee miscalled a game to favor a
particular team or player, or that the League has asked referees to call
games to favor particular teams or players.

·     He found no evidence to support specific allegations of game
manipulation or misconduct made by Mr. Donaghy and his attorney in June
2008, including allegations regarding a 2005 playoff series between the
Dallas Mavericks and the Houston Rockets and a 2002 playoff series between
the Los Angeles Lakers and the Sacramento Kings.

·     He found that a number of referees engaged in forms of gambling other
than betting on NBA games, in violation of League rules.  The League
previously decided not to discipline referees for these violations.

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

 

A comment by Norsktroll in one of the Season Preview posts came like a thunderbolt out of the blue to strike me on the head, making me aware that I had done something quite careless, thoughtless, and really inexcusable.  I've been writing these season previews for easy consumption, keeping them brief, general, and at times humorous.  But in doing so I failed in one of my critical duties as a blogger, which was to point you to where you could get a better estimation.  In case you haven't noticed, the NBA blogroll at SBN has grown considerably in the last couple of months and it will grow even more.  This network is full of writers that really know their stuff about their teams.  By not providing links to them in the season previews I've done so far I've not only been insulting them, I've also (unintentionally) been implying that my write-up is better or more accurate than theirs.  Nothing could be further from the truth.

My only excuse (and it's a poor one) is that I've been doing these for years from the same template, which by now is quite old, and which didn't have a spot for links.  I've remedied that starting with today's post on the Magic, which cites Third Quarter Collapse.  Previews of teams for which we have SBN sites will include links from now on.

I apologize without reservation to the bloggers of teams we've already covered.  A list is below.  It would do my heart good if some Blazersedge readers headed to some of them and checked them out today.  The writers of this network really do have some good stuff to offer.

I'd also like to put an offer before Blazersedge readers.  I would love to have a reader designated as an ambassador to each of our sister site NBA blogs.  The ambassador for a site would check out what's written there and convey anything that might be of interest to us.  This would be a great thing to do if you have secondary teams that you like that we also cover.  It would also be great if you just love the NBA and reading.  Let me know if you're interested in being an ambassador to an SBN-NBA blog and I'll organize it.

Here are the sources for teams that we've already previewed.  If you're interested, check them out!

THE BOSTON CELTICS  GreenBandwagon.com  (Got some Miles stuff there today.)

THE ATLANTA HAWKS  PeachTreeHoops.com

THE MIAMI HEAT  PeninsulaIsMightier.com

THE NEW YORK KNICKS  PostingandToasting.com

THE WASHINGTON WIZARDS  BulletsForever.com

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

 

ORLANDO MAGIC

Record:  52-30, 1^st Southeast Division, 3^rd in Eastern Conference

 

Statistical Comparisons

 

Notable:

5th in field goal % 

5^th  in ppg differential (+5.5 ppg)

4th in three-point % 

3^rd in free throw attempts per game

27^th in free throw percentage

27th in steals

27th in blocks

 

Others:

6th in the league in scoring (104.5 ppg)

11th in opponent scoring (99.0 ppg)

24th in opponent field goal %

22nd in assists

15th in turnovers

25th in opponent turnovers

Very Poor offensive rebounding team

Very Good defensive rebounding team

 

Movement

 

Significant Additions:  Mickael Pietrus, Anthony Johnson, Courtney Lee (R)

Significant Subtractions:  Maurice Evans, Carlos Arroyo, Keyon Dooling, Pat Garrity

 

Roster

 

Coach:  Stan “The Man” Van Gundy

 

Key Players

PG:  Jameer Nelson, Anthony Johnson

SG:  Mickael Pietrus, J.J. Redick, Courtney Lee

SF:  Rashard Lewis, Keith Bogans

PF:  Hedo Turkoglu, Tony Battie