House Party! Magic rout 76ers in final regular-season game at Amway

Barnes does the dirty work

Orlando Magic forward gives the club a hard-nosed edge

8:19 PM EST, February 18, 2010

The Orlando Magic's starting lineup includes four all-stars, past and present, two of whom could wind up one day in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame ( Vince Carter and Dwight Howard).

Then there's the other guy — small forward Matt Barnes.

He's not going to be inducted into the hall of fame — unless there's a tattoo wing. He has never been an all-star like Howard, Carter, Rashard Lewis and Jameer Nelson. He has never really found a permanent basketball home beyond a few seasons.

"I'm happy to be here. I've had a hard road to get where I'm at. I'm OK with not being a superstar," Barnes said. "I just want to be on a winning team and do my part."

Guess what? The Magic's title hopes might hinge on how Barnes performs in likely playoff scenarios.

For the least-paid, least-acclaimed and probably least-appreciated Magic starter, here's all they are asking of Matt:

At some point, defend Boston Celtics all-star Paul Pierce and/or Cleveland Cavaliers all-everything LeBron James.

Will anyone be facing more pressure than Barnes, who is often assigned the other team's best wing player? A guy who seldom commands the spotlight will likely have it glaring on him in the postseason.

Tonight, Barnes will take his turn guarding new Dallas Mavericks shooting guard Caron Butler at Amway Arena. He then squares off against LeBron on Sunday when the Cavs come to town.

"Absolutely, I look forward to that. It's a great challenge within a team game," Barnes said. "LeBron's one of the best players in the world and you definitely have to step up and take that challenge because you know you might see him in the playoffs."

Don't think that Barnes has forgotten what Butler did against him the last time they met: Butler, then with the Washington Wizards, hit the game-winner jumper to highlight a 31-point night.

Barnes knows the old saying: Sometimes you eat the bear; sometimes the bear eats you.

He helped hold Pierce to 13 points in Boston earlier this month; weeks before that, Pierce managed just 12, going 3-of-12. King James was struggling against Barnes and Mickael Pietrus until coming alive in the fourth quarter to spark the Cavs' win last week.

Playing his seventh NBA season, Barnes has knocked around the league — playing for his seventh different team — and earns just $1.6 million this season.

But he has become a gritty leader, the conscience of a club that doesn't always bring a hard-nosed intensity that has become his trademark, along with his tattoos. One, across the front of his chest, reads: Whatever means necessary.

And that describes Barnes, 29, a 6-foot 7 former high school football star who, not surprisingly, relishes contact. Wednesday night against the Detroit Pistons, he blindly ran through a screen and bowled over Pistons forward Jonas Jerebko.

He drew a Flagrant 1 foul, but will appeal the call to the NBA, saying he didn't lead with an elbow or forearm. Then again, unlike many of his teammates, he gravitates to physical play. "I have no problem doing that," Barnes laughed. "Couldn't you tell how I accidentally kind of made a running back move?"

Seriously, Barnes is encouraged that his physical nature has rubbed off on the Magic.

"It's something I've said in team meetings," he said. "You can't be afraid. You never want to be dirty. But if somebody fouls hard and hits you, go back at them. And if they try to take on your superstar [in this case, Howard], we got to band together.

"I try to bring just an edge and a toughness and it's starting to carry over, definitely."

Barnes concedes that the Magic have an image as a 3-point shooting finesse team.

"I think so. Not to be negative, but it's just something that's out there," he said. "I think we're making a conscious effort to change that, that no 3-point team can really be physical."

Averaging 8.5 points and just as many floor burns per game, Barnes makes hustle plays. He does all the little things that, until the final horn, seemingly go unnoticed. Which often describes Matt Barnes' lot in the lineup.

Redick confidence shines through

December 21, 2009

For J.J. Redick, the difference between success and failure in the NBA largely has come down to self-confidence. He plays well when he has faith in himself. His confidence is flowing after Monday night.

Redick scored 11 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter as the Magic defeated the Utah Jazz 104-99 at Amway Arena.

"I'm just going to roll with it right now," Redick said.

Magic officials consider Redick one of the team's best conditioned players, and it showed as he played the entire fourth quarter. In November, Redick received the team's Iron Magic award for his performance on a variety of agility, speed and strength tests. He even received a championship belt for his victory.

But for him, the real prize came in last season's Eastern Conference semifinal series. He started all seven games against the Boston Celtics, and the experience gave him a dose of confidence that carried into this season.

"He is playing with great confidence -- and for good reason," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. "Success breeds confidence, and he's playing very, very well. On top of the confidence, the guy is just so focused and tough. He's on top of everything."

Redick needed that confidence Monday night.

He led the team in scoring during the first half and also provided one of the better hustle plays for the Magic this season when he crashed into a baseline billboard as he chased after a loose ball.

But he still didn't get into the game in the third quarter.

In the past, that might have disrupted his shooting rhythm, but he responded well when he came onto the court at the beginning of the fourth period. He made a 14-foot floater along the baseline to give the Magic a 72-68 lead. Later, he drove past Ronnie Brewer and made a layup to cut Utah's lead to 86-84.

The play showed how much Redick's game has developed since the Magic used the 11th overall pick in the 2006 NBA draft to select him. Back then, the knock on Redick was that he didn't have the speed to create his own shot or defend.

He has eliminated those weaknesses through his grueling offseason workout regimen. On Monday afternoon, he was talking with his former coach at Duke, Mike Krzyzewski, about the need to constantly master his craft.

The plan is working.

As Redick walked out of the Magic locker room, Dwight Howard yelled, "Bye, MVP!"

The quip brought a smile to Redick's face.