March 2007 Archives

Unbelievable. The Magic lose to the Boston Celtics three times tonight as the game goes into double overtime. Nothing much to say here except that the Magic simply threw this game away. With the loss, the Nets move back into 7th. Fortunately, the Nets beat the Pacers to help keep the Magic ahead in 8th. However, the Knicks beat the Cavs to creep up. Just when you get your hopes up, Brian Hill happens. Played the same five for most of the final fourth and all through both overtimes. And I was almost back on the playoff bandwagon. Glad this loss was against Doc - just to really rub it in. Thanks Magic.

The Magic win two games in a row for the first time since February 2nd as they beat the New York Knicks, 94-89. Dwight Howard came up with two huge blocks in the last minute and Jameer Nelson tied the game and put the Magic ahead for good on back-to-back three pointers. Aside from the turnovers in the second half, I thought the coaching was very good. You won't hear that very often from me, but tonight that was the difference. With the win, the Magic are a half game aheaed of New Jersey in 7th place. Also, the Magic are now two and a half games ahead of the Knicks and 1 game ahead of Indiana. And though probably out of reach for the Magic, the team is only five and a half games back from Toronto, Washington and Miami. So, as bad as things have been the last 3 months, the Magic are certainly capable of putting a run together.

There is a short interview with Hedo Turkoglu over at HoopsWorld.com. It's short but worth checking out.

According to ESPN.com, Andrea Bargnani is out indefinitely after having an emergency appendectomy done last night. So, obviously he will be out tonight against the Magic.

 

 

For the Magic, an off night seems to be their best chance of getting into the playoffs. Indiana, New Jersey and New York all lost last night. The Magic moved in the 8th spot and the same record as New Jersey in the 7th spot. Now, all the Magic have to do tonight is win in Toronto. Shouldn't be too much pressure on them for this game, only the 4 or 5 Magic fans left are watching.

When asked about the short rotation, Brian Hill responded that he "played the guys he thought would win the game." Follow-up question was if this was a one-time deal, coach Hill responded no.

With a victory tonight, the Magic squeak back into the 8th spot and are only a half game out of 7th. These kind of things happen on the right coast.

With a victory tonight, the Magic squeak back into the 8th spot and are only a half game out of 7th. These kind of things happen on the right coast.

We all read about the Magic talk before Tuesday's practice and Otis Smith's comments towards the entire team. So, how would the Magic respond tonight against the Jazz? Darko Milicic is out tonight with a sore back and Tony Battie returns to the starting lineup. The Magic played good defense and with energy as they beat the Jazz, 101-90. Also I would like to note the TV announcers acknowledging the decent piece that Mike Bianchi wrote today in the Orlando Sentinel. Too bad he doesn't make good use of his talent more often. We needed this kind of kick in the ass a month ago.

Mike Bianchi over at the Orlando Sentinel finally woke up today and posted a good piece on the state of the Magic. He basically states the obvious for most of us Magic fans and includes some info on yesterdays "clear the air" meetings the Magic organization had.

So, the Magic play the Utah Jazz tonight in Orlando. Remember, the Jazz were riding a hot streak when Orlando went into Utah and beat them on their home court. Last night, the Miami Heat came from 17 points down to beat the Jazz in the final minutes. And the Magic can't overcome a 10 point deficit to beat the Bobcats. Sad.

John Denton over at FloridaToday.com has posted a preview to an article for tomorrow about Magic GM Otis Smith speaking with his team before practice. Short of the story is that Smith is not very happy with the attitude, leadership and lack of focus. Denton writes that Smith is "more than just a little bit embarrassed." Anyway, check out the forum post and check back tomorrow for the full article.

The Magic held a team meeting earlier today. According to the Orlando Sentinel, Tony Battie was quote as saying "Guys were really upset. Not only that, Coach had the film to back up everything he said in the meeting." Usually these kinds of meetings are a sign of more problems to come. There is no doubt this team is having problems playing consistent and focused basketball. However, the coach has got to do something to help things along. Whether it's shuffling the starting five or changing the rotation, a change could stir things up a bit.

According to ESPN.com, Michael Jordan spoke with local reporters today and stated that Bernie Bickerstaff will not be coaching the Bobcats after this season. Jordan also states that he expects Bickerstaff to remain with the organization in some capacity. So the off-season of coaching musical chairs begins. Or as NASCAR likes to refer to the annual changes, the silly season.

The current state of the Magic is no doubt discouraging. About the only thing going for the Magic is the involvement of the team in the community. How do the fans feel? Well, for starters, there are a ton of people pissed at Brian Hill and the way he has handled this team. How can a coach keep starting the same players and keeping the same rotation during this horrid stretch of games? There are two consistent players on this team right now, Dwight Howard and Trevor Ariza. However, there is no leadership on this team - not from the coach, management or the players. Everyone is running around trying to do their own thing and have fun. The problem is, losing is not fun. Not for the players and certainly not for the fans.

There is a decent article on the NY Times about J.J. Redick and Adam Morrison. Redick admits to getting upset sitting at the end of the bench, but at least he still plays hard when he is on the court. Even thought Redick's only played a few minutes in the last few games, he's at least getting into the games. I think it's particularly sad that we draft this guy at #7 and he sits on the bench. Aside from Dwight Howard and maybe Jameer Nelson, the Magic have not been very smart the last few years in the draft. Seems to me the Magic could have done something with the #7 pick if Redick was just going to sit on the bench all year. Maybe I'm just moody because the Magic have lost another 3 in a row and are now 1 full game behind the Knicks.

I'm simply at a loss of words. The Magic were happy to being playing Charlotte. This was a must win game to keep playoff hopes alive. The result? The Magic are now a full game behind the New York Knicks. Sad times in Orlando as the Magic lose 119-108 to the Bobcats. Hedo Turkoglu and Grant Hill were about the only two guys playing basketball tonight. Turkoglu finished with 23 points and 6 rebounds. The high-scorer for the night was Dwight Howard with 26 points. Howard also had 11 rebounds on the night but he left 9 points on the free throw line. When you lose by 11, those 9 points become critical. The most interesting stat of the night, the Bobcats had 39 assists and only 27 rebounds. 39 assists on 42 field goals. Unbelievable. Sorry fans, I'm just out of words and thoroughly disgusted tonight.

The Magic dropped their second game in a row, this time to the Houston Rockets, 103-92. The Magic were down by as many as 21 in this second untelevised game against the Rockets. Dwight Howard finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Grant Hill was back in the starting lineup and contributed 17 points. Heo Turkoglu played with a broken nose and scored 10 points. And before fouling out, Darko Milicic finished with 15 points and 9 rebounds. With this up and down play from Darko. it's hard to get a read on his real talent and dedication to the game. Oh, and J.J. Redick got in a weak 3 mnutes and hit one three pointer. I know I sound like a broken record but Redick is being wasted just sitting on the bench.

The Magic have some very serious decisions to make this off season. As I see it right now, the top three priorities will be how much the Magic are willing to offer Darko Milicic, signing a scorer and what to do about the coaching staff. I think the Magic are serious about wanting to keep Darko around. However, I don't think they should sign Darko at the risk of not addressing a serious scoring threat. The Magic have been in too many games where a legitimate scoring threat could have helped. In my opinion, signing a Rashard Lewis or Vince Carter should be top priority for the team. The third priority is addressing any changes with the coaching staff. For the third or fourth consecutive year, the team has practically given up on the coaching philosophy. The Magic forums are thick of Brian Hill haters. And national media is starting to notice the same things that many have fans have said even before the first practice covered under Brian Hill. The Magic organization may have righted a wrong, but they sure have not done anything for the future of the franchise. Expect changes to coaching staff in the off season or some very openly disgruntled players. So Magic Fans, what do you think about the upcoming off season?

After an impressive win against the Bucks, the Magic lay an egg on national TV against the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls win by 24 points, 100-76. The Magic big men were virtually non-existent after coming up big in the previous two matchups against the Bulls. The entire team seemed to be off tonight. Having Grant Hill in and out of the lineup has not helped this team in the last few weeks. I said in the beginning of the season that Hill should be coming off the bench. Tonight, he finally did but was a non-factor in 28 minutes.

The Magic are playing on national TV tonight at 8pm. The game will be broadcast on TNT and TNT HD. Don't miss it!

Just when your convinced the Magic are headed to the lottery, they pull off a lopsided victory against the Bucks, 99-81. The Magic built off of the tempo they built off competing with the hottest team in the NBA, the Dallas Mavericks. Hedo Turkoglu had the best game of the year with 25 points and 9 rebounds. The impressive part was he went 10-14 from the floor and pretty much had his way with the Bucks.

The Magic lose a close game to the leagues best team (record-wise), the Dallas Mavericks, 103-98. In my opinion, the Magic played their best game of the year tonight as every player got into the game and played hard. Dwight Howard led the way with 25 points and 10 rebounds. Jameer Nelson had 17 points but no assists. This inconsistent play from the point guard position is not going to get this team into the playoffs. Hedo Turkoglu however, is starting to show signs of life. Turkoglu showed up tonight and scored 19 points and even picked up 7 rebounds. Trevor Ariza continues to get back into playing condition after returning from his knee injury. Ariza finished with a quiet 11 points.