(Sports Network) - A pair of Southeast Division rivals will be the last two NBA teams to tip off their seasons on Thursday as the Orlando Magic open up the beautiful new Amway Center by hosting the improved Washington Wizards.
Wizards Vs. Magic: Washington’s New Hope Debuts In Orlando’s New Arena
For the last three seasons, the Magic have ended up being the bridesmaid, but never the bride. Orlando has enjoyed a nice string of success since the start of the 2007-08 season, when it won the first of three straight Southeast Division titles. The Magic capped the start of that run with a semifinals loss to the Detroit Pistons before making it all the way to the NBA Finals in 2009, only to fall in five games to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Last year's follow up didn't go according to plan as despite a second 59-23 finish in a row, the Magic were dispatched in the conference finals by Boston. The defending Eastern Conference champions fell behind in that series three- games-to-none before making things interesting with consecutive wins. However, the Celtics sealed the deal with a Game 6 victory and the Magic were left with a disappointing taste in their mouths.
There is something to be said though when a top-four finish is considered a failure.
"I think the best thing you can probably say is that our organization has come far enough and we have reached a level that going to Game 6 of the Conference Finals is not a success," said head coach Stan Van Gundy.
Like they always do, the window of opportunity could be starting to close on the Magic. Sure, cornerstone center Dwight Howard is only 24, but fellow starters Vince Carter and Rashard Lewis are over 30 and their is always pending free agencies to deal with down the road.
That would figure to leave Orlando with a little time to make some noise, but that was before LeBron James and Chris Bosh joined Dwyane Wade with the Miami Heat to form a dangerous trio that has the potential to dominate the Southeast Division -- and possibly the entire NBA -- for the better part of this decade.
That doesn’t mean all the wind has gone out of Orlando’s sails.
"They've got to get over us, not the other way around," general manager Otis Smith told Orlando's website after James signed with the Heat. "We still hold the [division] crown the last I checked."
The Magic will be defending that crown with a large number of returning players. Howard, Carter, Lewis and Jameer Nelson all return to the starting five, while Mickael Pietrus should log more than the 24 starts he made a season ago with Matt Barnes' exit.
The Amway Center, which is nearly three times the size of Amway Arena, a venue that opened when the Magic began play in 1989, will only add to the excitement in Orlando. To celebrate the opening tonight, the Magic will hold a special pregame presentation, including a building dedication with team chairman Rich DeVos, NBA commissioner David Stern and Orlando mayor Buddy Dyer, culminating with a video on the NBA’s tallest, most high-definition, center-hung video board.
But, the true lore of basketball in the Sunshine State is expected to be the battle between the Magic and Heat for division supremacy.
Politicians aren’t very popular in Washington these days but Wall sure is. The dynamic guard arrived in the nation’s capital this summer like a conquering hero.
Wall, who averaged 15.7 points, 7.9 assists and 2.1 steals in seven preseason games, is not only expected to produce in Washington, he's expected to save a moribund franchise trying to recover from a disastrous year which included the death of franchise patriarch Abe Pollin, and the suspension of star guard Gilbert Arenas for bringing a firearm to work and threatening then-teammate Javaris Crittenton.
Heck, Wall might even be asked to fix the battered United States economy while he’s at it.
Of course being selected with the top overall pick is no guarantee of success. The last time the Wizards had the honor was back in 2001 when Michael Jordan made his biggest mistake as a basketball executive by taking Kwame Brown. Brown started just 94 out of a possible 328 games over four seasons in Washington before he was dumped.
It's hard to imagine Wall as a sequel. He combines rare speed with the ball, along with the size and athleticism to be an elite player very early in his career. Like all young players he needs to improve his jumper but could end up being a more-skilled Rajon Rondo.
“He does things you can’t even teach, the instinct things,” Wizards coach Flip Saunders said of Wall. “And, on top of that, he’s very coachable. The perfect start for us.”
The cupboard isn't exactly bare around Wall either starting with talented power forward Andray Blatche. In the final 32 games last season when Washington was out of the playoff hunt and sent Antawn Jamison to Cleveland, Blatche finally got a chance and performed like a star, averaging just over 22 points along with 8.3 rebounds and 3.6 assists.
Wizards general manager Ernie Grunfeld is convinced Blatche’s late-season performance was not fool’s gold and no mirage.
“He’s a skilled big man, someone who’s multi-dimensional,” Grunfeld told NBA.com. “He has shown steady improvement, and last year performed very well for us during that stretch.”
Meanwhile, the controversial Arenas will eventually be back to team with Wall in the backcourt while Javale McGee, who almost made Team USA this summer, will man the pivot. The silky-smooth Al Thornton takes over the three spot and the bench also features a solid option in guard Kirk Hinrich.
Arenas, however, will miss at least the first two games of the regular season due to a strained tendon in his right ankle. The Washington Post on Wednesday quoted head coach Flip Saunders as saying that Arenas’ injury will be re- evaluated, but that it will sideline him for tonight’s game and Saturday’s contest with Atlanta.
The mercurial Arenas has been limited to 47 games over the last three seasons due to problems with his left knee and the 50-game suspension last year. In his last fully-healthy campaign back in 2006-07, Arenas logged 28.5 points, 4.6 rebounds and 6.0 assists per contest. Hinrich is expected to start in his place.
Meanwhile, talented forward Josh Howard, who is recovering form left knee surgery, also remains on the sideline for Washington.
For Orlando, rookie big man Daniel Orton is out indefinitely after left knee surgery while veteran reserve point guard Jason Williams is listed as questionable for tonight after undergoing arthroscopic left knee surgery.
These two teams split the four-game season series a year ago.
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