Beast of the Night: Nene put up a monster line with 20 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals, 4 blocks and 2 turnovers while shooting 62 percent (8-13) from the floor and 80 percent (4-5) from the line. It was his finest game of the season so far and his owners have to be hoping that he stays healthy. Read More »

Jameer Nelson just can’t catch a break. Last February, the Magic’s starting guard hurt his shoulder, causing him to shut it down for the rest of last season and almost the entire playoffs. Just a few weeks into this 2009-10 season, Nelson tore some cartilage in his left knee against the Bobcats on Monday night. Jameer will have surgery on the knee and is expected to miss the next 4-6 weeks. The question now is: how much will Nelson’s absence hurt the Magic in the short and long run? Read More »

Do we need to add Orlando to the list of teams maybe interested in Allen Iverson?

No need to go that far, but with today’s news that Jameer Nelson will miss the next four to six weeks following surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee, the Magic are suddenly thin at point guard. Jason Williams is expected to fill-in as the starter while Jameer is out. Read More »

Over the weekend, Jason Williams aka White Chocolate brought it back to 1999 with some of his vintage And 1 Mixtape worthy dribble moves. The ironic part about it, is that he shook Mr. Playground himself Rafer Alston.

Last year we debuted the “Highs and Lows” system — previewing the NBA season by predicting the respective ceiling and basement for each team. Same theme, different season…

Added: Vince Carter, Brandon Bass, Matt Barnes, Ryan Anderson, Jason Williams

Lost: Hedo Turkoglu, Rafer Alston, Courtney Lee, Tony Battie, Tyronn Lue Read More »

Last season, the Orlando Magic kind of snuck up on the rest of the league. While everybody knew that they had a solid roster, not many expected them to come out as Eastern Conference Champions. This time around, Orlando is not only one of the favorites to win the East again but is right there in the mix to compete for a title as well. This time around, the path will be a little different. Read More »

When the Magic re-signed Marcin Gortat this summer, a lot of people didn’t understand the move. And after bringing in Vince Carter, Brandon Bass, Matt Barnes, Jason Williams, Ryan Anderson and Morris Almond, you might think that Gortat and his new five-year, $34-million deal could be sent packing for another piece or if they need cap relief. But apparently GM Otis Smith wants no part of that, seeing The Polish Hammer as a tool you use in case of emergency. Read More »

White Chocolate signing with the Magic yesterday likely signaled the last offseason move by any of the NBA’s legit championship contenders before training camp. (Assuming the Marquis Daniels-to-Boston deal is just a paperwork formality at this point.) So now that we know who’s working with what, why not start handicapping the field? … Orlando could very well run through the Eastern Conference postseason bracket again, but they probably won’t be doing it as a #1 or even a #2 seed thanks to Rashard Lewis‘ 10-game suspension. Read More »

Looking to add some depth to their backcourt, the Orlando Magic have signed Jason Williams to a free agent deal. After coming out of retirement and flirting with a few other teams, J-Dub found a spot in Orlando, where he will battle Anthony Johnson for backup minutes behind Jameer Nelson. Read More »

Welcome to the (so far) most Twitter-infected edition of Smack ever written. We begin with Nate Robinson, who was arrested yesterday in NYC for driving on a suspended license, and broke the news himself — on Twitter. Nate actually tweeted while he was being pulled over (if only this kind of technology existed when Rodney King got popped in ‘91), and what started with his windows being too tinted turned into a revelation that his license had been suspended for an unpaid ticket he says he didn’t know about. Granted, this is a very minor legal matter, but it’s also horrible timing for Nate when he’s still technically unemployed … One of the League’s other high-profile jobless guys, Allen Iverson, took his free agency news to the Twitter crowd. Read More »