Magic forward Brian Cook could miss up to two weeks because he broke his right middle finger in practice, according to an Associated Press report.
The Magic said Monday that Cook would rest 10 to 14 days, then be re-evaluated. The Magic?s season ends with three games from April 13-16. They have eight games remaining.
Brian Cook has struggled since arriving in Orlando this season, but that appears to be a thing of the past, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
"He has struggled, no question about it," Coach Stan Van Gundy said before Cook broke out on Friday night. "He just hasn't played well lately. His timing is unfortunate. We want to have everyone ready for the playoffs."
"He's gotten better defensively and rebounding," Van Gundy added. "And hopefully he can work out of this [shooting slump] because he can turn a game around with his shooting, and just the threat of his shooting. He could really help us at playoff time."
Shaquille O'Neal admitted on Wednesday that he hopes to become the GM of the Magic upon his retirement, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
He also wants Grant Hill alongside him.
"Grant will be the team president -- he's a bright guy -- and I'll be the general manager," O'Neal said. "I'm serious. They need me down there with the new arena coming. Grant and I are coming to do the job."
"He's been talking about this a lot lately," said Hill. "I don't know what prompted it, but he's really fired up about the idea."
The San Antonio Spurs edged the Orlando Magic on Tuesday night thanks to a trio of great individual performances. Michael Finley, Tim Duncan, and Manu Ginobili all shined for the Spurs while Dwight Howard exploded with 24 points and 21 rebounds for the Magic. Read about the Spurs' big win and more in the RealGM Daily Rundown for March 25th?s games!
The New Orleans Hornets won a surprisingly close battle with the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night. Chris Paul notched 31 points and 14 assists, and David West added 35 points and 16 rebounds for the Hornets, who shot 49% from the field and attempted thirty-nine free throws. Danny Granger tallied 26 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists while Shawne Williams added 17 points and 4 boards off the bench for the Pacers, who hit just 46% of their shots and outrebounded New Orleans by five. The victory allowed the Hornets to spilt the season series with Indiana.
Game FIC Scores
David West, NOH ? 30.4
Chris Paul, NOH ? 28.3
Danny Granger, IND ? 16.9
Travis Diener, IND ? 16.0
The San Antonio Spurs edged the Orlando Magic last night thanks to strong performances from Michael Finley and Tim Duncan. Finley notched 24 points, Tim Duncan posted 19 points and 15 rebounds, and Manu Ginobili added 28 points and 5 assists for the Spurs, who hit 54% of their shots. Dwight Howard was insane with 24 points and 21 rebounds, and Rashard Lewis added 24 points and 7 boards for the Magic, who shot 45% from the floor and outrebounded San Antonio by six. Orlando still has a five-game lead over for the fourth seed in the East while the Spurs moved into a tie with Houston for second-place in the Southwest Division.
Game FIC Scores
Tim Duncan, SAS ? 24.0
Dwight Howard, ORL ? 22.8
Rashard Lewis, ORL ? 14.3
Michael Finley, SAS ? 14.0
The Chicago Bulls used a fourteen-point advantage in the third quarter to knock off the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night. Drew Gooden had 31 points and 13 rebounds, and Luol Deng added 14 points and 7 boards for the Bulls, who hit 46% of their shots and outrebounded Atlanta by three. Josh Childress posted 22 points, and Marvin Williams added 10 points and 9 rebounds for the Hawks, who shot 45% and turned the ball over eighteen times at the United Center. Atlanta has a half-game lead over New Jersey for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference.
Game FIC Scores
Drew Gooden, CHI ? 23.1
Joakim Noah, CHI ? 16.9
Mike Bibby, ATL ? 13.3
Josh Childress, ATL ? 13.1
Erick Dampier stepped up with Dirk Nowitzki out of the lineup to help the Dallas Mavericks down the Los Angeles Clippers last night. Josh Howard posted 32 points and 6 rebounds, and Dampier added 20 points and 16 boards for the Mavericks, who shot 44% from the field and outrebounded Los Angeles by fifteen. Corey Maggette led with 21 points, and Josh Powell added 10 points and 7 rebounds for the Clippers, who went 3-for-16 from behind the three-point line and sent Dallas to the charity stripe thirty-one times. The Mavericks now have a two-game lead over the Nuggets for one of the West?s final two playoff spots.
Game FIC Scores
Erick Dampier, DAL ? 23.3
Josh Howard, DAL ? 18.9
Nick Fazekas, LAC ? 11.5
Smush Parker, LAC ? 9.3
The Utah Jazz shot 53% on their way to a dominant win over the Charlotte Bobcats on Tuesday night. Carlos Boozer had 28 points and 13 rebounds, and Deron Williams posted 14 points and 15 assists for the Jazz, who outrebounded Charlotte by twenty-one and scored 28 points off turnovers. Jason Richardson notched 24 points, and Gerald Wallace added 19 for the Bobcats, who shot 50% from the floor but were thoroughly outplayed in all other facets of the game. Mehmet Okur added 20 points and 10 boards for Utah in the win, which moved the Jazz to within two and a half games of the West-leading Hornets.
Game FIC Scores
Carlos Boozer, UTA ? 25.1
Deron Williams, UTA ? 19.0
Earl Boykins, CHA ? 11.8
Gerald Wallace, CHA ? 11.6
The Portland Trail Blazers outscored the Washington Wizards by sixteen points in the first half en route to a twenty-point win last night. Travis Outlaw had 20 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists while Martell Webster added 23 points for the Blazers, who shot 49% and outrebounded Washington by nineteen. Caron Butler posted 19 points and 7 rebounds, and Antonio Daniels added 14 points and 8 assists for the Wizards, who sank just 35% of their shot attempts at the Rose Garden. Washington now holds just a half-game lead over the Sixers for the fifth slot in the Eastern Conference.
Game FIC Scores
Antonio Daniels, WSH ? 18.3
Jarrett Jack, POR ? 17.5
Travis Outlaw, POR ? 16.0
Antawn Jamison, WSH ? 4.0
? RealGM calculates the Floor Impact Counter using the following formula: (Points + .75 Defensive Rebounds + Offensive Rebounds + Steals + Assists + Blocks - .75 Field Goal Attempts - .375 Free Throw Attempts - Turnovers - .5 Personal Fouls)
( )'s indicate a negative FIC score.
It is also used to rank players and to determine their `Reina Value.'
Click here to view the player rankings with the Reina Value for the current season
Corey Maggette has the power to opt out of his contract this summer and become a free agent, and returning to the Magic isn't out of the question, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
"We'll sit down this summer and see where it goes," Maggette said last week. "We're not going to the playoffs so we'll have plenty of time to make that decision. My parents will be happy wherever I play."
Cleveland head coach Mike Brown doesn't think that the Orlando Magic should worry about what other people are saying about them, according to the Plain Dealer.
"If I were them, I wouldn't care what people say," he said on Monday night. "It's the same with us. The less people talk about you, in my opinion, the better. I don't know if they're worried about getting the national respect. I know that's not part of our MO."
Dwight Howard believes that the Orlando Magic need to step up in order to put themselves in the same conversation as the best in the Eastern Conference, according to The Ledger.
"They say Detroit, the Celtics, and then Cleveland, and it's like we're a forgotten team in the East. So we've got to step it up when we play those guys," Howard said.
"Nobody is looking at the Magic as any playoff or championship contender team, which is good. Every team that I've been on has always been looked at as a team that everybody could beat. But you know, we know how to play basketball, and one day we're going to get the respect that we deserve from everybody," Howard added.
The Orlando Magic have secured a berth in the Eastern Conference playoffs after beating the Indiana Pacers 122-111 on Saturday, the Associated Press is reporting.
With five weeks left in the regular season, the Orlando Magic reduced their magic number to three with a win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night, according to the Daytona Beach News-Journal.
The Magic need to win just three more games before the regular season ends in mid-April or watch the Bulls and Nets lose a trio of games over the same time frame. Either way, Orlando will clinch the Eastern Conference's third playoff berth.
Boston and Detroit have already qualified for the playoffs.
Orlando Magic GM Otis Smith said on Wednesday morning that he wants his team to develop a nasty attitude, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
He exact words were that he'd like the team to have "a little more of a nasty attitude . . . be a little angrier."
Smith added that he isn't worried about all-star center Dwight Howard.
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