April 2006 Archives

Tonight, the Magic play their final game of the seasona against the Indiana Pacers. The game is in Indiana and starts at 7pm. I don't know about the rest of you, but I want to see a big win to close out the season and make up for Monday night's loss to the Bulls

In one of the loudest games I have been to in awhile, the Magic lose a tough one to the Chicago Bulls in overtime, 116-12. The Bulls just had all the little things go there way tonight. They played aggressive and energetic. The win was a good momentum builder for the Bulls as the beat one of the hottest teams in the NBA right now.

The Chicago Bulls defeated the Miami Heat today eliminating the Orlando Magic from the playoff race. Even though the Magic are out of contention, don't expect them to rollover the last two games of the season. The Magic could finish the season on a 10 game winning streak. Also, I expect the Magic to take out a little frustration on the Bulls Monday night.

Make it eight in a row as the Magic refuse to give up in the chase for that final playoff spot. Dwight Howard had his breakout game tonight with 28 points and 26 rebounds. Breakout game you ask? Yes. This was a different Dwight Howard tonight. Jameer Nelson had a big first half but was quite in the second half until he knocked down a big shot to put the Magic up for good.

With the Chicago Bulls winning last night against the Washington Wizards, the Magic hope to end the season in a three-way tie with the Bulls and the Sixers to make the playoffs. The Bullls threw a wrech into the equation by beating the Wizards last night. Since both teams have won 2 games against each other, the tiebreaker would come down to conference wins. Chicago would have 27 to the Magic's 26. However, the Magic would still finish the season with the same record as Chicago. Now, if Philadelphia wins one of its final 3 games and all three teams finish at 38-44 - Orlando would go to the playoffs. In a three-way tie, the tiebreaker goes to the team with the higher win percentage against the other two teams involved. The Magic would be 3-1 vs Philly and 2-2 vs. Chicago, for a combined 5-3 record. Philly and Chicago split the season series and would have both lost twice to Orlando, giving them both a 4-4 record.

Are you kidding me? That was awesome! Mavericks? Check. Pistons? Check. Heat? Check! Defending champions, San Antonio Spurs? CHECK!!! The Magic beat the Spurs, 92-80, in a great game. Dwight Howard has 22 points and 13 rebounds. Jameer Nelson contributes 19 points, 8 assists and 7 rebounds.

If you were coach for the rest of the year, do you make any changes to the starting lineup? Winning like we have brings a lot of questions to the table about next year. Do we continue with the starting 5 we have now? Or do you make a change and try starting Darko Milicic? Where does Grant Hill fit into your plans for next year?

The Magic win #6 in a row and 11th at home. This team is playing good basketball - even on the bad nights. Not that tonight was bad, but the Magic came out flat to start the game. The Magic do their part in the playoff race and beat the Toronto Raptors, 103-96. Jameer Nelson put up big numbers tonight, scoring 27 points and dishing 7 assists.

Make that five in a row overall and ten in a row at home. Atlanta makes a run in the fourth quarter, but the Magic pour it on down the stretch and whip the Hawks, 105-88. Dwight Howard had a monsterous game with 20 points, 16 rebounds and 6 assists. Jameer Nelson continues his return to form as he contributes 17 points and 6 assists.

Can you dig it? Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic beat up on the Miami Heat, easily cruising to a 93-84 victory. Howard finished with 16 points and 8 rebounds but scored 8 points in the final quarter to help put the Heat away. Jameer Nelson rebounded from two poor performances to score 26 points.

Hedo Turkoglu! Without Hedo, the Magic do not win this game. Plain and simple. In fact, the game would have been a lot easier if the Magic would have put the ball in the hands of Turkoglu. The Magic win a very close game over the Detroit Pistions, 89-87. Hedo finishes with 26 points, 5 assists and 7 rebounds.

Magic pull a disappearing act before winning a thriller against the Bucks, 108-105. The Magic led by as many as 20 points before letting the Bucks back into the game late. Hedo Turkloglu and Carlos Arroyo made the big plays down the stretch to pull out the win.

Ok, maybe not the entire day. But I was able to get down to Great Clips a couple weeks ago and meet Hedo Turkoglu. I was fairly surprised at how laid back and friendly he was. You almost get the impression that Hedo was nervous or even shy. Anyhow, I managed to get a couple photos and get my lucky white hat signed. For those who don't know, the Magic are undefeated (7-0) when I wear the white hat to the games. I need to find another one for next year in case something happens to this one.

Thanks to Randy, here are the photos from the 3/11/2006 Golden State Warriors game that I promised. I've been busy the last couple weeks and do not have a photo gallery on this site - so we'll have to live with a post and some thumbnail links to larger photos.

Magic Dancers!	Hedo goes in!
Darko up close.	Grant looking sharp!
Magicians.