my prediction for the year, Vince Carter...

[kingjames23]

will have the best year of his career so far, playing in front of his hometown and with a legit big man for the first time in his career, i see him having a great year, not necessarily dominant stat wise, but look for him to have a more productive year, playing with more energy, enthusiasm, with a goal again... (if he can mirror his "Olympics" intensity... watch out!) i see him being a top 5 shooting guard in the league this year. thoughts?

[Oznogrd]

I expect him to do the same thing he always does. Get frustrated and stop trying until they trade him; i never understood why so many people love vince carter...as has been said before..he has maybe 3 things people remember him for (all of which are dunks or dunk contests)...it doesnt make him a good player

[Andrew]

He's probably on the team with the best potential to at least make the Conference Finals or better out of any squad he's previously been a member of. There's pressure on the Magic to get back to the Finals and win it all but the expectations are on the team as a whole and they've got enough talent to share the responsibility. I would have to think that will benefit Carter, there's the expectation that he'll be an upgrade and take them a step closer to their goal but it's not all on him; he won't have to shoulder as much of the load in carrying the team.

[Kenny]

Vince has always been one of my favourite players to watch. Probably because of his freakish hops. I'm hoping he has a good year and with the team around him, there's no reason for him not to.

[benji]

will have the best year of his career so far...not necessarily dominant stat wise, but look for him to have a more productive year

Which is it?

In 2001 he went for 25/5/3.5 on 55% shooting with 8% turnovers. 2nd in PER, 3rd in OWS, 6th in WS. He hasn't come close to his ORtg that year. Led a crappy team to a near "upset" over an underpowered Conference Champion. (Remember, one shot changes and either the Raptors or Bucks bring down the Sixers that year.)

I doubt he can match that. Even if Orlando wins it all.

How do you have a "more productive year" yet have worse stats? Anyone? Bueller?

[hova-]

Carter is one of the best sidekicks the Magic could get. He does not need to carry the load but is willed to score in bunches. He can only profit from the Magics offense since he is a good shooter and can also create his own shot whilst Dwight has some block partys with all those guys driving past him.

[Its_asdf]

Vince Carter must have had an orgasm when he heard that he could simply park behind the arc and not have to worry about attacking the basket.

[J@3]

I don't think it would've affected him, he's been doing that since 2003.

[kingjames23]

and..... sprained ankle. jinx.

[Andrew]

That's a shame, but depending on the severity of the sprain he might not be out for too long. It's funny that Carter still has a rep for being injury prone though, aside from the 2001/2002 and 2002/2003 seasons and excluding the lockout season of 98/99 (in which his 50 games represent none missed) he's appeared in 70 or more games every year, 2003/2004 being the lowest of that group with 73 games played.

[hova-]

I guess his reputation comes from the fact WHY he leaves the floor or does not start. The severity of VCs injuries has been a bit questionable at times. Combine that with his lack of effort days back in Toronto and it gives you the worst rep you can get

[Andrew]

He's only come off the bench for seven out of 779 career games though. I'd agree that the nature of his departure from Toronto probably has something to do with it and will likely continue to dog him throughout the rest of his career, but it's weird that he's got a reputation for missing long stretches each year when that's only really happened twice in eleven seasons and the last time was over six years ago.