Bass finally getting his Magic wish

Bass finally getting his Magic wish

11:04 PM EST, March 3, 2010

The Orlando Magic's four-year, $18 million man finally has gotten his wish.

Brandon Bass has received the playing time he has wanted for so long.

Bass scored 10 points and collected a season-high seven rebounds as the Magic routed the Golden State Warriors 117-90 on Wednesday night. The burly power forward now has played in three consecutive Magic games for the first time since early January.

Magic coach Stan Van Gundy explained afterward that both Bass and Ryan Anderson need to be ready to contribute during the postseason. Van Gundy added that has played Bass several games in a row because Orlando has faced teams with quick power forwards and because it would allow Bass to knock off some rust.

"I thought he was a lot better tonight than he has been, a lot more active," Van Gundy said. "I thought he made some real hustle plays [and] got on the boards. That's the element that he can bring to us.

"We know what Ryan can bring. I think we need to have them both ready headed into the playoffs because depending on what the matchups are either one of them could be the guy in a playoff series. Ryan's not going to sit now for the last 20 games, I can tell you that."

Anderson played the final 5 minutes, 25 seconds Wednesday night and went scoreless as he missed all five shots that he attempted. Immediately after the game, Anderson went out to the Amway Arena court and worked on his shooting for about half an hour to stay sharp.

"I haven't lost faith in myself or anything," Anderson said. "That's not at all why I'm doing this. I'm doing it just so I can maintain shape and be in playing form when I play. But we're winning games. It's not like we're doing anything wrong. I can't complain about anything. I'm playing on a winning team, so it's a great situation. I'm happy."

Bass also was happy.

He has played in just 34 of Orlando's 62 games after he signed a lucrative four-year deal in July that includes a player option for the 2012-13 season

A smile crossed his face when he heard that Van Gundy wants him to be ready for the postseason.

"It's great to hear," Bass said. "I know I can play, and I know if I keep working I can overcome some things. That's all I'm going to do. I know that everybody in this locker room can play and everybody in this locker room is a good player. I'm just going to try to stay ready."

'Hammering' Down the Opposition

By John Denton – OrlandoMagic.com
January 29, 2010

ORLANDO – Marcin Gortat made a clutch bank shot Thursday night that gave the Orlando Magic their first lead of the night against the Boston Celtics. He had a nifty alley-oop pass to fellow center Dwight Howard for a dunk, he played his most minutes since early November and he was on the floor for most all of the tense moments of one of the biggest wins of the season.

But Gortat’s favorite moment from what proved to be a memorable night came much earlier and on the other end of the floor.

With Gortat baling the Magic out of trouble after Howard picked up three early fouls, the reserve center swatted a shot by Paul Pierce and then on back-to-back entry passes, he poked the ball away from superstar Kevin Garnett. It doesn’t get much better than that for a wide-eyed player from Poland who is still sometimes star-struck by players he’s facing.

``First of all, it was a huge dream for me to play against K.G.,’’ Gortat said. ``He’s a great player, but there was a stretch of about 15 seconds there where he couldn’t get the ball. It was weird, but it was great, too.

``My energy was great. Playing that kind of game, I was ready,’’ Gortat continued. ``I had this huge adrenaline in my body and I was ready to jump out of the gym.’’

Gortat proved to be a central figure in Orlando’s 96-94 defeat of the Celtics on Thursday night when head coach opted for the Magic’s biggest lineup to combat Boston’s towering frontline. Having Howard at center, Gortat at power forward and Rashard Lewis at small forward is a look that the Magic (30-16) could feature in the future, maybe as soon as Saturday against the Atlanta Hawks (29-15) at Amway Arena.

``It is a lineup that we need to give more thought to at times, but it’s strictly situational,’’ Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said Friday following practice. ``I’ve never had my doubts that that can be a really good defensive lineup for us because we have great size and a better chance at protecting the basket. The question is whether or not we can be efficient offensively and get the spacing that we need. But (against Boston) we had a very good offensive fourth quarter with those guys together. It allows us against big teams to matchup better. It’s got some real positives.’’

There was plenty of positives to take out of how Howard, Lewis and Gortat meshed against the Celtics. Lewis made the game-winning layup with 1.3 seconds remaining and had a game-high 23 points by aggressively attacking off the dribble. Howard shook off his early foul trouble by scoring 11 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter and he added 10 rebounds and four blocks.

As for Gortat, who has mostly been relegated to reserve duty this season behind Howard, he played as well as he has all season. In almost 27 minutes, he scored six points, snatched eight rebounds and blocked three shots. And he played a major role in holding Garnett, one of his boyhood idols, to just six points on two of eight shooting.

``Marcin is one of the best Polish centers to ever play the game,’’ joked Howard, who playfully tweaks Gortat on a regular basis.

Added Van Gundy: ``He got bigger minutes and at a newer position, one that he’s excited about and he likes being able to play with Dwight. He played with great energy and, for one night at least, it worked. (Gortat) has put in a lot of time working on all aspects of his game. Give him credit because he put on a great performance.’’

When Gortat played almost 16 minutes in Thursday’s first half in relief of a foul-plagued Howard, he figured he would return to his reserve role and play only sparingly in the second half. But much to his surprise, head coach Van Gundy opted to give the big lineup a look.

Orlando had experimented with it three nights earlier in Memphis with mixed results when the Grizzlies played a big frontline of Marc Gasol, Zach Randolph and Rudy Gay.

Gortat said one of the biggest keys to his success was being prepared for the opportunity. He is a tireless worker before and after practice, usually get up hundreds of shots in an attempt to expand his game so that he will be given a shot at playing power forward.

``I was ready because I have been paying attention in practice and picking up stuff from (power forwards) Rashard, Ryan (Anderson) and Brandon (Bass),’’ said Gortat, whom the Magic retained last summer by signing him to a five-year, $35 million contract. ``I’m just happy that I was ready.’’

Gortat has never been one to be lacking for confidence, and he feels he’s more than ready for an expanded role in sets where he can play center or power forward. Offensively, he’s confident in his shot. As for the defensive end of the floor, well, his faith is off the charts with both him and Howard on the floor together.

``It’s different offensively with both of us because we both normally play on the block, but I think it’s going to be good for Dwight because he will have only one big guy on him and not two,’’ Gortat said. ``And if he can swing the ball, I can get duck-ins on the other side. And defensively, we’re killing it out there. There’s no way anybody can stop us defensively. We can stop everybody defensively with two big men under the basket blocking shots.’’

By Josh Robbins - Orlando Sentinel

8:46 PM EST, March 26, 2010

Perhaps no one inside Amway Arena on Friday night enjoyed seeing the Minnesota Timberwolves more than Ryan Anderson.

Sensing a matchup that suited the young power forward's skill set, Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy put Anderson into the game with 1:38 remaining in the first quarter. Anderson hadn't played in the first period of a game since Feb. 11.

Anderson made the most of his opportunity by finishing with 19 points and nine rebounds in the Magic's 106-97 victory. Yet even he acknowledged that it's been tough to maintain confidence over the last month.

"It's tough," he said. "I think it's tough for anybody. But ¡K I really tried to break out of that and focus on working hard, getting stronger, getting faster. I really tried to on every off-day get out and run, box." Yes, he said "box."

Like some other Magic players in recent years, Anderson's workouts have included boxing at an Orlando facility called Gym Rat Boxing and Fitness.

That extra work paid off shortly after Anderson first checked into Friday's game. Twelve seconds later, he gathered a rebound and then drained a 3-pointer on the possession to cut Minnesota's lead to 27-25.

He made only six of his 16 total shot attempts, but some rust was to be expected because he had not been a regular part of Orlando's playing rotation since late February. Brandon Bass had been the first power forward off the Magic bench since Feb. 28.

Van Gundy said Anderson earned his latest playing time through strong recent practices.

He also played well against Minnesota on Jan. 1, and the Timberwolves' method of defending center Dwight Howard often leaves the Orlando's power forward open on the perimeter.

"I didn't know how he'd look, quite honestly, because he hasn't played in so long," Van Gundy said. "I think it's a real credit to him that he played as well as he did."

Van Gundy repeated Friday that he wants both Bass and Anderson to be ready to play in the postseason, depending on the matchup the Magic will face.

"If I'm sitting, I'm going to cheer my teammates on and hopefully we win," Anderson said. "I want to win a ring, whether I'm sitting or not. And when I'm playing, I've got to just stay focused and ready. I think there's a different energy in the playoffs, so everybody's just kind of got to be ready and focused for whatever happens."

On Friday, Anderson reminded everyone how he could help down the road.

He made a case for himself on Friday night.