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.