Horrible :X

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

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

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

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!!!

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!

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!!!!!

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!!

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

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...

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:

1. 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.
2. 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

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

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:

1. Orlando has formally applied to the NBA to host the 2011-2012 NBA All-Star Weekend, here in Central Florida.
2. 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.
3. 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."
4. Check out the thread about the Magic's NBA Championship Chances at Magic Madness.
5. 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."
6. Current Magic Assistant Coach Patrick Ewing said he has not been contacted at all about the vacant head coaching job in New York.
7. 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.
8. Check here to see what Magic Owner Bob Vander Weide says about J.J. Redick's future.
   

Magic Win Nail-Biter!! 104-103

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:

1. Toronto is down 100-91.
2. Delfino hits a three pointer, 100-94.
3. Calderon hits a three, 100-97
4. Calderon hits another big three, 100-100.
5. Delfino hits a free throw, Toronto leads 101-100.
6. Turkoglu drives to the lane for a layup and puts Orlando back on top, 102-101.
7. Turk hits two free throws and Orlando leads, 104-101.
8. Delfino gets a layup, 104-103 with 9.6 seconds left.
9. Keyon is called for an offensive foul, on the inbounds pass.
10. Bosh gets the isolation play along with a jump shot to try to win the game.
11. 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!

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

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".

1. Boxscore
2. Recap
   

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

The Day Before the Game...

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:

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

Playoffs Start Tomorrow

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

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

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

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.