Magic vs Heat: What Didn't Work

Despite the 107-91 final tally against Miami Wednesday night, Orlando played far from a perfect game. In fact, the only people who were perfect were our friends in Vegas who set a 16 point betting line for the game (these guys are amazing). In a blowout victory, there's not too much to work on, but here's what we could find.

1. Team defense (at least through the first 37 minutes). The final stats show the Heat connecting on just 33 of 78 shots for 42.3%, which is a little more than 3% under their season average. That's the good news. The bad news is that Miami, with their JV team on the court, was hitting better than 48% (30/62) prior to the Orlando 24-11 run to close the game. The Magic were often slow rotating, and the point guard position was beaten off the dribble consistently (seemingly like every other night).

2. Turnover margin. The Magic were sloppy with the ball as they committed 16 turnovers, and forced just 5. Losing the turnover battle by 11 will usually get you beat (unless of course you are playing the Miami Heat).

3. Point guard play. The Magic welcomed back Jameer Nelson, and he looked a little rusty after missing five games. Carlos Arroyo didn't take part in the turnover-fest, like he did on Sunday, but he did manage to miss 5 of his 7 shots. Together, the Magic received 10 points from the point guard position on 22% shooting, while the Heat point guards (Jason Williams and Chris Quinn) scored 25 points on 50% shooting. The point guard position is really turning into a major liability for this team.

Just one question: It seems silly to question the substitution patterns of a coach following a 16-point victory, but indulge me for a moment. The Magic made just four substitutions in the second half, and just one substitution in the fourth quarter. Orlando led the game by double digits from the 8:33 mark on, with the lead swelling to 20 points on a few occasions. It's important to say that there were no injuries to any starters, but in that situation wouldn't it make more sense to get Jameer Nelson a few more minutes to catch him up to game speed? Or dare I say put in "that player," you know who I'm talking about who doesn't see much PT, but always seems to produce offense in his limited minutes just in case you may need him in a "real" game?