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Wednesday, December 27, 2000
This is devastating news for Orlando
By Dr. Jack Ramsay
Special to ESPN.com
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| Hill |
Losing Grant Hill for the season has to be devastating for the Magic. This team thought it would become a contending team this year with the players acquired in the offseason. Now, the Magic are four games under .500, and the prognosis doesn't look good.
A second surgery for Hill doesn't sound too promising either. I think Hill and the Magic felt the initial surgery was adequate to allow him to return to the court. Obvioiusly, it's not.
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| Reid |
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| DeClercq |
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| McGrady |
If Hill had been 100 percent, the Magic would have been a playoff team. They had a solid nucleus, with the additions of Hill, Tracy McGrady, Andrew DeClercq and Don Reid to go with the players they retained. I thought from the beginning that Reid and DeClercq, along with John Amaechi and Bo Outlaw, would help the Magic with their big-man coverage. Now, they are going to struggle just to make the playoffs. If the playoffs were to begin now, they wouldn't make it.
No player or players can compensate for Hill because's he's an All-Star. There is no way a team can replace that caliber of player. The entire Magic team has to step up because it doesn't look optimistic for them. McGrady is doing the best he can and playing well, but it's not enough. The Magic aren't getting the contributions from other sources, and I don't think they are likely to.
Hill's loss has a big impact on team morale. It has to be a crushing blow for everyone in the organization, including Hill, who really wanted to play and do what was expected of him.
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ALSO SEE
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Denberg: No Magic without Hill
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