The Orlando Magic are banged up heading into the first round of the playoffs as they are going to be without Dwight Howard. The Pacers have been hot as they appear to be jelling at the right time. Here is a look at this series:
POINT GUARD: 30-year old Jameer Nelson has been playing his best basketball late in the season and the Magic hopes he keeps up the good work in the playoffs. Nelson played in 57 games (all starts) for the Magic this year and he averaged 29.9 minutes, 11.9 points, 3.2 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game. He has played in 39 games in the playoffs so far in his NBA career and he is averaging 32.0 minutes, 14.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game.
25-year old George Hill has taken over as the Pacers’ starting point guard. He played in 50 games (9 starts) for the Pacers this year and he averaged 25.5 minutes, 9.6 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. Hill has played in 20 games in the playoffs in his NBA career so far and he is averaging 30.5 minutes, 11.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.1 steals per game.
EDGE: EVEN
SHOOTING GUARD: 31-year old Jason Richardson turned in a very disappointing year for the Magic, but he will try to make up for it in the playoffs. Richardson played in 54 games (all starts) for the Magic this year and he averaged 29.5 minutes, 11.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steal per game. He has played in 32 games in the playoffs so far in his NBA career and he is averaging 34.8 minutes, 18.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.1 blocked shots per game. Richardson tends to step up in the playoffs and the Magic need him to do so again in this series.
21-year old Paul George was the starting shooting guard this year and he excelled. He played in 66 games (all starts) for the Pacers this year and he averaged 29.7 minutes, 12.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.6 steals per game. He has only played in 5 games in his playoff career and he is averaging 26.6 minutes, 6.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.0 assist, 1.4 steals and 2.0 blocked shots per game. George has a huge size advantage over anyone the Magic can use at shooting guard, and the Pacers would be smart to take advantage of that in this series.
EDGE: EVEN
SMALL FORWARD: 33-year old small forward Hedo Turkoglu is back from his facial fracture and he will get his starting job back. He played in 53 games (all starts) for the Magic this year and he averaged 31.2 minutes, 10.9 points, 3.8 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game. Turkoglu has played in 88 playoff games so far in his NBA career and he is averaging 31.0 minutes, 11.3 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game.
29-year old Danny Granger is the Pacers’ best offensive player when he’s hot. He played in 62 games (all starts) for the Pacers this year and he averaged 33.3 minutes, 18.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.0 steal per game. Granger has played in 11 games in the playoffs so far in his career and he is averaging 31.4 minutes, 14.3 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. The Pacers are going to need Granger to step up in the playoffs.
EDGE: PACERS
POWER FORWARD: 23-year old Ryan Anderson had an outstanding season for the Magic. He played in 61 games (all starts) for the Magic this year and he averaged 32.2 minutes, 16.1 points, 7.7 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game. Anderson has played in 15 games in the playoffs in his NBA career so far and he is averaging 15.7 minutes, 3.4 points, 3.9 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. The Magic need Anderson to step up if the Magic are going to have any chance at pulling an upset in this series.
31-year old David West has been rock solid for the Pacers this year. He played in 66 games (all starts) for the Pacers this year and he averaged 29.2 minutes, 12.8 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. West has now played in 24 playoff games in his NBA career and he is averaging 32.3 minutes, 16.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.2 blocked shots per game.
EDGE: EVEN
CENTER: 26-year old Glen “Big Baby” Davis has played great so far in April and the Magic need him to keep up the good work. Davis played in 61 games (13 starts) for the Magic this year and he averaged 23.4 minutes, 9.3 points, 5.4 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. Davis has played in 64 games in the playoffs in his NBA career so far and he is averaging 20.6 minutes, 7.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game.
25-year old Roy Hibbert has really picked up his game this year and the Pacers need that to continue in the playoffs. Hibbert played in 65 games (all starts) for the Pacers this year and he averaged 29.8 minutes, 12.8 points, 8.8 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 2.0 blocked shots. Hibbert has played in 5 games for the Pacers in the playoffs so far in his career and he is averaging 26.4 minutes, 10.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 1.8 blocked shots per game.
EDGE: PACERS
BENCH: The Magic are going to likely push the starters to play a lot of minutes in this series, as they don’t have players with a lot of experience on the bench. 27-year old guard J.J. Redick will get a lot of P.T. in this series. He played in 65 games (22 starts) for the Magic this year and he averaged 27.2 minutes, 11.6 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. Redick has played in 39 games so far in the playoffs in his NBA career and he is averaging 18.9 minutes, 6.3 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. 32-year old SF Quentin Richardson could get some solid P.T. in this series too. Q-Rich played in 48 games (3 starts) for the Magic this year and he averaged 18.0 minutes, 4.5 points, 2.6 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. He has played in 26 games in the playoffs in his NBA career and he is averaging 31.2 minutes, 9.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.1 steals per game. 21-year old center Daniel Orton could get some P.T. in this series if Glen Davis is having problems with Roy Hibbert. Orton played in 16 games (2 starts) for the Magic this year and he averaged 11.7 minutes, 2.8 points, 2.4 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. 29-year old point guard Chris Duhon played in 63 games (9 starts) for the Magic this year and he averaged 19.5 minutes, 3.8 points, 1.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. Duhon has played in 22 games in the playoffs so far in his NBA career and he is averaging 21.2 minutes, 4.7 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. 24-year old power forward Earl Clark could get some minutes in this series. Clark played in 45 games (1 start) for the Magic this year and he averaged 12.4 minutes, 2.7 points, 2.8 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. He played in 4 games so far in the playoffs in his career and he is averaging 4.8 minutes, 1.5 points, 1.5 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. 26-year old SG Von Wafer is buried on the bench, but he is a solid offensive player. He played in 33 games (1 start) for the Magic this year and he averaged 14.2 minutes, 5.9 points, 1.4 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game. Wafer has played in 16 games so far in the playoffs in his career and he is averaging 11.6 minutes, 6.6 points, 0.8 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game.
The Pacers have some quality players on their bench. 24-year old point guard Darren Collison has been demoted to the bench. Hopefully he doesn’t sulk about it. Collison played in 60 games (56 starts) for the Pacers this year and he averaged 31.3 minutes, 10.4 points, 3.1 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game. He has played in 5 games in the playoffs so far in his career and he is averaging 29.2 minutes, 9.4 points, 2.6 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.0 steal per game. 26-year old PF/C Tyler Hansbrough will be the first big man off the bench. He played in 66 games (0 starts) for the Pacers this year and he averaged 21.8 minutes, 9.3 points, 4.4 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. He has played in 5 games in his playoff career so far and he is averaging 32.8 minutes, 11.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.0 assist and 1.2 steals per game. 29-year old SG/SF Leandro Barbosa has been solid off the bench as he comes off of it shooting the ball. Barbosa played in 22 games (0 starts) for the Pacers this year and he averaged 19.8 minutes, 8.9 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. Barbosa has played in 64 games in the playoffs so far in his career and he is averaging 23.3 minutes, 10.2 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. 29-year old PF/C Louis Amundson will also likely get to throw his body around a little bit in this series. He played in 60 games (0 starts) for the Pacers this year and he averaged 12.6 minutes, 3.6 points, 3.7 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game. Amundson has now played in 18 games in his playoff career and he is averaging 11.3 minutes, 2.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game. 31-year old SG/SF Dahntay Jones brings defense and toughness to the court when he’s on it. Jones played in 65 games (3 starts) for the Pacers this year and he averaged 16.2 minutes, 5.3 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game. He has played in 26 games so far in his career in the playoffs and he is averaging 17.2 minutes, 6.8 points, 2.2 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. 25-year old #3 point guard A.J. Price won’t likely get much P.T. in this series. He played in 44 games (1 start) for the Pacers this year and he averaged 12.9 minutes, 3.9 points, 1.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. Price has played in 5 playoff games in his career so far and he is averaging 16.0 minutes, 8.4 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.
EDGE: HUGE FOR PACERS
COACHING: Stan Van Gundy has been under fire all season long to his not getting along with Dwight Howard. Here is his big chance to show what he can do without him. Van Gundy led the Magic to a 37-29 (56.1%) record during the regular season. He is 47-35 (57.3%) during the playoffs in his career in the NBA.
Frank Vogel coached up the Pacers this year as he got them to finish with an impressive 42-24 record (63.6%). Vogel was only 1-4 in his first taste of the playoffs last year.
EDGE: EVEN
PREDICTION: PACERS IN FIVE GAMES
