Half-man, Half-amazing. Vinsanity. Invinceable.
Call him what you will (my personal favourite: 'Wince') but Vince Carter is undeniably still one of the best dunkers and finishers in the game today. Even at the ripe old age of 32, Vince is a consistent threat to embarrass the Toronto Raptors, and he regularly makes Frederic Weis wet his pants. Last season with the New Jersey Nets his averages of 20.8 PPG, 5.1 RPG and 4.7 APG were nearly on par with his career numbers of 23.5 PPG, 5.5 RPG and 4.3 APG. However his move to the Orlando Magic has the man formerly known as 'Air Canada' primed for a stellar season for three reasons:
1. The presence of Dwight Howard
Never before has Carter had the fortune to play with a dominant big man. Granted, he was teamed up with Chris Bosh for two uneventful seasons, but Bosh was more like Anthony Randolph than his current All-Star status. Now, with Dwight Howard in the low-post demanding considerable attention and often a double-team, Vince will be able to drive the lane even more, forcing defenders to cheat in order to keep up with his athleticism and speed.
2. Strong surrounding cast
This is the best team Vince has ever been on. The Magic are coming off a finals loss to the Lakers, but more importantly, they are returning from an Eastern Conference victory over Lebron James. Superman aside, Orlando's shooters will provide Vince with more operating room to slash and more options to kick the ball out. We all know that cry-baby Carter plays his best basketball when the pressure isn't on him to be a leader, and with Dwight Howard, Rashard Lewis, and Jameer Nelson all already carrying 'leadership' status for the Magic youngsters, Vince will be free to just be the freakishly-talented player we all witness on the nightly Top Ten list 82 times a season.
and 3. Free Throws
This piggy backs on point #1, but last season Vince tied his career high in FT%, shooting at an 81.7% clip. He has consistently improved his free throw shooting throughout his career, and with the attention his teammates will be receiving on the offensive end of the floor Vince will have dozens of opportunities to drive the lane on a nightly basis. The defense will have no choice but to cheat or collapse, leading to fouls and more free throw opportunities than Vince will know what to do with. He could easily bring his 2008-09 average of 4.2 FTM per game into the 6.0-7.5 range from the charity stripe in 2010.
Sure, his vertical is probably down to only 41", but Vince Carter is still a premiere player in the NBA and is capable of 30-10-10 any night of the week. With him on board the Orlando Magic are now equipped with a top five PG, SG, SF, and C in the East. Look for Vince and Dwight to put the pressure on Lebron and Shaq come November 11th, as Vince is primed for what could be a career year with his new family down south.
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