After their 111-82 blowout win over the Chicago Bulls last night, the Orlando Magic have now won 7 games in a row and 9 of their last 10.  During their current winning ways, they have been blowing teams out, winning almost every game by double-digits.  Two of those nine wins weren’t blowouts, but they were against the two best teams in the league.  They beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 101-95 and the Los Angeles Lakers 96-94.  The one loss they had was a road game against the New Orleans Hornets, who got a 40-point night from David West.  Other than that, the Magic have looked like the best team in the NBA lately, and Dwight Howard has been leading the way for them.  In the past 10 games Howard has been shooting 59% from the field and is averaging 18.7 points, 11.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 2.4 blocks, and 0.6 steals.  All of those numbers are right around his season averages, despite playing less minutes.  Due to all of the blowout wins the Magic have been having, Howard has been able to get more rest.  In 7 of the last 10 games, Howard has played less than his 35 minute per game average.  If the Magic continue this type of play, you will see them in the NBA Finals once again this year.

Jason Williams was once known for his flashy passes and difficult shots, and was turnover prone because of it.  The 34-year-old point guard is a completely different player now and has been a great asset off the bench for the Orlando Magic this season.  Williams, who didn’t even play in the NBA last season, is playing 21.6 minutes per game and is averaging 6.6 points, 3.8 assists, 1.7 rebounds, 0.7 steals, and is shooting a career high from the field (46%) and a career high from three (38%).  Williams’ assist-to-turnover ratio is 3.44, which is good enough for the 5th best in the NBA.  Williams will be an important player for the Magic when they go for another run at the NBA Title this season.  Jameer Nelson is a solid point guard for the Magic, but he has more of a “shoot-first” mentality for a point guard and his assist-to-turnover ratio is only 2.5.  For a guy who didn’t even play last year and wasn’t expected to do much for the Magic this season, Williams has been a very good player for them this year.

The 33-year-old Vince Carter is long past his high-flying, highlight reel, slam-dunk champion days and his scoring abilities have been declining over the past few years, but you would not have been able to tell last night against New Orleans.  “Vinsanity” was back last night, as he looked a lot like his younger self, exploding for 48 points en route to a 123-117 victory over the Hornets.  He ended the night with 48 points on 19-27 shooting (including 6-10 from three), 7 rebounds, 2 assists, in 38 minutes of play.  Carter could have easily gotten 50, but showed his sportsmanship and let the clock run out.  Carter used an array of moves on drives, step backs, post-ups, and three-pointers to get himself a season-high 48 points.  It was only three points away from his career high.  This is a good sign for the Magic, as they are going to need VC to put up a lot of points if they want to make it back to the NBA Finals this season.

The Orlando Magic (21-7) caught some fire from behind the arc in the second half, helping them beat the Utah Jazz (16-12).  J.J. Redick came off the bench and shot the ball lights out.  He hit 7-9, including 2-2 from three, on his way to 20 points, 1 rebound, and 1 steal in 24 minutes.  Rashard Lewis also shot well and the magic hit 49% of their FG’s and 43% of their threes.  Dwight Howard led with 21 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal.  He also had 5 blocks, helping the defense hold the Jazz to 40% shooting.  A good all-around game by the Magic last night.

The Orlando Magic (15-4) shot the ball very well last night and took down the New York Knicks (4-15) easily at home.  The Magic hit 55% of their shots and out-rebounded the Knicks by 10 (46-36).  Dwight Howard and Rashard Lewis did a good job leading the way for the Magic, both on the glass and scoring the ball.  Both had double-doubles, with Howard getting 19 points, 10 rebounds and Lewis getting 20 points and 11 rebounds.  Lewis’ shot has been struggling this year, but he hit 6-8 shots last night including 5-7 from three, which is a great sign for the Magic.  Wilson Chandler had 24 points for the Knicks.

The Magic will be without Jameer Nelson for the next 4-6 weeks due to arthroscopic surgery on his left knee. Nelson has played in 11 games (all starts) for the Magic this season and he is averaging 29.6 minutes, 13.7 points, 3.1 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Veteran Jason Williams will replace Nelson in the starting lineup while he is out of action. Williams has played in 11 games (0 starts) this season for the Magic and he is averaging 18.4 minutes, 5.4 points, 1.1 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game. This hurts the Magic as they are at their best with Nelson running the offense, but, Williams will likely do a decent job while he is out of action.

Coming into this season the sharpshooting J.J. Redick had career averages of only 5.5 points, 0.9 assists, 1.3 rebounds, and only 13.4 minutes.  He also only shot 41% from the field and 38% from behind the arc.  Through the first five games of this season, Redick has really stepped his game up in all aspects.  Redick is getting a lot more minutes this year and is taking advantage of it.  He is averaging 14.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 3.2 assists.  He has been lighting it up from behind the arc, shooting 52% (13-25) and has an all around field goal percentage of 45%.  Redick’s shooting can really spread the defense, opening things up for Vince Carter on the perimeter and Dwight Howard down low.  If Redick can play like this all season, the Magic will have another offensive weapon to rely on.

The Magic have lost third string center Adonal Foyle indefinately due to knee surgery. This won’t be too big of a loss for the Magic as Foyle was going to have a hard time getting minutes this season. In fact, unless Dwight Howard or Marcin Gortat get injured he wasn’t going to likely even get 100 minutes this whole season.

The Orlando Magic have invited 24-year old shooting guard Morris Almond and 29-year old forward Linton Johnson to training camp. Almond was a first round draft pick for the Utah Jazz just a couple of years ago. He played in 25 games (1 start) for the Jazz last season and he averaged 10.2 minutes, 3.7 points, 1.4 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. Almond has now played in 34 games (1 start) in his NBA career and he has averaged 8.6 minutes, 3.1 points, 1.1 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. Almond has the reputation at least coming out of college of being a offensive minded player. The Magic will give him a shot to win a job on the bench for this season. Linton Johnson played in 10 games (0 starts) for the Bulls and Bobcats last season and he averaged 5.5 minutes, 0.9 points, 0.8 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game. Johnson has now played in 151 games (27 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 14.0 minutes, 3.9 points, 3.3 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. The frontcourt is loaded with quality depth so Johnson will likely need a injury to two to make the Magic’s roster.

The Orlando Magic will be better than they were last season, mark my words. Will that be enough to win the NBA Title? Only time will tell on that one. The Magic knew that they were going to lose Hedo Turkoglu so they essentially traded him to the Raptors for nothing. But, the trade that brought Vince Carter and Ryan Anderson from the Nets for Rafer Alston, Tony Battie and Courtney Lee more than replaced the firepower that Turkoglu took with him. The Magic then matched a huge offer for C/F Marcin Gortat so that they could keep him in town. That was a good move despite the fact that he wants to start. The Magic signed PF Brandon Bass away from the Mavericks as a free agent and he will likely share time with Gortat at power forward. Matt Barnes was signed to add some firepower to the bench. Jason Williams and Adonal Foyle were also signed as free agents but they will have to earn any minutes they get.

FRONT OFFICE GRADE SO FAR THIS OFF-SEASON: A