Tampa Bay Sports Blog

Dwight Howard had his Birthday wishes answered with a dominating performance coinciding with the Magics sixth straight victory and  eighth consecutive road win. Howard collected 24 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists and a couple of posterizing dunks at the expense of Clipper starting center Chris Kaman.

Worthy of ‘its’ own stat line is the SEVEN blocked shots by the birthday boy himself, Dwight “sometimes Superman” Howard. Of course all coming with a smile on his face, which is just part of Howard’s nature I guess. Although, if I was capable of putting up those types of numbers, I might be smiling too!

The Magics balanced attack was on display once again, and is the reason I feel they will ultimately be representing the Eastern Conference once again in the NBA Finals.

Jason William’s had another strong performance with 16 points against the two headed monster of Baron Davis and Eric Gordon. Rashard Lewis also kicked in 17 points to help offset a quiet night from Vince Carter.

Last night’s contest is a perfect example of the type of game that a championship caliber team finds a way to win. Playing against a lesser team on the road in a desolate arena. Yet, the Magic found a way to get it done with an impressive fourth quarter surge. While on the same night, the Cavalier’s, who in my humble, are counterfeit contenders, showed their vulnerability once again with an embarrassing loss to the lowly Memphis Grizzlies. I think you get my drift.

Thursday will be a different animal all together as the Magic head north to face a much more formidable foe in the Utah Jazz. The Magic frontline will be put to the test with the physical play of  Carlos Boozer and Paul Millsap. Coupled with the defensive prowess of Andrei Kirilenko and the adept shooting touch of Mehmet Okur. Definitely not a laughing matter, so I’m hoping Dwight Howard puts his LOL smiley face on hold and brings his never displayed before “Evil Grimace”.  Jason Williams will also have to bring his A game once again, going up against one of my favorite players in the league in Deron Williams. Another test for the Orlando Magic who are proving to be road warriors. Should be a fun game to watch and a good excuse to stay up late on a school night for all the young Magic fans out there.

Technorati Tags: Andrei Kirilenko, Baron Davis, Carlos Boozer, Cleveland Cavaliers, Deron Williams, Dwight Howard, Eric Gordon, jason williams, Los Angeles Clippers, Mehmet Okur, NBA Finals, Orlando Magic, Paul Millsap, Rashard Lewis, Utah Jazz, Vince Carter

In what would best be described as a shoot out between the Magic and Golden State Warriors, two clearly unevenly matched teams, saw the Magic prevail in relatively easy fashion. Yes, the Warriors kept it close with great offensive performances by Monta Ellis and a career night from Anthony Randolph. Unfortunately, that simply was not enough to derail the Magic who continue to stay on their winning track.

Once again, Dwight Howard was plagued with foul trouble, which doesn’t really concern me anymore. Since the Magic seem to play just as well, if not better, with him riding the pine. Vince Carter is showing that he can still carry a team at this stage of his career, at least offensively. Heck he even dished out seven assists and grabbed 5 boards. Mickael Pietrus also came up big against his former compadres with a season high 22 points and Rashard Lewis chipped in a quiet 20 points.

Another bright spot for the Magic continues to be the steady play of Jason Williams. True, the Warriors were able to expose the Magics lack of speed in the backcourt, with the slow footed JJ Redick and aging Jason Williams. However, Jameer Nelson will be back soon enough to help address one of the few flaws in the Magics arsenal.

The Magic are fortunate to have 2 nights off before taking on the Clippers, which will be a nice respite before taking on Utah and Phoenix in a grueling back to back stretch.

Technorati Tags: Anthony Randolph, Dwight Howard, Golden State Warriors, Jameer Nelson, jason williams, JJ Reddick, Los Angeles Clippers, Mickael Pietrus, Monta Ellis, Orlando Magic, Phoenix Suns, Rashard Lewis, Utah Jazz

The Magic started their West Coast swing last night in L.A. against the Clippers and got out with a 95-88 victory. It was a nice win in the sense that the Magic started and finished strong. They closed out the game with a 29-13 fourth quarter where they trailed by 9 to start and won by 7. That showed a nice finish the Magic have not always had, especially on the road. Dwight Howard led the charge with another 20/20 game and finished with a 23/22 line. Rashard Lewis had 18 and Jameer Nelson chipped in with 15 in another quality game. Nelson has shown marked improvement this year and should be getting more credit than he has received so far. Third Quarter Collapse came to his defense yesterday and did a nice job in pointing out how much he’s improved on paper. Nelson was criticized by 3shadesofblue where they stated “Just think about how good they would be if they had a real, live point guard on the roster.” I wouldn’t say that they couldn’t upgrade the point guard position, but to dismiss Jameer Nelson as if he’s not doing anything to help this team is just stupid. They obviously haven’t seen much of him this year and are judging him strictly on his past. Back to the game now, Lewis and Turk still haven’t got their shooting touches back yet going 9 of 17 combined and if these guys can still win with these guys shooting this way, it should be interesting to see how things go when they get their strokes back. Courtney Lee had a nice effort off the bench with 8 points and played some solid defense in the process. They Magic head to Portland tonight and it should be interesting to see how well they can play on back to back nights out west.

Technorati Tags: Courtney Lee, Dwight Howard, Hedo Turkoglu, Jameer Nelson, Los Angeles Clippers, Orlando Magic, Portland Trailblazers, Rashard Lewis

   The Orlando Magic have looked pretty good so far this year. A 9-3 record is good enough for first place in the Southeast. Quality wins over the Sixers, Mavericks and Bulls help build some confidence toward the long road ahead. The real season starts for the boys in blue next month though. That’s when we’re going to find out how much progress they’re making as a team this year. They start off on the road in Boston to face the defending champs. Then, after two games at home, they head out on a very tough West Coast swing that includes the Clippers, Blazers, Suns, Jazz and Warriors. They then come home to face the Spurs and Lakers among others and finish off the month on the road again to face the Pistons and Bulls. It’s gonna be a tough month however it winds up and we should know a lot more about this team before New Year’s Day. The key matchups are obviously the Celtics and Pistons. Both are away games and both teams are the elite of the Eastern Conference. The Celtics returned most of their team and have looked like they haven’t taken any steps backwards so far. The Pistons have struggled a little, especially since the Iverson/Billups deal, but are still among the best. They carry the intimidation factor as well when they face the Magic. Teyshawn Prince has been sick so far this year and Rip Hamilton still poses nightmares for the Magic. We’ll have to see how big a difference Mickael Pietrus can make. Pietrus was brought in with Hamilton in mind. The Magic have had no answer for Hamilton in playoffs past and now have to contend with Iverson as well. I don’t want to pass judgment on anything until we see, but it’s hard to see Magic containing the Hamilton/Iverson/Prince trio come playoff time. There’s no need to break down the Celtics big three, we already know what they can do. Jameer Nelson looks to be improving the way we had hoped (finally) and Mickael Pietrus has been a little better than expected so far. What’s troubling to me is the fact that Pietrus and Howard have been getting in early foul trouble a lot. What happens when they deal with the tougher matchups that are really gonna beat up on them? It’s also been a rough offensive start for Turk and Lewis. We know my opinion on Lewis already so I’ll leave it be, but the Magic need Turkoglu to maintain his presence on the offensive end. He’s uhh, how you say, the straw that stirs the drink. It’s going to be an interesting month for these guys and I personally can’t wait to see it.

Technorati Tags: Allen Iverson, Boston Celtics, Chauncey Billups, Chicago Bulls, Dallas Mavericks, Detroit Pistons, Dwight Howard, Golden State Warriors, Hedo Turkoglu, Jameer Nelson, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, Mickael Pietrus, Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns, Portland Trailblazers, Rashard Lewis, Richard Hamilton, San Antonio spurs, Teyshawn Prince, Utah Jazz