WILLIAMS AND HOWARD FORM MAGIC COMBO.Byline: JOE STEVENS NBA NBA abbr. 1. National Basketball Association 2. National Boxing Association NBA (US) n abbr (= National Basketball Association) → Basketball-Dachverband (= Pat Williams has a lot to say. The Magic's senior vice president who was instrumental in getting an NBA franchise to Orlando has written 43 books and says he has outlines for 100 more books. The guy also is a motivational speaker A motivational speaker is a professional speaker, facilitator or trainer who speaks to audiences, usually for a fee. The keynote speech generally takes place either at the beginning of the event, or the close of the event. , and, hence, it's easy to make fun of him. But the other day, he said something that is no joke. Williams said that the No. 1 reason why the Magic are enjoying their early season success is because of the No. 1 overall pick from 2004 NBA Draft The NBA Draft is an annual North American event in which the National Basketball Association's (NBA) thirty teams (29 in the United States and one in Toronto, Canada) can select players who wish to join the league. --- Dwight Howard Dwight David Howard (born December 8, 1985, in Atlanta, Georgia[1]) is an American basketball player for the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association (NBA). . Howard has led the league in rebounding for most of the season and has helped the Magic to the best record in the Eastern Conference. He is a shoo-in to play in his first All-Star game An all-star game is an exhibition game played by the best players in their sports league. The players are often chosen by a popular vote of fans of the sport and the game often occurs at the halfway point of the regular season, although this is not the case for some all-star games in February, and here's one bet that he'll play in 10 All-Star games by the end of his career. Howard came straight from high school, Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy SW Atlanta Christian Academy (SACA) is a school in southwestern Atlanta, Georgia. Geraldine Thompson is the head mistress, and is the wife to Pastor Wayne C. Thompson. Wayne is the founder is Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy. , to the NBA, and his play is Shaq-like. He's a 6-foot-11 forward/center who can dunk more violently than anyone in the game. He's also a superb shot blocker and a relatively heady big man. He hardly has any game away from the basket, but, then again, does Shaquille O'Neal Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal (pronounced "shak-KEEL") (born March 6, 1972 in Newark, New Jersey), frequently referred to simply as Shaq, is an American professional basketball player, generally regarded as one of the most dominant in the National Basketball Association (NBA). ? The difference this season with his quick growth stems from his experience this summer with USA Basketball. ``I think it helped me, as far as off the court, being able to lead the team,'' Howard said. ``I saw how those All-Stars led our team this summer, and it just gave me a confidence to lead our team.'' Howard turned 21 on Thursday, and with Grant Hill back and healthy (so far) the Magic didn't totally need a leader yet. But he is the present and future of the Magic, and Williams loves him so much that he says there is no other player in the league better to build a franchise around, with the possible exception of LeBron James LeBron James (born December 30 1984) is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). . ``That would be an interesting project, to take 30 to 50 NBA executives and asked them if they could start a franchise, who would they build it around,'' Williams said. ``Maybe LeBron would get all of the votes. But I would make an argument that Dwight would be next, especially if you assume they're going to pick a young player and not go with someone like Tim Duncan Timothy "Tim" Theodore Duncan (born April 25 1976 in Christiansted, St. Croix, United States Virgin Islands)[1] is an American professional basketball player for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The 6'11" (2. .'' Though Howard may be the No. 1 reason for the Magic's improvement, other reasons have helped, too. Having Hill back helps, and Jameer Nelson Jameer Nelson (born February 9, 1982 in Chester, Pennsylvania) is an American professional basketball player for the Orlando Magic of the NBA. He is most famous for being one of the most popular stars of men's college basketball in the early 2000s, representing Saint Joseph's has been better at point guard than many expected. Plus, the moves of general manager Otis Smith Otis Smith may refer to:
A week before the Francis deal, Orlando got Darko Milicic and Carlos Arroyo from the Pistons for Kelvin Cato and a first-round pick. Both Milicic and Arroyo are getting playing time, and the Magic are not convinced Milicic, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2003 NBA draft, is a complete bust. The big question was whether the Magic's success from the end of last season would carry over, and it has. The Magic look like a playoff team, and for a team that's been out of the postseason since 2003, that's big news. The marathon man: Williams is quite a character and serious about having 100 more books to write. But he does practically everything in large quantities. He has 19 children, 14 of whom were adopted from foreign countries. The 66-year-old also has completed 38 marathons in the past 11 years. When asked how he has time to do all of that, he said, ``I came out of my mother's womb in a three-point stance, and I've been running ever since. I'm 66 and feel I'm really getting started. Now, I feel I'm finally getting it and my best work lies ahead.'' He says he takes about six hours for the marathons, and my suggestion is to stop them. While it is an accomplishment to finish a marathon, he likely comes up with a dozen more book ideas by the end of one. All first-name stars: Players with two first names abound in the NBA. Howard is listed as a center on the NBA's All-Star ballot, and on an All-Star team of players with two first names, he should be the starting center. An All-Star team of such could be: C Dwight Howard, PF Shawn Marion, SFCarmelo Anthony, SG LeBron James and PG Chris Paul. A second team could be: C Ben Wallace, PF Zach Randolph, SF Kobe Bryant, SG Ray Allen and PG Tony Parker. While talk-show host Bryant Gumbel and actor Parker Stevenson come to mind, Bryant and Parker aren't that common first names. That's why they're on the second team, not because of their play. Honorable mentions simply for cool names in this category: Jarrett Jack, Kevin Martin, Jason Terry, Ben Gordon and Quinton Ross. Who's out? If the Magic are a surprise in the East, then the Utah Jazz are the surprise in the West. Although the season is only about a month old, the Jazz, Houston Rockets and maybe the Sacramento Kings look like playoff teams. If that's true and those three teams make the playoffs, that means three playoff teams from last season will be out. The Memphis Grizzlies, Denver Nuggets Nuggets can refer to several branches of interest:
Rush hour over: Kudos to Chris Sheridan of ESPN.com, who did a fabulous ``where are they now'' piece on 42 players who recently were in the league, but are out for various reasons. For some of them, such as Allan Houston, Nick Van Exel Nickey (Nick) Maxwell Van Exel (born November 27 1971 in Kenosha, Wisconsin) is a retired American professional basketball player in the NBA. Van Exel, a 6'1" left-handed point guard, was most well known for his flashy style of play and his ability to hit critical shots during , Voshon Lenard, one question could be if they'll sign with a contender for a playoff run. For others, the question is what teams were thinking in the first place when they thought they were stars in the making. Jiri Welsch and Nikoloz Tskitishvili come to mind in that category. There also are two former Lakers, Slava Medvedenko and Kareem Rush, with apparently no interest from NBA teams. Man, how fast the spotlight can fade. joe.stevens@presstelegram.com (562) 499-1338 CAPTION(S): 3 photos, 6 boxes Photo: (1) Orlando general manager Pat Williams says forward Dwight Howard is perhaps the player NBA teams would build their franchise around. Jennifer Pottheiser/NBAE via Getty Images (2) Dwight Howard, center, leads the NBA in rebounding average (13.0 per game) and is fifth in field-goal percentage (.602). Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images (3) Ohio State's Greg Oden would be a big help for a team such as the Boston Celtics. Brian Bahr/Getty Images Box: (1) THEY SAID IT (2) NUMBERS GAME (3) IT COULD BE WORSE (4) THEY WAN AN 'ANSWER' (5) THIS WEEK'S BEST BET (6) DAILY NEWS CBS (Cell Broadcast Service) See cell broadcast. 2/KCAL 9 SPORTS CENTRAL POWER - Ross Siler |
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