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By John DentonOct. 22, 2014
ORLANDO -- Central pieces of the Orlando Magic’s glorious past and promising future were both in the Amway Center on Wednesday night, but only one of them was on the floor dropping in hook shots and leaping over defenders for thunderous follow-up dunks.
Nikola Vucevic, who very soon could be on the verge of locking up his long-term future with the Magic, opened Wednesday’s game with a particular pep in his step and he took advantage of the Houston Rockets resting defensive ace Dwight Howard – Orlando’s franchise player from 2004-12.
Vucevic, 23, wasted no time in showing why the Magic want him to be a primary fixture of their franchise for years to come on Wednesday. He opened the game with a step-back jumper, drilled a lefty hook shot and had a powerful follow dunk as he climbed the back of Houston center Tarik Black for a strong opening statement.
Vucevic played limited minutes the rest of the way on Wednesday as the Magic are winding down the exhibition season. The importance of the final result – Houston’s subs rallied in the final few minutes to defeat Orlando 90-89 – paled in comparison to the statement that Vucevic made just hours after revealing that he and the Magic are close to finalizing a multi-year contract extension.
Howard was rested after playing 28 minutes a night earlier in Miami, but he had plenty of kind words for the Magic (4-3) and his contemporary in Vucevic prior to Wednesday’s game. Howard admitted that it was impressive how Orlando quickly filled its gaping hole at center with Vucevic, one of only five players in the NBA to average at least 10 rebounds a game each of the past two seasons, (Howard, of course, is one of those five players).
``He’s very skilled. He’s not one of those guys who is going to fool you with his quickness or his athleticism, but he can get you the rebounds and points that you need every night,’’ said Howard, who has occasionally been resistant to give other centers credit in the past. ``He’s pretty consistent. I’m happy for him that he just signed another contract. I think Orlando is on its way up.’’
Orlando certainly could be on its way up this season if Vucevic can keep up his torrid play from the preseason. Despite playing just 25 minutes on average, Vucevic is averaging 14.7 points while shooting a robust 57.1 percent from the floor.
With Howard in the house on Wednesday night, Vucevic stressed that while setting numerous rebounding records in Magic history he never tried filling the massive void left by the 6-foot-11, 268-pound Howard’s messy exit. And upon hearing that he was praised in the pregame by Howard, Vucevic said that it was nice that he is starting to command the respect of some of the league’s best big men.
``I never had the mindset that I was trying to replace (Howard) because I only wanted to help the team win,’’ Vucevic said. ``It’s nice (to hear praise), especially from a guy like Dwight, who is one of the best big men in the league. It means that I’ve been doing good in my short career in the NBA. When guys acknowledge you and respect your game, that’s what you want. So I’m glad that (Howard) said that.’’
Orlando led by seven points after one period, by eight at halftime and took its biggest lead of the night – 74-61 – into the fourth quarter. However, the Magic’s reserves were unable to hang onto the lead in the final 12 minutes.
Magic guard Willie Green tied the game at 89-all with a corner three with 1:09 to play. However, Green missed a 3-pointer that would have put Orlando ahead with 39 seconds to play and Houston’s Jeff Adrien broke the tie with a free throw. Andrew Nicholson’s hook shot came up well short in the final 25 seconds and Green was just off on a running layup just before the horn.
Vucevic, who played just three minutes in the second half, made six of his first seven shots and scored all 12 of his points in an easy, breezy first half of action. Maurice Harkless, who got the start at shooting guard, chipped in 11 points for an Orlando team that shot 43.8 percent from the floor and hit 15 of 20 free throws. Veteran guard Ben Gordon shot the ball well (5 of 6) and scored 11 points off the bench.
``As far as finding his rhythm throughout the course of a game, I think he’s been in with a great group that knows where he likes the basketball,’’ Magic coach Jacque Vaughn said of Gordon, who has averaged 10.2 points this preseason. ``He’s shown a little bit of everyting, whether it’s his float game, stepping back to shoot three or coming off pindowns. And he’s given us some tenacity on the defensive end, so I’ve been very pleased with that as well.’’
All-star guard James Harden played 18 minutes for the Rockets (5-2) and scored nine points to go with three assists. Trevor Ariza and Howard were rested by Rockets coach Kevin McHale, who rode the referees early in the game for calling 16 fouls in the first 11 minutes.
``Better grab a Snickers bar,’’ McHale said in disgust along the sidelines, ``because it looks like we’re going to be here awhile.’’
Vucevic said on Wednesday morning that he owes much of his success in the NBA to the Magic considering that the franchise has always believed in his when few others did. Orlando specially wanted Vucevic when forced to trade Howard and acquired him from Philadelphia in August of 2012. Vucevic was a starter right off the bat in Orlando, compiling some rather gaudy statistics over the past two seasons. Over that time, the Magic’s man in the middle has 21 games where he’s scored at least 20 points, 96 10-rebound games, 27 15-rebound games, six 20-rebound games, 82 games double-doubles and six games with at least 20 points and 20 rebounds.
Vucevic said he wants to reward the faith that the Magic have had in him by continuing to get better for years to come.
``Their faith in me means a lot to me,’’ Vucevic said. ``(Magic GM) Rob (Hennigan) brought me here, Coach (Vaughn) put me in and felt that support from the whole organization the past two years. It helped me with my confidence and it helped me when I had bad games. They supported me when we had tough times as a team and now with them willing to risk the extension – and the fact that they are counting on me to be one of the main pieces of the organization – it really means a lot to me.’’
Orlando wraps up the preseason on Friday night against the Dallas Mavericks with another homecoming of a former player. Jameer Nelson, one of only two players to wear a Magic uniform for 10 seasons, asked for and received his release in July so that he could sign with a contender. Nelson has started five preseason games so far and has played well for the veteran-laden Mavs.
Harkless was aggressive and seeking out shots early in the game. He drilled a second quarter three pointer and followed it up with another just after halftime. Harkless has shown the Magic coaching staff that he is much more comfortable putting the ball on the floor and shooting on the move – improvements that have allowed him to see playing time at both the shooting guard and small forward positions.
In a move that probably was not a coincidence, Orlando went to Vucevic right away on Wednesday night and they kept feeding him the ball throughout the first half. Vucevic entered the game shooting 54 percent from the floor and he bettered it by drilling six of seven tries in the first two quarters as Orlando sprang to a 51-43 halftime lead.
Facing the much shorter Tarik Black, Vucevic calmly opened the game with a step-back jumper and then sealed the reserve Houston center for a lefty hook at point-blank range. And Vucevic’s highlight of the night came when he perfectly timed a Harkless miss, soared over Black and dunked the ball much to the delight of the Amway Center crowd.
Vucevic said that even if a contract extension gets finalized in the coming days it won’t change his mind set to be a team player and one who is more concerned with winning than piling up statistics.
``I just do what I do. I’m confident that I’m going to play well and help this team win games,’’ the 7-foot-, 250-pounder said. ``All that matters at the end of the day is that we win games. I’m going to do my best. I’m good enough to play at a high level. I don’t think of it as if they gave me this contract and I have to do something crazy. I’m just going to keep doing what I do, improving and getting better every year.’’