Orlando Magic Fan

Updates

2009-08-11T15:05:32Z

It's been pretty quiet since the Magic traded for Vince Carter. They managed to pick up a couple good players in Matt Barnes and Brandon Bass. Hedo Turkoglu took off for new riches and play for the Toronto Raptors (snicker). The Magic matched the offer Dallas gave to Gortat, although I'm not sure they needed to spend that much on a backup center. But the biggest news of the summer, Rashard Lewis fails a drug test. You never truly know the character of an pro athlete unless you know them personally. But I'd have to say this sounds as fishy as Grant Hill holding up an Orlando 7-11. That's pretty much the extent of the summer. I'd expect a couple late additions right around training camp - but I wouldn't expect anything too major until closer to the December-February timeframe. I'm sure the Magic will be looking to shore up any problems with minor deals near the trade deadline.

Shaq to the Cavs, Vince Carter to the Magic

2009-06-25T23:26:43Z

Draft Day Deals: Shaq to the Cavs, $21 million. Clearing up your point guard controversy, dumping an aging center and not giving up any core players in return, priceless. The Magic acquired Vince Carter this afternoon for Rafer Alston, Tony Battie and Courtney Lee. I hate to see Lee go, but let's face that facts here people. The Magic needed to get rid of Alston or Jameer, check. The Magic needed to clear up their big man rotation and dump Battie's $6.2 million contract, check. The Magic would have to give up an asset in order to dump those players and pick up Carter. The goal here is to not give up a core player. Lee is not a core player - at least not at this point in his career. The move also allows the Magic to go into the luxury tax to resign Gortat and Hedo. I wanted Carter 2 summers ago when we got Rashard Lewis. I thought he would have fit better into the system at the time. Granted he's 2 years older now - but he still put up 20 points per game last year and he's always a threat for more. Did the Cavs get better with the Shaq trade? Time will tell. Did the Magic get better with the Carter trade? Absolutely. IF Hedo resigns, your starting five can all score 20 at any given time. You still have the defensive player of the year, a sixth man that plays great defense. Now, really - we just need a decent defensive minded point guard to give us good stretches of rest for Jameer and this team will be much improved over last year. Remember, come playoff time - you might only play 7 or 8 guys. And out top 8 will be vastly improved over last year. One last task Otis, get me a decent backup PG (not that Johnson isn't, but I just don't think he's the right one).

Let's go Magic!!!

2009-06-04T23:32:18Z

Good luck Magic! I hope the team we know shows up tonight against the Lakers. I've been saying for weeks that the Magic can beat any team and they've proven it game after game. But this is the finals, baby! You can't just show up. You have to go in there and take it from them. It's time to show everyone the mental and physical toughness we know this team can have. So, everyone cheer as hard as you can for the Magic - that includes the 3 million new bandwagon fans. We'll let you into our little club. Here's to the Magic and hopefully, a game 1 steal!

Magic lose Game 2 on bogus shot

2009-05-23T05:21:52Z

Can someone explain to me how a player can catch the ball, come down, bring the ball to his knees and still manage to get a shot off in 1.0 seconds? Remember Howard's dunk over the Spurs - 1.2 seconds that shot took. If the NBA does not review the last play of Game 2 - the game is fixed. You can clearly watch the reply and see that Lebron catches the ball and brings the ball down to his knees before the clock even starts. If you watch in slow motion - you should be able to rattle off about 40 some odd frames before the ball even leaves his hands. Hopefully someone in the Magic organization is bringing this to the attention of the NBA. While it might not change the outcome of the game - this is definitely something that needs to be addressed. This and the non-technical foul that Williams deserved for throwing the basketball at Howard in the first half.

Howard speaks out on Magic problems

2009-05-13T12:56:52Z

I'm not one to agree with players calling out the coaches for lack of getting the ball - but in this case, Howard is right. In an Orlando Sentinel article today, Howard let it be known he's not happy with 10 shots per game. I agree. Orlando has a strong post game; Howard needs more shots. The second part - Howard is spot on. There was a lineup late in the game that was working for the team. The lead was building with Battie and Johnson on the floor. In the playoffs, you got to stick with what's working and go until someone breaks an arm or passes out. That particular unit had the score up to 14 when Alston and Redick came back. I like Redick and Alston and all - but they have done jack schit so far in the playoffs. So, yes I absolutely agree with Howard. Stan - I hope you're listening - because the coaching has been suspect the last 2 games. But Howard, you're not off the hook buddy. We need more from you than just a few more touches in the paint. We need more activity on the defensive end of the floor and more movement on offense. Let's get it together guys!

DwightHoward.com

2009-03-26T14:31:13Z

Just saw a link to Dwight Howard's website over at Orlando Sentinel. It's pretty decent - some good stuff on there. Graphics are a bit lame for a superstar of Howard's caliber - but, nonetheless, check it out. http://www.dwighthoward.com/ I don't know about you, but watching the top 10 Howard Dunks of all time - brings a tear to my eye. He ours. All ours.

No huggie, kissie for NBA players

2009-03-04T15:03:28Z

Mike Bianchi has a good article up on the Orlando Sentinel about the after game ass grabbin' and hand holdin' (as my dad would say). This is something I completely agree with Bianchi on, which rarely happens. Seriously, I can understand teaching good sportsmanship on your county recreation teams. But anything above that, I can't think of a time I ever liked my opponent enough to hug or hold hands. I'm all for playing fair, clean and even - but leave the huggin for the wife and the hippies.

The Big Flop

2009-03-04T14:56:02Z

For all the mouthing off that Shaq did leading up to last night's game against the Magic, he still hasn't learned anything from his 17 years in the NBA. Just keep your mouth shut. He complains about flopping, so he flops. He complains about double-teaming a 37 year old, so the Suns triple-team Howard. Instead of passing the torch to "The Big Show" as I like to call Howard, "The Big Flop" tries to hold on to his last minutes of fame. Van Gundy summed everything up in the post game news conference, ""...very disappointed cause he knows what it's like. Lets stand up and play like men, and I think our guy did that tonight.''

Jameer officially out for the season

2009-02-20T13:59:58Z

Jameer Nelson underwent season-ending shoulder surgery on Thursday. Rehab is expected to take 4-6 months. So we will not be seeing Nelson on the court until sometime next season. With the trade for Alston, the Magic have shored up the point guard spot and possibly created a scenario for an interesting training camp.

Skip 2 My Lou to the Magic

2009-02-19T21:21:08Z

The Magic have aquired Rafer 'Skip to My Lou' Alston from the Rockets in a trade that sent a low 1st rounder to the Grizzlies and parted ways with Brian Cook. This trade is perfect for the Magic as Alston is a decent starting PG and will help this team immediately at the position. I'd expect Alston to be the starting PG after 3-5 games with the Magic. The trade still has to go through the front office as it barely made the 3pm deadline.

TrueHoop Network

2009-01-20T20:36:57Z

For those of you following more than just the Orlando Magic, check out TrueHoop's new Blog Network. Most of the blogs on the network have been linked up for awhile - but True Hoop puts it all out there in one place. Click for TrueHoop Network.

Halfway, as good as it gets

2009-01-19T13:55:56Z

First of all, I apologized for my lack of posting this year. It's been a busy year in the Magic Fan household. But I assure you, we've kept tabs on the season and have watched every game that BrightHouse has allowed us to watch. So, my first post back starts appropriately with each and every one of you. How do you feel the Magic have done so far this year? Is the team's record a good measurement how good this team is? Click to read my thoughts on the year and to post your comments. Each year, we all get excited in the offseason about the upcoming season. What moves will the Magic make? Who will we draft in the offseason? Who won't be with the team come opening night? And each year, we all speculate on what the Magic need and what we would do if we were King for a day.

However, this past offseason was pretty quiet. We drafted Courtney Lee, signed a couple backups and let Carlos and Keyon walk away. No offense to Mickael Peitrus and Anthony Johnson, but I don't think any Magic Fans were terribly excited over that free agent news. Here we are now, sitting at the halfway point, wondering how we got to be the leagues best team at the halfway point. I say that not just because of the Magic's win/loss record but because of the way other coaches are responding to the Magic's season. Out west you have George Karl wondering how his team is going to defend the Magic and in the east, Doc Rivers publicly saying the Magic are playing better than any other team. Respect is earned from your peers, not from the media or armchair coaches/gm's. The fact that other coaches and players are noticing how the Magic are winning, not just that they are winning, that shows respect.

So, exactly how are the Magic earning this respect? By learning how to win each and every night. Sure Dwight Howard is Dwight Howard. Jameer is doing his beat Chris Paul impersonation. Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis are having easy nights to go with their good nights. But it's the rest of the team that is playing better. When Howard goes out, I no longer hold my breath. If Hedo twists an ankle, I'm not going to hole up in my room for 3 days contemplating if we can hold ont to the sixth seed. It's Lee, Keith Bogans, Marcin Gortat and the others that are holding leads and outplaying the other team's bench. It won't always show up in the stat sheets in terms of rebounds, points and assists, but the effort we get from our bench is solid every night.

Are we better than the Lakers, Spurs, Cavs and Celtics? I think so. Next time the Magic are down to the wire in a close game, look at which players are frustrated and which players are playing. When the Magic put their head down and play their game, they frustrate opponents into taking bad shots and making mistakes. I'll follow-up with a series of posts on each player with my thoughts on how they're playing, what they can do better and why they're valuable to the team.

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Orlando at LA Lakers

2009-01-17T07:20:15Z

The Magic did their best Boston Celtic impersonation and handled the Lakers down the stretch. It's been a long time since I felt confident in the Magic playing against LA. After the earlier meeting between the two teams, I felt as if there was no way we could lose this game. In all honesty, I'm way more concerned about Boston than any other team. I feel like if we can get to and past them in the Eastern playoffs, the Magic can beat anyone in a 7 game series in the West. I thought the Magic did a decent job throughout the game, although there were times when I was wondering if it was going to happen tonight.]]> The Magic did enough things right to frustrate the Lakers - although I thought Odom was going to ruin the night for us. Jameer has simply come up big late in games this year. We won a few close games last year, but the team was one dimensional in that most of the time, the play was going through Hedo. This year, we have 3 or 4 options in the final minutes and of course, you can't play the 3 point line too closely, because Howard can out leap anyone in the NBA. Howard had a 25/20 night in a "supporting role". I say that because some games it feels like Howard is just having an average game. Then you look at the stats and he's got 15-20 points and 15 rebounds on his way to another great night. His numbers usually come quietly - or maybe - it's just that I pay so much more attention to everyone else now.

However the Magic did it, I sure hope they keep playing the way they are. The Celtics are up next week and I feel that will be our true gauge of how far we've come this season.

Magic unveil jerseys and Dwight Howard Day

2008-09-23T17:32:29Z

The Orlando Magic have finally unveiled the new jerseys for the upcoming seasons. Both the away and home jerseys have pinstripes - which many fans were hoping for. The text/numbers are similar to last years. The neck and shoulder areas are a bit more snug (at least on Howard) and the sides have a long black, flared out stripe. You can see a sneak at the top of the Orlando Magic Shop and I suppose sometime today they'll actually update the shop. Check here!

Update: Image finally posted:

]]> In addition to the new jerseys, Mayor Buddy Dyer presented a key to the city to Dwight Howard and declared September 23rd Dwight Howard today in recognition of his accomplishments.

Magic to unveil new jerseys

2008-09-23T14:36:10Z

The Orlando Magic are set to unveil new team jerseys today at 12:55pm in Downtown Orlando. Fans can catch the event live over at OrlandoMagic.com via webcast. Rumors have been rampant all summer long about what the jerseys might look like. The general opinion is that fans were never happy with the current design and long for a return to the pinstripes.