I would take this time to bash Otis Smith but at this juncture in time, there's no point to that. Otis will be gone in the off-season, and the team will move in a different direction. I'm going to instead direct this "assault" per say at Stan Van Gundy. Not many coaches in today's NBA have been to the Conference Finals three times with two completely different systems. Not many coaches have had as many 50-win seasons as Stan has. Not many coaches have handled controversy as well as Stan handled the Dwight saga this year. But Stan is far from perfect and the current mess in Orlando is indicative of his faults.
The Magic have been criticized as old, slow, and lethargic. As a fan who has watched nearly every game this year, I most certainly would agree with all three of those adjectives. A line-up that has NBA experience of 8, 11, 12, and 8 years will probably be a little worn down. In fairness, one of those 8 year vets is 26 years old. Ryan Anderson, the 5th starter will turn 24 in about a month. The team has miles on it, and that really can't be argued.
In my opinion, Hedo Turkoglu and Jason Richardson have run out of miles. Toronto realized Hedo was done, Phoenix realized Hedo was done, and now it's time for Stan Van Gundy to realize it too. Jason Richardson has had knee issues the last few years (a la Vince Carter - way to go Otis) and his explosiveness is absolutely gone. The former dunk champion now struggles to reach the rim when he lays it in on a fast break. Almost everyone who has watched this team this year will tell that these two just don't have it any more. Add Chris Duhon, who never had it to begin with to this list. He's shooting roughly 40% from three but that's because he only takes them when he is uncontested from 10 feet. He shoots H-O-R-S-E 3's at 40%; not all that impressive.
Where I think Van Gundy misses the mark is his continuous use of these three. He says we need them if we're to make a run in the playoffs. Well, 99% chance this ends in an embarrassing flame out as opposed to the 1% chance Father Time gives them new legs. I'd rather see Van Gundy use the young guys on the bench. Ish Smith, Deandre Liggins, Earl Clark, and Von Wafer have all shown to be athletic, quick, and energetic. Liggins and Clark have also shown the ability to step up and guard any player of any stature. I think their energy would be a great addition to the Magic roster that already gets enough shooting from Jameer Nelson, JJ Redick, Anderson, and Quentin Richardson.
The worst that could happen is these guys come in, make rookie mistakes, Orlando slips and flames out in the first round. The best that could happen is that these young guns provide a spark and an energy element that that team has sorely missed since Matt Barnes left two years ago, Mickael Pietrus was traded to Phoenix, and Rafer Alston lost his mind. In my opinion, there's a wide range of other possibilities such as just one of them proving to have some trade value. Maybe package a young wing defender in Clark or Liggins along with the RFA rights of Ryan Anderson to bring in a Josh Smith type player or Monta Ellis.
Staying the course with Turkoglu and Richardson and Duhon has the same worst case scenario, a first round flameout. I also don't think the potential is as high. The in between? There really isn't one because of the contracts these three have (Richardson being the only remotely tradable piece).
The way I look at it, the Magic will not be winning a title this year the way they're currently constructed. No team outside of Charlotte gets blown out like they do. If you're Stan Van Gundy, you really need to ask yourself, "what do I have to lose?"
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