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Wizards @ Magic Thread; 1/19, 7:00 PM, Amway Arena
Topic Started: Jan 18 2007, 10:59 PM (1,037 Views)
MAGICMANEVAN
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#1 Magic Fan
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Washington (22-16) at Orlando (22-17)
Magic - 2nd Southeast / 6th East
Wizards - 1st Southeast / 2nd East

What: Regular Season Game #40
Where: Amway Arena
When: January 19, 7:00 PM
Broadcast: TV -- Sun Sports, Radio -- AM 580 WDBO


Gilbert Arenas didn't turn on the 'hibachi' grill in his previous outing, and maybe the Orlando Magic should be worried.

Coming off one of his poorer shooting nights of the season, Arenas looks to return to his high-scoring ways as the Washington Wizards (22-16) take on the Magic (22-17) at Amway Arena on Friday.

Arenas scored 51 points in a 114-111 victory over Utah on Monday, capped by a winning 3-pointer at the buzzer. His performance Wednesday was far less effective, as the New York Knicks hounded him into a 4-for-14, 16-point effort in Washington's 99-98 win.

"The 'hibachi' grill didn't get turned on tonight," said Arenas, referring to the word he sometimes yells when taking a shot. "I'm not going to go out there and try to beat the double team the whole night. That's pointless."

With Arenas mostly shut down, it was Caron Butler who came up big, taking a pass from DeShawn Stevenson and making a go-ahead dunk with 2.2 seconds left.

Butler, who had 27 points and a career-high 10 assists, said that even though Arenas didn't factor physically in the play, his presence was a big part.

"So much of the focus was on Gilbert, that enabled us to get open," he said. "DeShawn made a great play. We made eye contact and he threw it to me on the backdoor slip and I just finished real strong on the dunk."

It was the first time in six games this season that the Wizards won when Arenas failed to score 20 points.

While it's encouraging for Washington to finally win without a big contribution from its star, Arenas has bounced back immediately from those subpar performances this season. He's followed up each of those games with point totals of 44, 28, 38, 32 and Monday's 51. The Wizards went 4-1 in those games.

The Magic are already well aware of what Arenas, who averages 29.9 points per game, can do. He scored 24 points in the Wizards' 106-103 loss in the teams' first meeting Nov. 6, and had 14 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter of Washington's 112-111 win Dec. 29.

"Well, they've got a little bird down there named Gilbert who's not too bad," Orlando's Keyon Dooling said after the last matchup. "He's one of those guys who's special. He'll go down in history as being one of the greatest. He showed his greatness in the second half. He just turned it on and it's almost impossible to guard him."

Dooling and the Magic are coming off an 84-78 overtime loss to New Orleans on Tuesday. Dwight Howard scored 17 points and had 15 rebounds, and Hedo Turkoglu added 16 points and seven boards, but Orlando finished 1-3 on its four-game road trip.

The Magic's point total was a season low, and they scored only 14 points and shot 5-of-17 with six turnovers in the second quarter. They failed to score in overtime until the final 10 seconds and finished the game shooting 34.9 percent.

Following Friday's contest, Orlando and Washington don't meet again until their final matchup April 17. Each of the last nine games between the clubs have been decided by fewer than 10 points.
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jrc407
Sixth Man
I hope I don't jinx it but I'm really excited for this game. Wish I was going to the O-Rena for it.
"Quality Shots" will be looking to have a big game to try and keep Division lead.
Magic will be looking to break out of their slump in front of the home crowd.
The stage is set. I can't wait.
If anybody wants to throw some tickets my way I'll gladly take them. :D
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ec23456
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I have to agree with you quality shots & FT% will count for alot and go along way in winning any games at all in my opinion.
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Magic.Man
Legend
I'd love to say we will win but i don't see it happening. Grant Hill's offense the last few games hasn't been great, he is gonna need to step up for us cause we are gonna need the points facing these guys. Hopefully Jameer will do well too.
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jrc407
Sixth Man
ec23456,
"Quality Shots" is what Gil Arenas yells after the shots he takes.

From Wiki:
During the 2006 NBA season, he began to shout the word hibachi as he took field goal attempts in games, explaining, "You know, a hibachi grill gets real hot. That's what my shot's like, so I've been calling it that: 'Welcome to the hibachi'." He has also stated that while he is scoring on opponents, he is "cooking chicken and shrimp" in reference to his "Hibachi grill," and that if his opponent wanted to double team him, he would "cook filet mignon" as well.[14]

On December 23, 2006, Arenas told The Washington Post he had begun replacing "hibachi" with the phrase "quality shot," a direct reference to Kobe Bryant who had felt Arenas' shot selection was questionable and that he seemingly lacked a conscience. "Out of that whole game I probably took two bad shots," Arenas would respond. "And for me not to have a conscience? You're right. When you're an assassin, you don't have a conscience." Nonetheless, Kobe stated that Gilbert Arenas is one of the most difficult players to guard in the NBA.[15]

On January 3, 2007, Arenas hit a very long game-winning three-point shot to beat the Milwaukee Bucks. In a post-game interview, Arenas stated that he did not shout "hibachi" or "quality shot." Rather, he told reporters that "My swag was phenomenal."
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melbournemagic
Starter
Diener might get a chance to play tonight!

Carlos Arroyo benched?
Brian Shmitz

Magic Coach Brian Hill finally has come out publicly and said what has been obvious for weeks:
Struggling point guard Carlos Arroyo is losing his once magical grip on the job as Jameer Nelson's backup.

Hill said he will "consider" making a change, presumably giving Travis Diener more playing time.
Arroyo looks nothing like the player he was last season. He appears to have lost his confidence, which fuels his game. He is in a shooting slump, and seems indecisive with the ball.

Diener is one of the best shooters on the team, but as the third point guard, he hasn't had any opportunities. His size and defensive shortcomings have put him on the end of the bench, but Nelson and Arroyo are not defensive stoppers either.

Hill needs to shake things up and get the Magic out of their slump. They need a spark, and maybe Diener can provide it while Arroyo -- like a slumping hitter -- watches and gathers himself.
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GoMaGicVR6
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must win game.
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MAGICMANEVAN
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#1 Magic Fan
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We cant lose another game in a row... We just have to win this one.

One of the motivations behind making sure we win this game is because they have taken over our #1 spot in the SE division. And now with Miami winning again... we better get our act in gear.
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dhoward541524
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Love_Is_The_Movement
melbournemagic
Jan. 19 2007 12:10 PM
Diener might get a chance to play tonight!

Carlos Arroyo benched?
Brian Shmitz

Magic Coach Brian Hill finally has come out publicly and said what has been obvious for weeks:
Struggling point guard Carlos Arroyo is losing his once magical grip on the job as Jameer Nelson's backup.

Hill said he will "consider" making a change, presumably giving Travis Diener more playing time.
Arroyo looks nothing like the player he was last season. He appears to have lost his confidence, which fuels his game. He is in a shooting slump, and seems indecisive with the ball.

Diener is one of the best shooters on the team, but as the third point guard, he hasn't had any opportunities. His size and defensive shortcomings have put him on the end of the bench, but Nelson and Arroyo are not defensive stoppers either.

Hill needs to shake things up and get the Magic out of their slump. They need a spark, and maybe Diener can provide it while Arroyo -- like a slumping hitter -- watches and gathers himself.

THANK YOU JESUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's about freaken time!
I saw a W. just cuz were at home and we've won 4 straight there.

Edited my MME. Too many "!", they were messing up the thread.
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Punisher
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Pure domination
This should be a very interesting game. Two teams fighting for 1st place. Our team needs this win badly so I hope we win this one.
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dxwwf3
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Legend
A win here would right a lot of the wrongs from the West Coast trip. But I must say we have to play a heck of a lot better to win tonight. Huge game.
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Punisher
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Pure domination
What a pass by Dwight.
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dxwwf3
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Legend
Not playing very sharp right now. They're getting most of their points off turnovers right now.
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gomagic33
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Mr. Anderson
we better win this one. no excuses.
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Punisher
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Pure domination
Nelson with the drive plus one.
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