February 2004 Archives

Good game all around. I like that we bounced back from the overtime loss with this win. Even though it was the Hawks, it still feels good to get the W, especially when the box score is fairly balanced. Tracy McGrady had 30 points and 12 rebounds. It was a pretty solid night for McGrady even though his shooting touch was slightly off. Juwan Howard scored a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Deshawn Stevenson is putting together some really nice minutes lately. I like his ability to create; it opens up the floor a little for McGrady. Steven Hunter contributed 3 blocks, 6 rebounds and 6 points in 18 minutes, starting another game in place of Andrew DeClercq. I hate to say it, but maybe Hunter is finally coming around. Drew Gooden followed up his previous good game with 12 points and 7 rebounds.

Also, this Sean Rooks guy. He is physical and playing some good basketball. His numbers don't always show the effort he leaves out on the floor.

Another overtime loss, this time to the Cavaliers. Tracy McGrady scored 35 points in the loss and had 8 assists. Steven Hunter made a start at center in place of the injured Andrew DeClercq. He had 2 rebounds in 18 minutes. Oh, and Drew Gooden showed up for his 5th game of the season, scoring 14 points and grabbing 14 boards. 

I like that the Magic are putting together an effort and giving teams a little competition every night. However, these overtime losses are hard to swallow. Maybe we'll pull out a few of these close games and end the season on a high note. If McGrady could just get a little more consistent in the fourth - I think we could.

What an awesome game! Even though the Magic lose this one in overtime, you have to give credit where it is due. They played a tough game and for them to even tie the game to send it into overtime, well that shows what a team can do if they just play hard. Rod Strickland nailed the game-tying 3 point shot after McGrady could not get free. The Magic are playing better basketball without a doubt. I liked seeing Steven Hunter taking the ball to the basket more - but he still needs to work on his strength and using two hands when attempting a dunk. Guys like Theo Ratliff just have a field day blocking weak dunk attempts.

Juwan Howard had another double double on the year, with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Drew Gooden had another mysterious disappearance with 2 points and 2 rebounds in 17 minutes. Keith Bogans had another decent game - I hope he is resigned for next year. Tracy McGrady ended the game with 31 points - but was not much of a factor in the overtime.

MAGIC WIN! MAGIC WIN!

How many times has luck gone the other way this season? The Magic played really hard all game long. When a team plays hard, they often are in control of their luck. The Magic played aggressively and forced the officials to make the calls. The last minute steal by Tracy McGrady was brillant - and DeShawn Stevenson was clearly fouled - but no matter, Juwan Howard scores and one! Last play of the game, Rasheed Wallace misses a three and claims to have been fouled. How many times have we seen McGrady knocked to the floor and not get the call? That was hardly a foul.

I like the three new players we have on the team. They are not big names, and may not be here next year - but they are rough players who are playing for a spot.

Great game! Hollar if you hear me!

Well, Tracy McGrady gets ejected at the end of the first half for kicking a ball into the stands, twice! McGrady was able to reach 10k points to become the second youngest player to do so. I thought the Magic played really good defense in this game. Juwan Howard and Drew Gooden both stepped up and played good basketball in the second half. Desmond Penigar and DeShawn Stevenson played well in their Magic debuts. If Penigar can keep this level of play up, he could be signed for the rest of the year. Another good result of the Magic playing hard. That's 2, count em, 2 in a row.

Update: McGrady was also fined $10,000 for his little incident. Stuff was also assaulted and it was noted it took 5 stun gun attempts to subdue the man.

If anything is to change, we have to start somewhere. Let's get busy.

http://www.petitiononline.com/firegabe/

Here we go - exactly what not to do on the trading deadline. Further evidence that Gabe should be fired

Gordan Giricek to the Utah Jazz for DeShawn Stevenson. Now, I am all for getting rid of Gordan - but he was more valuable than what we got for him.

Shammond Williams to New Orleans for center Sean Rooks. Uhm, ok.

26 games left until the end of the season. 15 of the games are at home. 5 of those home games are against West Coast teams. Also, we have a 4 game trip against West Coast teams and then we are done. So, 15 games are against East Coast teams. Seems the Magic have a favorable schedule - let's hope we pull out a few good wins and end the season on a high note.

Well, well. The Magic finally showed up for a home game. What a great all around game! I was glad to see Juwan Howard finally get back into the mix. It was refreshing to finally see Tracy McGrady play with some determination and bring this game home. Let's hope we can rattle off 3 or 4 more of these games.

I saw some potential out on the court tonight. Steven Hunter played pretty hard tonight in his first start since being removed from the starting lineup. He had a few small lapses on defense - but I'll take what we got and won't comment any further. Maybe it was the rumor that he might get cut before the season ends that sparked this latest effort.

Will someone please do something with Tyronn Lue? Ugh. Why is he starting at point again? At this point, I would rather see Grant Hill playing point forward in a wheel chair or on crutches rather than go through another game watching Lue. It makes my stomach turn.

Trade deadline is tomorrow at 3pm. Expect something to go down - hopefully 2 big trades will go down. At this point though, I will take whatever we can get. However, if nothing major goes down - I expect Gabe to be fired at season's end.

Someone email when the team returns from All-Star break.

Thanks.

Tracy McGrady did it again last night. McGrady threw the ball off the glass to himself for a crowd pleasing dunk. It was the second All-Star game in which McGrady provided such a highlight and third time in his career. The other time was against the Toronto Raptors last year. It never amazes me to see the defense turn to see where the pass is going, only to realize that it is coming back off the glass. It hardly seems as if McGrady is moving that quickly, but then he just explodes to the basket and it is too late for anyone to do anything. I really would like to see more of this during the regular season, not the off-the-glass dunks, but determined drives to the basket.

As the trade deadline approaches, rumors are beginning to fly. Every true Magic fan is sitting on the edge of their seat waiting to hear the news. The news that something has happened. Anything. If nothing happens before the trade deadline, you can expect to see Johnny Davis and John Gabriel in the unemployment line. You might see a team doctor or two as well. Pat Garrity in for another surgery? Ridiculous.

So, what can save John Gabriel's job? In my mind, nothing. Even if he pulls off something spectacular - we need improvement in the front office. I would really like to see Pat Riley or Rudy T working for the Magic in some capacity (ideally, GM and Coach). There is a big enough rift between Magic brass and fans that warrant some major changes before Tracy McGrady bolts for LA in '05.

While there a ton of people dreaming up trades in every little message board on the net, there are two that seem very possible to happen. The first, is a Giricek/Lue/Williams to the Bulls for Marcus Fizer. This is not a bad trade in my mind. We get rid of two players that are not of starting caliber and have yet to show any desire to play hard this year and then Williams is thrown in for the salaries to match up. If we weren't overloaded at PF and undersized at center before, well - we definitely would be now. So, what is the next move? Trading Juwan Howard for Eric Snow. Another great deal that will undoubtedly involve a few other players. This might our golden opportunity to package Steven Hunter in order to get something else in return.

Both these trades make a lot of sense and really help our team out in the PG spot. With Grant Hill returning next year, the combination of McGrady, Hill and Snow looks to be a good starting 3. Now, we have to address our power forward and center position. Big 'Z' is playing good - but I am not sure he will fit the starting role. I imagine something could be worked out in the off season to find a decent center. Our PF position is up for grabs in my mind. Drew Gooden has had an awful year - I wouldn't say he is safe from trade filler. Fizer is good, but not a solution. Our high draft pick might bring in Okafor, which at 6-10 and 250 could play forward or center in the east. Our current untouchables involving trades are McGrady, Bogans, Z and probably Hill and Garrity. Look for the rest of the team to be moved in some form by start of next season. Rod Strickland can not be traded because of when he was signed (date he could be traded will be after the deadline) - but likely will not be back next season.

So, if Gabe can pull of this off and we get Okafor in the draft - it might just be enough to keep his job. Personally though, I would rather see some front office movement and possibly an ownership change.

<insert review here>

Since everyone else took the break off early, so am I.

Andrew DeClercq will be undergoing arthroscopic surgery tomorrow to repair torn cartilage in his right knee. The surgery is expected to keep DeClercq out for 10-14 days. It is unclear when the injury originally came about, but the timing of the All-Star break could be seen as a way to decrease the amount of games he will miss.

This leaves the starting position open for the time being. No one has been announced as filling the role. The obvious option would be to move Drew Gooden back into the starting lineup and use him and Juwan Howard on the floor at the same time. However, this could be a golden opportunity for Big 'Z' or even Steven Hunter to solidify an arguement for that starting role. Personally, I think Z is deserving enough of the position. The kid is ready for some big time minutes. This would also open the door for Hunter to pick up some good minutes in the reserve role and possibly prove his potential. Hunter did start earlier in the year, but I doubt a move to starting center is begin considered.

“You're just the only one who admits it.” Referring to Rod Strickland and his admission that he screwed up. Well, maybe he did - and it is nice to see someone step up. However, there are a few others on the team that could step up as well. Why Johnny Davis played Gordan Giricek at the end of the game instead of Keith Bogans. Why Drew Gooden is not playing worth a crap this season? And, why doesn't Gooden stand up and greet the players during starting lineup introductions. Why do we keep getting excuses about Steven Hunter and Reece Gaines? Why isn't Big 'Z' playing more minutes? Why has Tracy McGrady been disappearing in the fourth quarter lately? Sure they couldn't get the ball to him at the end but what happend for the other 11 minutes of the fourth quarter. After the three straight buckets by Juwan Howard, McGrady could have dealt the final blow by sinking a couple jumpers and the game would have had a different ending.

Is there anyone out there second guessing the Giricek/Gooden for Mike Miller? I am probably one of Mike Miller's biggest fans - and I was ok with the trade. But I look at things now and really wish we had Miller back. His numbers are down a bit from his years in Orlando, but his assists are up. We are missing a guy with Miller-like talents on this team. Anyhow - just wanted to put that out there to see what anyone else thought.

Wow, what a game. The O-rena was as loud as it has been since the last time the Lakers were there. I hated to see the Magic blow the lead and ultimately lose the game - but they did play about as good as they can. There were only about a half dozen positions which could have gone better - but I'll take that anyday. I thought the difference was Tracy McGrady. He played a good game - but did not close it out down the stretch. Juwan Howard nailed 3 straight baskets - and after that - I thought it would have been perfect for McGrady to pick up the next 2-3 baskets. The Lakers were scrambling to decide who to defend. That kind of play - has me thinking ahead (here we go) to when we might have Grant Hill, McGrady and Howard on the floor at the same time. That could be a big time defensive nightmare for any team we match up against.

This was a game that got away for us. It was achievable for us to take - but the Lakers played well at the end. Big time credit goes to Phil Jackson for leaving the bench players out there that long to get the Lakers back into the game. I think we could have gone with Shammond Williams at the end - to get a little energy and possibly a good shooter out on the floor. I really dislike having Gordan Giricek on the floor late in the games. Giricek and Gooden just have not been the same this year. They seem to be struggling with their identities on this team.

Good effort tonight - just short of a 'W'.

Another blowout from the Nets. They really seem to be playing well this year and have our number. The Magic were without Tracy McGrady for the second straight game due to back spasms. Hopefully this is just precaution and he will play on Sunday. Z and Juwan Howard played some good minutes. Drew Gooden is just not playing to his potential this year. I am very disappointed with his performance this year, especially the past two months. Keith Bogans was a little on his numbers - but still played good defense. Each game - he does one little thing to impress me that much more.

Ugh - McGrady is out due to back spasms. I hope this is not serious. It turned out not to be too big a deal as Vince Carter really did not have that big of a game - though he did dish out 9 assists. Juwan Howard played a pretty big game. Is it just me, or is it time to put Rod Strickland into the starting lineup. He does not have to play any additional minutes - but just get him on the floor to start and end the game. The players respond so much better when he is on the floor. They almost appear to run some organized plays when he is running the show. In the end, not enough and Toronto takes care of business on their home court. Reece Gaines finally got some decent minutes on the court - hopefully we will get to see more of him.

For most of the game, the Magic played a very good game. The defense was tough at times and Tracy McGrady played a good game. I still want to see him take the ball to the paint more often. I don't understand why Gordan Giricek keeps coming in for Keith Bogans - I can see for a few minutes to give Bogans a rest. But when the Magic made a small run in the fourth, Giricek was brought in. I did like seeing Johnny Davis playing a center with our power forward. The Drew Gooden-Juwan Howard thing is just not working. Speaking of Gooden - another game with a slacking effort in the rebounding column. The Magic had a chance to win tonight - no doubt about that. But in the end, just not enough continuous effort to seal the deal.

I was glad to see JD put the rookies (and Steven Hunter) out there at the end and give them a few minutes on the floor. Every little bit helps their confidence. Oh, one question. Hunter - can you please use TWO HANDS to dunk the ball? Go up strong and stop playing with your shirt. Rod Strickland picks up 9 assists - why isn't he starting again?

Toronto tomorrow night - should be an interesting one.

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