Grant Hill's jumper rims out and the Magic lose a heartbreaker to the lowly Atlanta Hawks, 80-79. Dwight Howard put back an attempt by Steve Francis with less than a minute to go, but Antoine Walker made the go-ahead basket on the next trip down the floor. Although this was an exciting game to watch - it should have never been as close as it was.
Back-to-back wins for the Magic. They play a tough game in Washington, winning 103-97. The starting five absolutely carried us through this game. The "Franchise" Steve Francis drops 32 points and contributes 7 assists and 9 rebounds. Dwight Howard posts another double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Steve Francis pulls a rabbit out of the hat as the Magic beat the Washington Wizards 108-101. Missing just about every shot he threw up, Francis saved his luck for the shot that count. With the Wizards making a small and threatning to steal the game, the Franchise nailed a jumper to help pull out the W.
Dwight Howard, the Magic's first overall draft pick in 2004, will be participating as a starting forward in the 2004-2005 got Milk? Rookie Challenge on All-Star weekend. Howard will be making the first of many All-Star appearances with his selection to the Rookie Challenge.
Thought I would try something new. For tonight's game, I will do a quarter by quarter analysis. End of first quarter, Magic down by 1, 36-35. No interior defense so far. The Sixers are getting to the basket at will off of dribble penetration. Doug Christie is playing well. Christie knocked down his first shot attempt, then settled in running the offense. His passes have been chrisp and right on target. The Magic seem to move the ball better and move without the ball with Christie running the offense. Dwight Howard has been pretty aggressive tonight and Hedo Turkoglu has a couple 3 pointers already. Half court offense has looked good - but our defense needs to step up. We gave up another 30+ first quarter.
While our team is getting better, we still have a few small problems that need to be worked out. These are the things I would like to see happen. Don't take this for more than what it is. I am not bashing the coach or any of the players; I am just stating my observations. I love this team and I just want to see our effort maximized every night.
Magic played hard tonight and the crowd was definitely into the game. In the end though, the Rockets win 108-99. Our team played hard the entire night but we didn't play great defense and we did not rebound well. There was too much dribble penetration which caused our bigs to come over on help defense - freeing up the offensive boards pretty much all night. In the first quarter, the Magic gave up 33 points to a Rocket team that only averages 91 points a game. I don't care if we score 14 or 40 in the first quarter, you can't give up 33 to the other team. The Rockets have had trouble all year scoring and we make Bob Sura look like John Stockton. Magic also left 8 points at the line, some of those coming down the stretch.
Although I already posted my last McGrady note a while back, I thought the boo vs. not to boo delimma should be addressed. Who cares? Really. I will be at the game tonight. I won't get mad if the guy next to me boos his heart out or if the girl next to me sits quietly. I will get mad if you don't get off your ass and cheer our team.
Tracy McGrady returns to face the Orlando Magic tonight. Tonights game will be a big game for a few reasons. First, there is McGrady returning to play in Orlando for the first time since being traded. Second, Steve Francis and Kelvin Cato are ready to show the Houston management they made a mistake in trading them. For the fans, the majority want some sort of compensation for the way T-Mac gave up last year. For me, I just want the Magic to win another game. 22-16 is sounding pretty sweet to me. No matter the reason or whether you are at home or at the game, cheer on the Magic - the W is all we really care about.
Magic win a big game tonight against the World Champion Detroit Pistons. Tonight was the first night that the crowd really got into the "DEFENSE" chant. Usually, it is a section or a couple sections. Tonight - it was the entire crowd. Doug Christie played great one-on-one defense in the second half, absolutely frustrating Richard Hamilton. The Pistons are somewhat of a dirty team. Not in the way that they try to hurt anyone or anything, but they pull on shorts, shirts, push off, you name it. All NBA teams do to some extent - but I've never seen a team get away with it as much as Detroit does. Anyhow, Christie stepped up the defense and played just as hard as the Pistons were - and his effort reflected on the rest of the players. Down the stretch, the Magic played some of the best defense that I have seen all year out of them. After a steal from Detroit's Chauncey Billups, Steve Francis sped down the court and dished to Doug Christie who nailed a three pointer that put the Magic ahead for good.
Orlando plays the Detroit Pistons tonight at 7pm; the game is on Sunshine. Tonight will be Doug Christie's first game at the O-Rena (yes, it is still the O-Rena to me.)
I won't say another word about it.
Huge win tonight against the Pacers. With this win, the Magic have beaten the Pacers twice at home this year.
Orlando faces Jermaine O'Neal and the Indiana Pacers tonight at 8pm in Indiana. Playing the second game of a back-to-back against the Pacers will be a tough matchup for us tonight. Let's hope the team comes out with some energy and starts this game off well. Also, although Doug Christie was in uniform against the Pistons last night - he did not play. Hopefully he will get a few minutes tonight with more time against the Pistons next week. Stacey Augmon will miss his second game due to personal reasons.
This Magic team can be so confusing to me at times. They started off the game playing with just enough effort to keep them around. By the start of the second half - they were on the verge of being run out of the building. Rookie Jameer Nelson provided a spark off the bench and helped rally the Magic to make a game of it in the end. Steve Francis went nutso in this game, scoring 31 points, dishing out 8 assists and grabbing 9 rebounds. Hedo Turkoglu absolutely stunk up the place. I would have liked to of seen Doug Christie get his first minutes as a Magic player - but not tonight.
Orlando plays the Detroit Pistions and ex-Magic players Chauncey Billups and Ben Wallace tonight?in Detroit at 8pm. Tonight's game is the first of a back-to-back on the road. Recently acquired Doug Chrisite should be joining the team today in Detroit and may be available for the game.
The deal is done, there is no sense in talking about who got what and who misses who. Doug Christie will be our starting shooting guard soon enough. I welcome the added defense that Christie brings to the team. As my neighbors know - I get very excited when the defense melts down and we allow players to penetrate in the paint. Christie will help stop the initial dribble and make the opposing team pick up the ball a little more than our team has been able to this year.
The Magic play the Minnesota Timbervolves tonight at 8pm. After the lackluster effort against Boston on Monday, expect the Magic to shrug off the trade and play harder tonight. Dwight Howard gets the opportunity to play against his idol, Kevin Garnett. The Timbervolves have not been playing well as of late and will be without Sam Cassell.
After losing to the Celtics on Monday, the Magic bounce back and beat a struggling Minnesota team on the road. Kevin Garnet and the Timberwolves have to be upset at their level play as of late, but make no mistake. The Magic came into tonight with a win on the mind and they pulled it out.
Cuttino Mobley and Michael Bradley have been traded to the Sacramento Kings for guard Doug Christie. Christie is a popular player in Sacramento, known for his defense and ability to lock down perimeter players. Current and former teammates describe Christie as an unselfish player who plays at 110% every night. While no one really wanted Mobley off the team, Christie's defense will be a welcomed change.
Magic get their butt handed to them again by the Celtics. Minutes before the game, Cuttino Mobley was scratched from the game. Speculation is that he has been traded to the Sacramento Kings for guard Doug Christie. Steve Francis was visibly upset at the possibility of his friend being traded. He did however come out and manage to play a few decent minutes - although he was definitely not his usual self. Jameer Nelson got some valuable minutes backing up Francis. It's hard to imagine why management would pull off a trade before the game, but I am sure they have their reasons.
Magic face ex-coach Doc Rivers and the Boston Celtics tonight at 7pm. Hopefully the Magic can go into Boston and give a little payback for the butt kicking they received a few weeks ago when the Celtics played in Orlando.
Dwight Howard has looked spectacular at times this year. I get excited at the possibilites this kid brings to our team. Howard is quick, dynamic and he can make his free throws. However, with there are negatives in his game. At times, Howard has looked sluggish or out of it. I don't think this has anything to do with him as a player - but more likely frustation at his lack of inclusion in the offense.
The Orlando Magic face the Toronto Raptors tonight for the first time since they traded Vince Carter to the New Jersey Nets. After losing 3 straight, let's hope the Magic can pull off a win and break this losing streak.
