Tampa Bay Sports Blog

For those of you less educated folks out there who may not be familiar with the old idiom “feast or famine”, it means; either too much of something or not enough of something.

If you’re a fan of the Orlando Magic, you probably already know where I’m going with this. Yes, that “something” I’m referring to is EFFORT.

The Magic have been wildly inconsistent through the first half of this season, and much of that has to do with the lack of effort and intensity they bring to the court on any given night.

After returning home from a disastrous road trip that concluded with a disconcerting loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, in what was ’suppose’ to be a chance to avenge their defeat in the NBA Finals last season. The Magic apparently channeled their inner “Gooch”(pardon my reference to the old sit-com “Different Strokes” and the character who routinely harassed poor Arnold “what you talkin’ bout Willis”) and took their aggression out on two clearly overmatched opponents in the Indiana Pacers and Sacramento Queens…..Oooops, I meant Kings.

Before moving on, I’d like to address the Laker game if I may. I was honestly expecting Orlando to at least come out of the locker room ready to play and show some pride. Laker fans are notorious for showing up late to games, much like the Magic this season who usually get going around the 2nd quarter. So it would have been a great opportunity to take the crowd out of the game and build some momentum.

Unfortunately, the Magic chose to do things the hard way, waiting until the 3rd quarter to find their shooting touch. At this point, the Lakers already imposed their will on the game and simply dusted the Magic off in the fourth quarter, despite a lackluster performance by Kobe Bryant who has been hampered with an injured finger. As much as I hate Kobe (and believe me that hate runs deep…lol..), I have to give him respect for his willingness to play hurt. I wish Vince Carter had that kind of resolve.

The lone bright spot in the Magic’s loss to the lakers, was the 1st half performance of Dwight Howard. Superman was very aggressive, attacking offensively and even displayed a nice feathery touch on a few face up jumpers off the glass. Why the Magic went away from Howard in the second half is a mystery to me? Instead, they reverted back to chucking 3 pointers, a total of 33 on the night to be exact. When will Stan Van Gundy realize this Rick Pitino “Ken-Chucky Wildcat” approach is not going to get it done?

Wednesday nights game against the Pacers was another opportunity for revenge from their last meeting in Indiana where Roy Hibbert had a career night against Howard and company. Howard clearly seemed to remember as he dominated and showed why he is considered one of the best centers in the game. When Dwight plays physical and stays aggressive, there isn’t a player out there who should be able to guard him.  Matt Barnes also had a very productive game with 10 points and a rather impressive 16 boards for the slightly built Forward. Following the Game, Barnes summed things up perfectly stating “We(The magic)need to be the hunters more instead of just the hunted”.

Last nights game against Sacramento was much to do about nothing. So I will keep it short. Aside from Tyreke Evans “Rookie of The Year” campaign, the Kings have nothing left to play for this season. That was very apparent as the Magic took it to the Kings from start to finish. Dwight Howard was impressive once again, especially at the free throw line, where he was a shocking 11-12. If he continues to improve on his free throw shooting as he has of late, it will be increasingly difficult for teams to foul him.

As a former basketball player, I can tell you from my experience, it is much easier to shoot uncontested 3 pointers, compared to shooting with a hand in your face. Which is what happens when the Magic play inside out, as opposed to just coming down and spotting up. If you allow Dwight Howard to draw a double team and then kick it out to the open man, you will get better looks and ultimately, shoot a higher percentage. The Magic are loaded with great shooters, such as Rashard Lewis, JJ Redick and Ryan Anderson, who should benefit from Dwight’s re-emergence as an offensive force.

Even in the blow out wins against Indiana and Sacramento at home, the Magic are still relying far too heavily on the deep ball, and are not getting enough from their starting back court. Vince Carter, injured or not, has to play better on both ends of the floor and start taking better shots. As for Jameer Nelson, I’m afraid diagnosing his problems aren’t quite as easy. His outside shooting has been terrible, and the same can be said for his decision making and leadership. Since his return from knee surgery, he hasn’t had the same explosive quickness to get by opposing players, and his confidence seems shaken. The team plays much more fluidly when being run by back up Jason Williams. Maybe, the Magic need to insert Williams back into the starting role and give Jameer a chance to regain his form against the opposing teams second units.

Tonight Orlando heads back on the road to take on the “Red Hot” Charlotte Bobcats. Yes, you heard me right, I said the Charlotte Bobcats are currently the NBA’s “hottest” team, having won 9 of their last 10 games. Since acquiring Stephen Jackson from Golden State, the Bobcats have been playing much better basketball. And similar to last years Magic team with Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu, the Bobcats are giving opponents fits with the mismatches their line-up of Stephen Jackson, Gerald Wallace and Boris Diaw create.

I would love to see the Magic try and play Gortat alongside Dwight Howard, similar to the Lakers approach with Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol. I’m just curious to see how teams would be able to defend, especially, with the shooters the Magic possess on the perimeter.

Let’s see if the Magic can carry their  home dominance with them on the road.

Technorati Tags: Andrew Bynum, Boris Diaw, Charlotte Bobcats, Different Strokes, Dwight Howard, Gerald Wallace, Indiana Pacers, Jameer Nelson, jason williams, JJ Reddick, Kobe Bryant, Marcin Gortat, Matt Barnes, Orlando Magic, Pau Gasol, Rick Pitino, Roy Hibbert, Ryan Anderson, Sacramento Kings, Stan Van Gundy, Stephen Jackson, The Gooch, Tyreke Evans, Vince Carter

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 Orlando Magic, fresh from a night off, strolled into Utah to take on a Jazz team who just suffered a debilitating loss the night before to the World Champion Los Angeles Lakers. A perfect scenario for the Magic to continue on their winning ways.

As expected the Jazz looked sluggish early on and the Magic were hitting on all cylinders, building what you would think would be an insurmountable 18 point lead. Well, think again folks, because the always tough at home Utah Jazz had other plans.

I can’t help but think that the momentum change was spurred on when Rashard Lewis pulled a Scottie Pippen in the 2nd quarter; refusing coach Van Gundy’s orders to get back in the game. Lewis, saddled with 2 fouls, later claimed he felt Ryan Anderson had it going and didn’t want to interrupt his hot streak.  Unbelievable as it sounds for a player making a cool $118 millions bucks to refuse a coaches instruction. Stan Van Gundy himself, who has coached some questionable characters in his career, claims he has never had a player question his authority in this manner.

Even if Rashard Lewis thought he was being unselfish, is this the type of attitude you want to permeate throughout your team? An All-Star player feeling that his substitute can provide more effectiveness than himself.  Could you imagine Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan or Dwayne Wade not seething at the opportunity to get back on the court no matter what the score or situation.

Whatever transpired inside the Magic locker room at halftime, seemed to carry over onto the basketball court. The Jazz came out in the 3rd quarter and simply wrestled the game away from the Magic outscoring the Magic 68-51 in the final 2 quarters of play.

Deron Williams was spectacular tallying 32 points and 15 assists while the Jazz also received significant contributions from Carlos Boozer, Mehmet Okur and C.J.Miles.

The Jazz imposed their physicality upon a soft Magic team who wilted under the pressure of a hostile crowd at EnergySolutions Arena.

Tonight, the Magic get a chance to regroup against a far less physical, yet equally athletic club, in the Phoenix Suns. On the bright side, Rashard Lewis should be well rested. While on the flip side, Jason Williams will have his hands full with 2 time MVP Steve Nash and Dwight Howard will have to deal with Amar’e “The Stat Sheet Stuffer” Stoudemire. Without having to look into my crystal ball, I predict an early appearance from Marcin Gortat to spell Dwight Howard after he picks up a quick 2 fouls.

Technorati Tags: Amare Stoudemire, C.J. Miles, Carlos Boozer, Deron Williams, Dwayne Wade, Dwight Howard, jason williams, Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers, Marcin Gortat, Mehmet Okur, Michael Jordan, NBA Finals, Orlando Magic, Phoenix Suns, Rashard Lewis, Stan Van Gundy, Vince Carter

Last night was a classic example of a good team letting their inferior opponent stick around too long and having the rug pulled out from underneath them. The Orlando Magic appeared to have their 13th consecutive win against the Miami Heat all but sealed up midway through the 4th quarter, until you guessed it, Mr. Dwayne Wade himself took matters into his own hand. As much as I’d love to put the onus on Vince “Cupcake” Carter, I have to give the “Goat” award to Dwight Howard and the rest of the Magic frontline. They were clearly out hustled and showed zero heart or intensity down the stretch.

It looks as if the recurrent theme of the Magic’s season is going to be their lack of killer instinct. Until Vince Carter and Rashard Lewis realize referee’s are not going to blow the whistle on weak finger roll drives to the basket, or Dwight Howard starts to make critical free throws, the Magic will continue to falter in close meaningful games. Dwayne Wade’s humiliating block of Vince “Cupcake” Carters 4th quarter fade away drive to the basket, was reminiscent of last years finals series against the Los Angeles Lakers, when Kobe Bryant snatched both a ferocious rebound and Dwight Howard’s heart all in one play. Wade stole the momentum of the game and Michael Beasley picked up the scraps, putting the final nail in the coffin of the Magic.

Unfortunately, lost in what has to be a debilitating loss for the Magic, was another solid effort from Jason Williams. He scored 25 points, dished out 8 dimes and had only 1 turnover. However, his 2 missed free throws down the stretch proved critical for the Magic’s chances to seal the deal. Vince Carter showed some resilience hitting a huge 3 point field goal to put the magic up 3 with 14 seconds left, only to be foiled by Wade and company. Ultimately, it was Dwight Howard’s failure to block out Jermaine O’neal or anyone else on the Heats frontline that proved to be the most damaging. It’s unfathomable a player of his stature doesn’t have more pride or determination, and further solidifies my point that he is a “Super Liability” when it counts the most. Let’s hope Stan Van Gundy reverts back to his negative, berating self. Maybe, that can somehow inspire a bit of toughness out of Dwight Howard. If not, can we see Marcin Gortat get at least a cameo role in the Magic’s 4th quarter production?

The beauty of the NBA season is the Magic have a chance for redemption against a soaring Atlanta Hawks club tonight and can quickly put last nights bad memory out of their minds. Another test of their intestinal fortitude will be on display and I’m hoping they don’t wind up resembling America’s traditional Thanksgiving Dinner. TURKEY!

Technorati Tags: Dwayne Wade, Dwight Howard, jason williams, Jermaine O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, Michael beasley, Orlando Magic, Rashard Lewis, Stan Van Gundy, 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

It was an odd night in the NBA last night. A couple of not so close games has some odd behavior attached to them. The Magic got handled fairly easy by the Celtics in game two, but it was Rafer Alston’s girly behavior that caught my attention.

It’s not shocking that the Celtics came out with a lot more fire and intensity last night. They finally had some time to recover from the wild Bulls series they had in round one. They also needed to take that game to avoid going to Orlando down 0-2. What surprised me was Alston. Eddie House was going off last night (he finished with 31) and it finally got to Alston. It was funny but will probably land Alston on the sideline for game 3. After Eddie House hit a three pointer (in Alston’s face) Alston decided to slap him in the head as turned to run down the court. That’s right, he “slapped” him.

He’s lucky House didn’t turn and pummel him, but even House had to laugh at the girly attack Rafer laid on him. It was so pathetic that the ref’s didn’t eject Alston and gave he and House both technical fouls on the play. Hey Rafer, if you’re gonna get mad and hit someone, at least pretend you’re a man and throw a punch.

In the Laker game there was an incident between Kobe Bryant and Ron Artest. A lot was made of this and I completely disagree with the decision of the officials to throw Ron Artest out of the game. Kobe and Artest were battling for a rebound and Kobe threw an elbow after Artest was shoving him from behind. It was just some good old fashioned physical basketball. The Ref’s threw Artest out after he got in Kobe’s face and it was stupid. He didn’t throw any punches, he just wanted to let him know that he was pissed about being elbowed in the neck.

They completely overreated to it and tossed him. After the game it was nice to see Artest having a sense of humor about it saying “doesn’t he know who he’s messing with?”. All in all it was a good night of playoff ball.

Technorati Tags: Boston Celtics, Eddie House, Houston Rockets, Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers, NBA, Orlando Magic, Rafer Alston, Ron Artest

The Magic are tearing through the NBA right now with a 33-8 record and look like serious title contenders right now. The improvement on both sides of the court is relevant to everyone picking up their game. Turk is what he always has been, a cold blooded beast that attacks other teams defense’s with the reckless abandon of a football player. Dwight Howard is dominating inside the paint and has dramatically improved his defense, namely his shot blocking skills. Rashard Lewis has gotten with the program and has shown a much tougher side to him on both ends of the floor. Courtney Lee is doing right now what we expected from Mickael Pietrus and when Pietrus is healthy again the bench will get that much deeper. Aside from Lee, we’ve seen all of these guys play at this level before during their careers. The one guy that has really taken giant steps forward is Jameer Nelson, and that has translated into the Magic taking a giant step forward.

Nelson is having a career year for the real Orlando Blue Man Group and is bringing the team with him. If anyone said they didn’t notice before, the Laker game should’ve gotten their attention. Nelson outplayed Kobe Bryant in the fourth quarter of that game and led the Magic to the most notable victory this season. That win not only solidified them as a top tier team, but served notice to the rest of the league that they can beat anyone anywhere. Now I’m not comparing Nelson to Bryant, that would be silly, but I’m saying that it’s time to start giving the man some run as a legitimate MVP candidate. He’s not putting up numbers like Bryant, James or Wade, but he’s doing as much for his team as anyone. He’s hitting clutch shots, spreading the ball around and helping create opportunities for Lewis, Turk and Howard to get theirs. The team has improved as much as Nelson has and that’s no coincidence.

Nelson is not only putting good numbers up, he leads all guards in field goal percentage. That’s right, he’s shooting at a better clip than James, Bryant, Wade or any other guard you want to name. He’s twentieth in the NBA in overall FG% and that’s comparing him to guys like Howard and Shaq who get most of their points off dunks and easier shots inside. He’s also fifth in the NBA in 3-point percentage and he’s doing all of this while basically being the fourth option offensively here. I’m not trying to make a case for the guy to be the MVP, but he should at least be in the conversation. When a player improves as much as Nelson has, and subsequently his team does as well, it’s time for everyone to take notice of it. I would just like to see him mentioned within these MVP rankings I see tossed up and, other than Third Quarter Collapse and Orlando Magic Blog, haven’t seen too much about Nelson put out there. Like I said, he’s not top three or maybe not even top ten, but he should at least be in the same class as Paul Millsap and Allen Iverson right now, don’t you think?

Technorati Tags: Allen Iverson, Courtney Lee, Dwight Howard, Hedo Turkoglu, Jameer Nelson, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers, Mickael Pietrus, MVP, Orlando Magic, Paul Millsap, Rashard Lewis, Shaquille O'Neal

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

I’m not going to bother going over it too much because I’m sure everyone out there saw the aerial bombing that the Magic dropped on Sacramento on Tuesday, but it was amazing to watch. Normally when teams get hot like that you just sit back and wait for them to cool down and see what happens from there. It never happened and the Magic embarrassed the Kings at home 139-107. It was awesome and got me extremely excited for tomorrow’s game with the Lakers.

I could be setting myself up for a huge letdown, but I’m excited none the less. I can’t wait to see if they can keep the hot shooting going, how Courtney Lee does defensively against Kobe Bryant and if the Magic can beat one of the NBA’s best on their home floor. If they pull out the win I think it go a long way toward this team believing that they can go all the way and give them a little more swagger in future match-ups against Cleveland and Boston. This team has come a long way this year and there is no ceiling on what they can do. I once again encourage everyone to watch this team that hasn’t yet and I think you’ll be hooked when you do.

Technorati Tags: Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Courtney Lee, Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers, Orlando Magic, Sacramento Kings