Bold n' Blue

Horrible :X

2008-05-13T22:50:00.001-04:00

That was the worst, most boring, uninteresting, worst announcing I have ever heard and seen. I can't say that I didn't expect us to lose. The Pistons are just that much better and that much more solid than us. Turnovers really are our downfall this year and free throws are problem 1a.

As for this off season, in my opinion J.J. needs to go. I've gotten so used to him on the bench i have almost forgotten that hes on the team. He is useless and we really don't and wont have a need for him beyond this season.

We need a PF banger next to Dwight. Tony is nice but hes not the answer.

Let go of Arroyo, resign Mo for the starting 2 if we don't get anyone to fill that spot in FA.

PF is more of a need than the 2 for sure. PG is good with Nelson and hes not going anywhere so there wont be an urgency to look for another PG. He has proved that he can lead this team to the playoffs and beyond. We have a good core, no need to blow it up. Minor tweaks are needed, especially to the bench.

Magic Need to Win Tonight

2008-05-10T09:12:00.002-04:00

We were down 0-2, so I'm just happy we won ONE game against this mighty Pistons team. Chauncey Billups says he's supposedly 50-50 on playing, after injuring his hamstring last game.

I, personally, believe there is no way he will miss this next game. They have the best trainer in the NBA, and Billups is so important to that Pistons team.

Today's game is at 5 PM on ESPN. Lets get another win to send the series back to Detroit!

Magic are Down 0-2 Again, in the Playoffs, to the Pistons

2008-05-06T22:31:00.002-04:00

Yep the shot shouldn't have counted and even the NBA released a statement saying it was a bad call. They will also look to add replays for the referees to correct mistakes during the game that normally wouldn't be able to look at replay for.

To sum up the main problem in the game, 3QC said it perfectly: "First, we turned the ball over entirely too much (19 turnovers on 87 possessions), forcing the issue early in the game and down the stretch. Rashard Lewis, Hedo Turkoglu, and Dwight Howard combined for 17 of those turnovers, although we can attribute most of Dwight's miscues to soreness in his left thumb, which made it hard for him to hang onto passes. Our gameplan seemed to be "get the ball to Dwight!" and, although it worked well when executed, both Lewis and Turkoglu were guilty of telegraphing their entry passes, which the Pistons easily deflected or stole."

We tried to force shots, instead of taking our time. We cant shove the ball in the post against a smart team like the Pistons. It takes crisp passes and smart offense to even be able to win a game. Imagine if we got swept again in the playoffs, by the Pistons. How horrible would that be to the franchise and to the young guys on the team? Devastating. Yes, we are in the second round, and this season is considered a success, but still.

We have to make this series worthwhile and put in all the effort. Dwight Howard is not being as dominant as he normally is. Ratliff, Wallace, McDyess, and most of all Maxiell are all giving Dwight a hard time. Maxiell is shorter than D12, but hes also more bulkier and can handle him in the post mostly alone. Howard needs to get better position most of the time, but also needs to be able to get better passes into the post.

Nelson is proving to be a big-time player in the playoffs. He is averaging over 5 points more than his season average. His defense could still step up, but his offense is clicking on all cylinders. Rashard and Turk are struggling with their shots, which are two big reasons why we lost the first two games in the series. Rashard hit some big shots, but those two have to shake the funk and put up more than average numbers.

Pistons Have the Kryptonite for Game 1

2008-05-04T22:21:00.003-04:00

Not only are the Pistons resorting to name calling and "game-talking", but we got demolished in Detroit in Game 1.

That was a sorry excuse for trying in Game 1. It was downright horrible. The Pistons 'D' absolutely shut down Dwight Howard and he couldn't get much going on offense, defense, or any other -fense. Stupid joke, I know, but it gets the point across. We played bad, real bad. And using that trash talking to get the Magic upset, is exactly what we need to be able to take Game 2. Were not in the playpen anymore, this is the second round, the Conference Semis boys. Time to take off the training wheels and play like big boys. These are the bad boys. The ones from down the street that shove you in the dirt and call you names. Its time to fight back.

As Yahoo says it, "The Detroit Pistons beat up Orlando physically and mentally. They shoved Dwight Howard out of his comfort zone and pushed the Magic’s buttons during heated exchanges, leading to Detroit’s 91-72 win Saturday night in Game 1 of their second-round series.

'Mentally, we have to keep our heads,' Howard said. 'Detroit is going to talk and push. We knew that coming in, but we got too frustrated.'"

Hedo Turkoglu led the Magic with 8-16 shooting for 18 Pts to go along with 7 Rebs, 4 Assists. Howard finished with only 12 points and 8 rebounds.

Pistons AGAIN!!!

2008-05-02T21:21:00.008-04:00

Sorry to the readers for the days going by without a post. I'll make up for it here.

ORLANDO MAGIC (52-30)

NELSON

EVANS

TURKOGLU

LEWIS

HOWARD

DETRIOT PISTONS (59-23)

BILLUPS

HAMILTON

PRINCE

MCDYESS

WALLACE

Check out the series preview from the Orlando Magic website.

Series Schedule:
Game 1: Saturday, May 3, 7:30 p.m., TNT (Detroit)
Game 2: TBD (Detroit)
Game 3: TBD (Orlando)
Game 4: TBD (Orlando)
If necessary
Game 5: TBD (Detroit)
Game 6: TBD (Orlando)
Game 7: TBD (Detroit)
*Sun Sports Coverage To Be Announced

Well, no matter what, this season has been a huge success. This season and what we have accomplished, is what every young team wishes to have happen. Every Magic fan in Orlando is beaming with pride at this team and the future greatness we can accomplish. And now with the new arena being built soon, the team and franchise has gotten a huge lift from this seasons success.

Van Gundy deserves a good amount of credit but Dwight Howard deserves most of it by his amazing play and the way he has stepped it up in the playoffs. Not only did he get three 20-20 games in the first round, but he led the Magic to the second round!

We can't keep in mind that they swept us last year and that they are one of the best teams in the NBA. Nows the time for the Magic to stick to their game and do what we do. Defense is so important facing the Pistons. Jameer Nelson vs Chauncey Billups is the matchup to watch out for. If Nelson can stay in front of Billups and Howard can continue his superb play, then we have a good shot.

What a game!

2008-04-29T14:26:00.001-04:00

Check out Third Quarter Collapse for a great recap to one of the biggest games in Magic history!

Magic Win!! Move on to Second Round!!!!!

2008-04-28T22:30:00.003-04:00

Yes! This has been such a long time coming! 12 years to be exact. This game was close until the about the fourth quarter. The Raptors seemed to give up at the end.

We now move on to the second round and we are the first team in the NBA to do so. Dwight had his third 20-20 game in this playoff series. He finished with 21 points, 21 rebounds and 3 blocks. Dwight really stepped it up this playoff series and really took it upon himself to take his game to another level.

I've done too much yelling and screaming so more posting tomorrow!

Tonight is a HUGE Game for the Orlando Magic Franchise!!

2008-04-28T16:21:00.002-04:00

Winning tonight is more than just a win. It would mean that the Orlando Magic would be the FIRST team to move on to the second round. It would mean that this team has taken another big step. It would give the young guys, basically the whole team, that experience needed in the future. The win would give us the proof that we can close out quarters and we can close out games. This is a huge game. Its time to show who really has the determination and the will to win.

The main keys to tonight's game, in my opinion are as follows:

1. Dwight must stay defensive minded.
D12 will get his on the offensive end, but his main focus should be on defense. We wouldn't have won game 4 if it wasn't for Dwight being that huge force on the inside. The Magic have to make the Raptors beat them from the perimeter. Make them play our game. Dump it into Dwight, but also get the wing guys, Hedo and Rashard, more involved like game 4.

2. Make the extra pass.
Rashard Lewis struggles when he just stands around and jacks up threes in transition. Getting the ball moving around the arc and into Dwight's hands or Rashard in the corner is very effective. Fumbling the ball and kicking it out to a well defended player at the three point line, will only kill the offensive rhythm. Making crisp passes and being alert when Dwight is in the block, is key. Passing the ball to confuse the defense is big tonight.

3. Hedo needs the ball in his hands as much as possible.
For most of the series, Jameer has played exceptionally well. But having the ball in his hands most of the time is not very effective. Hedo is our best ball handler and decision maker. Letting him distribute the ball and make the right decisions will help us get the win tonight.

Magic Come to Play in Game 4! Win 106-94

2008-04-27T09:10:00.002-04:00

After the butt whooping we received in Game 3, the Magic had to come out and really give it their all. Toronto started the first period hot, but so did the Magic. Rashard and Jameer had some struggles in the first period, but that doesn't matter. We have Dwight. He absolutely played amazing in the first quarter. After just 12 minutes of play, he already had a stat line looking something like this: 12 points, 7 rebounds, 4 blocks. :O Wow! 4 blocks in the first quarter for him and he didn't stop there. Dwight finished the game with a total of 8 blocks. Wow thats what we need from Dwight. And to think he finished 8th in DPOY voting. Lame. Dwight also added 19 points, 16 rebounds but went 1-6 from the free throw line. Howard finished 1-for-6 from the free throw line and has gone 9-for-23 since a 9-for-11 showing in Game 1.

No matter what happens from here on out, this game was huge for this franchise and you have to like this teams chances. Especially going back home and able to put the Raptors to sleep once and for all. But... we can't get ahead of ourselves.

Even the Raptors know they are still in it until they are sitting at home watching us in the 2nd round. “It’s not over yet,” Ford said. “It’s the first one to four. We got ourselves in a hole and we just have to continue to stay positive.”

Like I said earlier, not just in the first quarter but also the second and third. But he still did not let that stop him. In the fourth quarter, when we see Turk, Rashard, or Dwight step up, Nelson took over. To get the big contribution from Nelson, especially after the night he was having, was a surprise. His first shot was an 18-foot jumper that made it 80-80. He followed with two 3-pointers and a 16-footer.

Point guards always dribble a fine line between making things happen and forcing them. Nelson had gotten tentative, then something kicked in. "Sometimes you start to feel it," Nelson said. "I started feeling it in the fourth quarter. I hit a couple of big shots and teammates started looking for me. When you make shots your confidence goes up."

"Jameer Nelson, he just got hot," Chris Bosh said. "He really hadn't shot like that the whole series. He made a couple of easy shots, and by that time I guess the basket looked a little bit bigger to him."

Jameer finished with 19 points and 5 assists. Rashard Lewis shook of a bad start and put up a huge stat line. He finished the game leading the Magic with 27 points, and added 13 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and a block.

For tonight's game, instead of continuing the downward trend in this series, we came out to play. In Game 1 we destroyed them, Game 2 could have easily gone their way, Game 3 did. We went from great to ok, then quickly to horrible. But then yesterday we changed all that. We bucked the trend you could say. Thats huge for this team and these guys. After we wrap up this series (hopefully Monday), the Magic can use this series to build upon for the future. They really fought hard and put in the effort needed to move on. Even if we don't win in the second round, still, they learned a lot and gained much experience. And thats well worth it for a young team. No matter what this season was an overwhelming success.

The Morning After The Loss...

2008-04-25T11:23:00.000-04:00

Ok so it's been over half a day since the last post. I've had a chance to let the loss sink in and the good things to be realized again. We are still up 2-1 in the series and we still have a much better chance to move on. We are the better road team, and we get to go back on our home court, hopefully to close out the series.

The bad news is that we have been doing a nosedive, as of late. We started off sweltering hot in Game 1, blowing them out of the building. It was a different story in Game 2, where we could have easily lost, but pulled out the 1 point win. And Game 3 was the same outcome as game one, except in their favor. It's time to shake it up, change the pace, or do something different because the game tomorrow is huge. Letting them come back and tie the series just gives them all the momentum in the world. That would be heart crushing for the Magic and their fans. Plus, then it would be anyone's game and they could win the series just as easily as us. Imagine how soft and terrible the Magic would look if they went home in the first round, and let Toronto move on to the second round in our spot!

In other NBA news:

T-Mac and crew finally won a game. After crying and whining to reporters that the 2-0 deficit to the Jazz was "all my fault", McGrady led the Rockets to a 94-92 win on Thursday night. T-Mac had 27 points to lead the Rockets, along with 5 rebounds and 7 assists. Alston had 20, Scola had 16/10. Deron Williams had 28 and 10 assists to lead the Jazz.
Mere days after being routed by 30 at the Cavs expense, the Wizards dished out the pain right back at Lebron and Co. Last night the Wizards beat the Cavaliers by 36! The end score was 108-72 in a stellar defensive effort in Washington, D.C. This win was without the help of Gilbert Arenas who went out with a left knee injury. The same knee that was surgically repaired and caused him to miss most of the season.

Magic Wont Sweep Raptors.. Lose 108-94

2008-04-24T22:12:00.002-04:00

You could argue that this was expected. You had one team who was on the road the first two games. They had their backs against the wall. They got their butts handed to them in Game 1 and clawed and fought until the end of Game 2, but lost. This was their game from the get go.

Ford came back tonight with a strong performance. And Jameer didn't get a field goal until the closing minutes of the fourth quarter. Ford mimicked Nelson's strong performances in Games 1 & 2. But it wasn't just Ford who played well at the point, it was Calderon too. No let me clarify, he didn't play WELL, JC played SPECTACULAR. Aside from the un-Calderon like three turnovers, his play was All-Star caliber. The Spanish point guard finished with 18 points, 13 assists, and 7 rebounds... off the bench! The two Raptor point guards combined for 39 points, 16 assists, 12 rebounds, and only 4 turnovers.

Tonight we got beat on the offensive and defensive boards this time. Again our glaring weakness shows. We need another big man to help Dwight out on the defensive end and with rebounds. Unlike every other game this year, Adonal Foyle was not the first big man off the bench to spell Dwight Howard. The Polish Hammer himself, Marcin Gortat, was the first big guy called. He went in during the start of the 2nd quarter. While he only played 5 minutes and score two points on one shot, he is an active player who never stops moving and hustling.

The Raptors got an early lead and never looked back. We never had a chance. We would miss a shot they would sink two or three of them. This was their game. Our guys just didn't have it in them. The big three stepped it up, but we didn't have any support from the starting guards or the bench. Bogans had 12, but was dreadful for most of the game. I even yelled at the TV at one point, telling Van Gundy to "Get him off the court!!".

Dwight Howard put up another solid game of 19 points, 12 rebounds, but he had 6 turnovers. Lewis had 19 and Hedo put up 26 and 7 rebounds. The big three did their part and had a combined 64 points. The rest of the Magic team did anything but play well. Add up all the points from everyone else and you get a mere 30 points. Thats downright dreadful. Absolutely horrible. We HAVE to get more production out of the rest of the team or we will lose this series!

News Before The Game Tonight

2008-04-24T15:25:00.003-04:00

To all the readers out there that I hopefully have. You will have to excuse me lately, as I have been VERY busy and the blog has taken a back seat.

Back to the Magic... here are some of the latest headlines in the Magic world:

Orlando has formally applied to the NBA to host the 2011-2012 NBA All-Star Weekend, here in Central Florida.
The land for the new arena, on Hughey and Church streets, is just about clear. The building is scheduled to go up in July and the Magic have asked Commissioner Stern to attend.
Fran Vasquez's status over in Spain is still a mystery. Both Toronto F Jorge Garbajosa and G Jose Calderon played with Vasquez and know him well, yet they are not exactly sure what he plans to do. "Technically, he's a very good player, very talented, and he can do a lot of things," said Garbajosa, who spent most of this season on the injured list for Toronto.

"But to come from Europe and play in this league, you have to be strong mentally and very confident. Two years ago, he wasn't there. Maybe the maturity has helped him now, but I don't know what he plans to do." Maurizio Gherardini, Toronto's assistant GM, said this about Fran: "Physically, he's very impressive," Gherardini said. "He can jump out of the gym. But he's very inconsistent."
Check out the thread about the Magic's NBA Championship Chances at Magic Madness.
The agent for Maurice Evans says that Evans will look at all his options during free agency and isn't necessarily sure he will resign with the Magic. But his agent also said, "It's an awesome fit, and it can turn into an awesome fit. . . . We'd like to potentially stay here."
Current Magic Assistant Coach Patrick Ewing said he has not been contacted at all about the vacant head coaching job in New York.
The Raptors might have to rethink part of their game plan after Dwight Howard has been hitting his free throws lately. He was 9-11 in game 1.
Check here to see what Magic Owner Bob Vander Weide says about J.J. Redick's future.

Magic Win Nail-Biter!! 104-103

2008-04-23T16:25:00.003-04:00

This time around it wasn't such an easy win. This one went down to the wire. Toronto was down for most of the game but made a push at the very end. Here's a play-by-play of the closing possessions:

Toronto is down 100-91.
Delfino hits a three pointer, 100-94.
Calderon hits a three, 100-97
Calderon hits another big three, 100-100.
Delfino hits a free throw, Toronto leads 101-100.
Turkoglu drives to the lane for a layup and puts Orlando back on top, 102-101.
Turk hits two free throws and Orlando leads, 104-101.
Delfino gets a layup, 104-103 with 9.6 seconds left.
Keyon is called for an offensive foul, on the inbounds pass.
Bosh gets the isolation play along with a jump shot to try to win the game.
Rashard rebounds the missed shot and time expires as the Magic win, 104-103.

For the second straight game, Toronto got buried in a double-digit deficit in the opening minutes—this time from inside. The Magic hit only 9-31 shots from three point land, which is a dreadful 29%.

Dwight had another spectacular 20-20 game; he finished with 29 points, 20 rebounds, and three blocked shots. But, Rashard and Turk were a combined 11-36 from the field. Those two must be more consistent and offer more because this is the big boy time. Our forwards need to step it up.

Our buddy Kapono went off again with 20 points off the bench. Bosh was the only starter for the Raptors to score in double digits, but he got significant help off the bench. 57 bench points to be exact.

Jameer, Carlos, and Keyon did a pretty good job on the Raptors point guards, this game. After not forcing Ford or Calderon into any turnovers in Game 1, Forderon turned the ball over 5 times in Game 2. Toronto averages only 12 turnovers per game, so forcing those 5 from them is a good feat.

Game 3 is on April 24th in Toronto, Ontario at 7:30 on Sun Sports.

Today's a BIG Day!

2008-04-22T10:02:00.003-04:00

Tonight is the last game before departing to enemy territory for Thursday's game, in Toronto. Going up north with a 2-0 lead would give us a huge advantage for the rest of the season. Not to get lazy, but just in case the Raptors get a game on us up there. But the Magic can't get relaxed because they have a one game cushion. The series is not even close to being ours yet.

It really makes me mad when reports like this one by Jerry Greene, from the Orlando Sentinel. He talks about how the Magic did their part in last Sunday's game, but the fans came up short. He says that the fans were not loud enough and " You let them down". Idiot. I was in the stands and the whole arena was much louder than any regular season game. It was insane. I got a headache because it was so loud in Amway Arena. Everyone was yelling, screaming, and making lots of noise with their Rally Rackets. For playoff game two 18,000 thunder sticks will be given out along with 9,000 blue and 9,000 white “Blue and White Ignite” T-shirts.

To win this game, we need Jameer to step it up big, again. What put Jameer's play over the top, in Sunday's game, was his defense on T.J. Ford. He played superb offensively, but what really made our mouths drop was his shutdown of Ford on defense. He sure isn't known for his defensive prowess, but he showed us that he does have it in him. Keeping up that great play, even if it's only on defense, is critical in our winning of this series.

Lets see if Raptors Coach Sam Mitchell will go with Andrea Bargnani again to defend Hedo Turkoglu. That sure didn't turn out to be the right decision. If you never have started him at small forward during the season, why try it now in the playoffs?? That is something you do in training camp and practice, but not randomly in the playoffs. Horrible coaching decision. Mitchell might try the same lineup again to "show" everyone that he didn't totally make a big mistake in the starting of Bargnani. But lets just wait and see what he does. If Moon returns to the starting lineup, it will be Mitchell admitting defeat and a coaching mistake. I'm so glad the Magic have Van Gundy.

UPDATE: Mitchell is reportedly going to start Bargnani at small forward again in tonight's game.

Magic Win Game 1!! 114-100

2008-04-20T22:25:00.003-04:00

What a day! What a game! That was insane! I went to the game today and the whole place was sooo loud from the get go. The crowd was so into it. The 6th man really played a huge part in today's game. The Magic's PR staff really did well today by giving out blue shirts for one half of the arena, and white shirts for the other half. That move really gave the arena a more "togetherness". There were some unlucky Raptors fans there. One Raptors fan near the section I was in, had one of those annoying horn things. Everytime Dwight Howard went to the free throw line, he would press the horn. After about the first or second time people started hurling insults and threats against him. Serves the guy right. Magic fans were telling the ushers to throw him out and trying to get a bunch of fans to jump him after the game. It was all in good fun but what person in their right mind would come to a playoff game dressed in the enemy colors??

Well back to the game... Dwight is a monster, what else can I say? He was a little quiet at first, so I'm sure during timeouts and at halftime, Coach told him to get more aggressive. He did just that, ending with 25 points, 22 rebounds, and 5 blocks! What a performance! He's amazing. Just seeing him step out and hit a jump shot gave me glimpses of the future yet to come. I also saw the future through my crystal ball when I witnessed D12 hit free throw after free throw. In all he hit 9 of the 11 free throws he took, in game one. Thats 82%. Even if Dwight "upped" his free throw percentage a little bit, his points per game would jump drastically. No matter what, just by witnessing this playoff performance today, I know he has potential off the charts.

Jameer played just about the best game of his young career. I can't say that enough. I don't know how many other performances we will see, like this one.. But I do know that he did not just outplay Ford. He demolished him. He destroyed him. He showed who needs to worry about who. Nelson has the potential to play great on offense and defense like we saw tonight. He finished with 24 points, 7 assists, hit 2 three-pointers, and went 8-8 from the free throw line. Ford ended with 5 points, 6 assists.

Mo Evans was the star in the first quarter hitting 3 threes, en route to 11 points. He finished with fourteen, after distributing to the other guys after his hot start. Turk came up big with 21, 6 rebounds, 6 assists. He had the task of handling the ball frequently and did a good job as the makeshift point guard at times. Lewis hit 3 threes and had 13 points in the game. He mostly camped out at the three point line, and I would like to see him drive to the hoop more. But all that is excused because of the great defense he played against Chris Bosh. 13 of Bosh's 21 points came from the free throw line. Lewis "let" him score only 4 buckets, which equals 8 points. That's great defense on Lewis' part. Dooling played great off the bench with 10 points.

The Anthony Parker & Jason Kapono outside shooting duo killed us. We have to body up on them. The only fortunate thing to those two doubling up for 42 points is that we forced the Raptors to take outside shots. They made a good amount, but those shots will not always fall. This is all due to Dwight's outstanding job on the defensive end. Every time a Raptors player came in the lane D12 was there to block the shot or send them packing in the other direction. Even his goaltending one shot sent the message that "nothing is allowed in my house".

Game 2 is Tuesday 4/22 at Amway Arena. Tip off is at 7:30 on Sun Sports.

The Day Before the Game...

2008-04-19T10:33:00.002-04:00

What to do now?... We all can't wait until tomorrow's Magic game of course. Here's some things to keep your mind busy. Check out these thinks:

The awesome post on Third Quarter Collapse were Ben Q. Rock shows his appreciation for Maurice Evans.
Find out what Toronto fans are saying about the first round match up and who they think will win.
Click this GIF showing the many faces of Coach Stan Van Gundy.
How Van Gundy changes from off the court to coaching in the game.
See which teams the Sentinel Guys have predicted to win in the playoffs.
The Game 1 Playoff Thread at Magic Madness and these cool playoff signature images.

Playoffs Start Tomorrow

2008-04-18T22:03:00.003-04:00

Remember the early tip tomorrow on ESPN. Its the Cavs and Wizards at 12:30.

I'll be attending the Magic's first game vs the Raptors 12:30 Sunday April, 20. 3QC has a great thread about the game. I would try to do something that great, but this free blogging site just wont allow me to.

All you really need to know about that game is that its going to be a tough matchup. Winning the first two games at home are a must. We can't let this thing go to where we have to win in Toronto. We have to use the home court to our best advantage. Dragging this thing on will only prove fatal.

Lets look at the matchups:
Howard vs Nesterovic:
This is our best bet of a mismatch. Dwight can easily bull around down low and have his way with the Raptor big men. They really don't have a low-post defender who can cope with Dwight. So that means this series needs to be one where Dwight literally takes over and dominates, if we want to adavance.

Lewis vs Bosh:
This is a tough one because, in contrast, we really don't have anyone to put the clamps on Bosh. Lewis will get most of the time against him and have the task of slowing him. This could easily put Lewis in foul trouble from the beginning, meaning Turk will have to step it up.

Turkoglu vs Moon:
With Lewis sticking Bosh, it has to bet Turk who is the 2nd cog and the main distributer and go-to guy. We can't afford to have Hedo have an off night. It's his responsibility to be the X-factor again, this series, just as he was during the regular season. Moon is a good defender and a very athletic player so it could be an interesting matchup between the two.

Evans vs Parker:
This matchup is almost a wash because they are identical players. Yet, Parker is the 2nd leading scorer on the Raptors and their second go to guy. He can hit the jumper and even the three. But, Evans can counter him in every facet of the game. Evans can slash to the rim and get to the hoop. We will really count on him doing in this series, to get easy baskets.

Nelson vs Ford:
Ouch. Ford and Calderon vs our guys. This could be deadly. Nelson had better focus on keeping himself between Ford and the rim. Forget about scoring and shooting, except the occasional easy basket. He has to keep Ford out of the lane or he will collapse our defense and cause even more problems. A great series by Nelson is a must. We could really be seeing a lot of Keyon Dooling in the first round, to body up on Calderon.

My prediction? The same as many. Magic in 6 tough games. Losing any of the first two games could be deadly. Mark my words.

Magic Win Final Game, Move to 52-30

2008-04-17T15:21:00.002-04:00

There was no game post for the final game against the Wizards. But who cared about that game anyways. We won and thats all we need to know because its PLAYOFF TIME!!

Here is the much anticipated first round schedule against the Toronto Raptors:

Game 1: Sunday April 20 @ Orlando, 12:30 PM, TNT
Game 2: Tuesday April 22 @ Orlando, 7:30 PM, NBA TV
Game 3: Thursday April 24 @ Toronto, 7:30 PM, NBA TV
Game 4: Saturday April 26 @ Toronto, 3:00 PM, TNT
Game 5: Monday April 28 @ Orlando, 7:30 PM, NBA TV
Game 6: Thursday May 1 @ Toronto, Time and Channel TBD
Game 7: Saturday May 3 @ Orlando, Time TBD, TNT

But, were in luck. In Brian Schmitz's blog, he states that Sun Sports could also carry some or all of the games on NBA TV.

Check out the "Magic Playoff Sigs" and the "Playoffs: Magic vs Raptors" topics from MagicMadness for more on the Magic's First Round Matchup.

51 Wins! Magic Use 2nd Half Surge to Top Hawks 121-105

2008-04-15T22:08:00.003-04:00

Mo Evans led the Magic with a career-high 27 points; 23 in the 2nd half. 6 other Magic players scored in double figures as we pulled ahead and kept the lead in the second half. The first half was a major disappointment as we looked like the Magic of old, struggling with the Hawks. SVG must have had a convincing halftime chat with the team because they came out ready. We bumped the lead to double digits and despite some comeback attempts, we didn't let them challenge much.

During much of the second half Coach Stan Van Gundy went with a lineup of:
Foyle
Garrity
Bogans
Redick
Dooling

This lineup would normally be horrid on both ends of the court. Yet, tonight they held their own and play good defense. That kept the Hawks at bay and the lead in double digits.

Dwight - 15 points/13 rebounds
Hedo - 17 points/8 assists
Rashard - 12 points/5 rebounds/5 steals

Marvin Williams and Salim Stoudemire led the Hawks with 16. We luckily kept Joe Johnson at bay for tonight's game and he finished 5-12 with 10 points, 3 assists, 3 assists.

Recap & Boxscore

Our next and LAST game of the season is tomorrow night at home against the playoff-bound Washington Wizards.

Tonight's Game: Magic @ Hawks

2008-04-15T13:11:00.003-04:00

Magic (50-30) vs. Hawks (37-43)

Sun Sports
Philips Arena
7 PM

Probable Lineups:
Howard C Horford
Lewis PF Williams
Turkoglu SF Smith
Evans SG Johnson
Nelson PG Bibby

Heading into the playoffs tonight, Van Gundy will slightly reduce the minutes of the big three. Hedo, Dwight, and Rashard need to be fresh and ready for the playoffs. But I think it's very important to keep them in rhythm and ready for the playoffs this weekend.

The Hawks’ final home game will be a celebration, as they face the Orlando Magic on Tuesday, one day after Atlanta secured the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference.

Even though the recent games have been largely meaningless to the Magic, we still have not played up to Playoff standards. Tonight we have to get it going and show the league we are for real. The Hawks game tonight is a great matchup because we regularly have trouble with them so this game is perfect. Time to show themselves and the NBA that the Magic are here to stay among the elite teams in the East.

Playoffs: Magic VS Raptors

2008-04-15T12:34:00.003-04:00

It is now for sure that we will play the Raptors in the first round of the playoffs. We haven't had much luck against them lately, though. We are just 5-9 in the last 14 games against them and just 1-7 in Toronto, recently. The Magic were 2-1 against them this season, but Bosh missed one of the games.

This is an intriguing match up and I can't wait for it to get started. I already have tickets to the first playoff game, here in Orlando at the Amway Arena. The times and dates are not known for sure yet, as the game is either Sunday (4/20) OR Monday (4/21). Most likely Game 1 will be Sunday, April 20. That is THIS Sunday, coming up, so mark your calendars. The games will probably be shown mostly on ESPN. On the ESPN program guide there is a spot for NBA Playoffs at 3 P.M. so the game could possibly be on at that time. But as NYC said there is a listing for a 3:00pm Game on ABC and then 5:30pm, 8:00pm, 10:30pm on TNT. So who knows. Updates will follow as we know more.

Counting Down the Days Until the Playoffs...

2008-04-14T17:06:00.002-04:00

If the playoffs started today we would face the Toronto Raptors in the first round. This is pretty scary for a few reasons. Chris Bosh can "cancel" out Dwight Howard on any given night. Calderon and Ford are light years above our point guards. And they have a good defensive team.

The good news for us is that they are the 2nd worst rebounding team in the NBA. BUT, they are a better offensive rebounding team than we are. Both teams are near the bottom of the league, though. We have dropped our turnover numbers this season but the Magic are still in the middle of the pack when it comes to turnovers per game. Good thing Toronto is in the bottom of the league when it comes to steals per game. But we still need to watch out for Ford; he is the fastest guy in the league.

Our main advantage would come at the times where Bosh does happen to cancel out Dwight. We have more offensive power to help out the big guy in times of need. Bosh, on the other hand, is their main offensive weapon. No other player on the Raptors averages over 13 points per game.

Tickets for the playoffs have gone on sale today, for the Magic. Yet the dates and times are still up in the air. A rep at the RDV said the dates should be known for the playoffs by Friday or Saturday. I'll be attending at least one home game in the first round. Lets get as many people in that arena as possible!! Buy your tickets early because they will be going fast!

50 Wins!! Magic 104 Bulls 84

2008-04-14T00:01:00.002-04:00

We finally have 50 wins! Turkoglu led us with 24 points, 4 rebounds, 8 assists and 5 turnovers. Lewis hit 4 three-pointers en route to 18 points. Howard added 19 points, yet he had a low rebounding night, finishing with only 5. Despite Howard's low rebounding number, we still won the rebounding battle 38-43. But Dwight needs a lot of credit tonight for his play at the free throw line. He was 13-17 tonight from the charity stripe. Good job Dwight.

Nocioni led the Bulls with 22 points off the bench and 4 three pointers.

Horrible point guard play tonight.. this is inexcusable. The coaching staff HAS to find a way to get more consistent play or we need another starting point guard. Arroyo and Jameer won't cut it if we keep getting performances like tonight's, from them.

“It’s important,” Turkoglu said. “I’m happy to be a part of it. This is my fourth year here. We’ve had ups and downs. This is special.”

Added Lewis, who came to Orlando in a sign-and-trade deal with Seattle: “It lets you know what the future holds for this franchise.”

We know we will be the third seed but we don't know just yet who we will play. Getting the Wizards in the first round is already out of the question. So now its down to either the Sixers or Raptors. It's looking more and more like we will face the Raptors in the opening round. The Raptors and the Sixers each are 40-40, and if they ended the season tied, the Raptors would claim No. 6 because they own the first tiebreaker --- regular-season head-to-head matchup. The Raptors won the season series 3-1.

Check out the Recap and Boxscore.

Tonight's Game: Magic @ Bulls

2008-04-13T12:46:00.005-04:00

Magic (49-30) vs. Bulls (31-48)

United Center
Sun Sports
7 PM

Probable Lineups:
Howard C Noah
Lewis PF Thomas
Turkoglu SF Deng
Evans SG Hughes
Nelson PG Hinrich

The last time the Orlando Magic swept a season series from Chicago, the Bulls were on their way to finishing 40 games under .500.

While Chicago’s record may not be that bad this season, it’s still winding a disappointing campaign.

Orlando looks to complete its perfect season against the Bulls when the teams meet on Sunday at the United Center.

The Magic (49-30) have outscored Chicago (31-48) by 16.0 points in winning all three matchups this season, and are trying to go unbeaten against the Bulls in a single season for the first time since going 3-0 in 2001-02.

Chicago went 21-61 that season, one of six straight without a playoff appearance after winning three consecutive NBA titles. The Bulls returned to the postseason in 2004-05 and made it three years in a row before stumbling this season.

Orlando, meanwhile, is in the playoffs for the second straight season after wrapping up the Southeast Division - the franchise’s first division title since the 1995-96 season - and the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference.

The Magic, though, are struggling as the postseason approaches. They’ve gone 5-6 since clinching a playoff spot, including a 102-101 home loss to lowly Minnesota on Friday.

“There’s some troubling things that I don’t like at all,” coach Stan Van Gundy said. “But I would say that myself and my assistant coaches are the only ones concerned. I don’t think our players are real concerned about it.”

Magic Lose Heartbreaker In the Last Seconds: 102-101

2008-04-12T09:51:00.002-04:00

The Magic held the lead for the whole entire game... right up until the 2.9 second mark in the fourth quarter. Thats when Ryan Gomes hit two free throws to put them up 102-101 and win the game. Following Gomes’ free throws, Orlando took a 20-second timeout and called on Hedo Turkoglu for the game-winning attempt but his 3-point shot missed the entire goal.

Instead of a normal third quarter collapse, this time it was a fourth quarter collapse. We shot just 8-21 from the field in the fourth. We were ahead with the score 101-100 but we missed two shot attemps and Jefferson tipped the rebound and Gomes got it and was fouled.

Dwight had 20 points, 14 rebounds, and tied Shaq's 68 double-double mark from the 95'-96' season. Turkoglu had 23 points (14 in the first half), his 41st time topping 20 points. Rashard Lewis added 18. We shot a season-best 77.8 percent (14-of-18) from the field in the first quarter and rode three pointers and good shooting for most of the first half.

Orlando made 12 three-pointers, making it the 79th consecutive game the team has recorded at least five three-pointers in a game, the longest such streak in the NBA.

After the loss, Stan Van Gundy added extra insult to injury and salt to the wound. “There’s some troubling things that I don’t like at all,” he said. “But I would say that myself and my assistant coaches are the only ones concerned. I don’t think our players are real concerned about it.”

Boxscore
Recap

Tonight's Game: T'Wolves @ Magic

2008-04-11T10:52:00.003-04:00

Magic (49-29) vs. Timberwolves (19-59)

Amway Arena
Sun Sports
7 PM

Probable Lineups:
Howard C Jefferson
Lewis PF Gomes
Turkoglu SF Snyder
Evans SG Jaric
Nelson PG Foye

Say it with me -- F-I-F-T-Y-W-I-N-S! Yes 50 wins is what winning this game tonight, will get us. That is a big jump from the middle-of-the-pack Magic teams of yesteryears. Getting over the 50 mark gets you respect and shows your a "for real" team.

The Wolves lost to the Hornets 112-90 on Wednesday night. The Hornets earned the right to celebrate after setting a team record for victories while maintaining the top spot in the Western Conference with a victory at Target Center.

Dwight Howard leads the league with 67 double-doubles, but stud Al Jefferson is the next guy behind him with 52.

This Wolves team does have talent, just not much of it. They are not deep by any means, and struggle mostly on defense. But they are in the middle to bottom in just about every statistical category. Tonight should be an easy win. We should see Dwight go off for a huge game, as Al Jefferson is not known for his defense. He routinely gives up big numbers to opposing big men.

Just the Win We Needed: Magic win 115-83

2008-04-10T16:11:00.002-04:00

The Magic started off slow and the first quarter ended with both teams tied at 26. Our defense needed work and it looked to be another sucky night, here in Orlando. But the defense held up and our shots kept falling. Dwight had a big comeback game with 30 points and 14 rebounds, keeping the baby Bulls back.

Arroyo came off the bench in the first half and played well. He ended up with 13 points and 6 assists to go along with some nice passes and good shooting. Rashard Lewis hit 4 3-pointers to go along with 21 points and Hedo Turkoglu had 12 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists. Howard, Turkoglu, and Lewis had +/- scores of 28, 26 and 20, respectively. In contrast, only one player on the entire Bulls roster had a +/- of any positive number. That was Kirk Hinrich who only had a plus/minus of +1. Not impressive by any means. Carlos Arroyo had the highest plus minus of any player on the court, +43!

Both Nelson and Arroyo had a combined Assist/Turnover ratio of 11/3 (3.67), which signifies good point guard play. The Magic shot 51% from the floor but only hit 9 out of 26 three point attempts.

With about 5 minutes left to play, and a considerable lead up on the scoreboard, Van Gundy emptied the bench. There was a roaring standing ovation (as usual) for J.J. Redick, when he entered the game. He always seems to grin and smile when he hears the little girls screaming for him. I guess because he barely ever sees the court and it's pretty exciting for a bench warmer.

Here is the boxscore and recap for the game.

Tonight's Game: Bulls @ Magic

2008-04-09T12:32:00.002-04:00

Magic (48-29) vs. Bulls (30-47)

Amway Arena
Sun Sports
7 PM

Probable Lineups:
Howard C Noah
Lewis PF Thomas
Turkoglu SF Deng
Evans SG Hughes
Nelson PG Hinrich

With the Bulls loss to Miami on Tuesday, they officially will miss the playoffs for the first time in four years. They went from one of the favorites to possibly win the East, this season, to a bottom of the pack team. Now the only thing that matters to the Bulls, now, is jockeying for a good lottery spot.

The Bulls and Magic have faced off twice so far this season, with the Magic winning both. The last matchup was on January 15. The Magic won that game by double digits. The high scorer for the Bulls in that game is now-Cavalier Joe Smith with 13 points.

The Bulls are a better rebounding team than the Magic are, so this causes a major area of concern. If the Magic don't get serious about rebounding it will only give the Bulls more chances to score the ball and a better shot to win the game.

The Big Question

2008-04-08T14:49:00.003-04:00

The big topic recently is: Should the Magic play their starters consistently as the season is closing? I must say that Stan Van Gundy should remember that this team has won nothing. Getting into the playoffs is great and locking up the third seed is great too. But we haven't won a playoff game since the 2002-2003 season. These core players have little to no experience in the playoffs. Maybe SVG could limit the starters minutes just a little bit, heading into the playoffs. But, I don't think he should hold them out of any games or have them miss too much of one game.

Tony Battie has been ruled out of playing during the rest of the regular season and playoffs.
Also, Dwight Howard was hit in the mouth by a stray elbow from Marcin Gortat. He left practice, but is not expected to miss any games. I guess Dwight is getting what he deserves for putting Battie, Nelson, and Cook out for extended periods of time.

Magic Get Embarrased By Bottom Feeders; Lose to Knicks 100-90

2008-04-06T21:58:00.002-04:00

Wow. Our worst fear just came true. We lost to the Knicks. No on predicted this, yet everyone knew it could happen. Everyone, except the Dwight Howard and crew. Check out the horrendous boxscore and recap. We had another player get his season high and career high against us tonight: rookie Wilson Chandler. He had 23 points and 8 rebounds to lead the Knicks. Zach Randolph added 20 points, 11 rebounds, and 2 steals.

This Knicks win was just after an 0-5 record on the most recent road trip. The Magic, for some reason, seemed to run out of gas after the win in Cleveland.

Dwight Howard had 13 points and 15 rebounds for his 66th double-double of the season, tops in the NBA and two shy of Shaquille O’Neal's franchise record set in 1992-93. But despite the double-double, Dwight did not dominate as usual and looked lacksadaisical for the second game in a row. Howard only shot 3-10 from the free throw line tonight. Turkoglu had 22, 6 assists, 2 steals and Nelson had 19 points. Rashard Lewis, due to foul trouble, had only 6 points but added 9 rebounds and six assists. Evans had 16 points, 7 rebounds and hit 4 three pointers.

And here is something to lighten up the mood. A fan ran onto the court with Turkoglu shooting free throws in the fourth quarter, coming from behind one basket and running the length of the floor and into the seats behind the other one before security finally caught him.

Tonight's Game: Magic @ Knicks

2008-04-06T08:40:00.004-04:00

Magic (48-28) vs. Knicks (20-56)

Madison Square Garden
7 PM

Sun Sports

Probable Lineups:

Howard C Randolph

Lewis PF Lee

Turkoglu SF Jeffries

Evans SG Crawford

Nelson PG Collins

Sucks for the Knicks. Even though they are staring at a top 5 pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, they still have to play out the last 6 games of their schedule. Too bad for them they came across the playoff hungry Magic who will rock them, just like last time.

The Knicks don't have much to play for; and already have lost Curry and Marbury for the season. They routinely get beat and play lacksadaisical ball, so losing to these Knicks are not an option.

But good new for the Magic is that Dwight Howard has had eight 20-20 games. Two of them have come against the New York Knicks. He will make sure to bounce back with a monster game, like always, and what a great team to do it against tonight. This season Orlando has had three double-digit wins against the Knicks and we can sweep them for the first time since going 4-0 in 2001-02. Hedo Turkoglu is averaging 24.0 points and Rashard Lewis 22.7 against New York, this season.

New York is playing its first home game since naming Donnie Walsh president of basketball operations on Wednesday. The Knicks completed an 0-5 road trip with Friday’s 118-110 loss at New Orleans. Knicks coach Isiah Thomas has been booed constantly during home games, but isn’t worried about the status of his job with Walsh in charge. The Knicks have lost 17 of their last 19 games, with both wins coming against league-worst Miami.

Magic Pull Away In Second Half and to Lock Up #3 Seed and Get a 101-86 Win

2008-04-05T22:31:00.002-04:00

Check out the recap by Mike from Illinois over at Third Quarter Collapse. I'm too lazy to write a recap for tonight -- long day.

But...Here is the Recap and Boxscore.

Today's Game: Magic @ Cavaliers

2008-04-05T10:02:00.004-04:00

Magic (47-28) vs. Cavaliers (42-33)

Quicken Loans Arena

3 PM

ESPN

Probable Lineups:

Howard C Ilguauskas

Lewis PF Wallace

Turkoglu SF James

Evans SG Brown

Nelson PG West

Today's afternoon matchup of the #3 and #4 seed in the East, is a pivotal game for both teams. If the Magic win today, we clinch the #3 seed with 6 games remaining after this one. Winning this game puts us heading into a pretty easy stretch before the playoffs. We face New York, Chicago, Minnesota, then Chicago again, Atlanta, and then lastly Washington. All except Washington are sub .500 teams, with the Wizards being only 2 games over .500; so the remaining schedule isn't too tough.

These two teams matchup pretty well. In our last meeting, in Orlando, Dwight and Rashard led the way with 23 and 21 respectively. Its tough to have Ben Wallace chase around Rashard Lewis, so we do have an advantage there. James had 30, but thats expected. Ilgauskas wasn't himself in our last meeting, only scoring five points. Look for that total and his touches to improve. Dwight should do a good job besting him. Ilgauskas is averaging 18.6 points and 8.9 rebounds in his last eight games.

The Magic and Cavaliers will each look to avoid their fifth loss in seven games when they meet Saturday afternoon at Quicken Loans Arena. James is nearly averaging a triple-double in three games against Orlando this season - 32.7 points, 10.0 assists and 9.7 rebounds - but the Cavaliers have lost two of three. Orlando has won five of seven in the series, including its last two in Cleveland.

"I just try and go touch the sky every time I dunk."

2008-04-04T11:00:00.003-04:00

Check out this video linked on Hardwood Paroxysm. Props to ThirdQuarterCollapse for the link.

In other news:

Jameer Nelson should be back from injury on Saturday against the Cavaliers and will start in Arroyo's place.
Winning Saturday's game against Cleveland would allow us to clinch the #3 seed, as reported by Brian Schmitz. The Cavaliers losing to the Bulls last night, set up this senario for the Magic perfectly. Now all we need is a win. Easier said than done, I know. Schmitz states, "Cleveland would fall to 42-35 with just five games left on their schedule, meaning even if the Magic lost their remaining games and the Cavs ran the table, the Cavs couldn't reach 48 victories". We are leading the season series 2-1 so that puts us in good position heading into this game.

It's Official: We're Getting New Uni's

2008-04-02T17:20:00.002-04:00

New home and away jerseys are finally being designed. When asked about the new uniform rumor, by John Denton before the Hornets game, Alex Martins said "I can confirm that we have a new model in design now,'' Martins said Tuesday night before the Magic hosted the New Orleans Hornets. "There's a chance the new design might not be done in time for next season, but we are in the design process now.''

Martins said he couldn't confirm whether or not the Magic will delve into their past and bring back pinstriped uniforms. So this means they have not ruled out a possible return to pinstripes, yet they have not made a decision either way. If they do go the pinstripes route, that will be a very popular choice for the fans, as I'm sure Martins is taking that into account when making the decision.

The new uni's could be ready for next season, but there is no set time yet.

Magic Lose a Heart Breaker to Hornets 98-97

2008-04-01T21:34:00.002-04:00

Offensive rebounds. That is what killed us. The Hornets got 19 more chances from offensive rebounds than the Magic did, beating us 21-2 in that category!

The game started off a little slow for the Magic, yet we picked it up and played good ball in the first quarter. Dwight missed an alley-oop dunk, Arroyo drew 2 offensive fouls on Chris Paul, and even Pat Garrity checked in at 4:37 in the first quarter, for Turk. Arroyo drawing the two fouls sent Paul to the bench, bringing in Magic Killer Jannero Pargo, which was not a good sight to see for Magic fans. Good thing his shot was not falling much tonight. Oh wait we still lost. But, at the end of the first we led 27-21.

In the second, Dooling had a huge block on Jannero Pargo, who was running down the court for a layup on a fast break. And Dooling hit a huge jumper at the other end of the court, right after. Bogans nailed some big threes, ending up going 3-8 in the game from beyond the three point line. We led by 11 before the half, but the Hornets cut the lead down to single digits. The Magic still led 53-44 at halftime. After two, Dwight had 10/5, Hedo had 13/5/5, and Rashard had 3 three-pointers for 13 points.

Rashard Lewis picked up his third personal foul very early in the third quarter, meaning Garrity got more time on the court. Garrity continued to do nothing, throwing a post pass over Dwight's head and out of bounds. Morris Peterson, who scored in single digits in the Hornets past 10 games, lit it up tonight. He scored 19 points, going 5-6 from distance and kept the Hornets in the game during the 2nd and 3rd quarters. Hedo hit a huge 3 and had 20 points already before the 5 minute mark in the 3rd. At this time the Hornets had out rebounded us 15-1 in the offensive rebound category. This Hornets team is normally just a middle of the pack offensive rebounding team. This horrible performance in that stat really exposes our glaring weakness and the need we have to address. But Turk brought some life back to this team when He hit a fade away, 24-second shot clock buzzer beater from just inside the three point line. New Orleans went on a 11-2 run in the end of the 3rd to cut the lead to 2 points and the quarter ended with a Magic lead 76-74.

The fourth was a nightmare for Magic fans. We saw Chris Paul get it going offensively. The score was tied at 90 and we needed a big shot but Turkoglu couldn't come up with it. The Hornets went ahead by two but the Magic got a big fastbreak tomahawk by Keyon, over Peja Stojakovic. Evans hit a huge three to put us up 95 to 92, then Hedo travelled killing momentum. Morris Peterson pushed off Evans to get an inbounds play and the ref, (standing mere feet from the play) calls a foul on Mo. Peja hit the free throw and hit a big three pointer, his first and only one of the night and bumped the Hornets to a 96-95 lead. We then fouled Peja and the Hornets lead went to 3. Less than 10 seconds left to go and the Magic need a big bucket. Hedo got an easy dunk and then we fouled Chris Paul and to our amazement the 85% free throw shooter missed both shots. We were only down by one point and Hedo inbounded the ball to Rashard who thought he would get fouled. He put the ball on the floor only to be trapped, then dished it to Keyon who didn't expect the ball and threw up a bad shot. That was the end of the game right there. Hedo should have gotten the ball, not Rashard, not Keyon, not Dwight. Hedo is our game winning man, who has won many close games for us this season. The game ended a Hornets win 98-97.

Dwight - 17/15 Hedo - 26/5/7/5 TO Rashard - 24/1/4

Notes:

This was our 40th game this season with 10+ 3 point field goals made.

Bob Vanderwiede (who turned 50 today) and the Magic organization raised $105,000 to donate to local Boys & Girls clubs, here in Central Florida.

Our next game is Saturday on ESPN in Cleveland at 3PM. Then we fly to New York for a game on Sunday at 7 PM.

Magic Win Southeast Division!

2008-04-01T16:50:00.002-04:00

Finally after 12 years of waiting, the Southeast Division crown is ours again! Last night, we were able to clinch the division with a little help by Utah's destroying of Washington.

"It's a great accomplishment," Howard said. "I look at the three banners we have and say, 'Put some more banners up.' It's just shows where we have come from."

We can't forget how quick this team has rose from the ashes. Just four seasons ago this team was a league worst 21-61.

"To win a division is a great step," Van Gundy said. But there is much more work to do and much more room to add more banners in the arena.

We owe one to Utah for helping us beat out Washington once and for all, and helping us claim the division. Tonight, beating the Hornets will put Utah one step closer to home court advantage for them in the playoffs.

GO MAGIC!!!

Tonight's Game: Hornets @ Magic

2008-04-01T08:37:00.004-04:00

Magic (47-27) vs. Hornets (50-22)

Amway Arena

Sun Sports

7 PM

Probable Lineups:

Howard C Chandler

Lewis PF West

Turkoglu SF Stojakovic

Evans SG Peterson

Arroyo PG Paul

The Hornets are in first place in the West for now, but there is a good chance they wont finish the season there as not one team in the West has clinched a playoff spot yet. That's how close of a race it is.

As first reported by Brian Schmitz, the Magic likely have lost F Brian Cook for the rest of the regular season. The club must replace Cook's 12.2 minutes per game.

Chris Paul is having an MVP type season, so when (not if) he torches our point guards, I will not blame it on bad defense. He is just routinely sick and the best point guard in the NBA, in my opinion.

Gotta cut it short because of college classes, but checkout MagicMadness or Third Quarter Collapse for more coverage of tonight's game.

Cook Could Miss Rest of Regular Season

2008-03-31T16:48:00.002-04:00

Brian Cook got hit by Dwight Howard today in practice, fracturing his shooting hand which will cause him to miss about a week or two. But Otis Smith expects Cook to be ready for the playoffs, come April 20.

Cook will wear a hand cast and be re-evaluated around the end of the season. "I think you have to worry about him missing the regular season, but he should be ready for the playoffs," Smith said.

Goodness Dwight! You should be this physical with opponents instead of your own teammates! That's two teammates knocked out of games in the past two weeks!

Magic in Playoff Guessing Game

2008-03-30T11:26:00.004-04:00

It looks as if we won't be knowing who our first round matchup will be against. Were basically "stuck" in the #3 seed and now its just a guessing game to see who we will play. Washington, Philadelphia, and Toronto are all jockeying for position an the final 6th, 7th, and 8th seeds.

The Magic used to be lined up with the Wizards, then the Sixers and now its the Raptors at the #6 seed. So its anybody's guess who will end up there.

"This could go right to the end," said Magic Coach Stan Van Gundy. "So at this point, I don't think we can worry about one team." So, instead of preparing for just one team in a playoff matchup, he has his assistants preparing for 3 different teams. All that while still doing the normal preparations for the 8 remaining regular season games.

"We'll go back in a couple weeks and see if the picture is any clearer," Van Gundy said. "But it might still look the same." Van Gundy and staff have a lot to prepare for when the first round playoffs start at Amway Arena on April 20.

Good new is that the Magic have already shown they can beat any of those three teams, finishing 3-1 against the Sixers and 2-1 against the Raptors. We are 2-1 against Washington, playing the Wizards one more time on the last day of the regular season.

The Wizards definitley have the toughest remaining schedule, with 6 of their remaining 10 games against +.500 teams. The Raptors have the easiest of the remaining schedules. Only two of their final 10 games are against teams above .500. The 76ers play four of their remaining nine games against teams with winning records.

"At this point, we just need to focus on ourselves, regardless of who we see in the playoffs," Van Gundy said. "And I know what we need to do to get better."

Magic Go on to Easy Win 103-86

2008-03-29T00:00:00.000-04:00

The Magic started well and ended well. Hot shooting and high scoring. Good 'D' on the Bucks kept their scorers at bay. Arroyo played well in the starting role; he looked very poised and comfortable leading with the rock.

In the first quarter the Magic started strong and led by a good margin (by 17 at one point). The Bucks took a timeout and they came back in the game, after we led by 10+. But, Dwight was too much as Ruffin, Voskuhl, and Gadzuric all had at least 2 fouls. By the end of the first quarter dwight had shot 10 free throws and we led by eleven - 34 to 23.

The second quarter was a showcase of more horrible defense on the Bucks side of the ball and it didn't help that they shot 39% after the first two quarters. The Magic only had 4 TOs in the first half and Dwight already had 17 points in his first 18 minutes. Also, in the first half Dwight shot 11-14 free throws, yet he averages 11 shot per game (which leads the league). The Cookie Monster showed up big with 12 points, and Carlos again distributed the rock well with 4 assists and no turnovers. We led 60-43 after the first two quarters.

The third quarter was not home to a Third Quarter Collapse in tonight's game. We continued great defense on the Bucks and Arroyo continued his superb ball handling and distributing. There were lots of easy shots for the Magic as we continued to up our lead to over 20. Arroyo even hit a buzzer-beating 3 pointer to close out the third. We led by 24 after three, 87 to 63.

The fourth brought the end of Dwight Howard's easy routine night with 25 points, 11 boards and 2 blocks. We had a J.J and Gortat sighting for about 3 minutes each. Redick had 6 points on 3-3 shooting and Marcin did just about nothing in his short stint.

The Magic ended up destroying the lowly Bucks 103-86 and securing a new franchise record 24 road victories. The Magic hit over 5 threes for the 74th straight game. Rashard has been rebounding very well the last 10 games, averaging 7 boards, which he also had tonight along with 16 points. Hedo added 12 and didn't shoot particularly well, due to his wrist injury. Arroyo had 13 points and 9 assists; Mo added 10 and 6. The Bucks shot a crazy 102 shots and made 34% for the game while the Magic only shot 79 field goals, making 44%. The Magic were also 10-28 (36%) from the three point line. Normally if a team wins the rebounding statistic, they win the game. That wasn't so tonight as the Bucks had 59 rebounds to our 44, which was because we allowed them to get 25 offensive rebounds.

Your Magic get 3 days off before facing the New Orleans Hornets at home tuesday night. Also, the annual Black Tie and Tennies Gala is being held this Saturday at the JW Marriott-Grande Lakes. This event benefits the Orlando Magic Youth Foundation and the 2007 Gala raised more than $500,000!

Tonight's Game: Magic @ Bucks

2008-03-28T08:48:00.002-04:00

Magic (46-27) vs. Bucks (24-46)

Sun Sports
Bradley Center
8:30 PM

Probable Lineups:
Howard C Bogut
Lewis PF Villanueva
Turkoglu SF Mason
Evans SG Redd
Arroyo PG Williams

Even though the Bucks are underachieving, the Magic can't let their guard down again. These two teams faced off in December, and the Bucks blew us out of their building. Michael Redd was only 1 assist shy of a triple-double as he led the Bucks to a huge win against the then 16-6 Magic.

Now with some extra time to get some much needed rest, the Magic will try to win their 24th road game of the season tonight. Orlando (46-27) has dropped 18 of 21 games in Milwaukee since April 14, 1996, with 13 of those losses coming by double digits. The Magic have won only once in their last nine games at the Bradley Center. The Magic are a combination of three wins or Washington losses away from clinching their first division title since 1995-96. Winning tonight's game will give us the team record for most road wins in a season.

Lately, the defense has been solid but Orlando’s offense, which turns out an Eastern Conference-best 104.6 points per game, has been lacking. The Magic have averaged just 96.5 points in losing three of four, including the 107-97 defeat to San Antonio on Tuesday.

The Magic fell to 13-6 since the All-Star break. ... Orlando is five games ahead of Cleveland for third place in the Eastern Conference with nine games left in the regular season.

Hedo Will Play Friday, Jameer Likely WIll Not

2008-03-27T16:40:00.003-04:00

This post by Brian Schmitz says that Hedo has participated in light shooting drills in practice, and will give it a go for Friday's game against Milwaukee.

Nelson doubts he will play, as he is still recovering from concussion-like symptoms. He said he was dizzy and felt nauseous. Carlos Arroyo will get the start if Nelson can't go, which seems likely.

Also, Otis Smith is leaning towards keeping Tony Battie from returning at all this season. "It's my decision, not Tony's," Smith said.

Magic Fans Can Breathe Again - Hedo and Jameer Day-to-Day

2008-03-26T13:27:00.002-04:00

Brian Schmitz reports that Hedo AND Jameer, both, are day-to-day with thier various injuries. Hedo was diagnosed with only a sprained wrist, which gives much relief to the Magic and their fans who can no breath a sigh of relief. This scare was from a previous report by Brian Schmitz, where he discussed how a severe injury to Hedo's wrist could knock him out of the rest of the season, and playoffs; taking the Magic's season down with him.

As BQR mentions, "Keith Bogans and Carlos Arroyo would likely start for Turkoglu and Nelson, respectively, 'if' they are unavailable Friday in Milwaukee."

Magic Lose Nelson and Turkoglu, and The Game As Well 107-97

2008-03-25T22:48:00.005-04:00

I was at this game only to realize that all of a sudden Nelson AND Turkoglu were missing. I looked around as many fans were asking what happened. I saw Nelson walk into the locker room earlier in the 1st half but I hadn't seen where Turk dissapeared to. Then I realized they were both injured, what luck. As 3QC reports, Jameer Nelson left the game with a chin contusion and Hedo Turkoglu with a sprained wrist.

One would think that losing Turkoglu and Nelson in the first half, would mean automatic doom. No so tonight. Dooling and Arroyo stepped up off the bench and had us leading 69-61 in the 3rd quarter, but we couldn't pull it off in the end. Too much Ginobili and missing free throws killed us. Dooling and Arroyo played great as they finished with 19 and 17, respectively.

To make matters worse, we let the Spurs shoot just about 60% (actually 58%, but close enough) in the first half and they seemed to never miss. Our defense was dreadful. J.J. entered the game in the first half and the crowd went nuts. But it was all for nothing, as he went en route to a 0-5 night, ending up with 2 points. But as if thats not bad enough, he lost his defensive assignment, and single handedly gave the Spurs countless opportunities to come back.

Then Bogans got fouled on a 3 pointer, and missed all three free throws. That just about did it. After that, the momentum changed to the Spurs favor and we just looked lost.

Duncan killed us with his high-post jump shot and sweet free throw shooting. Dwight needs to be taking notes on his game because adding a nice shot and good FT shooting, like Duncan, will make him unbeatable.

Dwight did post a 20-20 game with 24 points and 21 rebounds. But Howard did miss some critical free throws and ended up 4-8 from the line, for the game.

Here is the boxscore and recap.

Spurs @ Magic

2008-03-24T17:36:00.005-04:00

Magic (46-26) vs. Spurs (47-23)

Amway Arena

7 PM

FSN FL (Last game on FSN this season)

Probable Lineups:

Howard C Oberto

Lewis PF Duncan

Turkoglu SF Bowen

Evans SG Finley/Ginobili

Nelson PG Parker

The Magic lost badly to the Spurs early in the season, 128-110, when Tony Parker became the first of many point guards to have a big game against the Magic this season. Parker had 32 on us, over in San Antonio, so now its time to kick them back home with a loss.

Ginobili had 27 off the bench, just adding to the list of guards who have routinely killed us. Lucky for the Magic that those two are great players on a great team so we don't look as bad. Bowen tried to put the clamps on Turk, limiting him to just 9-18 shooting on the night, but Turk still had 26 points.

Dwight needs to play well against Tim Duncan, as he has been held under 20 points for five of the last six games.

This Spurs team is what everybody in the league wants to be like; able to turn it on at any time. Even though the Spurs have slipped up recently, they still are the team to beat in the NBA.

And, check out this post at Third Quarter Collapse, where Ben Q. Rock lays out "Stan's suit-and-turtleneck look [...] squaring off against Andrei Kirilenko's spouse-approved once-a-year extramarital relations". You can vote for Stan (or AK47 if you choose) here.

I'll be at the game with a bunch of family, you guys without FSN should join us... If there is even tickets left.

Check out this blog post by Brian Schmitz, of the Orlando Sentinel, where he voices his thoughts that SVG should showcase J.J.'s talents in the final ten games.

Hawks hand Magic rare road loss 98-90

2008-03-23T00:05:00.003-04:00

Dwight grabbed on of his game-high 16 rebounds here, but the Magic still lost.

I missed the game due to work, but I'll recap it the best I can. I guess I'm kinda glad I was working and couldn't see the game because it wouldn't make me too happy.

Well, Dwight needs to be more dominant. 11 points for a SUPERSTAR and franchise cornerstone against his hometown team, won't cut it. Dwight needs to get beat up or slapped or something because he has to bring the intensity and fire to every game. Going 3-5 (!!) from the field won't cut it Dwight!!! Thats horrible. 5-11 from the free throw line is not any better either. Yeah it's nice that he got 16 rebounds, 2 steals, and two blocks, but all that stuff doesn't matter when you lose! This franchise can't beat the bottom teams.. gosh it makes me so mad. How can we expect to win a playoff series, if we keep having games like this?? Other teams go on big winning streaks but we just can't.

Back to the game...Anyways, our team high in assists (4!) was Bogans and Dooling, both off the bench I might add. We shot 56% from the line... horrible. We have alot of work to do. When the shots don't fall, we seem screwed. Dwight's offense is horrible when we can't space the floor and hit shots. He needs to find a way to get more involved and carry this team every night like the rest of the superstars. D12 can rely on Rashard and Hedo to win the game all the time, because as you can see, that doesn't always happen.

Of course Joe Johnson killed us for 34 points, 7 assists and Josh Smith had 19 points and 9 rebounds. I must say, they look to be just a good bench, and maybe a better small forward, away

from really being a great team.

Here is the Recap and here is the Boxscore.

Tonight's Game: Magic @ Hawks

2008-03-22T08:41:00.002-04:00

Magic (46-25) vs. Hawks (29-39)

Philips Arena

FSN FL

7 PM

Probable Lineups:

Howard C Horford

Lewis PF Smith

Turkoglu SF Williams

Evans SG Johnson

Nelson PG Bibby

Yea! Tonight we get to play another team that gives us fits.

Horford had 20 points, 16 rebounds, and 6 assists on Wednesday against New Jersey.

Atlanta really needs tonight's game as New Jersey is biting on thier heels for the 8th and final playoff spot. The Nets are only 1/2 a game back from the Hawks, for that spot.

Our starters should be well rested since Dwight only played 23 minutes and the rest of the starters all played less than 30 minutes, except Rashard who played 33.

The Magic (46-25) opened the season with a franchise-record seven consecutive road wins, and currently have the league’s second-best road record at 23-12. Orlando, which has won six of its last eight away from Amway Arena, needs one more road victory to set a new club mark. The 1995-96 team went 23-18 away from Orlando - the only time it’s ever finished with a winning road record.

This will be Orlando’s first trip this season to Philips Arena, where it hasn’t won since Nov. 26, 2004. After this game, the Magic have five road games remaining, including another trip to Atlanta on April 15.

This year's team is leading the NBA with 672 3-pointers made which shattered the franchise record of 622 set by the 1995-96 team. They also have attempted 1,753 shots from the arc, besting the previous the club best of 1,662 by the 1996-97 team. The Magic still have 11 games remaining this season.

Dwight Howard had 62 double-doubles last season and currently has the same number right now, still with 11 games left.

Magic Blow Out Sixers 113-95

2008-03-22T08:02:00.005-04:00

Orlando Magic Dancer Shana performs during the game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Amway Arena on March 21, 2008 in Orlando, Florida.

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP)—The Orlando Magic felt like they had something to prove after a one-point home loss earlier this week.

They responded with one of their best outings of the season Friday night.

Rashard Lewis scored 18 points and Orlando led by as many as 34 in a 113-95 win over the Philadelphia 76ers. Eight Magic players scored in double figures, and Dwight Howard had 13 points and 12 rebounds in just 23 minutes.

“We definitely wanted to send a message, especially redeem ourselves after last time in Philadelphia,” said Jameer Nelson, who had 12 points and seven assists.

It wasn’t just the Feb. 27 Philly loss, though. It was also an 87-86 disappointment Wednesday against the division rival Washington Wizards.

“I thought they would be a little bit stronger and a little bit tougher because they knew they had a game they probably should have won the other night,” Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks said. "They thought they let one get away and they probably came out with a little bit more muscle tonight.”

Louis Williams scored 18 for Philadelphia, Andre Iguodala added 14 points and reserve Rodney Carney had 11 points. The 76ers, who at 34-35 are still trying to clinch an Eastern Conference playoff spot, had won four in a row and 10 of 12.

Orlando was a blistering 14-of-23 from 3-point range for the game, compared with 4-for-13 for Philadelphia. “It’s obviously a huge part of the way we play, and a big weapon,” Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. “It opens things up.”

“I think every team in the league is trying to figure out how to play them,” Philadelphia guard Andre Miller said of the inside-out combination with Howard. “It’s kind of tough because you have to give them their respect, and their wing players can all shoot the ball.”

Hedo Turkoglu had 16 points and nine assists and Keyon Dooling scored 13 for the Magic. Jameer Nelson had 12 points and seven assists and Maurice Evans scored 12, Keith Bogans added 11 points and Brian Cook scored 10.

Boxscore

Tonight's Game: Sixers @ Magic

2008-03-21T10:15:00.002-04:00

Magic (45-25) vs Sixers (34-34)

Amway Arena

7 PM

Sun Sports

Probable Starters:

Howard C Dalembert

Lewis PF Evans

Turkoglu SF Iguodala

Evans SG Green

Nelson PG Miller

Another possible playoff matchup against another scary team for us. Every team with a good point guard is scary, especially a big PG. Miller tore us up in the last meeting between these two teams.

Philly is finally going to get above .500, if they win this game. The Magic need this win after losing to the Sixers last month, in a terrible game we should have won. In that game, Miller and Green, the Sixers’ starting backcourt, outscored Orlando starting guards, Jameer Nelson and Maurice Evans, 52-2. Magic coach Stan Van Gundy called the Sixers “the best running team in the league.”

“Twenty-plus fast-break points is the way we’re trying to play,” Cheeks said.

They used all that running to their advantage and it helped keep Dwight mostly out of the game. Orlando All-Star Dwight Howard, who managed 14 points on 6-for-13 shooting and 16 rebounds. He also went just 2-for-7 from the free-throw line.

“I was just frustrated. I couldn’t hit a lot of shots. I missed a lot of free throws,” Howard said. “It was just myself. They played great defense, but I was really frustrated on the offensive end.”

And we need this win even more to prove to ourselves, and to the Wizards, that we are better than that terrible showing on Wednesday. Time to show the league what we can do. We have to win this game tonight.

Plus, losing this game would put us in a bad spot at attaining SVG's goal of 55 games. Third Quarter Collapse has the table of the upcoming games and projects the rest of the season here.

What Goes Up Must Come Down..Hard

2008-03-20T16:28:00.003-04:00

Time for some humor. I found this video on Youtube.com of Marcin Gortat "attempting" a dunk over some mascots. Enjoy. :D

Wizards 87, Magic 86; Turk Sets Career High in Loss

2008-03-20T10:40:00.002-04:00

Life beckons... sorry for no post game this time.

Better yet, check out the recap at Third Quarter Collapse and the game thread at MagicMadness.

But here is the Boxscore and Recap.

No Arenas Tonight

2008-03-19T14:44:00.001-04:00

Gilbert Arenas Out for Tonight's Game

The Washington Times - Gilbert Arenas confirmed on Tuesday evening that he
will not return for the Wizards on Wednesday night against the Magic, according
to The Washington Times. "I'll just have to wait to see how it is in Orlando,"
said Arenas. He said that he will probably wait another week before returning to
the floor, and hinted that he wouldn't be so worried if Washington wasn't in the
playoff hunt. "If we weren't in the playoffs, it wouldn't even be a discussion.
But we have a chance of being pretty good in the playoffs, so it's tough,"
Arenas added.

Link

Tonight's Game: Wizards @ Magic

2008-03-19T14:30:00.003-04:00

Magic (45-24) vs. Wizards (33-33)

FSN FL

7 PM

Amway Arena

Probable Lineups

Howard C Haywood

Lewis PF Jamison

Turkoglu SF Butler

Evans SG Stevenson

Nelson PG Daniels

We could be playing our first round matchup tonight. It is unclear if Arenas will actually get some meaningful minutes, but he is expected to make his debut tonight after the injury.

Its their "Big 3" versus our "Big 3" in the playoffs. So these teams matchup pretty well. Containing Jamison is the main focus, since Butler has only been back for two games due to injury problems.

We played the Wizards just a few weeks ago, up in D.C. where we whooped them up from the start, and never looked back. Jamison and Stevenson had 19 and 17, respectively, but they just didn't have enough fire power.

The Wizards just lost to the Hawks two nights ago, but still remain in the 6th spot staring up at us at #3. The #6 seed is not set yet, as Toronto, Washington and Philadelphia are all within 1 game of each other; all playing for the same spot.

Happy Birthday Hedo!

2008-03-19T08:28:00.003-04:00

Today is Hedo's 29th birthday. He is more than deserving of the best birthday ever as he is the main reason the team is where it is today. He is averaging a career best in points (19.7), rebounds (6.1), assists (4.9), and minutes per game (37.8). He is currently in the running for Most Improved Player with his markedly improved play.

Time to celebrate a spectacular season. Bottoms up!

Magic Win in a Playoff Atmosphere; Beat Cavs 104-90

2008-03-17T21:38:00.003-04:00

This game had the feel of a playoff game. These two teams battled it to the end and it seemed like Cleveland had a sizable lead in the 2nd half. But Orlando didn't falter, instead fighting back and eventually winning by 14.

In the first quarter the Magic started 1-10 from the field and had only 2 points until 6:41 left in the quarter. Dwight did have 2 blocks in the first 3 minutes, though. We limited the Cavs to bad shooting, but they did the exact same thing. The Magic trailed 23-20 after one, and the Cavaliers finished the quarter on a 9-3 run. Ironically on St. Patrick's Day, Pat Garrity, the native Irishman, was one of the first guys off the bench for your Magic. Pat played the most minutes off the bench in the first half. That first half showcased our high scoring forward duo in a bad shooting performance. Hedo and Rashard collectively went 1-9 for 2 points after the first two quarters.

We trailed 45-40 after two quarters, with Lebron putting up 14 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists to lead the Cavs. In the second half it was another story. Instead of the shutout Rashard had in the first half, he blew up for 21 points in the second half to lead the Magic to victory. Hedo also stepped it up and had 18 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists in the game.

Dwight led the way, as usual, with 23 points, 13 rebounds and two blocks. After going 0-5 from the free throw line against Indiana, he came out and shot 11-15 (73%) tonight. Dwight had his 60th double-double tonight, which leads the NBA. Superman has had 212 double-doubles out of the 315 career games he has played. Which is 67% of his total games were double-doubles. WOW.

Boxscore.

Recap.

Game Pics.

Tonight's Game: Cavaliers @ Magic

2008-03-16T23:23:00.003-04:00

Magic (44-24) vs. Cavaliers (38-29)

Sun Sports

Amway Arena

7 PM

Probable Lineups:

Howard C Ilgauskas

Lewis PF Wallace

Turkoglu SF James

Evans SG Pavlovic

Nelson PG West

Now this should be a game. I have a bad feeling about this one. Well, first off we have the two old buddies from St. Joes, going head-to-head tonight at the point guard position. My question is who will Ben Wallace guard? Lewis? I dont think he can keep up with him. That should be a matchup in our favor, especially because Lewis won't have to do much on defense with Wallace.

Sunday night Big Z had 16 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 blocks in his first game back from a 7 game absence due to injury. Ben Wallace played only 27 minutes, yet he had 15 rebounds. Lebron had his usual MVP type game. The Magic better watch out or there will be some serious butt whoopings going on in Orlando.

Our last matchup was the all too familiar Hughes-with-40-points game. Lebron had 29 points, 10 assists, and 7 rebounds. The Cavaliers outscored us in every quarter except the first. In that game we missed 10 free throws, shot 39% from 3 point land, and let the Cavs shoot 54% from the field. Were gonna have to do better than that if we wanna come out victorious.

And from the O-Sent: Confetti fell from the Amway Arena rafters Saturday night. The public address announcer alerted the sell-out crowd that the Orlando Magic had clinched a playoff berth with 14 games left after dispatching the Indiana Pacers 122-111.Fans let out a throaty roar.Inside the Magic's dressing room, players were ecstatic. . . over the fact there would be no practice today. Oh, the clinching? Ho and hum."It's business as usual -- and that's a good thing," point guard Jameer Nelson said. "It's just one less thing to worry about."

Playoffs Here We Come! Magic Clinch Playoff Berth With 122-111 Win Over Pacers

2008-03-15T21:43:00.006-04:00

Mr. 4th Quarter took over once again! Hedo Turkoglu scored 9 of his game high 27 points, in the fourth quarter to lead the Magic to victory. He also added 4 rebounds, 6 assists, and shot a spectacular 13-23 (57%) from the floor.

Collectively as a team, the Magic shot 64% on field goals for the game and 60% on 12-20 three pointers. Maurice Evans had one of his best games of the season with 19 points. He only missed one shot, a three pointer. Evans scored 17 points in the third to give Orlando a 91-80 lead heading into the 4th quarter. Dwight fouled out in the end but not before putting up 18 points, 12 rebounds and 3 blocks.

We held the Pacers to 8-21 (38%) on threes, but they did shoot 50% from the floor. Danny Granger led the Pacers with 24 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals, and a block. Mike Dunleavy had 18 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists.

Although the Magic led by as many as 18 points at one time, the Pacers chipped away and drew to within 104-100 midway through the fourth period on former Magic point guard Travis Diener's 3-point jumper.

Our old bench warmer Travis Diener ended up coming off the bench with 5 points and 5 assists. MagicMadness even had a little change-up, for tonight's game, to recognize the Basketball God that is Travis Diener.

With this impressive win tonight we have clinched a postseason berth for the second consecutive season. Now with that team goal out of the way... next in line is to secure the highest possible seeding and win as many games as possible.

The Magic's X-Factor and downfall? Turnovers. We looked like the Magic of old out there tonight, turning the ball over 22 times and only forcing 13. Dwight had 7 of them, Nelson 5, and Turk 4. We have to keep better control over the ball or we WILL NOT last long in the playoffs.

Check out these cool game photos. Also here is the boxscore and recap.

Tonight's Game: Pacers @ Magic

2008-03-15T10:56:00.003-04:00

Magic (43-24) vs Pacers (24-40)

7 PM

Amway Arena

FSN FL

Probable Lineups:

Howard C Foster

Lewis PF Murphy

Turkoglu SF Dunleavy

Evans SG Granger

Nelson PG Diener

Danny Granger has averaged 20ppg in the month of March and 18.4ppg on the season. He is a matchup problem waiting to happen at around 6'8". Next to him is Mike Dunleavy, who has averaged very similar stats: 20.5ppg this month and 18.2ppg this season.

This is the first return of former Magic benchwarmer (and basketball God to some), Travis Diener. We lost to the Pacers earlier this season, but it was in Indiana. Diener is only averaging 7 points and 3 assists, but has had some nice games this season.

The Pacers routinely score about 103ppg and we average giving up 100.1ppg a night. So they score more than we normally give up. We better watch out because they have the potential to score a lot, just like us. And after last night's scare, they better be on their toes.

For more info here is the Yahoo game preview for tonight's game.

Magic Pull Away Late to Grab a 103-94 Victory

2008-03-14T22:02:00.003-04:00

Just like Hedo looks in this pic, the Magic must have been thinking: "What the heck happened out there?"

The Magic held of a surging Heat squad - but just barely. It was neck-and-neck all the way until the end. Jason Williams scored the 2nd most points in his career - 34. He looked like an All-Star, and kept his team in the game, without much outside help. Not only did Williams have 34 points, but also 6 rebounds and 7 assists. His biggest help was Daequan Cook, who scored 15 points before fouling out. Those two players carrying the load and keeping them in the game? Now that's a scary thought. It's worse when you find out that is exactly what happened tonight. All this was done... without Shawn Marion! Wow, that just makes this win feel even worse.

Either way, we got the win, and have swept the Heat two years in a row. This game was very scary and a lot closer than we all imagined and hoped for. But I think it's just because of the rivalry intensity; just like the Lakers and Clippers games. No matter their record, every game between those two teams is like a playoff game. I'm assuming that is how it is for these in-state rivals.

A big portion of the close game can be contributed to Dwight. He was on the foul line numerous times. He shot 16 free throws, making only a measly 6. Thats 38%, ouch! Dwight did have 18 points, and 16 rebounds, but he had 4 turnovers also. He had just gone through a stretch of 4 games where he shot 75%. What happened out there?

The team game ball must be given to Jameer Nelson who played a very efficient and effective game tonight. 21 points, 7 assists, and 4 rebounds don't tell the whole story. Jameer shot 6-7 field goals, 3-4 three pointers, and 6-6 from the free throw line. Best of all? He had NO turnovers! N-I-C-E!

As usual, here is the game boxscore, recap, and photos.

Tonight's Game: Magic @ Heat

2008-03-14T13:57:00.002-04:00

Magic (42-24) @ Heat (11-52)

FSN FL

7:30 PM

American Airlines Arena

Probable Lineups:

Howard C Blount

Lewis PF Marion

Turkoglu SF Davis

Evans SG Cook

Nelson PG Williams

The Magic have a 29.5 game lead on the Heat. That just about says it all right there. They have Marion and Davis, but that is not nearly enough to win. Their role players are all scrubs that seem to have been plucked from the D-League. That being said, if we lose to them... I'll pull my hair out.

The previous meeting between the two teams was January 30th of this year, where the Magic pulled away at the end. We were up for a while but they inched back and scared our team into the possiblity of losing to the worst team in the NBA. The Magic ended up pulling through but we can't have the same mindset this time or we might actually lose.

The Magic have locked up their first winning season in five years, with the win against the Clippers on Wednesday. “It feels good to have a winning season, but we’re not satisfied,” Howard said. “We’ve got a lot of stuff to work on for the playoffs. We want to be great so you’ve got to push to get better.”

Gotta cut it short, but for more... check out Ben Q. Rock's preview.

Magic Defeat Clippers 110-88

2008-03-13T09:37:00.008-04:00

With this win we are now 18 games over .500 and the Magic have a record of 42-24. That is already 2 games better than last season; yet we still have 16 games left. We have now won 10 of our last 13 games.

Dwight had 22 points, 13 boards, 3 blocks, and 7 turnovers. Last night's double-double gave him 57 on the year; 11 more than the 2nd place competitor: Al Jefferson. He has 11 double-doubles in a row and is nearing the record held by Shaq for most in a row (18).

Evans has made 30 consecutive starts and has been one of the most consistent starters on the team. Against the Clippers he put up 13 points, 4 rebounds, and hit 2 big 3 pointers.

This game did not start like it ended - instead, our first three possessions were all turnovers. We started trailing 7-1, yet at the end of the 1st quarter we led by 13 - Magic 32, Clippers 19. At the end of the first Dwight just about had a double-double with 14 points and 9 rebounds. He had NO rebounds in the 2nd quarter and finished the first half with 16 points and 9 rebounds. At the end of the first half the Magic were up 15 - Magic 63, Clippers 48.

Arroyo ran the offense well in this game. You probably haven't heard that comment from me often, huh?

In the last 4 games, Dwight has significantly improved his free throw shooting. He has gone 30-40 (75%), in those games; but his free throw percentage for the season is still 59.9%.

We are now 24-0 when the opponent doesn't score 95 points or more, so thats an incentive to the team to always play tough defense.

From the Yahoo game recap: "The Orlando Magic have a list of late-season goals written on the blackboard in their locker room. They were able to erase the one at the top Wednesday night.
Dwight Howard had 22 points and 13 rebounds to help the Magic beat the Los Angeles Clippers 110-86, securing their first winning season since the 2002-03 season. 'We’ve got some guys in our locker room who have never had a winning season and I think you’ve got to appreciate some of the things you accomplish during a season,' Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. 'The next goal is to wrap up a playoff spot and then win our division and secure home-court for the playoffs.'"

In other news... Garrity played his 500th game here against the Clippers scoring 2 points on 1-1 shooting.

Dwight got injured in the second half and did not return. His injury is reported as not very serious: a bone bruise. He is day-to-day and his status for Friday's matchup with the Heat, in Miami, is unknown. The Magic should hold him out if he is not 100%. Even if we some how lose, it is not worth him injuring himself worse.

Check out the boxscore, recap, game photos, and the recap at Third Quarter Collapse.

Tonights Game: L.A. Clippers @ Magic

2008-03-12T13:31:00.002-04:00

Magic (41-24) vs Clippers (21-41)

Sun Sports

Amway Arena

7 PM

Probable Lineups:

Howard C Powell

Lewis PF Thornton

Turkoglu SF Maggette

Evans SG Ross

Nelson PG Knight

Cuttino Mobley will make another return to the team he played for 23 games in the 04-05 season. Last meeting between these two teams, in January, he scored 16 points on 6-13 shooting. In that same game, Dwight scored 17 points, added 17 rebounds and four steals as the Magic took a 113-106 victory out of L.A.

Chris Kaman is most likely out for tonights game, due to a lingering left shin contusion injury, that kept him out of Monday's matchup with Miami. In that game against Miami, Mobley came off the bench for 29 points; Maggette and Thornton added 22 each. We can't sleep on this team, even without their two top big men. They still have a wealth of scorers like Mobley, Maggette, and the rookie Al Thornton.

Corey Maggette will frequently drive to the rim and look to get the foul. He is #5 in the NBA at free throws attempted per game.

Look for a huge game from Dwight Howard as the Clippers are already in trouble without Brand, and now most likely Kaman, also. Dwight should have is way with the Clippers, down low, so Van Gundy will make sure the guys get Dwight the ball often.

Hedo is coming off of his 2nd triple-double in 16 games, as he continues to shine as the point-forward, feeding off Dwight's ability to force double teams.

Magic Shoot Down Hawks 123-112

2008-03-10T21:39:00.007-04:00

"Me and Jameer really had to get our team going." - Post-game comments by Dwight Howard

Just like the quote above, that's exactly what they did. Dwight and Jameer came out firing and accounted 23 points out of the Magic's first 54 points. Dwight ended the first quarter with 12 points and 5 rebounds to lead the Magic to a 36 point first quarter. He finished with a all-too common, super-human statline: 26 points, 16 rebounds, 1 block and 1 steal. But best of all, Dwight finished the game shooting 10-15 from the free-throw line.

The Magic were up 21 after the first half 53 to 74. That 74-point effort matched the Magic's highest scoring half in team history. It tied the game when December 30, 1990 when Scott Skiles had 30 assists. The Hawks effective field goal percentage was a 57% which is amazing but they still trailed by a large margin. This was because of the Magic's blistering defense and high eFG% (71% in the first half). If Atlanta's defense was to pick up and our shots stop falling, then we would have been in big trouble. But just like Dwight said, he "had to get his team going". He did just that and kept it going throughout the game. Even when they made a run, the Magic fought back. Van Gundy kept most of the starters in until just about the end of the game.

Hedo was the star that shined the brightest. He had 17 points, 6 rebounds, and 10 assists... in the first half! He finished with 23 points, 10 rebounds, 13 assists in the game. That marks the second time in which Hedo had a triple-double. The previous occasion this season, was in a losing effort last month, against the Dallas Mavericks.

Rashard had 22 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Hedo and Rashard combined for 17-33 in field goals and 7-13 in 3 pointers. Lewis had 1 3-pointer in all but 2 games so far this season. Hedo brought the ball up more than, or just as much as, the point guards.

Joe Johnson had 20 in the 1st half; 27 points and 11 assists. Salim Stoudemire averages 5.3 a game and came off the bench for 4 3-pointers.

Here is the boxscore, recap, and photos of the game tonight. Here is a great recap over at Third Quarter Collapse.

The Magic's next opponent is the L.A. Clippers at the Amway Arena on Wednesday, March 12.

Tonight's Game: Hawks @ Magic

2008-03-09T23:59:00.000-04:00

Magic (40-24) vs Hawks (26-36)

Sun Sports HD

7 PM

Amway Arena

Probable Lineups:

Howard C Horford

Lewis PF Smith

Turkoglu SF Williams

Evans SG Johnson

Nelson PG Bibby

After getting two wins in one night, and jumping the Nets for the 8th seed, the Hawks have some momentum heading into the playoffs.

We last played the Hawks in the beginning of the season on December 10th. This was just after our 16-4 start and they helped take us out. They sent us home with a two-game losing streak and a blow to the team's confidence. We then went something like 17-17 coming up to around last week. In other words, they were a catalyst for our free-fall earlier this season, but we regained our ground. Now its time to regain our pride and knock off this Magic killer team.

Josh Smith destroyed us for 25 points ,16 rebounds, 4 blocks, 4 steals, 5 assists. Dwight did have 18 rebounds but the Hawks held him to 14 points, 5 turnovers and 5 fouls. Our PG's were all non-factor and provided no help in slowing Anthony Johnson or Joe Johnson manning the point. Now with Bibby at point guard for the Atlanta, it should be an easier task than sticking Joe Johnson. Should be.

Forcing turnovers is their middle name and they will look to do just that against our turnover prone team. We doubled them up in the turnover column, giving them almost ten more shots in the span of the whole game.

Look for Mike Woodson to go with Josh Smith, and Man-to-Man coverage, on Dwight for extended periods of time.

I saw the link on Third Quarter Collapse that Jameer Nelson is a game-time decision to play in tonights game.

Warriors Run All Over Magic: 104-95

2008-03-08T23:55:00.003-05:00

Dooling played only 10 minutes and proved ineffective in the 104-95 loss to the Golden State Warriors. It was his first game back and many hoped he could at least slow Baron Davis. No such luck. Baron Went off for 33 points, 9 assists, along with, 3 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, and 13-27 from the floor.

The Magic (.45%) did shoot better from the floor than the Warriors (.40). Once again Golden State threw up a three point barrage, hitting only 6 out of 24 attempts (.25%) and the Magic hit 10-21 (.48%).

Where the Magic's problems lay, was in the 'turnover' and 'steal' columns. GS forced 20 turnovers, and 19 were from the starters ! Only 1 turnover (Foyle) was from the bench players. And the worst part about it is that we onlyThe Warriors did a stellar job on Turkoglu and Jackson's defense helped force 7 turnovers by Hedo. Now, while Turk did have 23 points and 5 rebounds, the bad overshadowed the good. Every turnover given up to an amazing offensive team like this, leads them to baskets going the other way. The Warriors did just that and amassed 27 fastbreak points, and only allowed 7 to your Magic.

Dwight did have a great game with 26 points, 12 rebounds, 5 blocks and amazingly shot 10-14 from the free throw line. Rashard added 21 with 8 rebounds and 3 three-pointers, but all that scoring just wasn't enough.

Our bench only scored 10 points and compare that to the Warrior's 22 bench points. We can count on a strong showing by the big three, but we need more consistency from the guards if we don't want a repeat of last season in the playoffs.

The Magic hit five 3-pointers in the first quarter to extend their NBA record streak to 67 games with five or more 3s.

Here is the Boxscore, Recap, and Photos from the game.

Forshadowing: Free Agency Questions

2008-03-08T08:31:00.002-05:00

Here is some questions, reguarding the free agency this summer, I will examine. I got the idea from the 'open thread' over here at Third Quarter Collapse. A bunch of guys there were debating about some free agency questions (including me), so I decided to have my own.

Will Otis lock up Dooling? Can we finally rid ourselves of Arroyo (and his contract)? Is this J.J.'s final season on the Magic? Will we use his trade value to upgrade?

Dooling better stay. A lot of people don't realize his importance to this team. I would let go of Bogans and JJ before Dooling. I'm not saying he needs to start or anything, hes exactly what we need off the bench - not just an offensive spark, but a great defensive spark too. Keyon is very valuable to this team, and one of my favorite players on this team, by the way.

I don't think Arroyo will be back next year because resigning him would take up too much room for the other guys like Dooling and Evans. That means that Nelson will still start and Dooling will be the backup PG off the bench, with Hedo to help out sometimes at the 1. Considering that, and if Arroyo doesnt resign, maybe Otis will get another cheap option at PG. I just can't see Otis resigning Arroyo and not Dooling.

Also... J.J. does have two years left on his contract after this one so maybe he might actually be stuck on the bench. We might have to hear his whining for a few more seasons if Otis still thinks he is too valuable to let go. I think Otis will trade him after these past Marbury type whinings because he knows we dont need guys like that. Plus, sharpshooters are a hot commodity, and J.J. is pretty unproven at the NBA level. So saying that, I think we can get some good value in return. Im hoping teams will over-value him so we can either trade him (or package him), for an upgrade at the 1 or 2 spots.

Upgrading the point guard and shooting guard spots are the main problem, in the offseason, for Otis. Power forward should be fine with Battie coming back, as he can spell Dwight with rebounds and the occasional outside shot. A lot of people on message boards across the internet, clammored for Otis to trade for a starting power forward before the recent trade deadline. But people forget that once Battie returns this season or next, we will have a more-than-solid option there at the 4. The voids at the point and shooting guard are more gaping and need to be adressed first.

Two things need to be figured out about the point and shooting guard spots this offseason. Is Evans our long term answer at shooting guard? We have already locked up Nelson for five more years... Is he staying the starter at point guard and then will we just look for an upgrade at the two instead?

I don't think anyone can complain if Evans stays our starter at shooting guard. He is a great option, and just what we need to complement the other starters. Nelson is the big question. Will he finally break out and be the point guard he needs to be with that big contract? Do we upgrad the point guard and keep Nelson on the bench? If we do that then we are wasting all that money Otis gave to him. We have Nelson for five more years so, it seems were in a bind. Or does Otis try to trade Nelson and get a better point guard that way? I honestly don't think that will happen because he has stuck by Nelson after giving him the 5-year contract. Trading him will only make Otis look bad for giving it to him then trading him away - basically telling everyone he failed at the endeavor. Nelson isn't in an All-Star form, but he has been more than solid, and has had a better season than many give him credit for. Not nearly worth that contract though.

There are many questions reguarding the Magic's backcourt, but the point guard is the biggest question. The problem is we might not be able to upgrade there. Due to Nelson's contract and Otis not wanting to 'give up' on his signing and make himself look bad - we might be stuck. That leaves the shooting guard. We could possibly trade or sign another shooting guard; even the draft should be a good place to get a young option. But if all that fails, and were stuck back with Evans, I sure won't be complaining.

Gametime Baby!: Magic vs Warriors

2008-03-07T19:12:00.006-05:00

Magic (40-23) vs. Warriors (38-23)

Amway Arena

7 PM

Sun Sports

Probable lineups:

Howard C Harrington

Lewis PF Wright

Turkoglu SF Jackson

Evans SG Ellis

Nelson PG Davis

Even though this makes it a back-to-back game for the Warriors, there is no such thing as taking them lightly. They put up 134 last night on Miami, with 6 players in double figures, while they shot 54% as a team.

In the December 3rd meeting between these two teams lead to a 123-117 overtime thriller, and the highest scoring Magic game this season. In that game, the "small-ball" lineup of the Warriors, wreaked havoc on Dwight Howard. He finished with 18 points, 23 rebounds, 7 blocks, but also 9 turnovers. Two and three players swarmed Superman, every chance he got the ball. He put up some impressive numbers, but also gave up many turnovers.

The Warriors are mainly a "up and down team", so giving them extra possessions just allows them to rush down the court and score more buckets. We were super lucky last game that we didn't collapse in overtime, so we have to control the ball to win this game. The Warriors forced the Magic into 19 turnovers leading to many fast break points. The Magic had a 14 point lead, at one point, but the lead was squandered, and the Warriors came back to force it into overtime.

If the Magic get a big lead like the last meeting, its important to clamp down. Controlling Baron Davis will, of course, be the big story of this game. Who will guard him? Mo Evans? Then that leaves Nelson on Ellis... Both are tough matchups, but we will need Keyon Dooling more than anything in this game. Dooling is possible for this game, but I haven't found any official word on his status for the Golden State game yet.

While your waiting for tonight's game to start head on over to 3QC for Ben's preview with an interesting Q & A session with a Warriors fan. Since were playing Golden State, be sure to check out this lengthy but good article on Adonal Foyle.

Larry Hughes Is a Self Centered (Fill In The Blank)

2008-03-07T10:08:00.002-05:00

I found this link in John Denton's Forum at Florida Today. The article not exactly Magic related per se, but it does make me happy that Larry Hughes is far away from Orlando. Check out this quote and tell me if your not shocked at what he said. I could expect it from a selfish guy like him but its tough to believe in this "team first" kind of NBA we live in.

Hughes said before Sunday's game the Cavaliers' offensive system "wasn't my style. They wanted me to sacrifice things so we could win. In this system, there is more movement and draw and kicks."

Even that success didn't seem to satisfy Hughes.

"It was a good run," he said. "We had 50-plus wins, made the finals and I learned from it. I was unhappy, though, and wasn't myself. I'd rather enjoy the game than all that."

"I don't blame anyone for it," said Hughes, who was booed again in Sunday's pregame introductions. "I'm moving on and I am trying to get better."

What's wrong with the players today? So many of them are all about them. All I hear, here, is "Me! Me! Me!" " I! I! I!". What's wrong with you Larry? You must forget about the other players on your team who work hard, play hard, and train hard. You must have forgotten about one of your old teammates, who was immensely better than you. Lebron never complained about his role or wanting more. He worried about the team first, and you, because wins are more important to him. Thats obviously not #1 in your book. Or 2 or 3.

Even Larry's new Bulls fans booed him again in Sunday's game. Your such a selfish prick.

Redick: I Will Drop the Playing Time Issue

2008-03-06T15:26:00.004-05:00

In yesterday's blog post at redicklive.com, J.J.'s blog, he puts to rest all talks about playing time. He states how he is giving up on the persisting questions about him getting minutes. He finally realizes that it must be about the team, and not just him. Thats a big 'grow up' moment for him because before he had an arrogant attitude and called out his coach's philosophy.

Good job J.J.; just shut up and do what Stan Van Gundy tells you to do. Your on a successful team with high playoff hopes. Your a youngster in this league. You will get your shot. There is no need to put yourself before the team.

I’m honestly tired of any playing time questions and playing time articles. From now on I’m going to solely focus any blogs for the remainder of this season on our team. Yes, I don’t play a lot. Yes, I am not in the rotation. Those are facts. But it’s also a fact that I’m on a playoff team with the caliber to contend for the Eastern Conference championship. I’m going to drop the whole playing time issue, I hope everyone else will for the rest of this season.

Redick Talks About Magic Future: There Isn't One

2008-03-05T23:17:00.004-05:00

This video here shows how downright arrogant J.J. Redick is. He challenges his coach and gives the impression that he only cares about himself. Oh wait, I already knew that. J.J. states, I quote, ""We've talked and he's made it clear that I'm not going to be in the rotation. There's nothing I can do. Right now I'm just thinking about my future and I'm working for that more so than trying to get in the rotation. I don't think I'll be here a long time. I think Stan is going to be here a long time and his philosophy and my phillosophy don't really go together," Redick told Hirozawa." He is putting himself before the team and talking about "his philosophy". No. You do what the coach tells you because thats what they pay you millions to do! That angers me.

Props to Third Quarter Collapse for the link to the article and vid.

Magic Cast Spell on Wizards; Win by 30

2008-03-05T21:28:00.006-05:00

Wow! Just wow. I was expecting a win, but not this kind of win. The Magic dominated, with great ball movement, in a second half throw-out by the Wizards en route to a 30 point walloping, 122-92.

Rashard Lewis had three 3 pointers in the first quarter to set the tone for the rest of the game. The Magic had a 34-20 lead after the first quarter had ended. From about halftime on, the Wizards seemed to give up and play lackluster ball. In my eyes, it looked like the local AAU team came to play us. The Magic didn't need to play tough defense, the Wizards just sucked.

After his super hot shooting streak against us, Antawn Jamison finally had a bad shooting night. The Wizards had not played since beating the Hornets at home on Saturday night. The Magic were on the second night of a back-to-back.

We gave up only 2 fastbreak points all game to the Wizards! That one bucket was scored in the fourth quarter. They didn't have one fastbreak point in all the first 3 quarters, in this possible playoff preview.

This win gave us 40 on the season matching last season's win total. BUT, we still have 19 games left! 7 on the road, 12 at home. 5 against teams with over .500 record, and 14 against teams with less than a .500 record.

If you wonder about this great second half (or so) of the season, we look no further than Mo Evans. Ever since he was inserted into the starting lineup 27 games ago, we have gone 18-9. Mogans, as some call him, fell in love with that left corner three tonight. He buries a few consecutive from that same spot. David Steele said, "What a wierd contrast-with Stevenson's long beard, and Evan's without a hair on his head." When talking about the Stevenson-Evans matchup.

One great thing I heard following a timeout was either David or Matty talking about SVG's comments in the huddle. He said something about the Magic not letting up during games like these. He talked about how he wanted the Magic to run the teams out of the building and get an identity that they will not back down. SVG wants this type of attitude come playoff time, so teams wont take us lightely. I love this because that is someting that this Magic team has not had in a long time. We are normally on the other end of the stick so its great to have a coach with that mindset.

The Magic have a few nights off as their next upcoming game is at home against the Golden State Warriors on Saturday night. Tip off is at 7 PM on Sun Sports HD. Dooling is available for this game but is watching how he feels. He is day-to-day.

Boxscore, Recap, Pics, 3QC's Game Recap.

Game Time: Magic vs Wizards

2008-03-05T00:40:00.001-05:00

Magic (39-23) vs Wizards (29-30)

Verizon Center

7 PM

Sun Sports

Probable Lineups:

Howard C Haywood

Lewis PF Jamison

Turkoglu SF Songaila

Evans SG Stevenson

Nelson PG Daniels

Good news for the Wizards, Arenas has been cleared to return to practice. But, he sure won't be back anytime soon.

Last time we play the Wizards was the beginning of this season as Arenas re-injured his surgically repaired knee and left the game; which we won pretty easily.

This Wizards team is hardly a challenge compared to last years offensive nightmare. Butler, Jamison, and Arenas combined for one of the (if not the) league's scariest one-two-three punch. Now, they are hardly a fight, and barely are clinging on to a playoff spot. Like Ben Q. Rock said, losing to this team is inexcusable. Thier defense is pretty terrible; the Wiz give up big nights to opposing teams regularly. This could mean another dominating performance by Dwight.

I forsee Dwight having a big game, not only for the previous reason, but because he had a past of being worked hard by Haywood. Dwight will probably want to show him that those days are over.

Since we are on a back-to-back night, we have to come out firing on both ends, unlike we did against the Raptors. This team still can score and ex-magician DeShawn Stevenson will likely get his.

The Wizards are still without Arenas and Butler, and my fantasy team hates those two. I dropped from first down to third where I'm currently sitting. I hate it. Well I'll just have to pull a Golden State and make a playoff run when those two Wizards return.

Magic News Reel

2008-03-05T00:28:00.001-05:00

A little news...

Battie is continuously working hard to be able to return come the playoffs. He has refrained from participating in all contact drills, per doctors orders.

Tuesday, the Magic brought back Bo Outlaw to the organization as a community ambassador. So he still is part of the Magic even though he was not resigned. Life's always good with a little Bo.

Brian Schmitz made his case for the league MVP this season and the ballot includes Dwight Howard. In order his choices are: Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Chris Paul, Lebron James. He decides on Howard's rival Kevin Garnett as the NBA Most Valuable Player for the 07-08 season. Check it out and cast your vote.

Magic Outlast Bosh-Less Raptors; Win 102-87

2008-03-04T21:26:00.004-05:00

Being without Bosh didn't make this game any easier. We couldn't find the basket in the first half. This is an average team at best, without Bosh, but it took 4 quarters to get the win.

Howard was in foul trouble for most of the game, sitting out just about the whole third quarter. He only had 3 points on 1-3 shooting, heading into the final stanza. But, Dwight got rid of the Kryptonite in the fourth, and put on his cape. He scored six straight in a 1:10 stretch that expanded Orlando’s lead to 89-79 with six minutes remaining. TJ Ford was the reason the Raptors stayed in the game, scoring 13.

This win cemented the Magic as the higher seed, if these two teams were to tie. What a critcal win against a team who beat us with the same circumstances last season.

Against the previous reports, J.J. didn't get a single minute. Bogans ended up playing and the lineup was no different from previous games.

Calderon wasn't in the All-Star form that many saw him as; he was hampered by the loss of Bosh.

Turkoglu lead the Magic with 24 points and 8 assists, showing he can be an effective point-forward. Lewis hit some big shots and ended up with 22. Dwight was +25 and added 19 points along with 14 rebounds, a steal, and a block. But, our bench only scored a total of 22 points, compared to the Raptors' 40.

Check out the Boxscore, Recap, and Photos.

Gametime: Raptors @ Magic

2008-03-03T23:22:00.001-05:00

Magic (38-23) vs Raptors (32-26)

Amway Arena

FSN FL

7 PM

Probable Starters:

Howard C Nesterovic

Lewis PF Bargnani

Turkoglu SF Moon

Evans SG Parker

Arroyo PG Calderon

Tonight the playoff seeding and matchups are on the line. The Magic and Raptors are tied up at 1-1 for the season series between the two teams. Nelson feels well enough to play but Dooling is still out with his troubling left foot injury. And because Dooling, the backup shooting guard, is out, that opens up the door to... the one, the only, J.J. Redick. This if from this morning's report from the Orlando Sentinel by Tim Povtak. And as 3QC reported today, this could be the make it or break it time for J.J. and how well he plays tonight just might determine what happens from here on out. Time to shine J.J. You have cried and complained for those minutes. Now it's time to go out and grab them. Redick did score 10 points in 16 minutes against the Sixers on Wednesday, but they were garbage buckets.

The Magic are 15 games over .500 and our 8-5 (.62%) record in February helped bump us up there. According to MagicMadness, our "Magic Number" is 15. Any combination of wins for the Magic and losses by the Wizards will lead us to our first Southeast Division Title in a while.

Coach Stan Van Gundy calls Calderon and Ford "two of the quickest guys in the league, two of the best pick-and-roll guys. It does make it difficult." This is scary especially because we will have Arroyo (not a great defender), Nelson (not a great defender and is just coming back from the flu), and Turkoglu (a possible tall option at the point with Nelson just coming back) guarding them.

In previous years, having the star out for the other team would prove disastrous. Just as Ben Q. Rock pointed out, that still holds true because so many players have had their carrer highs (or close to it) against us this season. Bosh dropped 40 against us in a game last month, but he is currently nursing a bad ankle.

There is no such thing as taking them lightly which we did last season when they beat us without Bosh. But there's a catch; we were without Turkoglu.

Hedo at the Point? Reminds Me of Magic

2008-03-03T14:46:00.005-05:00

Stan Van Gundy talked today about the possibility of Hedo Turkoglu playing more of a tall point guard role, a la Magic Johnson, in the upcoming games and the playoffs. It adds an extra "element", as Van Gundy pointed out. Even from the beginning of this season, Turkoglu has had the ball in his hands every game. He frequently would handle the ball and take it up the court.

Van Gundy, though, won't be changing the offense or the lineup any time soon. He will though put him at the point in certain situations. The problem is that Hedo can't match up well defensively with quicker point guards. Although Brian Schmitz does want to see Turk match up with Jose Calderon to try to slow him. Van Gundy (and you can probably include Otis) wont bench Nelson anytime soon in favor of the 6'10" Hedo Turkoglu.

Bosh is definitley out for Tuesday's rivalry game with the Raptors. The Magic are smiling at this because Bosh torched us for 40 points last month. Rasho Nesterovic is replacing Bosh in the starting lineup.

The Magic have an 8 game lead on the Southeast Division. The Magic have only 8 road games left.

Some Magic Updates/Info

2008-03-02T00:59:00.003-05:00

We are 1-3 without Keyon this season. The one win was Saturday night against the Knicks. Even in that win, Jamal Crawford hit us for 23 points. Dooling missed the game in when Larry Hughes was still with the Cavs, and torched us for 40 points. Andre Miller, another player Dooling would have guarded, whooped up Nelson for 26 against the Sixers on Wednesday night. Dooling is making his defensive presence felt and increasing his Free Agent value, so we need to re-sign him ASAP.

To Stan Van Gundy, the playoffs start now even though we have roughly 7 weeks left. Locking up a top seed and home-court advantage is the goal now; losing to 'weak' teams won't get us there.

"Staying in the third seed likely would allow the Magic to open the playoffs against either New Jersey, Washington or Philadelphia, and make them heavy favorites." Dropping to the fourth seed would give the Magic nightmares with facing teams like Toronto or Cleveland in the first round. Those teams have the potential to clobber this young and inexperienced team. Now is the time to really focus with the much easier schedule than the beginning of the season. On the flip side, we can't just be content with the third spot. "We're the third-best team in the East, so we need to be trying to catch up to Boston and Detroit. Then, in the playoffs, we know we'll have to go through those teams to get to the ultimate goal of winning a championship. So now has to be about working to improve."

Of the 21 remaining games, 13 are at home. The Magic play just five teams (Toronto, Golden State, Cleveland, San Antonio and New Orleans) the rest of the way that have winning records. And no road trip is longer than two games or crosses the Mississippi River the rest of the way.

Van Gundy wants the team to make sure not to relax while going down the stretch. Just like we witnessed with the terrible loss to the Sixers, "the Magic have yet to fully embrace the so-called dog days of the NBA's marathon schedule as a time to surge rather than coast." We have no room to coast. We haven't won anything yet.

Tony Battie was ruled out for this season when reading numerous reports. Despite that, the team is still watching his rehab closely and he is till hoping for a return for the playoffs. Van Gundy said he would definitely include Battie in the playoff roster, if his shoulder is healed enough to play. Van Gundy, though, doesn't anticipate that happening. "Could Tony give us a few more minutes at center? Sure, but our first concern is his health. We’d never risk him for the short term."

The Magic have lost 91 player games this season due to illness or injury, but 61 of them have been by Battie. Of the other 30 missed games, 17 have come from the three point guards. Said Van Gundy: "Other than Tony (Battie), we’ve been pretty lucky with injuries. But the injuries we’ve had have all come at one position with Jameer, Keyon and Carlos."

The Sonics officially have the coolest site in the NBA and ironically one of the worst teams. Check it out.

Gracias Knicks Para La Victoria! Magic Win Big 118-92

2008-03-01T22:41:00.007-05:00

Hedo Turkoglu is amazing. He not only had 25 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds, and barely missed a triple-double. Jameer was out with the flu and Keyon was still nursing his sprained left foot. Hedo was our emergency point guard and subbed in very well; better than any of our actual point guards, if you ask me.

Dwight completely dominated the Knicks defense with 26 points and 22 rebounds. It was Howard’s NBA-leading 52nd double-double. Dwight's leads his closest competitors by 12; Carlos Boozer and Al Jefferson each have 40 double-doubles.

Tonight' game was his seventh game of the season with at least 20 points and 20 rebounds and second against the Knicks. Like BQR pointed out, "[The] Magic are now 2-0 when the Big 3 score 20+ each. The other victory? Against the Knicks!"

The game was competitive for about a quarter and a half. The game was tied in the 2nd quarter at 49 but then the Magic left the Knicks in the dust, going on a 13-0 run. The Magic led 68-54 at halftime, and 94-74 after 3.

Rashard "Mr. Consistency" Lewis score 22 on 7-15 shooting and has only had two games (out of the 60 he has played) this season where he recorded less than 10 points.

Marcin Gortat logged his first minutes in the NBA tonight and score his first points on a reverse layup. All that non-stop action is captured in this vid by NYCMagicFan.

Here is the Boxscore and Game Recap.

We have our huge rival Toronto Raptors coming to town to face us on Tuesday. Time to refocus and the guys can't let this big win get to their heads. Bosh will be out for that game because of a bum knee. Rasho Nesterovic will be taking his spot in the starting lineup for Toronto. Rasho has played well against Dwight previously, so this game is nothing to blow over and forget about. This is a must win game for the confidence of the team heading towards the playoffs, which start April 19. We owe the Raptors for beating us like a drum last week. The Raptors are trailing us by 4 games.

Tonight's Game: Knicks @ Magic

2008-03-01T13:00:00.003-05:00

Magic (37-23) vs Knicks (18-39)

Amway Arena: Latin Night
7 PM
FSN FL

Probable Lineups:
Howard C Curry
Lewis PF Randolph
Turkoglu SF Richardson
Evans SG Crawford
Nelson PG Robinson

Be sure to check out Ben Q Rock's game preview over at 3QC, where he had a Q&A session with Seth from the Knicks blog: Poasting and Toasting. They delve into the up and down team that is the Knicks.

The Knicks creamed the Bobcats 113-89 on Wednesday night, even though their season is down the drain. Normally they are on the other end of the stick. Losing this game would probably be the worst letdown imaginable. Dwight normally comes back off of a tough loss, with a 20-20 game, like Schmitz predicted following a previous loss. Look for Dwight to have another 20-20 tonight after the bad loss the other night.

We have beaten the Knicks by an average of 12ppg over the last two meetings. Turk and Lewis led us last game with 25 points each, as Dwight didn't have to carry the load that game. Crawford destroyed Nelson with 29 points and 8 assists, while Jameer only had 6 points on 3-6 shooting. Also, Robinson drilled us for 16 off the bench. We beat them by 8 in the rebounding department, and the Knicks did not have even one blocked shot.

As recent as Friday, Stephon Marbury was instructed by Isaiah Thomas not to come to Madison Square Garden for any reason. Also, it has been reported that the Knicks brass has told Marbury not to speak to the media. All the craziness of the season, like this Marbury incident and the Randolph play last week, are indicative of the Knicks franchise. I'm not surprised. I still don't know why Isaiah Thomas is still there.

In other news, the Magic are nearing a Franchise Record for most road wins in a season. Right now, the Magic have a road record of 21-12, which is tied with the Lakers for the most in the league. The '95-'96 Magic team had a road record of 23-18, which is the current Magic record. "Even the team that reached the 1995 Finals didn't have a winning record away from home."

Losing this game would be a huge blow to the Magic's confidence moving towards the playoffs. Look for the Magic to want to bounce back from the dreadful loss Wednesday against the Sixers. Normally when we get beaten pretty bad, we come back with a strong showing the next game. We have to consistently beat the sub-.500 teams if we want to be a strong playoff team. I consider tonights game a must win for these guys; especially following the tough loss in Philadelphia.

Magic Playoff Seeding

2008-02-29T00:33:00.002-05:00

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

2008-02-28T16:16:00.002-05:00

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

2008-02-28T01:10:00.003-05:00

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

2008-02-27T15:58:00.002-05:00

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

2008-02-27T13:50:00.003-05:00

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

2008-02-26T23:27:00.000-05:00

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

2008-02-26T22:40:00.006-05:00

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

2008-02-26T17:17:00.005-05:00

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.

2008-02-26T17:14:00.002-05:00

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

2008-02-25T21:05:00.004-05:00

"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

2008-02-24T21:10:00.005-05:00

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

2008-02-23T01:24:00.000-05:00

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

2008-02-23T00:10:00.003-05:00

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

2008-02-22T14:26:00.002-05:00

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

2008-02-22T11:29:00.007-05:00

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

2008-02-22T09:53:00.004-05:00

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

2008-02-22T08:35:00.008-05:00

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

2008-02-21T17:23:00.006-05:00

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:

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

2008-02-21T00:22:00.000-05:00

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

2008-02-20T23:29:00.005-05:00

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.