Magic Wands: at Knicks 3/28

Written by Philip Rossman-Reich on Wednesday, 28 March 2012 20:37.

	Score	Period	Off. Rtg.	eFG%	O.Reb.%	TO%	FTR
Orlando	86	Final	95.1	51.4	21.4	19.1	37.7
New York	108	Pace: 87	123.7	57.6	39.0	12.6	14.1

New York, N.Y.

(32-18) vs. (25-25)
Time/TV: 7 p.m./ESPN, Sun Sports
Line: Magic by 1.5
Tickets: $75-$1650 on TiqIQ
Season Series: Won 102-93 in New York on Jan. 16; Tonight in New York; April 5 in Orlando

Video Vault:

1) Amar'e Stoudemire will not need surgery to repair a bulging disc in his back, but is expected to miss the next 2-4 weeks, Howard Beck and Jake Appleman of The New York Times report (h/t Kurt Helin of Pro Basketball Talk). Stoudemire should be back before the Playoffs, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. Somehow, the Knicks are surviving their injury problems, Rob Mahoney of Court Vision writes.

2) Dan Braunstein of ESPN Stats & Info writes the Knicks resemble the Magic a lot when Amar'e Stoudemire is not on the floor.

3) Jameer Nelson was not feeling great this morning and missed the team's shootaround, but he tells Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel that he will play.

4) Jordan Kahn of Hickory High breaks down the Magic's staggered screen play.

5) Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel caught up with general manager Otis Smith and got his assessment for the rest of the season.

6) J.J. Redick has used doubters to fuel his fire throughout his entire playing career, and that is why he could break out into a star, Hunter Konsens of Bleacher/Report writes.

7) Jeff Van Gundy tells WQAM in Miami that Dwight Howard's decision was not about loyalty, but about power (h/t Chris Fedor of Sports Radio Interviews).

8) Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel looks at five critical games for the Magic in their final 16 games and the things the team has to work on to win them. This could be important if John Hollinger's analysis of AccuScore's latest Playoff projections are true. The East might be deeper than we think.

9) Glen Davis was fined for flashing an obscene gesture (the middle finger) toward a player or fan after he was fouled hard, opening a cut on his scalp, Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel reports.

10) The Magic, and especially Stan Van Gundy, got a kick out of the Air Canada Centre's excitement about getting a free slice of pizza in Monday's game. Zach Lowe of The Point Forward really appreciated Stan Van Gundy's candor in the whole situation.

11) Jeremy Lin will also be out tonight for the Knicks (h/t Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel). Toney Douglass could get the call to replace Lin tonight after being relegated to the bench during the whole Lin-sanity thing, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes.

12) Jameer Nelson defeated Jason Terry in a promotional fitness contest, and that means Terry will play Friday's game without his trademark headband and high socks (h/t Evan Dunlap of orlando Pinstriped Post). I kind of wanted to see Nelson in the high socks though.

13) Jeremy Lin met with the ESPN.com headline writer fired for inadvertently using a racial slur, it was apparently a very good time, Anthony Rieber of Long Island Newsday reports.

14) A lot has changed for the Knicks since the Magic's Martin Luther King Day matchup, John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com writes.

15) Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel wonders if Stan Van Gundy might be the next coach of the New York Knicks if the Magic were to let him go. Huh?

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