Derek Strong info

[Peter Delevett <pdelevett@amcity.com>]

Just a little tidbit in light of Peter May's rumor. Not what I'd call a
glowing recommendation:


                         Orlando Magic
                         Team Report posted FEBRUARY 22, 2000

                         By TSN correspondent
                         Bill Fay
                         Tampa Tribune

                         The Magic's hopes for a strong finish this
season might very
                         well depend on a Strong start.

                         Derek Strong, that is.

                         Strong used to be the team's most reliable big
man off the bench.
                         He used to be one of the better perimeter
shooters and a
                         determined worker on the boards. He used to be
able to defend
                         big men like Alonzo Mourning or Patrick Ewing
for short
                         stretches, giving the Magic some flexibility in
what kind of
                         lineup it used against teams with good centers.

                         The Magic would like to remove the description
"used to be" as
                         it relates to Strong. More specifically, they
would like Strong to
                         remove it for them.

                         The Magic have gotten next-to-nothing from
Strong this season,
                         and that's not just in games. That's also in
practices, in rehab, in
                         conversations about his place on this team . .
. you name it, and
                         this just hasn't been a very Strong year in
Orlando.

                         "I've tried pushing all the buttons I can with
him," says Doc
                         Rivers, who is somewhat frustrated by the whole
thing.

                         To be fair, Strong had some serious hurdles to
jump this season.
                         He nearly died on the operating table last
summer after having
                         an allergic reaction to the anesthesia used in
surgery to repair a
                         broken nose. It took awhile for him to recover
physically and
                         emotionally from that.

                         Then he started the season on the injured list
with a painful
                         Achilles' tendon injury. That lasted 10 weeks.
When he finally
                         returned, he was fourth in line for playing
time at power forward
                         behind Ben Wallace, Chris Gatling and Pat
Garrity. Gatling has
                         been traded, and while Garrity still plays
minutes at power
                         forward, he is better suited to small forward.

                         But only if Strong can do the job at power
forward.

                         The Magic are looking for signs from Strong
that he can. He
                         averaged 12.7 points and 7.4 rebounds in that
role two seasons
                         ago. His numbers dropped dramatically in last
year's
                         strike-shortened season, in part because of a
heel injury and in
                         part because then-coach Chuck Daly questioned
his
                         commitment.

                         The question is still out there. Strong is the
silent type. He
                         shrugs at suggestions that he doesn't work hard
enough. His
                         demeanor is so laid-back, his voice so soft,
that it's easy to label
                         him as uncaring.

                         His response: "Give me some playing time and
then judge."

                         Rivers would like to do just that on the
four-game road trip the
                         Magic begin Tuesday night in Seattle. But
Rivers is a firm
                         believer in making his players earn their
playing time, either with
                         effort in practice or production in games.
Strong has appeared in six games this season and scored
                         in only two.

                         He has at least one rebound in just three. He
obviously needs more production in both categories to
                         warrant a regular spot in the rotation.

                         If he can get it going, the Magic will have a
valuable asset for their run at a playoff position. Strong
                         has many more offensive skills that Wallace,
who starts at power forward. He also could match or
                         come close to Wallace's 7.3 rebounds a game.
That would be huge for Orlando, which suffers a
                         dramatic drop in defense and rebounding when
Garrity plays power forward.

                         Still, the onus is on Strong. He doesn't look
like he's in shape to play big minutes, so he'll have to
                         be worked in gradually. That puts pressure on
him to produce now in short spurts so that he can get
                         longer minutes later.