State of the Magic Address

By Adonal Foyle

Happy New Year, everyone!

I hope you all enjoyed the holidays and look forward to a brand new year and decade. Unfortunately, the guys and I didn't have much of a holiday season. We had a home game on Christmas Day against Boston and an away game at Minnesota. Still, I like the way we finished 2009 and am excited to see what we can do in 2010.

We're in first place in the Southeast Division, but we have Atlanta hot on our tails. One of the main concerns I had at the beginning of the season was how my new teammates would blend with the rest of the team. When you lose guys who placed their fingerprint on this team, guys like Hedo Turkoglu, Courtney Lee and Tony Battie, there has to be a period of transition.

There's no question that Turk had great chemistry with Dwight Howard. They made plays together that hardly anyone could defend. When you lose someone like Turk, you lose part of the team jelling together. On the other hand, if you're going to lose a player like Hedo Turkoglu, it's very important to get a player like Vince Carter. Vince is an all-star who has been a prolific scorer throughout his career. And when you bring in someone of his caliber, you're bringing in someone who can be a bona fide threat out in the perimeter. He is a player who can really expand and open up the game for Dwight. Someone like Vince is an extremely rare commodity. Add to the fact that Vince is now playing in his home state, he has even more desire to finish what we started last season and help bring a championship to Orlando. So far, so good. Vince is averaging a little more than 18 points and nearly five rebounds per game.

Ryan Anderson came with Vince in our trade with New Jersey. Ryan's ability to put the ball in the basket really carried the team for the first 15 games of the season (especially since we didn't have Rashard Lewis for the first 10 games). He's been absolutely on fire. As hard as it was to see Courtney, Tony (and Rafer Alston) go, I thought we got a steal in getting Ryan Anderson along with Vince. Adding Brandon Bass to the mix, he brings a physical presence to the team. He's a guy who can really bang inside and give the team some big points. Brandon is a great asset to have and will come in handy when we need him.

Somehow, I find myself reuniting with my old teammates from Golden State. Last season, Mickael Pietrus joined the team, and this year, it's Matt Barnes. We all know Matt can score, but really, he's provided some big defensive stops for us and give us a lot of energy. He's been terrific.

All in all, we have an absolutely great new set of players that go well with the core of this team. Dwight and Rashard are starting to get really comfortable and J.J. Redick has embraced his role with the team. We're the defending Eastern Conference Champions, yet everyone is talking about Cleveland and Boston making noise in the East. Once our team starts firing on all cylinders, I think this team has what it takes to make it back to the NBA Finals. Of course, we have to work a lot harder because we kind of fell under the radar last season. This time, we don't have that luxury. Teams are seeing us coming a mile away and are going to give us their best game every night. It's an adjustment we have to work on, but we definitely have the tools to make it back to the Promised Land.

- Adonal