ORLANDO -- A lot of people think that changes made in Cleveland and Boston – getting Shaquille O'Neal via trade and Rasheed Wallace in free agency, respectively – have made the Cavaliers and the Celtics the co-favorites in the Eastern Conference this season.Vince Carter and Dwight Howard don't believe it.
"I still like us [as favorites],'' Carter said defiantly Tuesday.
Carter, who was acquired in a trade with New Jersey last month, and Howard, the All-Star center, have been highly-visible spectators at the Orlando Pro Summer League that is comprised mostly by rookies and young free agents hoping to be invited into someone's training camp in the fall.
"He's going to help them [Celtics]. He has an unbelievable ability to shoot the ball. He rebounds, and he adds to what they already have,'' Carter said. "But I still like us better.''
Carter and Howard have been hanging together this week, both confident but still curious about who will be added to their roster. To get Carter and forward Ryan Anderson from New Jersey, the Magic traded promising Courtney Lee, along with veterans Tony Battie and Rafer Alston. They also decided to let go of free agent Hedo Turkoglu.
The Magic reached the NBA Finals last month, which made the roster changes made by general manager Otis Smith somewhat surprising.
"In Otis we trust,'' Howard said Tuesday. "He won't do anything to mess up the chemistry we had. We still believe we're the team.''
The addition of Carter, a seven-time All-Star, more than negates the loss of Turkoglu. Although known for his scoring, Carter is a more-than-capable ball handler and passer. He averaged 4.8 assists last season on a mediocre Nets team.
Much like Turkoglu did, Carter will handle the ball for the Magic in late-game situations, even filling in at point guard like he did in New Jersey at times.
"I'm so ready to go. I'll do whatever they need, whatever the coaches ask me to do,'' Carter said. "This is a team with a lot of weapons. It's hard not to like us.''
Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Favorites for what? Going fishing at the beginning of June. Come back to earth half-man, half-deluded.
Vince needs to wake up
Why can't the Magic be favorites, 50 Million?? Even as it is, they are just as good as the Cavs or Celtics. AND let's not forget the trading season is not over yet. Orlando WILL add another 2-3 to their roster. How is Brandon Bass or Glen “Big Baby” Davis sounds?? In addition to Howard, Nelson, Lewis and Carter... A pretty scary line up in my opinion... ;)
Totally agree with you rk68. The magic lost Alston and are replacing him with a healthy Nelson. They lost a promising Lee, but are replacing him with a proven VC. If they manage to sign Davis the rest of the east is in trouble next year. The Magic will be right there with, or ahead of, the Celtics and Cavs.
Didn't the Celtics take the Magic to game 7?
Didn't the Celtics do that with Garnett and Powe out due to injuries? And Ray Allen getting surgery as soon as the series ended?
Yep. Orlando's ahead of Boston. Ok.
Please share whatever you idiots are smoking - it must be good stuff
Speculation spawns shit. Gametime'll tell all. All I know is the Lakers are the kings of the West, the Magic are the kings of East UNTIL somebody dethrones them.
They aren't winning anything with SVG as coach. Also, if Dwight Howard doesn't develop a more refined post game and make free throws in crunch time they will be going fishing.
Orlando is not going to do anything. They won't make it past the second round. Favorites don't get rid of their starting line-up. Carter has never been a champion. He doesn't know what it takes to get it done.
Hedo was a big part of Orlando's success. Losing him will hurt more than people think. Without Hedo, Magic would have lost in the first round. Let's not forget that they had to win Game 6 on the road without Howard.
Howard was the reason Magic failed to win more than 1 game in the Finals. Raefer, Hedo, and Lee are gone. Orlando is dreaming. Teams should not make drastic moves, especially when they come cose to winning. They were a few bad decisions away from winning.
Kings also made bad decisions in the past. Instead of being patient, many teams restructure their roster. I guarantee it; Orlando will not make the finals with this group.
VC has not proven anything. He doesn't have a ring. He never played in the Finals. Toronto got rid of Vince because he was irresponsible. He was dancing on a stage when he was supposed to be resting his injury. Some proven player.
Orlando made poor decisions. Why make changes when you were so close? They let go of the real star - Hedo. Without Hedo, this team is not going past the second round. Stars don't matter for teams. Chemistry is most important.
At least the Lakers are smart enough to retain most of their players. Orlando will figure out that losing Hedo was the biggest mistake ever. Orlando will never win a title. They proved that in 1995 and again in 2009.
You obviously believe Hedo is a way better player than Vince, w/c is laughable. Or just a Vince-hater, judging by your first paragraph. Vince is a great player, he just didn't have the help that he needed. You could say the same thing on Kobe. Has Kobe made it to the second round before the team acquired Pau Gasol?
"At least the Lakers are smart enough to retain most of their players. Orlando will figure out that losing Hedo was the biggest mistake ever."
Yeah, I'm sure losing a promising young Trevor Ariza won't hurt Lakers future now that they acquired a head-case ( Artest ).
"Orlando will never win a title. They proved that in 1995 and again in 2009. "
And I'm sure you were one of millions who thought the Cavs were gonna make it to the finals.
The only way they are the favorites will be if they hire the refs to be there 6th man like this year....there is no more MAGIC vince...
I dont know why the Magic broke up the team the shook up the east. this past team made Boston and Cleveland both scramble to fix their short comings. They have a shot dont but I dont think the favs. getting rid of Hedo I think will prove to be their undoing. I hate to say because I am always a Laker fan but a healthy Boston is still the team to beat in the East. Shaq is not going to fit well with LeBron.
unless the Magic know a good heart surgeon to get Carter a transplant its a bad trade. Dude is cancer with legs..Not that toronto was sweet when they had him but even the all time biggest loser didn't think he could win with Carter on his team so he bolted(T-Mac)..New Jersey goes to finals a couple of years, then gets Carter and goes in the tank. I would take any guy from UNC cause they are battle tested in big games..except Vince Cancer.
what has vince carter done vs the Cavs.... NOTHING. Not a good addition IMO
If they would just concentrate more on being a great basketball team and less on their inflated egos, perhaps fans can begin to love them. They have not demonstrated anything much to us except their braggadocio.
Artest will help the Lakers because they have a strong coach in Jackson, who will keep him in line, unlike what Orlando has. Van Gundy cannot possibly keep Carter in check. If I'm wrong, then it may prove to be a good move, but I'm not wrong.
I'm also a Laker fan, but I think Boston will be the favorite to come out the East. They have to sign Big Baby tho, I don't think Rasheed will be as much of a factor during the regular season, but he can really help in the playoffs. The Magic will be tough and I also think VC will definitely give them offensive spark.
I don`t think Glen Davis will resign with Boston, so I think signing has been Wallace hurt them. But while I think the Magic need to add a couple of forwards to back Anderson and Lewis, I don`t think Davis is signing with a team whose small forward, Lewis, is 6`10, an inch taller than him. Especially when Davis weighs 290. Look for him to be a heavy but too short back up center, or maybe a tall enough, but too slow on the backboards, power forward. Knicks might start him at center! Awful lot of weakness among nba centers. VC used to be a good guard, but he, Pietrus and Richardson are not forwards, especially for a team of supposed favorites. Looks like last year`s media dream, Cavs./LaKers in the championship round, but we`ll see.
The magic had the best series they will ever play against the Cavs, They had no business in the finals... Thank you magic for not showing up at all! You can not change a team and the chemistry they way they have and expect the team to be better. I cant wait for the season to start magic will be lucky to be the 8th in the east!
The Magic are the team to beat until proven other wise. The Cavs have no chance against them and the Celtic's should be playing in the senior's league. VC and Dwight is going to be the deadliestg combo in the NBA, alongside the other two all-stars in Lewis and Nelson. Now if they can get Bass and a backup C for Dwight, they're set.