Dwight Howard led the Magic’s attack as he scored 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to give the Orland a winning debut at their new arena, before their much-anticipated showdown with the Miami Heat, and the Magic players are very eager to face the star-studded team. "Honestly, I'm sick of listening every hour about Miami – Miami that, how great they are, how big they are, what kind of record they gonna have," said centre Marcin Gortat, who provided a lift from the bench with his eight points and seven rebounds. "They are a great team, they have three superstars, and they got a couple good role players on the team. They looking good on the paper, but they got to start winning," he added. Vince Carter also sparked Magic’s offense with his 18 points, while Jameer Nelson chipped in 16 points and dished out six assists for the Magic, who won all their pre-season assignments by an average winning margin of 25 points. Their domination continued as Orlando unleashed a flurry of long-range bombs, building an early 14-point lead at the end of the opening period, which bubbled to 24 points, 58-34, at the half. They never looked back and led by as much as 35 points in the final quarter en route to their first win of the season. The 2010 first-overall pick, Wall, displayed flashes of brilliance, but struggled to find his rhythm in his first professional game. The 20-year old guard tallied 14 points, on 6-for-19 clip from the floor, and dished out nine assists for the Wizards. "It was tough," Wall said. "It's really telling me what I need to work on, but I already know. But as a team aspect, we have a lot we need to work on." Cartier Martin had 17 points, while Kirk Hinrich and Al Thornton added 12 and nine points, respectively, for the Wizards, who shot 29-for-78 from the field. Gilbert Arenas, who is looking to redeem himself after serving a suspension last season, missed the game with a strained tendon in his right ankle. The 28-year old guard was suspended for 50 games after being charged with gun felony for bringing weapon into their locker room. Final Grades: Orlando Magic A. Orlando started off its season with a bang. Really getting into the flow of the game and picking up where it left off during the preseason. The team looked very fluid and they created great opportunities but most importantly cashed in on those opportunities. They shot a very impressive 56% from the field and are looking to provide a challenge for the upcoming game against the Miami Heat. However, they did have 21 turnovers which is not good if they were to play a more elite team like the Heat.
Washington Wizards, C+. This was not the way that the Wizards wanted to start off their season. The team is really banking on young point guard John Wall to carry this team to success. Wall looked pretty good in his debut with 14 pts and nine assists but he can't do it all by himself. As a team, the Wizards shot 37% and struggled to muster any sort of force in the paint scoring only 28 pts. With Arenas out, the team will miss the scoring and veteran presence they really need. Look for the Wizards to continue to build this year with Wall's development but don't expect anything special.
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