Tough Break There

quote: If Darko can't go then we can kiss any chance of doing anything in the playoffs goodbye. Alot of us have said through out the year that if one of our 3 bigs goes down for a while then we are done. Stick a fork in us. Sad, but true...We're cooked... quote: And that, I think, has been one of this franchise's problems: Players go out of their way not to avoid calling each other on the carpet. It's one big don't-worry-be-happy, millionaires' fraternity, which is perhaps why they play with a glaring indifference at times and keep losing against the Atlantas and Charlottes. Small town sports writer bull****. Like this franchise is any different from any other in the NBA in terms of the "millionaire fraternity" situation. Give me a ****ing break Schmitz. What paper is he writing for? The Southern Conservitive Gazette? The problems have been poor coaching and management decisions (see Vasquez, Fran, or soon to be lost talent in Darko, or the Cuttino Mobley trade, or re-hiring the coach that wrecked your last youthfully talented team, or not paying the luxury tax at times when it was essential, or Shaq, and crist it goes on and on).

Whoever the two people were who picked the Pistons need to have their head's examined. Oh, and I think the Bulls are clearly the choice. Our big men dominate thier big men (hopefully Darko's going to be OK).

quote: Porter should not have said what he said, but Grant's comments can be added to a very long list of excuses made by players, coaches & management pertaining to the team's struggles and underachievement. One, I don't see how this team has underachieved. They've won more games than last season, they've made the playoffs and they've beaten top quality opponets (at times). If you expected more than that going into the season you were one of the delusional people. Two, I really like PP. Great old school announcer. But to announce that it would just be a matter of time (12 minutes) until the Celtics caved and we made the playoffs was disrespectful. And there's no reason to incite a team that has nothing to play for in the beginning. Was this the reason we played so poorly in the 4th? No. But openly disrespecting an opponet on your home PA system is asking for trouble. Grant Hill's been playing high level basketball his entire life, and ripping on a opponet is something you never do. Especially in the middle of a game.

quote: Dwight is not a good free throw shooter. There always seem to be people who can't belive an NBA player cannot be good from the line. Dwight is not good from the line yet, may never be. GET OFF HIS CASE!!!!!! Find me a player his age that can dominate inside the way he does. Rebounds, Blocks, inside presence. Find me another one. Don't just name me other great players playing for other teams. I mean find me a player like Dwight, one we can just go out and sign. If you can't, then take Dwight for what he is, a hell of a player. Totally agree. And missing free throws really hurt Shaq's career.

You're asking if what will be a forgotten and meaningless game by the end of the week will effect us in a 7-game series? No.

Alright, I realize our spot is not for sure, but....It's time to start taking it to the Piston fans. They may beat us, but I assure you this Piston team would rather play the pathetic Pacers or the Old Nets then face our energetic and annoying team. Here's to Dwight and Darko leaving bruises on lazy C-Web's face...And you should prepare, that awful excuse for a city Detroit, your day is coming...

This is me smooching up to D-Rock...Note the authentic Magic Trucker Hat..

quote: At the same time, what if the Magic lose tomorrow, like they did to the Celtics earlier this season. If we play as we did last time we'll crush the Celtics. Unless, of course, the Refs steal another game from us.

Alright, I realize our spot is not for sure, but....It's time to start taking it to the Piston fans. They may beat us, but I assure you this Piston team would rather play the pathetic Pacers or the Old Nets then face our energetic and annoying team. Here's to Dwight and Darko leaving bruises on lazy C-Web's face...And you should prepare, that awful excuse for a city Detroit, your day is coming...

Fern, I stand by what I wrote. This Piston team dosn't have the heart or bench to win a title this year.

Yeah, this is a stupid thread from a dumbass fan who knows little about basketball. Pistons may not have played as hard as they can, but they certainly played as well as they could. They will beat us in the series, but this is by no means a championship ball club anymore. Weak bench, rely on jump shots far to much. They were very lucky to be making them against us. And I'd bet they would much rather play IND or NJ then us...

Blake is overrated. Very easy to play PG when you're passing to AI and Melo. Not a great defender, flimsy shot. Pass.

Pacers lose yesterday to the lowly 76ers without Andre. Denton's a real genius.....

quote: He doesn

This has kind of been beaten to death, but I think I'll make my definitive post on the matter. Darko will be a top 5 big in this league in about 4-5 years. His skill level is already higher than most 7 footers in the league (i can off the top of my head think of about 6 who are better). That's pretty good company. And he plays with tremendous intensity, even if it doesn't seem that way because he's kind of a stoic Euro. Dwight and Darko will be a one-two punch that will compete for titles for a decade if they stick together. Of course, Orlando's management has a history of not seeing these things. Trading him for Vince is crazy. I love Vince, and he would help us compete next year, but his legs are already wrapped like a mummy and he is clearly on the downside of his career. Darko could be absolutly dominate in the near future. And trading a dominate 7 footer, who you could be pairing with another even more physically dominate center, would be a mistake that might finally spell the end for this error ridden franchise.

I mean, I realize this isnt a magic post but.....has anyone else notice we might be witnessing the greatest NBA basketball that we will see in our lives out of No.24?

quote: I could easily see the Pacers going 5-1. Really? Really? The Pacers have been truly awful lately, and don't let them scrapping by in a home win against a Celtic team without Pierce fool you. This is a bad team. I could just as easily see them losing their next 3.

quote: chicago is playing great basketball, they would wipe the floor with us. They may go all the way.... ] Rich, you've completly lost your mind. Don't read to much into the end of the regular season, the Bulls will struggle in every series they're engaged in. Not enough talent to win the East. The Pistons will dispose them. And we would even give them a run for their money.

You know what, **** KG. He's never led a team anywhere. Everyone keeps talking about how much he loves basketball, but you know what, he's never accomplished anything.

Honestly, I just think we get unlucky. We do occasionally screw up the coverage, but it is amazing the awful players who get hot beyond the arc against us (paging Pargo).

quote: noah was the sure #1 last year if he came out according to every draft site and currently sits between 4 and 6. horford sits at 3-4 currently. theyve won 2 championships and those two were a major part of their title runs and you call them over rated...is there someone Im missing thats better in the last few years as a big...? oden nearly fouled out 3 front line players himself including two top 5 talents and you dont see it...wow. Winning titles on a college team doesn't translate to a **** thing in the pros. Noah reminds me a lot of Steven Hunter. Same body, similar skills. And your arguement on Oden is just as flimsy. College players face such inferior talent game to game (Ohio State missed so many open jump shots, which they call 3-pointers, that the game became hard to watch). And people who say Dwight hasn't advanced in his game simply aren't watching the games and aren't looking at the stats. No one can beat triple teams with their backs to the post.

quote: The reason the Magic have played better when Darko comes off the bench is he is backing up Dwight and Battie. Look who was there to support Darko as a starter. Pat and Bo! Not very good backups! Exactly Bert. And Dwyer's a jackass in the first place. His NBA knowledge is very low.

Darko played an excellent game tonight. He was very injured. Limped and labored all game. But he played hard needed mintues and managed to scrap up a few rebounds. People need to stop questioning his intensity and toughness.

I just felt like we played one of our better road games of the year Wednesday night. The only (and only is a key word) reason we lost the game was because of terrible refs down the stretch. This sort of thing was the reason many fans are turned off to the NBA. And I know many of you say that we shouldn't have been that close in the first place but, this isn't college. These are two pro teams with very similar talent. Forget the records and look at the rosters, they clearly have an all around better player on their team. So for a team like the Magic to go in there and take a lead with under a minute left. Have two travelings not called and then a clear mugging on an automatic foul inbound situation that could have made the game a two possession one with under 20 seconds, is a robbery. The players played a fine game. In fact, that 4th period run was one of the finest stretches of defense that any team has shown all year. So relax. We have 4 home games in a row and a team that is playing with an edge. Refs lost us one game, and it's tough to win with two teams playing against you. But stop piling on the players, they had a game won Wednesday

I just felt like we played one of our better road games of the year Wednesday night. The only (and only is a key word) reason we lost the game was because of terrible refs down the stretch. This sort of thing was the reason many fans are turned off to the NBA. And I know many of you say that we shouldn't have been that close in the first place but, this isn't college. These are two pro teams with very similar talent. Forget the records and look at the rosters, they clearly have an all around better player on their team. So for a team like the Magic to go in there and take a lead with under a minute left. Have two travelings not called and then a clear mugging on an automatic foul inbound situation that could have made the game a two possession one with under 20 seconds, is a robbery. The players played a fine game. In fact, that 4th period run was one of the finest stretches of defense that any team has shown all year. So relax. We have 4 home games in a row and a team that is playing with an edge. Refs lost us one game, and it's tough to win with two teams playing against you. But stop piling on the players, they had a game won Wednesday