The Magic are in New Orleans for the first matchup between the two teams this season.
1. Which matchup most favors the Magic?
Mason Ginsberg – The easy answer is Dwight Howard, but I’m going to go with his front-court counterpart, Ryan Anderson. The Hornets don’t really have a big man mobile enough to effectively guard stretch 4s, so Anderson could give New Orleans fits, especially with that 3-point shot of his.
Joe – Look, up in the Sky! It’s a bird… It’s a plane… It’s Superman! Sorry for that, but Dwight Howard has historically made Emeka Okafor look like a scrub.
Ryan Schwan – I’d be an idiot not to say Dwight Howard. Sorry, Mason.
2. Which matchup most favors the Hornets?
Mason – Jameer Nelson has been downright awful this season (PER under 10), and Jarrett Jack has been arguably the Hornets’ best player. Jack is quick enough to drive past him and tall enough to shoot over him, so I expect another strong performance for the Hornets’ leading scorer.
Joe – I’m trying to find a matchup that the Hornets out-right win, but I’m really not having much success They definitely have more depth in the front court, so if Dwight or Anderson get into foul trouble, the Hornets will have the edge there. Landry will undoubtedly have to draw some early fouls for that to be a possibility.
Ryan – Agreed with Mason. Jarrett Jack should be able to beat up on Nelson, who seems to have lost confidence in his game and is no longer aggressive.
3. Care to make some predictions about the game?
Mason – Call me crazy, but I think the Hornets actually match up fairly well overall against Orlando. They have enough capable big men to pester foul Howard all game long, and New Orleans has done a pretty good job so far this season defending the 3-point shot, holding opponents to 31.5% from long range. If the Hornets force Howard to get his points from the FT line and close out on the Magic’s shooters, they can definitely win this game. I say they do – 91-86 Hornets.
Joe – This will be the Magic’s fourth game in their last five days, and they’re coming off a loss last night against Boston. Frankly, I’m not sure that they’re going to show up against a Hornets team they should stomp on paper. The Bees are going to play hard for 48 minutes. They’re are desperate for a home victory, and I think they finally pull through late in the game, giving the crowd reason to cheer after a rough couple days. Unless of course the Magic get hot from deep. Then it’s hard to see the Hornets winning,
Ryan – without Aaron Gray to dominate Dwight Howard this year, the Hornets are in trouble. Plus, I keep waiting for a team to simply destroy the Hornets from deep – as the Hornets frequently give up that shot – and there isn’t a team in the league better suited to pummel the Hornets with threes than the Orlando Magic.
19 responses to “3-on-3: Previewing Magic @ Hornets”
You callin’ me an idiot, Schwan? You wanna take this outside?!
He called you an idiot, then he agreed with you, meaning he’s an idiot. Are you going to listen to what an idiot says?
Yes, because you are crazy, per your own admission, which only a crazy person would do.
I know, because I’m crazy.
I’m not sure what just happened, but I need a coke.
I’d love to see nothing more than a Hornets squad taking advantage of a tired and simply a team around Dwight that just doesn’t care. If we are able to draw some fouls and maybe get hot enough to drain a few 3 pointers, we can compete in this game enough to win. I just wish EG was here to score some points in the last 2 minutes of the game… Let’s hope for some optimism and get some wins out of these teams from the South East. 87-81 Hornets win.
Anyone remember the game where Aaron “big sloppy” Gray totally shut down Dwight Howard? Anyone??
Yes. That was fiya!! I expect the crowd to be fired up tonight after several hard-fought close losses.
Yes, I do. That’s was the best. Superman didn’t know what hit him. He just kept running into AG’s mass and bouncing off. Fun for all in the Hive that night!
Loved it.
Weird.
Is it just me or is it getting harder and harder to watch the hornets???
It’s just you. What I see is a nail-biter in every game.
it’s you
It’s just you. I actually love watching them. They play hard and the ball movement on offense is (usually) better than the last few years. And if you can’t get excited about the way Ayon has played, you don’t have a pulse.
What’s up with the MT5 banner?
HA! Not sure. Would have to ask the banner guy.
Why do we even have banners?
Same reason?
I assumed it was Trey Johnson without looking at it more carefully… which, ironically, would also be mis-placed now since we just cut him.
maybe we traded for him?? Dealer demps strikes again!!
it’s good to hear that Gordon wants hold off the extension til the summer and Hornets want him as the face of the franchise.If the Hornets go after Augustin should he be the face of the team because he’s the local favorite or can theses two share the title of faces of the franchise
What? Like the 2 headed LAS guy?
we just need a PG thats score 20 to 25 ppg and we can have the best backcourt in the NBA