Tampa Bay Sports Blog

The Magic took their show on the road hoping to capitalize on the momentum of their blowout victory against the surging Atlanta Hawks last Saturday.

Things began nicely, with a convincing win in Sacramento against the injury riddled Kings.

Then reality struck once again on Wednesday night in Denver as the Nuggets dissected the Magic en route to a 115-97 trouncing over Orlando. Playing short-handed without their leading scorer Vince “Cupcake” Carter for the secong straight night, Orlando simply had no answer for the physical play of the Nuggets. Dwight “The Coward” Howard struggled mightily against the likes of Kenyon Martin and Chris “Birdman” Andersen, managing a meager 8 points on 1-7 shooting. A far cry from the 30 points and 16 rebounds he collected the night before in Sacramento.

In what may have been the funniest sound bite I’ve ever heard from a player came from Dwight Howard after the loss to Denver in which he stated “the Nuggets took away the inside game and FORCED the Magic to shoot jump shots”. Excuse me if I’m missing something here, but have you ever seen anyone having to force Rashard Lewis, Vince Carter, Ryan Anderson or JJ Redick(let me stop here, before I name the rest of the roster) to shoot a jump shot?

In the last three games including last nights loss to the Blazers, which I will get to momentarily, the magic took 27,31 and 30 three point shots. So what was so different about the Nugget game as far as the game plan Dwight?

Now we move on to last nights debacle in Portland against the Brandon Roy-less Blazers. Portland came out strong building an 11 point first quarter lead, taking advantage of Orlando’s ritual of slow starts, and never looked back. Without Roy, the Blazers looked to Andre Miller and Steve Blake to lead the charge and also got a strong outing out of Martell Webster who scored 24 points(more than twice his average of 10 a game) and 9 boards. While Dwight Howard managed only 11 points playing against Juwan Howard. Yes, Juwan Howard is actually still in the NBA; amazing isn’t it?  Vince Carter, finally back after suffering a debilitating(wink wink) sprained shoulder, was a non factor, while his backcourt mate, Jameer Nelson, continued to get lit up by opponents point guards. First Chauncey Billups had his way with Jameer “The Steer”, then came Andre Miller( the slowest man on earth, getting paid to run) and Steve Blake to take advantage of the Magics fearless leader . The Tattoo on Jameer’s back reads ” All Eyes On Me”, and if that is the case, there are a lot of people out there witnessing him getting used and abused night in and night out.

Rashard Lewis remains MIA, and is either unable to adjust to playing with his new teammates(especially Vince Carter) or is simply missing his medicine. Remember, Lewis A.K.A. Mr. Softy, was suspended for violating the NBA’s banned substance list for the first 10 games of the season. Rashard is making close to max money and is playing himself into a possible reserve role. Look at what the Philadelphia 76ers did with their version of an overpaid, underachieving player in Elton Brand, who is currently coming off the bench. In the last two games Lewis has scored a total of 15 points and collected a staggeringly low 4 rebounds. The man is 6′10″ 230 pounds, plays power forward and manages to grab 4 boards in a combined 50 plus minutes of action. Pardon me while I scroll through my trusty thesaurus for alternative words for PATHETIC!

The fact is the Magic are a soft, finesse, jump shooting team masquerading as title contenders. Now if this is what they aim to be as an organization; let me be the first to issue a mea culpa: Mission accomplished.

Unfortunately, we all know this isn’t true. The Magic were successful last season because they played much better defensively, and Howard and others asserted themselves more both offensively and on the glass.

Chemistry is a key ingredient, one often overlooked by fans and GM’s alike, who simply look at players numbers and highlights and fall in love with the idea of having them on their team. This Magic team is severely lacking leadership and a sustained consistency. There is a phrase ”The whole is greater than the sum of its parts“. However, when it comes to the Magic, it seems the parts just don’t fit, and it’s time to start assessing the value of each individual piece of the puzzle. The trade market is plentiful this year with all the impending free agents and economic turmoil that has plagued the NBA this season.

If the players aren’t going to be aggressive on the court; management needs to step up and get aggressive off the court.

New Orleans is a prime example of a team suffering crippling losses financially; maybe the Magic can swoop in and pilfer Chris Paul away from the Hornets. Another option to look into is Chris Bosh. Toronto is almost certainly going to lose Bosh at seasons end, and the Magic and Raptors were able to orchestrate deals this past off season, so there is a good working relationship there.

At this point, anything the front office can do to bring about change will be welcome by Magic fans. In most cases the coach is usually the easiest target, and with Stan Van Gundy’s approach wearing on his players, I’m sure there wouldn’t be too much resistance to him being ousted.

The Magic face the lakers Monday night in Los Angeles, a rematch of last years NBA Finals, and I can only imagine what lies in store for them. One things for sure there will be plenty of Kobe Beef on the menu. Vince Carter better rest that shoulder and get ready to do battle, or else, things could get ugly. I’m almost certain we will be seeing a lot of Mickael Pietrus if things start going south early.

Technorati Tags: Andre Miller, Brandon Roy, Chris Andersen, Denver Nuggets, Dwight Howard, Jameer Nelson, JJ Reddick, Kenyon Martin, Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers, Marcin Gortat, Martell Webster, Mickael Pietrus, Orlando Magic, Portland Trailblazers, Rashard Lewis, Ryan Anderson, Stan Van Gundy, Steve Blake, Toronto Raptors, Vince "Cupcake" Carter, Vince Carter

The finals have been good on both ends this year and there has been a lot of discussion and debate over a lot of crap. I think it’s time for me to toss my opinions out there on the whole thing and I really don’t care what anyone thinks. I’ll start with the Lebron/Kobe debate.

Kobe is still better than Lebron for one reason. He is a closer.  In my opinion, there is way too much talk about sharing the ball, game ending shots and officiating in these games. The thing that still stands out to me is this. Kobe finishes games like Lebron doesn’t right now. The ball sharing argument is stupid to me because of this. When it is time to finish off a game, you’re best player needs to do it. Kobe shares the ball early in the game but in the last couple minutes, when it matters, he has it and finishes things off. Lebron doesn’t finish games this way. He is still looking to dish the ball even though he is rolling right through the lane and that is a sign of a guy who doesn’t think he can do it. He hit the big three at the end of game 2, but he should have taken charge of that game way before that. Jordan, Bird, Magic, and Kobe have all done that consistently. Win or lose, you die with your star in the NBA. There are occasions where someone else MUST take the shot because the defense takes you out, but there shouldn’t be so much doubt with a guy like Lebron.

Now I’ll talk about the Magic. They are better than I thought behind guys I didn’t think would do it. First off, Rashard Lewis is way tougher than I ever thought and it’s time for me to bow down to him and take back every negative thing I’ve said about him. He has shown some serious nads on both ends of the floor that warrant some major ass-kissing. Without Lewis this team isn’t here.

Next up is Rafer Alston. Alston has shown some cold-blooded toughness that I think most of us didn’t think he had. I went back and realized that he has done this before with Houston and understand now that I underestimated him beyond belief.

Mickael Pietrus is an animal. There may be no bigger free-agent signing when it is all said and done than this guy. He has been great on both sides of the floor in the playoffs and has now made himself invaluable to this team.

Time to dog guys out now. Dwight Howard has shown no inside offensive game and is proving to be a young guy looking to find himself. With his size you would expect him to overpower people in a Shaq-like manner, but no. With his athleticism you would expect quicker less clumsy moves in the paint, but no. He has done decent on the defensive end but has been getting into foul trouble and losing his head too much. I expected a lot more from Dwight in this series against Lebron, but haven’t gotten it.

Hedo Turkoglu has proven that it’s not necessary to bring him back. Most, including myself, have made a lot of Turk’s ability to be the man in the fourth quarter for the Magic and that he is needed to make this offense work. He has proven in the playoffs that it is Lewis and not himself that is the most vital cog in the Orlando offense. His low FG% will always be over played because of the role he plays in the offense, but his poor decisions and turnovers late can’t be overlooked in the playoffs. He is flopping and complaining too much at the end of games, taking too many poor shots and not working the middle the way he should be. Thank god Rashard Lewis can make clutch three’s at the  end of these games or the Magic wouldn’t be where they are.

The bottom line with these NBA playoffs to me is this. The Nuggets and the Magic are the two best teams left even though it’s closer than made out. The Lakers will beat the Nuggets because Kobe can finish. The Magic will beat the Cavs because Lebron can’t. The Magic match up better against the both the Cavs and the Lakers so I will predict the Magic winning the title. It won’t surprise me if the Lakers win because of the Kobe factor, but I would be shocked to see the Cavs or the Nuggets come back.

The NBA is a strange world but I do think the Magic take the trophy home. It’s not a homer thing either, I just feel them doing it.

Technorati Tags: Cleveland Cavaliers, Denver Nuggets, Hedo Turkoglu, Kobe Bryant, Larry Bird, LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers, Magic Johnson, Micheal Jordan, Mickael Pietrus, NBA, NBA Championship, Orlando Magic, Rafer Alston, Rashard Lewis

Orlando capped of their 4-0 road trip last night with another convincing win, a 106-88 victory in Denver. The Nuggets are a good team but the Magic turned it up in the fourth quarter to run away with it. Turk, Nelson and Lewis took it to the Nuggets combining for 77 of the Magic’s 106 points. This win was impressive because of the night before. After the game they played the night before against the Lakers, you could see a letdown game coming. They didn’t let that happen and are establishing themselves as THE force to be reckoned with in the NBA. They have the best road record in the league and have done so while beating teams like the Lakers, Nuggets, Spurs, Hawks and so on in their buildings.

That Laker game was everything I thought it would be by the way. Jameer Nelson stepped up again with 28 points, which included 15 in the fourth quarter. Howard showed Andrew Bynum that he still has some growing up to do as he dominated the paint despite getting into early foul trouble. It was an outstanding game and I come away even more impressed than I already was. It was nice to see Jameer hit the big shots in the fourth, especially as Kobe missed. Everything is going pretty well right now, hopefully they’re not peaking too soon, and I am now looking forward to the future match-ups with the Celtics, Cavs and Pistons.

Technorati Tags: Andrew Bynum, Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Courtney Lee, Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons, Dwight Howard, Hedo Turkoglu, Jameer Nelson, Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers, Orlando Magic, Rashard Lewis, San Antonio spurs

The idiots on the four letter network keep driving me insane with their doubting of the Magic because of their schedule. It’s not college football you assholes! They don’t get to pick who they play, they play the schedule they’re dealt and all they can do is win. Guess what dumbasses, they’re winning! It’s not like they’re playing St. Mary’s high school or a pickup game in the back yard. They’ve won on the road against the Western Conference and they’ve beaten good teams at home. They beat up on San Antonio and New Orleans at home and won tough games on the road. They’re doing this all without really having the entire team clicking on all cylinders. It took Lewis a while to get his offense going and Dwight Howard hasn’t exactly been lighting things up lately while he nurses an injury. They won while Nelson and Pietrus were out and nothing seems to be slowing them down at this point. Since their tough loss in Boston earlier this month the Magic are 13-1, with the only loss being on a last second shot by Grant Hill in Phoenix.

I’m sick of hearing people doubt this team because they want to hang all over LeBron James’ sack. Get over yourselves idiots. The Magic are in Detroit tonight for a big game and follow that up with another tough one in Chicago on Wednesday. Next month they will get Boston at home and have to play the Spurs, Kings, Lakers and Nuggets in a brutal West Coast trip. If they bomb out there then you can get on them, but if they win these games now, you need to get on board with the rest of those that think they’re finally reaching elite type status. I can’t wait to see what this team can do with everyone healthy and playing well and everyone out there should be looking forward to it as well. We’re seeing Jameer Nelson mature into a very good player and could be on the verge of something really great with Courtney Lee. If Rashard Lewis’ sudden newfound toughness isn’t temporary we could really being seeing something special out of these guys. I hope they keep winning and the four letter network retards keep overlooking it until they’re holding up some hardware.

Technorati Tags: Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, Courtney Lee, Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons, Dwight Howard, Grant Hill, Jameer Nelson, LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers, Mickael Pietrus, New Orleans Hornets, Orlando Magic, Phoenix Suns, Rashard Lewis, Sacramento Kings, San Antonio spurs