Magic Playoff Seeding

On the Dante and Galante internet show, they had John Denton on, talking about the NBA and the Magic. One thing that stuck out is about the playoff seeding. They mentioned a record of something like 3-8 in the past few seasons against Toronto.

Dropping from the #3 seed to the #4 seed would be a devastating blow, especially if Toronto is the team we have to face at the #5 spot. We have the #3 seed "on a platter", as Dante and Galanted said on today's telecast. "We have to get out of the first round, for this season to be meaningful. We have to get out of the first round."

Facing Detroit in the first round again would be horrible. But some argue that it wouldn't be as bad as facing the Raptors, who we have a history of struggling against. We can't forget that we are the only team in the NBA who has beaten Detroit and Boston both twice. That's gotta mean something.

NBA Funnies

Ha Ha! Wow, I've realized there are alot of NBA Look-Alikes from the Chicago Bulls. Check out the rest of them here.

Magic Fall Asleep Again, And Stay That Way Losing 101-89

The Magic trailed from start to finish, falling meekly to the Philadelphia 76ers 101-89 and hardly putting up any fight at the Wachovia Center. Their road luck didn't help here as the offense and defense looked worse than a high school pick up game. This game was so lopsided, the Magic never even had a chance.

"We just didn't bring it tonight,'' said point guard Jameer Nelson. "We never got out of the gate.''

According to Povtak, "The Sixers (26-32) are one of the most offensively challenged teams in the league, but they had little trouble scoring early against the Magic, who played defense with a hands-off approach."

Turkoglu again led the team in scoring (20), but also in turnovers, with 5. The Magic, as a team, finished with a last-season like 20 turnovers, giving Philly easy buckets.

J.J. got 15 minutes and change, of action, but looked just as lost as everyone else. He fouled shooters for three point plays, missed free throws, jacked up shots and had turnovers. Nothing special but he did hit 2 three-pointers en route to a spectacular 10 points. “I’ve never liked the Wachovia Center rims,” Redick joked.

Magic guard Keyon Dooling sprained his left foot. Evans played 10 minutes in the first half and did not return.

Andre Miller scored 22 of his 26 points in the first half and Willie Green had a season-high 26 to lead the Sixers to a 101-89 victory over the Orlando Magic on Wednesday.

Turk Is In Top Form

Hedo is in top form, and has been the team MVP in my eyes. Brian Schmitz tell us, "he's the Magic's co-MVP this season with Howard." Either way hes one of the most integral parts of this team and we wouldn't be the same without him. Looking at the market, Hedo is a $10 million-dollar-a-year player, only getting $6.3 million. What a bargain.

In addition to that, many of the guys at MagicMadness are making their case for Hedo to be the Most Improved Player in the NBA. Alex Kennedy from RealGM, has a nice article about this topic here.

Turkoglu had his own private cheering section way up in the cheap seats, a large group of fans of Turkish descent, chanting his name each time he scored. He waved to them several times during last night's game against the Nets.

Hedo needs to dress in a fireman's suit, here's why:
1. He comes to the rescue when we need him.
2. He can catch on fire at any time.
3. He doesn't wait long, he just does the job right away and quickly at that.

Magic @ Sixers

Magic (37-22) vs. Sixers (25-32)

Wachovia Center

7 PM

FSN FL

Probable Starters:

Howard C Dalembert

Lewis PF Young

Turkoglu SF Iguodala

Evans SG Green

Nelson PG Miller

Yes, we really are playing the Sixers AGAIN. It's the third time this month that we have faced off against them. Two of the 76ers' losses this month, however, have come against the Magic. One on Feb. 1, 108-106, and then another last friday, 115-99.

When their opponents score over 100 points, the Sixers have almost no chance at winning. Their offense is just not built for scoring alot. Their team is a stout defensive team though.

The Magic obviously have a problem with starting off slow, so a fast start is what SVG will be looking for tonight in Philly.

Arroyo continues to sit on the bench as Stan Van Gundy is electing to stick with Nelson and Dooling, in the shortened rotation. "Arroyo is getting $4 mill for being a 3rd string reserve PG that's not seeing much playing time. That's quite high. The Magic could [have gotten] an insurance PG for a lot less." Just as this quote suggests, we could have stuck with Nelson and Dooling before, and shipped him off for cap space and signed an insurance guy to ride the bench. But it still works out ok because his contract will come off the books and hopefully we won't resign him. Or if we do resign him, hopefully for not much.

Van Gundy: Team Must Improve Toughness

Orlando Magic Coach Stan Van Gundy has made it pretty clear what he expects to accomplish in the final 24 games of the season. And he wants to do more than just maintain the No. 3 playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. He wants to use the games as playoff preparation. "We've got to get tougher in the physical parts of the game over the next 7 1/2 weeks,'' Van Gundy said. "A lot of that is defensively, how we play in the post, putting a body in front of the ball, taking charges, blocking out, getting on the floor for loose balls, all things we haven't been great at. The better teams we'll see [in the playoffs] are more physical. And we have to match those things.''

Hedo Lifts Magic Again 102-92

Hedo had 8 points at halftime, but used his 4th quarter heroics once again to lead the Magic (along with Lewis), with 25 points. Besides watching Hedo's spectacular 17 point showing in the fourth, this was the most boring game I have ever watched. It was just terrible. I hate watching games against the Nets; I get so bored. I just couldn't wait until the fourth quarter because I knew thats when Hedo would show up.

Vince Carter had 26 points and Richard Jefferson 20 for New Jersey, before both fouled out. One of the most boring teams in the NBA stuck around with us throughout most of the game.

Before this game, Turkoglu had scored 10 or more points in the fourth quarter 12 different times. 13's a charm.

The always active Dooling and Evans added 14 in the win. Nelson didn't play much, or very well, as SVG elected to stay with Dooling for much of the game.

Once again, for unknown reasons, Pat Garrity was in uniform. I honestly don't know why they have Pat in uni, when they could put Marcin in uni and possibly use him. Some PT here and there wouldn't hurt. In fact, I honestly wonder and have no clue as to why SVG never plays Gortat. He's gotta start somewhere.

Check out the Boxscore, Recap, and Photos.

Magic @ Nets

Magic (36-22) @ Nets (25-31)

Izod Center

7:30 PM

Sun Sports

Probable Starters:

Howard C Boone

Lewis PF Krstic

Turkoglu SF Jefferson

Evans SG Carter

Nelson PG Williams

With their big shakeup that sent the league's top point guard to Dallas, the Nets have been average at best. They are 2-2 without Kidd, but don't seem to be able to fair well with Marcus Williams at the helm. Devin Harris returning to their lineup should be a plus, but its anyone's guess if it will help the Nets get back to playoff contention in the future. Harris is turnover prone, as is many of thier team, so that means more inconsistent basketball for the future Brooklyn Nets.
Krstic is starting and I sure don't have a clue why. It must be to get him back up to speed for next season. But they are wasting the starter's minutes on him when they should be giving them to surprise Sean Williams.
Last time we played the Nets, we dominated 100-84 as the Nets seemed to be out of it. Many of them look disinterested and act like they can't wait for the season to be over. Now that Kidd is gone, I know Carter is itching to leave New Jersey.
As always, here is BQR's preview over at 3QC.

Worst Possession. Ever.

I saw this on 3QC and I just couldn't help but post it even though it doesn't really have to do with the Magic.

Worst. Possession. Ever. Let me recap it for you:

1. Randolph, a (nearly)
seven-footer, receives the ball outside of the three-point line.

2. He attempts
to break down his defender by dribbling the hell out of the ball, sort of like
Isiah Thomas circa 1989, only without the mad handles.

3. He totally loses the
rock like somebody abusing the freestyle control on NBA Live and has to run
almost out to halfcourt to retrieve it.

4. Then, instead of passing the ball to a
teammate, he runs it to the arc and launches an airball...with 7 seconds left on
the shot clock! The best part is when the camera pans to Isiah, who looks about
ready to choke [him].

Otis Likely to Have Contract Extended

"It hasn't been talked about by either of us, but it is something we will address in the offseason with Otis," Magic COO Alex Martins said. Otis is in the last year of his contract and the Magic will talk about a new contract come this summer. Schmitz reports the Magic will likely offer him a 2-year extension.

Smith traded Steve Francis, allowing the Magic to shed his $40 million contract. We used that cap space to focus on rebuilding around All-Star center Dwight Howard.

He traded fan favorite Trevor Ariza to the L.A. Lakers for Brian Cook and Maurice Evans earlier this season. As of late this move seemed to be a blessing in disguise, and many fans now agree with Otis on the Trevor trade.

Some are still in limbo about signing Rashard Lewis to a six-year, $118 million contract. Jameer Nelson's five-year, $35 million extension didn't sit well with quite a few fans also. But Otis' decision to drop the contract on the table to Darko Milicic and not pay him, has been his best move.

Magic Dethrone Kings 112-93

Looks like the Trevor Ariza trade was a success after all. I loved Trevor, and it pained me to see him go. I must say, though, that acquiring Cook and Evans, has been a pleasant surprise. The score was 46-46 at the half, but thanks mostly in part to Cook and Evans, we brok the lead open.

Cook has been playing defense much to Van Gundy's liking. He had some exceptional play in the fourth quarter. Great offensive burst and even solid on the defensive end. With Orlando, Brian Cook is shooting just under 50% from the 3-point arc! Wow!

Two things that jumped out to me when looking at the boxscore, was the defensive statistics by Rashard tonight. He had 2 steals and 3 blocks. Great game, Rashard.

Even though we had one of the worst shooting halves, in the first half, we kept attacking and learned from our mistakes. At the conclusion of the 1st quarter, Van Gundy told David Steele and Matty Goukas that the Magic's goal, for tonights game, was to limit the Kings to 10 fastbreak points. We gave up 11 in the first quarter. But after then, probably accompanied by a tongue lashing by coach, we limited them to only 6 in the final 3 quarters. Four in the second quarter, and only 2 in the third and fourth quarters.

Dwight had some trouble rebounding in the first half, with only 3. But we limited our turnovers to only 5, in the first half, which the team has worked extensively on. The guys seemed to lose Dwight in the last 5 minutes of the 2nd quarter, but he got back on track as soon as the 3rd quarter started.

Some game notes:

• We had only 8 turnovers against a Kings team who is one of the top teams in forcing turnovers.
• The Magic are 1-0 when Rashard blocks 3 shots. Yes that was a joke, but seriously we are.
• The Kings shot 57% in the first half tonight.
• J.J. Redick look like a lost puppy out on the floor and finished with a grand total of 1 point in about 2 minutes and 46 seconds worth of action.
• There are only 24 games left to play.
• We are 14 games over .500
• The Magic have scored 100 or more points, 8 straight times. That puts us in second place behind the Golden State Warriors.
• We are now 16-11 on our home court.
• The Magic's 36th victory in 58 games put them far ahead of last season's pace. The club didn't win their 36th game until April 9 --- Game No. 77.
• Orlando needs just four more victories to match last season's record of 40 wins.
• The Magic's next game is Tuesday against the New Jersey Nets.

Here is the boxscore, recap, and game photos.

Kings @ Magic

Magic (35-22) vs Kings (26-28)

Amway Arena

6 PM

Sun Sports HD

Probable Starters:

Howard C Miller

Lewis PF Moore

Turkoglu SF Artest

Evans SG Martin

Nelson PG Udrih

Here is another chance to improve our average road record of 15-11. The Kings come to town two nights after beating Charlotte 116-115 in overtime. During that game Mikki Moore threw an inadvertent elbow, knocking the Bobcats' Gerald Wallace unconsious. Wallace had to be taken off on a stretcher. He was diagnosed with a Grade 3 concussion and released from the hospital. Here is the vid of the hit and the aftermath:

January 8th was the last time we played the Kings, which was when they were still without Ron Artest and Kevin Martin. This time it wont be so easy because, when healthy, the Kings lineup is formidable.

We don't match up particularly well especially with Miller more of an around the perimeter type of center. Artest vs Turkoglu will be the most watched matchup, where as the winner out of those two will probably win the game. Artest will give Turkey a hard time, so Lewis better step up against Moore. Lewis just needs to play with that same fire and intensity we have seen in the past few games after the All-Star break.

Martin is another big weapon of theirs, but im not particularly as worried about the matchup of Evans vs Martin. Since I said that, Martin will probably go off for 30 like he did a few games ago.

Nelson will be the X-Factor, as it is very important for him to play at the top of his game. Jameer staying in the game offensively and defensively is key.

Magic Defeat Sixers 115-99

Winner, Winner, Turkey Dinner! Hedo was the man, yet again, connecting on 7-11 3 pointers. The Magic move to 35-22 , which is good for .614% on the year. The Magic dominated, even from the early start, never surrenduring the lead. At the end of the first quarter the Magic were up 26-16 and they never looked back.

"I’ve had a great season so far. I have all the confidence right now, but I have to keep it going," Turkoglu said. "There may be nights that I don’t get it going, but it doesn’t bother me because the next night will be a good one. I’m just preparing myself the best way I can to do my best out there."

Nelson and Rashard Lewis each had 17 points for the Magic. Dwight added 24 points, 18 rebounds, 3 blocks and shot 9-12 (.75%) from the field.

To fire up the fans, the arena even played the “Superman” theme each time he made a dunk or a big play. It was the first game home since Dwight won the Dunk Contest.

“Tonight we played against a team that can throw it down and throw it out for threes,” Green said. “That is what they did. They picked us apart.”

Luckily tonight was one of those nights for the Magic. We are going to have to see if the offense can carry this team where it wants to go: The Playoffs. Which start in 6 weeks. I know thats sooner than you thought, me too. Were playing pretty good basketball now but the streakiness worries me. We killed Detroit, got killed by the Raptors and then killed the Sixers tonight. Do I see a trend? Lets hope not...

• Boxscore


• Recap


• Highlights

The Magic's next game is Sunday night against the Sacramento Kings at 6PM. We play the Sixers again in Philadelphia on Wednesday. The Magic are 15-11 at home and 20-11 on the road this season.

Good, Forget Kurt Thomas

Magic fans should just forget about Kurt Thomas. New info came out today by John Denton, that Sonics GM Sam Presti, originally wanted 3 first round picks AND the expiring contracts of Arroyo and Garrity for the 35 year old Kurt Thomas. Then the Sonics eventually lowered their demand to two first rounders, but there was no way Smith was giving up that collossal amount just for Thomas. Arroyo, Garrity and a 1st in 2009 was what Otis offered, but anything more was too much just to use him for the rest of the season.

But then Denton closed with this: "Is it any coincidence that Presti worked out deals on deadline day with his former employer (San Antonio) and Cleveland with his former Spurs front-office co-worker Danny Ferry, now the Cavs’ GM?"

Tonight's Game: Sixers @ Magic

Magic (34-22) vs. Sixers (24-31)

Amway Arena
7 PM
Sun Sports

Probable starters:
Nelson PG Miller
Evans SG Green
Turkoglu SF Iguodala
Lewis PF Evans
Howard C Dalembert

The 76ers have won 6 of 7 heading into tonights game, lead by forward Andre Iguodala, who is averaging 19.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.9 assists in those last seven games.

Yahoo Sports describes Orlando as one of the few East teams that appears to have a firm hold on a playoff berth. The Magic have the third-best record in the Eastern Conference and a 7 1/2-game lead in the Southeast division.

Last time we played the Sixers, earlier this month, we barely made it out of there with a 108-106 victory. This victory was right after Hedo found out he had been snubbed from the All-Star game. He responded by more of his signature clutch performances in the 4th quarter to lead the Magic to victory on free throws.

The last two games have been polar opposites for the Magic, blowing out the Pistons but then getting trounced by the Raptors. Lets see which Magic team comes to play today. Either way Jameer is returning to his hometown and should have a good game because his family will be watching.

Dwight makes it known that he loves games against the Sixers, as he has averaged 21.6 points and 13.9 rebounds and shooting 67% from the field in his last 8 games against them. But not to forget that Louis Williams had 20 points on us last game, so watch for him to do the same.

The Magic have a pretty easy remaining schedule this month with tonights game vs Philly, Sunday vs the Kings, Tuesday vs the Nets, and Wednesday vs the Sixers again.

You can check out 3QC's game preview for tonights game here.

Best and Worst Combos

Three Heads are Better Than One (?)

According to 82games...

"Given the notion in some quarters that an NBA offense can be a three man game in some circumstances, the player trios seem to be an interesting area of study."

The worst Magic player trio is Arroyo, Dooling, and Foyle. They have only accounted for 93 minutes, but when on the court together they have a +/- of -30! Now, that is not the worst trio in the NBA, but it goes to show that these three on the court, does not work. They are the least productive three, together, on the team.

Out of the League-wide top trios (top 25), the Magic account for none. Boston has ten of the best, and the Suns have five.

Good News: Our best three on the court is, gladly, our main core trio of Nelson, Lewis, Dwight. They account for one of the highest minutes as a trio and +/-, in the NBA. Not to leave off that Turk is hopefully part of the core too.


The Best Two

No question here which two guys we can expect to see. Lewis and Howard are the top Magic player pair this season. Thier net +/- is +170, one of the higher amounts in the league. Their "offense per game" is listed at 105.4, along with a defensive rating of 100.0 which amounts to a +5.4 net per 48 minutes.


Roland Rating and On/Off Production Ratings

"The main components of the 'Roland Ratings' are a production measure for a player's own stats versus the counterpart player on the other team while he is on the court, as well as a simple on court/off court plus minus. This rating is actually more of a placeholder until the more sophisticated analysis we produce is made public, but still offers a good fast read on player performance."

This season, Dwight Howard is 7th in the league in Roland Ratings (at +13), which shows how a player stacks up in certain statistical categories based on a few important categories. From his own offensive production (26.9), compared to his opponents offensive production (13), he has a net production of (13.9), which is 6th in the league. Dwight has an on-court production rating of
+5.5 and an off court rating of -5.9, which gives him a net of +11.5. That places him near the top of the league in that category.

Nick Anderson Inducted Into the Central Florida Sports Hall of Fame

Orlando Magic Community Ambassador and Former Magic great Nick Anderson will be honored for his achievements and contributions to Central Florida’s sports landscape with his induction into the Central Florida Sports Hall of Fame.

The Central Florida Sports Hall of Fame is the continuation of a
great regional sports tradition, through which over 70 Central Floridians have been honored for their distinguished accomplishments within professional and amateur sports since 1981. Along with Anderson other inductees this year include Pat Clarke, Pete Dunn and Chipper Jones.

Here is a list of all the people inducted into the Central Florida Sports Hall of Fame if your wondering.

Trade Deadline Passes: Same Ol' Magic

Despite the countless trades and eager GMs wanting to acquire expirings, for just about anything, Otis didn't budge. But other teams traded for talent to shore up their frontcourt; instead we watched as they got better. Here are the big men traded recently:

• Drew Gooden to Chicago
• Cedric Simmons to Chicago
• Ben Wallace to Cleveland
• Joe Smith to Cleveland
• Primoz Brezec to Toronto

I don't buy the whole 'don't want trade Arroyo because we would be left with only two point guards' idea. First off, only one or two of them play the point each night anyways, and Turk handles the ball a lot of the time, especially bringing it up the court frequently. This whole deadline for the Magic has been disappointing mostly because we kept players that we cannot resign anyways. With Nelson's new $35 million dollar extension, we can't resign free agents Dooling and Arroyo both, at seasons end. Unless Otis has a master plan of letting thier contracts come off the books and acquiring a better point guard and/or power forward in the free agency, then hes an idiot. Maybe he has a bright idea of getting a point guard or big man in the draft. No. With our track record of drafting, we sure can't bank on that.

One of the best quotes i have heard all day about this topic came from MagicalMan at the RealGM Magic Board, "you can always pickup a pg on a 10 day contract if you have to. Theres always a safety net. Its not like we would do much worse at the pg with a D league player over arroyo." Great point. If an injury did occur we could do what every other team does who has two point guards. Add another. It would only be in emergency. Plus its not like our PGs do that much really in the first place.

People are already calling for Vanderwiede to axe Mr. Magic GM. So as a message to Otis: Watch out. The fans are starting to rant.

And to inject a little humor into this fun-filled post I will leave you with this quote by y 2 a b from the 'axe Mr. Magic GM' link above: "TRADE OTIS!!!"

UPDATE: Otis attributes his deadline-standstill to "nothing much that was going to make us a lot better".

Orlando has $13.5 million in expiring contracts in Carlos Arroyo ($4 million), James Augustine ($687,000), Maurice Evans ($1.5 million), Keyon Dooling ($3.6 million) and Pat Garrity ($3.8 million). But how much of the money will just go to another Free Agent? We don't even know if there will be better options in Free Agency. And many of the potential acquisitions during the summer are there to make a big payday, and we wont and cant afford that. Good move Otis, doing nothing is just what we needed. At least get a rugged power forward to help in the playoffs. I should have expected what we have been getting from Otis all along...nothing.

Magic Reluctant to Trade

The deadline is less than 20 minutes away...

Chad Ford said in his chat today that the Magic most likely wont trade anyone because they seem very reluctant to part with either Turkoglu or Redick. Also Otis supposedly doesn't want to part with Arroyo or Dooling, in part because he doesn't want to be left with only 2 point guards.

Otis: Don't Expect Any Deal

Ben Q Rock from 3QC talked about this article, where Otis talks about the trading deadline, as an important read. I agree...and heres the highlights:

• Otis doesn't feel pressured to make a deal.
• "Smith likes the Magic team that he constructed and feels it is talented enough as is to be an elite team in the Eastern Conference."
• Smith states that Dwight, Rashard, and Nelson made a big enough splash this offseason for us.
• Admitted previous talks with Seattle about Kurt Thomas and Chris Wilcox, but also said it was purely informational.
• Otis denies any Brad-Miller-to-Orlando trade rumors.
• "Smith feels like he fortified the power forward position with the Nov. 20 trade of Trevor Ariza to the Los Angeles Lakers for Maurice Evans and Brian Cook." Smith goes on to basically say that Cook is the answer at PF and we have had the PF we need all along here.
• Orlando won't deal its expring contracts in a deal to Miami. No more Haslem rumors.
• No other deal is to his liking. Doesn't envision any player we could get fitting with the current team.
• Said he will work up until the deadline looking at trades but he doesn't anticipate any deal.

Magic lose 127-110 to Raptors

Above: Rashard Lewis watches on, like a courtside fan, as Chris Bosh glides easily to the hoop.

Last night must have been a fluke against the Pistons. They must not be on track. They are not the Pistons that won 10 straight games heading into the All-Star game. Tonight they were trailing by more than 20. They lost tonight to the Bucks, 98-103. Either we had a lucky night or they faked us out.

Still, Dwight had a big night with 37 points. But so did Bosh with 40. We opened the gate straight to the rim, invited him to hang out around the basket, and munch on our defense. He tore up the defense like a hot butter knife and go to the line 11 times making all of them. Carlos Delfino came off the bench to score 23 for Toronto, including five 3-pointers.

Toronto already had over 100 heading into the fourth. Orlando went on a 10-2 run to start the final quarter, but Toronto held the lead by over 10 points the whole time. Back-to-back threes from Calderon iced the game as the Magic fell again in a game we "should have won".

These are the games that just piss me off and make me want to pull my hair out because we can't guard anyone, not even frickin Carlos Delfino! This team needs to get its balls taped back on and stop being such babies or they will be crying like T-Mac after another first round exit!

This was Orlando’s first road loss since losing to Detroit on Jan. 25. Even with this loss the Magic are leading the league with a 20-11 record away from home.

• Boxscore
• Recap
• Game Photos

Also check out the recap at Third Quarter Collapse.

Kurt Thomas to San Antonio

The Spurs stole our man. He was the exactly the guy we need to sure up our lineup and give Dwight the help he needs in the post. But the price they got him for, shocked me. The Spurs gave Brent Barry, Francisco Elson and a 2009 1st round pick. A steep price i would not have wanted the Magic to pay. An similar price of Bogans, Battie and a 1st would have been too much to give up. If we can't get Haslem from Miami or maybe Kenny Thomas from the Kings, Otis should just give it up. He has less than 12 hours anyways so there is not much time.

NBA News Alert

Sacramento Bee - According to the Sacramento Bee the Spurs are closing in on a deal for Ron Artest. The Spurs would send the expiring contracts of Francisco Elson and Brent Barry for Artest and possibly include a draft pick. It is also believed, however, that Denver may be ready to part ways with Linas Kleiza for Artest. Houston also reportedly had conversations with the Kings about Artest.

Gotta run!

Before-the-Deadline Chat: Magic

The deadline is fast approaching, and is a little more than 24 hours away. Many deals are on the table...and as the Washington Post reports: The NBA Trade Deadline could be a very active one.

According to the New York Daily News reports that the Magic, Spurs, Cavaliers and Rockets all have interest in trading for Seattle's Kurt Thomas. Orlando is the favorite because of the expiring contracts we have to offer.

Seattle sure is not going anywhere near the playoffs soon so their best bet is to acquire expiring contracts, which we can offer more option to them.

The Spurs wouldn't give up much valuable, Cavs don't even have much to give. The Rockets interest is probably nothing solid because they have big men in Motumbo, Hayes, Scola. While the Rockets could use another big man, they do not have any attractive expirings to give up.

Getting another big man would help us tremendously with the matchups with other teams, but it will help even more in creating matchup problems for our opponents. We could finally move Rashard Lewis back to the small forward position and Hedo to the shooting guard spot. That would make more open shots for Hedo and Rashard, and ease the rebounding load off of the rest of the team. Another important reason in getting another big man is to help defend the dominant centers and power forwards that we will have to face in the playoffs.

Magic @ Raptors

Magic @ Raptors
Air Canada Centre
Wednesday, February 20, 2008 @ 7 PM
SUN SPORTS

Probable Starters:
Howard C Bargnani
Lewis PF Bosh
Turkoglu SF Moon
Evans SG Parker
Nelson PG Calderon

After whipping up on the second place Pistons last night, its not time for the Magic to get greedy or lazy. Even though Bargnani is listed at center, there is no way he will guard Howard. Most likely Bosh will stick Howard, while Bargnani gets to chase Lewis out on the perimeter. This should create good matchups for Lewis as well as Turkoglu. How well we can contain Bosh is the story of the game. This is especially true because last time our interior defense crumbled a the sight of Chris Bosh allowing him to shoot 14 free throws, making all of them.

Check out these game previews:

• Yahoo! Sports
• Third Quarter Collapse

Magic Team Report: Playoffs Approaching

Heading into the home stretch, the Magic need to keep thier division lead against the battle-tested Wizards, with Arenas and Butler returning. The Atlanta Hawks are 10 games behind us and reeling after losing 4 straight heading into the break. They did aquire Bibby recently, but that doesnt improve their chances to do much this season. Bibby is 'nothing special' acquisition that probably won't do much for them even in the future. While Miami and Charlotte don't have a season to speak of at this point.

The Magic are currently only 4 games ahead of Toronto and Cleveland. A small, few game skid could send us tumbling in the standings. The higher up we are in the standings the better off we will be in the playoffs, hoping to match up with a "weak" opponent.

If the playoffs started today we would open up with a series against the Washinton Wizards. A healthy Arenas in the playoffs is nightmare for the Magic and their exceptionally talented defensive guards. Not. We would get eaten alive for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Maybe Dooling could help out on Arenas but that wouldn't be much of a deterrant for him. Butler and Jamison would be matched up with Turk and Lewis, creating a pretty even matchup. Howard would dominate inside and on the boards, most likely leading to the Magic moving on to the second round.

We are 7-3 in our last ten games, and seem to be picking up steam again after going an average 17-17, in our previous thirty-four games, after the 16-4 start.

Magic @ Pistons: BNB Postgame News Conference

"Three" was the Magic word tonight. As in 3 pointers. We hit 13 of them tonight and tied the season record for the most threes in a game allowed by the Pistons. Your Magic came on top tonight 103-85 against the surging Detroit "Bad Boy" Pistons. The Magic only missed 6 threes the entire game which amounts to 65%. MVP of the Game Keith Bogans carried the Magic with 19 points and a rating of +25. After the game, Keith Bogans told David Steele and Matty Goukas that Stan Van Gundy has been preaching "defense!, defense!, defense!" to them all week. They know the offense will always be there on most nights, but defense is the main weakness. Tonight they limited the main weapons on the Pistons team with tough perimeter defense.

The two main Magic-killers, Billups and Wallace, were out of the norm today. Instead of them being on the good-shooting, tough-defensive side, it was the Magic, limiting those two to a combined shooting night of 8-26. The Magic led the Pistons at halftime by a score of 52-45. A 7 point lead against a team who was on a 10-game win streak is an impressive feat. Especially because they are our biggest rival since last year's playoffs.

Rarely do you see a game where the team with less rebounds, wins. The Pistons outrebounded us, tonight, 44-36. Normally, winning the rebounding category, means a "W" in the win-loss category. We got lucky tonight because we caught fire from 3 point land though. This won't happen everynight so getting a power forward to start alongside Dwight for rebounding a defense is manditory. He can't do it alone.

Dwight "Superman" Howard only had to score 8 points, on 2-9 shooting, along with 8 rebounds, 4 blocks. He also had 5 turnovers. But he had a +/- of +17.

A win like this is very impressive, very satisfying. Away and in the Palace, is something else. Spectacular win and exactly what we needed coming out of the All-Star break and heading into Toronto tomorrow night. See you in the Magic @ Raptors game thread later.

NBA News and Rumors: Magic Edition

The Magic have two days to make any deal for a big man. Admin Eze from EB Sports says the Magic have been offered Kenny Thomas and Francisco Garcia for Carlos Arroyo, Pat Garrity, and Kieth Bogans. Admin Eze also wrote that the Kings have offered Brad Miller and Francisco Garcia for Arroyo, Garrity, Redick, and Bogans. An earlier post also has Seattle trying to get Orlando to take on Damien Wilkins in the Kurt Thomas deal as well. We need a big man and thats it. Taking on too much players and salary will just put us further in cap hell later on.

Arroyo, Garrity, and Bogans for Thomas works roster wise but not salary wise. The Kings would end up going over the limit and the trade would not work. But trading Arroyo, Bogans and Garrity for Kenny Thomas and Francisco Garcia is a better idea. I'm a fan of this trade for two reasons:

1. We would recieve Kenny Thomas who has only this season and next season left on his contract. 2. Garcia is due to become a free agent this summer.

I'm sure Otis will be up until the wee hours of the morning; counting down the hours until trade deadline with many possible deals on the table. Thomas would give us the extra big man we need, who could start so Lewis could move back to the 3 and Hedo to the 2. KT could guard the Tim Duncan's of the world and the other big men we don't want Dwight getting into foul trouble with.

• The Haslem-for-Reddick deal is supposedly dead. Just as i stated in an earlier post, Otis made sure everyone heard him say: "That’s a definite. I’m not trading J.J.’’. But Otis has a history of saying one thing and doing another, as us Magic fans have found out.


• But, just as Brian Smitz said in his most recent article, Dooling should be off limits. He is our best perimeter defender and most consistent scorer off the bench. He is not only is the best option to guard the big point guards of the NBA, but he is the most underrated player on this team. Don't even think about it Otis! Plus, Dooling is a cheap, yet effective addition to this team.

Last but not least I must tip my hat to the member Odin of MagicMadness. He has forever cemented himself as one of the most amazing people on the internet. He has a history of hilarious stuff, but this one really tops them all. This post was in the Magic vs Pistons thread.

I think tonight Dwight wears the superman shirt underneath his just like in the dunk contest and scores 40 points with 30 rebounds. He then discovers a loop hole in the free throw rules which allow him to jump from behind the line and he develops what is from then out know as the dwight howard FREE DUNK. Also Rasheed Wallace gets fouled, there is no call, and he starts his usual crying which gets a little out of control as he begins sucking his thumb and holding his breath until he passes out. The equipment manager for Detrtoit loses Rip Hamiltons protective (wussy) mask and Rip has to make do with a Hello Kitty halloween mask, he drives the lane once, gets injured as Dwight Howard elbows him square in the chest, fans on the first row say they hear the sound of ribs crunching like pringles in his fragile almost pre-pubescent chest. Chauncey Billups has a good night with 20 points but still has to go through life named after a british gardener. Rashard Lewis also has a good night as his testicles finally drop and he eats red raw meat for lunch. Stan Van Gundy puts in Garrity who has poor numbers , 5 turnovers 0 points and 3 fouls, considering he only plays for :25. In the end Hedo Turkoglu has 50 points and inadvertantly knees Tayshaun Prince in the sack so hard he wets himself and has to have his balls x-rayed. Doctors have trouble locating them.

NBA News and Rumors

In other news...

• The Kidd trade is now official. After the endless saga that has gone on, its nice to hear that is finally over. Kidd will wear number 2 for Dallas, as his previous number (5), is currently taken by Josh Howard. The Kidd hit the NBA tranactions page today, and now we know its finally for sure. He now returns to his original team, who drafted him. Kidd played 3 seasons in the Lone Star State before being shipped to Phoenix in December of 1996.
  


• The Cleveland Cavaliers are anxiously hoping to pull off a deal to get Lebron help up in Ohio. After coming out on the losing end of the Jason Kidd and Mike Bibby deals, the Cavs are still looking at possible deals on the table. The Millers, Andre and Mike, are possiblilites, but the Cavs don't have much to give up.



• Elton Brand is back participating in non-contact team drills and expects to be back this season.


• The Houston Chronicle reports that Gilbert Arenas was also cleared to participate in non-contact drills and has set his return date to March 2. My fantasy team thanks you Gil'.


• HoopsWorld recently reported that the Grizzlies could send Mike Miller to Miami for either Jason Williams or Ricky Davis. HoopsWorld also reports that Mike Miller is telling people close to him that he expects to be traded before the Feb. 21 deadline.


• Additonally, League sources informed HoopsWorld today that: "the Denver Nuggets are continuing to have discussions with the Sacramento Kings about Ron Artest. The Kings would like Linas Kleiza included in the deal, and the Nuggets remain hesitant to move him. One league source indicated that if a deal for Artest gets done, he believes it will be with Denver."


• The Nets have reportedly begun talking to the Indiana Pacers about Jermaine O'Neal and Vince Carter swap once again.

Update Time

Well, ive recieved some advice from a wise man and i need to speak my thoughts a little more. Here it goes.

• First of all.. Thanks to Ben Q Rock, over at Third Quarter Collapse, who mentioned Bold n' Blue in his most recent post. That blog is everything that im hoping this blog will be.
• Ive gotten some praises and advice from alot of people with the blog. Thanks to all, i really do appreciate it. One special thanks to Black and Blue, you really motivate me with your words.
• Nevermind the haters, Dwight deserved that dunk crown. The behind-the-backboard-windmill dunk was insane! He almost hit his head on the backboard! And i loved the Superman dunk.. but the tap-off-the-backboard-to-himself dunk was my absolute favorite. That made me jump up and down and scream out loud.
• Yes, the Hawks finally got a point guard and made our division just that much better. But we have a good seven game lead and a strong team. So i dont see any of our rivals coming back and overthrowing us.
• Before I forget...during the dunk contest I expected Dwight to do the kiss the rim dunk. I was expecting seeing him dazzle the crowd with his signature dunk. I guess he realized that he should not risk smashing his teeth into the rim.
• The Knicks are said to be shopping EVERYONE. Good. They all need to go.

• Erick Blasco over at Bleacher Report graded each NBA team on how well they have done in the first part of the season. Magic an A- on their midterm. Very generous grade because after our 16-4 start, we have gone 17-17 in our last 34 games. Ouch. We have only been a .500 ball club as of late. That A- should probably be the grade for our amazing start, with the minus there only because we dropped off it so suddenly.
• The NBA Trade Deadline is February 21, in three days. Otis is rumored to be looking at some trades for a big man. As John Denton reports: Carlos Arroyo, Pat Garrity, Maurice Evans, James Augustine and Keyon Dooling have expiring contracts and could all be valuable to the Magic as trade bait. We only need a big man for the remainder of this season. Once Battie comes back... were set at PF/C.

• Seattle’s Kurt Thomas and Chris Wilcox are appealing to Otis Smith, and could be available if the Sonics would accept our expirings. I think Otis probably has something in the works. He knows how much we need another big body. But, one MAJOR thing that stood out to me in Otis' comments to Denton:

Vowed Smith: ``That’s a definite. I’m not trading J.J.’’

Hot Topics

Sources from the Star Ledger report that the deal to send Kidd to Dallas is close to being final. Jason Kidd has been rumored to be headed to the Dallas Mavericks with Malik Allen. In return the New Jersey Nets would recieve Devin Harris, along with Trenton Hassell, DeSagana Diop, Maurice Ager, two first round picks, and Keith Van Horn in a sign-and-trade agreement.

But, according to the Star Ledger:

Unless the Nets add another player to the deal such as Antoine Wright, they will
have 16 players on their roster, and will need the league's permission to lop
off Van Horn, who after two years of inactivity has no intention of playing.

League President of operations Joel Litvin and NBA Commissioner David Stern warned the teams that they would not get of easy when using a retired player in the deal. The Nets would not be allowed to just waive him and let him go back on the couch.

But then, Sports Illustrated reported that the deal will have to wait another day or so because Van Horn must pass a physical and report to the Nets. Thats if the teams want the league to approve it and the deal to go down. He was basically added to the deal "just" to make the numbers work. Sources say, that to include Van Horn in the deal, he must have some "prescence" honor his contract for the remainder of the season. After the long-awaited deal has been talked about for ages, it will have to wait yet again for Van Horn to agree to the stipulations. Many negotiations and two hold-ups later, both teams are anxiously waiting for the deal to be finalized. They must keep in mind that the trading deadline is Thursday the 21st at 3 pm.

There has also been reports of the Grizzlies putting former Magic guard-forward Mike Miller in numerous trade negotiations. One deal has him going to Indiana for guard Marquis Daniels and forward Ike Diogu. Im blown away by this prospective rumor, because Mike Miller's trade value far exceeds the abysmal talent the Grizzlies would be recieving.

Ron Artest's name has surfaced in connection with the Denver Nuggets. One report has him possibly heading to Denver for a first-round pick and guard-forward Linas Kleiza. Parting with such a young talent for a hard head like Ron Artest is risky. The Nuggets have the "Win-now-give-us-all-your-stars" attitude and they wont have the star power for very long. Ron can opt out of his current contract after this season. The deal makes sense for the Nuggets, mainly because they are under intense pressure to win now. The Nuggets can only keep Iverson and Anthony in Denver for a limited amount of time without winning anything, before they will want to look for a more successful team.

Shining Star

Dwight went 7 for 7, en route to 16 points to go along with 9 rebounds, 3 steals, 3 assists, 1 block, and a bunch of sick dunks. You could even see Dwight a little embarassed after missing a dunk in the first half.

Not only was it an exciting game, but a place to enjoy and have some fun before the rigorous NBA season picks up again on Tuesday. The guys were seen having the time of their lives and Dwight had a constant smile on his face. It really has been the best weekend of his career.

In the end the East beat the West, in a thrilling fashion, East 134, West 128. The East, normally associated as the weaker half of the NBA, started out strong and held the lead going into halftime. The West came back in the second half, but Ray Allen nailed three straight 3-pointers in the final 3:15, to push the East back on top. Lebron James garnered MVP honors after posting a cool almost-triple-double: 27 points, 9 assists, and 8 rebounds.

Carmelo Anthony and Brandon Roy led the West with 18 points, Chris Paul had 16 points and 14 assists, and Carlos Boozer added 14 and 10.

Some of the celebrities at the game include Ludacris, Snoop, Dr. J, Terrell Owens, Bruce Hornsby, Doug E Fresh, Chris Tucker, Jet Li, Gabrielle Union and David Robinson. Deion Sanders, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Bivins, and many others also attended the ASG.

His Impact is Everywhere

There used to be questions about if Dwight Howard could be the franchise and carry the Magic. But this season, he has changed critic's minds. This IS Howard's team.

Dwight Howard has learned that his impact goes beyond game statistics. But check out what he has done already:

• Named the Eastern Conference Player of the Month twice this season.
• Also he was named the Player of the Week two times.
• Had fifteen striaght games in which he had a double-double, which is three shy of the Magic record held by Shaq.
• Became the second Magic player to record consecutive back-to-back 30-point/15-rebound games.
• Has more 20-20 games than any player in the league this season.
• He has more than double the amount of dunks than the closest competitor. He also has a higher dunk total than almost every NBA team.
• Dwight is the only player in the NBA to be in the Top 10 in points, rebounds, blocks, and field goal percentage. Only four players in the history of the NBA have averaged 20 points and 10 assists, all while shooting 60% from the field. Howard is currently on pace to join Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Charles Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal in that exclusive group.
• Had 2,066,991 All-Star votes, which amounts to the third most overall this year.
• Made his first All-Star start of many, in the 2008 NBA All Star Game.
• And last but not least, as of today, Dwight has lead the Magic to a 33-21 record (.611%), and a spot atop the Southeast Division.

And as just an added fact, had Dwight gone to college, he would be in his senior season. So, that just gives you an idea of how special he is and how amazing his accomplishments truly are. He is still very young and has so much room to grow even better.

An All-Star Atrocity

Rasheed Wallace is an All-Star for the fourth time. He's not thrilled.

"I'd rather be a Bahamanian," he said after the East team practiced on Saturday.

Detroit's combustible forward didn't plan to spend the NBA's midseason mini-vacation in New Orleans, but he was recently named a replacement for Boston's Kevin Garnett, who is sidelined with an abdominal strain.

Above is a quote from an ESPN article. Rasheed Wallace does not want to be in the All-Star game, nor does he deserve it. Hedo Turkoglu was arguably the main reason for the Magic's success this season averaging career highs in points, assists, rebounds, field goal percentage, and minutes. Yet he did not get selected to participate in the ASG by fans or coaches. Not only does Turkoglu deserve the spot on the East All-Stars, but he wants it.

Even Lebron agreed that Hedo got snubbed.

No question in LeBron James' mind who got snubbed in the all-star voting: Magic forward Hedo Turkoglu. "Hedo Turkoglu in the Eastern Conference played well enough to make the all-star team, and he's not part of it," James said. "He played great basketball for the third-best team in the East. He played great basketball."

But its great to see that Hedo did not let his exclusion from the All-Star game affect his great play. He has a good chance to be awarded with the NBA's Most Improved Player Award, if he keeps it up.

Magic @ Pistons

Magic @ Pistons

The Palace at Auburn Hills

Tuesday, February 19, 2008 @ 7:30 PM
SUN SPORTS

Probable Starters:

Howard C Wallace

Lewis PF McDyess

Turkoglu SF Prince

Evans SG Hamilton

Nelson PG Billups

The main story with this game for us is...

• Can we actually compete regularly with the Pistons?
• Or, are we just no match for them in a seven-game playoff series?

The last time we played them is when Rasheed got them rolling, Rip was firing all game, and Billups played like...well the star point guard that he is. And our guards can do nothing but let them score at will, sadly.

These guys are the cream of the crop. The top dogs. The pretty girl you never get the attention of. Its time for Dwight and crew to step up and show us.. but most important, themselves, that they can be for real. When it matters.

Orlando's 'Superman'

By adamosthegreek
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