Rashard Lewis has pretty much disappeared for the Orlando Magic in the first two games against the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals and it is a big reason why the Magic have found themselves down 0-2 in the series.  Lewis, who is the highest paid player on the Magic and one of the highest paid players in the entire league, only has 11 total points through the first two games.  Lewis isn’t doing much of anything for the Magic despite playing about 42 minutes per game so far in the series.  In the two games he has averaged just 5.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 3 assists.  There have been times were Glenn “Big Baby” Davis has been switched on to Lewis defensively, and Lewis has not taken advantage.  There is no way “Big Baby” Davis can guard Lewis, so I’m not sure why he didn’t demand the ball in those situations.  Also, Lewis has lacked an intensity that is needed in the playoffs.  When he is not getting the shots he wants, or his shots aren’t falling, his body language shows it and he carries that attitude to the defensive end.  Even if Lewis doesn’t start to score the ball more, he still can contribute by attacking the boards and giving the Magic everything he has on defense.  Lewis has yet to do any of that, and if he isn’t giving the Magic 15-20 points than he needs to contribute in other ways.  If he continues to play like he has in the first two games coach Van Gundy needs to think about giving Pietrus and Barnes more minutes.

Dwight Howard had one of the most impressive playoff series in playoff history against the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, even though he failed to score 30 points in any single game.  It was one of the most impressive playoff performances because of how dominate and efficient he was on both ends of the court.  He was able to lead the Magic to four straight blowout wins by taking only an average of 8 shots per game.  He averaged 21 points, 13.3 rebounds, and 2.8 blocks in 37 minutes per game.  Now those numbers are very good, but what makes his performance in this series so impressive is just how dominate he really was.  Out of the 32 field goal attempts Howard had in this series, he only missed 5.  That means he shot 84.4% from the field in the entire series, giving him the best field goal percentage in a playoff series ever.  The Hawks were forced to collapse down on Howard, and he was able to either score, get fouled, or pass it out to the perimeter for a wide open three.  He also guarded the basket almost as well as a big man can, by either blocking or changing the shot almost every time the Hawks took it into the paint.  The Hawks had no chance in this series because of the way Howard kept them out of the paint, off the boards, and in foul trouble.  The Magic have to be the favorites to make it out of the Eastern Conference, but they will have a much tougher task going up against the winner of the Boston Celtics-Cleveland Cavaliers series.

Vince Carter logged only two minutes for the Orlando Magic in their 103-97 win over the Denver Nuggets Sunday night.  Carter sprained his right big toe while playing defense and left the game with 10:25 left in the first quarter.  Its not clear how long the injury will keep Carter out, but X-rays were negative so he may not miss much time.  You never know with Carter though,  since he seems to be made of glass and can’t stay healthy.  He was already playing through a sprained right ankle so I would think the Magic may give him at least a few games off.  The Magic have already been playing without another key wing player in Michael Pietrus.  The only good news out of all this is that J.J. Redick stepped up big on Sunday.  Redick had a career night, playing 46 minutes and going 8-15 for 23 points, 8 assists, and 7 rebounds.

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.

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 Orlando Magic are banking on 27-year old Jameer Nelson to be healthy this season. Nelson played in 42 games for the Magic last season and he averaged 31.2 minutes, 16.7 points, 3.5 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.2 steals per game. With Nelson playing the best basketball of his career last season the Magic are expecting big things from him this season. 34-year old Anthony Johnson will be back this season for the Magic. He played in 80 games for the Magic last season and he averaged 18.5 minutes, 5.3 points, 1.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. Johnson did the dirty work last season for the Magic playing very physical defense from the point guard position. 33-year old Jason “White Chocolate” Williams ended his one year retirement to play for the Magic this season. He has played in 679 games in his NBA career and he has averaged 31.2 minutes, 11.4 points, 2.4 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 1.3 steals per game. If Nelson were to get injured this season Williams would back him up.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE POINT GUARDS IN 2009-2010: B