Magic played a decent game considering they were missing what I think is the best defender on the team. Keith Bogans did not play due to the injury suffered in the Houston game. Tracy McGrady came out ready for the challenge of playing against Lebron James. McGrady knocked down 8 consecutive 3 pointers in the first half and had 29 total points when they headed to the locker room. Already playing with a couple injuries, McGrady came out in the second half looking to build on his impressive first half. Partially into the third quarter, McGrady injured his left big toe again and left the game for good. The Magic struggled to find consistent offense. Drew Gooden also suffered an injury early in the second quarter and was out the rest of the game. Rod Strickland and Shammond Williams played the majority of the second half and provided some decent offense. In the end however, the effort was not enough and Cleveland pulls this one out by 1 point.
Reserve Steven Hunter finally got some playing time. With all of the injuries and the upcoming trade deadline, it is my guess they decided to showcase Hunter for a couple of teams that may be interested in acquiring him. It would be nice to get a little something out of the miserable 3 years he has provided us - even a second round pick. Hunter's contract extension was not picked up and he is a free agent after this season.
Yea, or the Magic decided to play their best shot blocker instead of playing guys who do shit to defend the basket. 4 blocks in 20 minutes and everyone else combined for the last 2 games didnt get 4 blocks. Yea so just send him back to the bench so Drew and Juwan can move out of the way when someones comes to dunk. On a good note if T-mac can be that good almost everynight this would be a good team. Again I wont let it go even though he made 8 3's he still takes too many. It was impressive but I doubt he will do it again. I would think about getting Howard out instead of Hunter but thats just me.
You're absolutely on the mark regarding Steven Hunter - He's had enough time, including playing time to prove his worth; and although he does show more energy and aggressiveness than does Drew Gooden, who is generally content to watch the plays instead of making them; I think it's time for the both of them to move on. I agree with the other 'feedbacker' who say's that Tracy McGrady takes far too many 3-point jumpers; and while I'm not certain what his exact percentage in this area is, if I were the coach, I would expect it to be over forty-five percent; or like Paul Silas does LeBron James, I would put him on the bench; especially, since he apparently has far more experience and foresight on the floor than does LeBron - then again in the latter sense, does he! Having said this before - I will say it again - look for the 'politics' of the City of Orlando verses keeping the Orlando Magic in town to heat up again this spring! There have been far too many comments about Orlando being a small market over the past several months - what this means is the RDV/Orlando Magic franchise conglomerate isn't getting the amount of monetary breaks they believe they deserve for bringing 'quality' entertainment to the area - this means the good-ole-boys and politicians are apt to 'pony' up to the table with more of the taxpayer's money!
I just read the Orlando Sentinel report on Hunter time being limited. I am upset and dissapointed about this. They say they are upset with his progress, but they dont even play him. He is shooting over 50% from the field and is second on the team in total block shots, after only 30 games. Why get rid of him and not Declercq or Howard? Hunters quotes in the article are right on the money. He said they dont give him a chance, and when he plays some minutes they want an amazing performance. Juwan Howard hasnt had an amazing perfomance yet and he still starts. How many bad games have we seen Giricek or Shammond or Lue and yes even T-mac play? Yet they still play and Hunter makes little mistakes and hes put on the bench for the rest of the season. People say he has had time to prove his worth, he has had about as much time as Reece Gaines has had to play. Every time I have seen Hunter play significant minutes he has had a good game defensively. I saw hunter block two shots by Ilgauskas against Cleveland. I saw him block 2 layups against the Nets, where the other bigs just watched. The point is Hunter doesnt watch, he blocks and defends. If he goes to the bobcats next season I hope he plays outstanding against the Magic. You cant prove me otherwise. Drew has a good defensive game once in a blue moon and Howard is never that good. A team that is criticized for lack of interior D have a man at the end of the bench that wants to block every shot that goes up. This just proves how pitiful the Magic are this season and Hunter is getting the rotten end of it. On a good note, Hill is back in 4 weeks! ESPN is reporting a possible playoff run with hill coming back, but we need to start a good streak now.
lebron sucks he will never be as good as mcgrady never iight