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By John Denton
Dec. 23, 2015
ORLANDO – In between the time that the Orlando Magic lost franchise center Shaquille O’Neal in the summer of 1996 and the drafting of future star Dwight Howard in 2004, they used 20 different players at center:
Rony Seikaly, Horace Grant, Derek Strong, Danny Schayes, David Vaughn, Amal McCaskill, Tim Kempton, Jason Lawson, Felton Spencer, Isaac Austin, Michael Doleac, Ben Wallace, John Amaechi, Andrew DeClercq, Don Reid, Patrick Ewing, Drew Gooden, Shawn Kempt, Zaza Pachulia and Steven Hunter.
When Howard defected from Orlando and eventually forced a blockbuster trade in August of 2012, many with the Magic feared that the center position would have a similar merry-go-round feel again.
However, Nikola Vucevic put those fears to rest with his consistent production and steady improvement on the low block. Since the massive four-team, 12-player trade in August of 2012 – one that involved Howard leaving Orlando and Vucevic arriving – the 7-footer from Montenegro has started 85 percent of the games (233 of 274) at center for the Magic. Vucevic has been a fixture for Orlando, both with his steady production in the paint and his emergence as a leader for the franchise on the rise.
Vucevic and Howard collide again tonight when the Magic (16-12) host the Houston Rockets (15-14) at 7 p.m. at the Amway Center. Orlando, out of the playoffs the past three years, has been a feel-good story in the much-improved Eastern Conference, while Houston, finalists in the rugged Western Conference, has been one of the league’s most disappointing teams because of in-fighting and poor play that cost coach Kevin McHale his job.
Vucevic, 25, has been so solid in the middle that he’s earned the respect of Howard, who took advantage of being back in Orlando on Tuesday night by taking one of his sons to the theme park, “Fun Spot” until midnight.
“I just think he’s a really good player. On the post and on the perimeter, he basically can do it all,” Howard said of Vucevic. “He’s terrific and I love watching him play and I love what he’s doing for this (Magic) team. I’m happy for him. I remember playing against him the first time in Philadelphia and since then he’s really blossomed into a good player.”
In their first meeting this season – a hard-fought 119-114 overtime win by the Rockets on Nov. 4 – Vucevic and Howard suffered drastically different fates. While making a move in the lane, Vucevic sprained his knee early in the third quarter and limped to the locker room with what looked to be a serious injury. He missed the next three games and then came off the bench – a first in his Magic career – in a game he won with a buzzer-beating shot. Meanwhile, Howard took advantage of Vucevic’s absence by making all 10 of his shots en route to a 23-point, 14-rebound night.
Vucevic and Howard will face off now at a time when both are playing exceptionally well.
Vucevic was downright dominant in the Magic’s 107-99 victory in New York against the Knicks, making 10 of his first 14 shots, 13 of 19 in the game. He led the Magic in both scoring (26 points) and rebounds (nine) for a second straight night after racking up 20 points and 11 rebounds on Sunday against Atlanta. According to Elias Sports, New Orleans’ Anthony Davis, Philadelphia’s Jahlil Okafor and Orlando’s Vucevic are the only players in the NBA to lead their teams in scoring and rebounding in two consecutive nights this season.
Driven by the boos in Orlando or the desire to play well against his former team, Howard has averaged 24.2 points and 14.7 rebounds in the six games he’s played against the Magic since he left.
Once an 18-year-old with braces when he was selected No. 1 overall by the Magic in 2004, Howard is now 30 and has clearly been slowed by knee and back injuries. He’s been limited to just 23 games thus far and he’s been better in the 13 wins (14.8 ppg., 13.3 rpg., 1.6 bpg.) that he’s participated in than the 10 losses (10.5 ppg., 9.7 rpg., 1.9 bpg.) he’s been a part of.
His resurgence has a lot to do with Houston coming into tonight on a three-game winning streak. He battered the Lakers (16 points and 15 rebounds) and Clippers (22 points and 14 rebounds) last week and he managed nine points and nine rebounds in Monday’s defeat of Charlotte despite constant foul trouble.
Howard, who played for the Magic from 2004-12 and made six all-star teams, is used to being in Orlando around Christmas. On Wednesday morning he talked about the many Christmas Day games he played in while wearing a Magic jersey.
“We always played on Christmas and that was great to have a home game and play and represent all of team and all of the families here,” Howard said. “That was always special because not a lot of people get to play on Christmas. It was a great feeling and a lot of fun.”
