Magic through thick n thin

Oh, and to stay within the confines of this thread, my East top five are: 1. Boston (I can't see them repeating, but they are good) 2. Detroit (As much as I hate to say it, they're better this year and will finish with a better record than us) 3. Orlando (We'll reach Conf. Finals...I'd LOVE for us to reach NBA finals but realistically I think that comes next year) 4. Toronto (I go to school in Toronto so I hear about the team alot...J.Oneal's in GREAT shape and might be ready to return to his previous form..if so, they're definitely #4 seed) 5. Philly (I think that they qualify as pretty overrated right now seeing as they haven't achieved ANYTHING...just got a really good pickup..that said, they will be pretty dam good)

did i honestly hear you just say that the magic are OVERRATED??? that is LITERALLY the first time anyone's said that. i havent read anywhere yet this year where people overate the magic so it's nice to see that you're using your imagination. the magic are MILES better than cleveland. sure lebron can put up 30/8/8 against us...he can do that against anyone. it's just too bad that basketball puts 5 people on the floor instead of just one. Yes, lebron can "beat" a team by himself one or two times...7 game series? not as likely. He's done it ONCE against detroit the year they made it to the finals (where, by the way, they got their as*** handed to them). Cleveland is, by far, the most overrated TEAM in the NBA. I see them finishing with 44-48 wins and being knocked out in the second round again. I repeat. Basketball = FIVE people on the floor Playoff series = FOUR wins out of SEVEN...not ONE win out of ONE

the jersey's are SHWEET!

i really thing they should design the new jerseys with a new logo in mind. i do like indybobb's jersey but i want to see something really creative; almost as if it were an all-star jersey (isn't it amazing that they always have some fantastic design scheme that mimics the city its in while also looking extremely modern and creative). i think something incorporating a new creative logo would be good. (ill use this as an opportunity to reveal my logo design again).

I don't think anybody has every really doubted Jameer's and/or Carlos' ability to play extremely well (like they did last night). The 'hating', if you want to call it that, comes from the fact that neither of them is consistent enough to warrant them the tag of 'franchise point guard'. I love Jameer, and I love what Carlos brings to this franchise; but at some point you have to understand that this team needs consistency at the point; not just flashes of brilliance. Now if Jameer could play like he did last night in at least 80-90% of our games; $35 mil. is too little. Until then, I think we might have overpaid him SLIGHTLY...it's not a gross overpayment, just a slight one. I'm rooting for Jameer to become the franchise point guard, but let's be honest; he's not there quite yet.

i've loved gortat since the summer league. i remember talking to someone about us losing darko and i said that we shouldn't worry about it because gortat would be a better version of darko. he can hit the midrange, he's extremely athletic (he gets up and down the court just as fast if not faster than dwight; i remember at least twice last night against the wizards, i actually thought out loud "holy **** he's quick"....twice), and he's very active on the boards (2 offensive rebounds in 5 minutes of play last night). the defensive positioning will come with more playing time. i think he deserves some PT, especially on a team desperate for big bodies.

hedo got screwed...im sorry but sheed doesnt deserve it over hedo. this is stern's worst decision.

last i heard haslem was still injured so i wouldnt read to much into him not playing today. then again, i havent kept track of his injury so im not sure.

Amen Drunk on Mystery. Amen.

quote: Originally posted by Sauce MoneyAs for Howard, he needs to bring more to his game if he wants the ball alot. He needs to develop a jumper to go with his game. Everybody is on to his spin inside dunk or lay in move, or the hook shots. But if he added a jumper, he will be even more dominent. Like a 10ft shot. Thats closer than the FTs. He has great shooting form he just needs to build confidence. Once he does to go with the Shaq like game he has now, he will officially be the most dominating center in the game. He'll have it in 1 or 2 seasons. You can see it now, but like you said he just needs to build confidence in it. I saw an interview where he said if he shoots it once in a game and misses, he doesn't want to shoot it again because he's already lost his confidence for that game. If you watch the games where he fires one off; that's exactly what happens. He just has to keep working at it and you know he is because at least he looks to take it sometimes now; as opposed to years past. It'll come.

I can see people right now calling me a hater. Let me get it out there right now, that I love the whole team and what everyone brings to the game; but I'm an honest person and I'll say what I think is true. I think Turk is a great ball player and we're lucky to have him, especially at the point in his career where he's recognizing his potential. I just think that him together with Dwight isn't working as well as it could.

I fully agree Big L. Recently I've been very concerned with Dwight's touches. He simply doesn't seem to be getting the ball anymore. I started to study why things have changed since the beginning of the year; and it's simple: In recent weeks, Stan Van has designated Turkoglu as the distributor of the team. This of course means that "distributing" doesn't happen. Moreso, its Turk trying to drive and if that's not possible then he calls for a high screen and roll and completely forgets that Dwight is rolling and then either drives or shoots. Say what you will about Jameer, but he is a born leader; and he demanded the ball as the point guard. He is one of the few on the magic team who really look to get the ball to Dwight. The others who look to do that regularly are: Keith Bogans and Maurice Evans. Aside from those two, we have a team filled with players who either look to get their own shot, or are intent on swing the ball around and around on the perimeter looking for 3's. Watch the next game closely and you'll see exactly what I've seen.

JJ has a very bright future as an NBA player. His skillset is very similar to that of Rip Hamilton with a better 3pt shot. True. JJ does need playing time to develop; however we don't have the playing time he needs unfortunately. I agree we need to get him into games so he can prove what he can do. I heard someone say he would be a good PG. THAT is ridiculous; his ball handling is nowhere near a PG level and his strength is coming off screens for quick shots: a la Rip Hamilton. What so many fail to see in their constant bashing of Otis Smith; is that we have almost ALL of our guards coming off the books at the end of the year. Yes Otis has made some boneheaded moves; but trading JJ would be the worst. Truthfully; I think we should be trying a bigger lineup at times. Something in the vicinity of: Arroyo or Nelson Redick Lewis Foyle Howard Anyone remember how well Foyle and Howard played together in the preseason? Plus, anything Redick missed on defense would likely be cleaned up by those two. Just something I think we should try out.

actually; im a graphic designer (hence why creating this thread was somewhat important to me)...but i was thinking about something along the lines of this:

alright..enough of this. yes rashard's contract is excessive; but remember we weren't the only team after him. if we wanted rashard we were going to have to pay more than everyone else; plain and simple. i, along with many others, felt that we should've signed gerald wallace caus it would've cost us less and he's gonna be just as good as rashard. i take that back now. i can't see gerald wallace making clutch 3's like rashard has been, or sinking the game winning runner against detroit like rashard did. personally, i think rashard is a great addition to our team; it's unfortunate that it had to cost us $118 mil. but that's how much it took to get him away from other teams. get over it.