Can't ignore the Magic anymore
January 18th 2009 09:37
When talking about the race between the elite teams in the NBA, the likes of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Lakers, and the Boston Celtics constantly crop up at such a topic early in the season.
Welcome the new member of the league's Top of the Line Club: The Orlando Magic.
Orlando has never looked this good in years. Thanks to their improving chemistry and maturity, they aren't the type of team that is looking for answers anymore.
The Magic is certainly are proving something this season and they just might turn out as the team that can pull the rug from under the rest of the league's title favorites. Currently, Orlando is now at second place overall in the standings and are dangerously close to the Cavaliers behind only by .016 in win percentage as of this writing. They have overtaken the Celtics and the Lakers showing consistency as the season goes on.
Actually, Orlando started the season on the wrong foot losing their first two games of the season but bounced back with four straight wins and worked their way to their current 32-8 record, which is, their best 40-game start in franchise history.
As of now, the Magic has been impressive with their performance the highlight of which is beating the Lakers twice this season at home and on the road. That certainly is a very good credential to put in their resume for the next postseason battle.
Other impressive victories that are at their disposal are the wins against Southeast Division rival Atlanta Hawks on a back-to-back occasion just to prove that the division title is theirs to keep. The Magic also registered a season sweep of the San Antonio Spurs and a smashing victory over the New Orleans Hornets.
The season is still far from over as Orlando will still be engaging in tougher games ahead. Upcoming games against the Celtics and the Cavaliers before the month of January passes will serve as acid tests for this promising Magic team. They have yet to win against the Celtics this season after absorbing a 107-88 loss to the defending champions on the road and they will face Cleveland for the first time this season.
Orlando had just came off a win against the Northwest Division leading Denver Nuggets and they can surely use the momentum against a Celtic team that is still smarting from a recent slump and the good thing is that they are playing at home with 4 days of rest prior to that game.
The Magic is a team that has a dominant low-post presence in Dwight Howard considered to be the top big man this season. Tim Duncan and Shaquille O'Neal may still be around but Howard has proven that he's an almost automatic double-double performer and is a constant threat to pull up a 20-20 game in every outing.
Surrounding Howard is a whole slew of dangerous perimeter players from the spots 1-4.
Jameer Nelson is at point guard and is considered now as the resident playmaker of the team with his recent impressive performances in Orlando's winning runs.
Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu are the starting forwards. Both players actually loom as small forwards because they don't have much bulk up front but makes up for it with their reliable shooting hands from the perimeter. In the Magic set-up, Howard is the one true inside scoring option with both Lewis and Turkoglu helping to declog the lane with their outside games, Howard can have more room and opportunity to produce his impressive numbers.
Free agent acquisition Mickael Pietrus has also made his presence felt at shooting guard for the Magic as he has been averaging in double figures in scoring amply filling the gap at the 2-position making Orlando as formidable as any NBA powerhouse out there.
Orlando's bench is not as deep though but players like rookie Coutney Lee, Keith Bogans, J.J. Redick, and even back-up center Tony Battie can become factors on a good day.
Head coach Stan Van Gundy has been on guard for his team eversince the season began and he has been demanding great effort from his boys all the time just to make sure that they don't get into horrible slumps during the season. May it be about their team defense or riding Howard about free throw shooting, Van Gundy is always on top of the situation.
Howard has been adamant about his team winning a championship this year saying that they have a shot as good as anybody's. If they keep up the winning trend they just might surprise the entire league. Boston and Cleveland will be there as hurdles in Orlando's coming games. Howard's right to claim their total validity in competing for a championship this year has yet to be seen and it will definitely be exciting for the Orlando faithful.
Photo by AP
Welcome the new member of the league's Top of the Line Club: The Orlando Magic.
Orlando has never looked this good in years. Thanks to their improving chemistry and maturity, they aren't the type of team that is looking for answers anymore.
Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic are looking to dominate. Can the Celtics and the Cavs stop them soon?
The Magic is certainly are proving something this season and they just might turn out as the team that can pull the rug from under the rest of the league's title favorites. Currently, Orlando is now at second place overall in the standings and are dangerously close to the Cavaliers behind only by .016 in win percentage as of this writing. They have overtaken the Celtics and the Lakers showing consistency as the season goes on.
Actually, Orlando started the season on the wrong foot losing their first two games of the season but bounced back with four straight wins and worked their way to their current 32-8 record, which is, their best 40-game start in franchise history.
As of now, the Magic has been impressive with their performance the highlight of which is beating the Lakers twice this season at home and on the road. That certainly is a very good credential to put in their resume for the next postseason battle.
Other impressive victories that are at their disposal are the wins against Southeast Division rival Atlanta Hawks on a back-to-back occasion just to prove that the division title is theirs to keep. The Magic also registered a season sweep of the San Antonio Spurs and a smashing victory over the New Orleans Hornets.
The season is still far from over as Orlando will still be engaging in tougher games ahead. Upcoming games against the Celtics and the Cavaliers before the month of January passes will serve as acid tests for this promising Magic team. They have yet to win against the Celtics this season after absorbing a 107-88 loss to the defending champions on the road and they will face Cleveland for the first time this season.
Orlando had just came off a win against the Northwest Division leading Denver Nuggets and they can surely use the momentum against a Celtic team that is still smarting from a recent slump and the good thing is that they are playing at home with 4 days of rest prior to that game.
The Magic is a team that has a dominant low-post presence in Dwight Howard considered to be the top big man this season. Tim Duncan and Shaquille O'Neal may still be around but Howard has proven that he's an almost automatic double-double performer and is a constant threat to pull up a 20-20 game in every outing.
Surrounding Howard is a whole slew of dangerous perimeter players from the spots 1-4.
Jameer Nelson is at point guard and is considered now as the resident playmaker of the team with his recent impressive performances in Orlando's winning runs.
Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu are the starting forwards. Both players actually loom as small forwards because they don't have much bulk up front but makes up for it with their reliable shooting hands from the perimeter. In the Magic set-up, Howard is the one true inside scoring option with both Lewis and Turkoglu helping to declog the lane with their outside games, Howard can have more room and opportunity to produce his impressive numbers.
Free agent acquisition Mickael Pietrus has also made his presence felt at shooting guard for the Magic as he has been averaging in double figures in scoring amply filling the gap at the 2-position making Orlando as formidable as any NBA powerhouse out there.
Orlando's bench is not as deep though but players like rookie Coutney Lee, Keith Bogans, J.J. Redick, and even back-up center Tony Battie can become factors on a good day.
Head coach Stan Van Gundy has been on guard for his team eversince the season began and he has been demanding great effort from his boys all the time just to make sure that they don't get into horrible slumps during the season. May it be about their team defense or riding Howard about free throw shooting, Van Gundy is always on top of the situation.
Howard has been adamant about his team winning a championship this year saying that they have a shot as good as anybody's. If they keep up the winning trend they just might surprise the entire league. Boston and Cleveland will be there as hurdles in Orlando's coming games. Howard's right to claim their total validity in competing for a championship this year has yet to be seen and it will definitely be exciting for the Orlando faithful.
Photo by AP
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