Orlando Magic: Magic Win Big in First Game at The New Amway Center

The Magic took the court Sunday night with a sell out crowd against the New Orleans Hornets for their inaugural game in the new Amway Center. The magic looked dominant in this game from the opening tip, winning 135-81.

The Magic looked good for the most part from the top of the rotation to the bottom. As for the starters, Dwight Howard finished the game with 12 points and 11 boards, also showing us a preview of his new jump shot that he has been working on in the off-season. Rashard Lewis looked as good as I've seen him in a long time, scoring 23 points, and knocking down 5-5 three pointers. Jameer Nelson looked ready to roll dishing out 6 assists to go along with 10 points in 24 minutes of action. Quentin Richardson still does not look completely comfortable on the floor with the starters finishing with just 7 points and 2 rebounds, look for him to get better accustomed to the magic offense in the next few pre-season games. Vince Carter had an off shooting night, hitting just 5 of 12 shots including 0-4 from behind the arc.

The Magic's reserves were what I was most impressed with. Marcin Gortat, JJ Redick and Ryan Anderson all had big games. Gortat, who was sporting a new faux hawk had his offensive game rolling hitting 7 of 7 field goal attempts for 15 points. Gortat looked much improved with his post up game, and even got to play with Howard for a few stretches in the second quarter perhaps a sign of what's to come against bigger teams in the future.

JJ Redick showed fans why Otis Smith matched  the Chicago Bulls offer to JJ, who will have a big role off the bench all year. Redick chipped in 23 hard earned points, with only two three pointers. This is impressive because JJ managed to get to the free throw line 13 times. For the Magic this is a good sign that JJ is not just content with spotting up behind the three point line, he was looking to create scoring opportunities off the dribble and he did just that.

Vince Carter has been praising Ryan Anderson's work ethic all off season and we saw the results of Anderson's work on display Sunday night.  "The product that you're seeing on the court is a testament to what he's really put in this summer as far as his conditioning, his strength, his knowledge of the game. He's learning" said Carter of Ryan Anderson. Anderson finished the game with 23 points, hitting 4 of 6 three point attempts, and also showing us some nice finesse move around the hoop.

Chris Duhon finished the game with a team high 7 assists and appeared to be more familiar and comfortable running the Magic's offense then he was in the first preseason game against Indiana. Duhon had the assist of the night late in the 4th quarter to the rookie Stanley Robinson on a fast break alley-oop that got the crowed out of their seats. Robinson looks like a possible steal the magic got with the last pick in this past years draft, he can jump out of the gym and crashes the boards hard on every play, recording 4 boards and 5 points in only 8 minutes of action.

If the Magic can continue to get production off the bench like they did Sunday night, they will be hard to beat. It will be interesting to see how Van Gundy distributes the minutes around with so many options on the bench, but this is an issue that every coach would love to have.