agentfelix0013

I had Brighthouse at home but I'm currently a student at FSU and I'm one of the few happy to hear about the FSN switch. The channels formerly known as UPN (now called the MY"#" channels) don't come on basic cable up here in Tallahassee on Comcast. But FSN is just one channel away from Sunsports, and I'm right back watching every game. This isn't to say that I don't feel for everyone down in Orlando, as the situation really is stupid with Brighthouse refusing to carry FSN.

quote: Originally posted by You're Fat, Pat!:a few months ago, there was a report from The Sentinel that Diener and Bo were not returning...obviously, we know Diener is gone, but on the front page of the Magic web site, theres the article about Bo and basketball without borders...does this mean he WILL be returning??? or does this mean absolutely nothing at all... lol i'm sorry. i'm just laughing that you put Pat Garrity in your picture.

quote: Originally posted by richnba:I wonder if the lakers are still shopping Kobe, Kobes and Lewis contract are pretty close. Mayber Otis is pulling a fast one on us all. Imagine the headline Magic Lakers blockbuster trade--------- Kobe for Rashard lewis and some throw in players. EXACTLY. they traded a young up and coming Al Jefferson for a 31 year old Garnett...who's contract runs up NEXT YEAR!! Boston will be pretty decent yea, this year. Then Garnett will probably leave, and in the meantime, they can't afford talent to put around them. Who's going to be the C's big man now that they shipped Jefferson off? Big Baby?

Bottom Line. Shard is not a 4. Ariza is not a 2 (not said here but blasted all over these boards). we had enough problems with a small rotation at the 4 and 5. No need to exacerbate it by putting guys in there that don't play that spot naturally. I'd be happier with a cheap role player, than stretching. Worse comes to worse, if our Polish import or the next guy don't do well, we can always still throw Ariza or Shard at the 4 then. No need to make your initial plan what should be your fallback though.

i know we're a young team and they say we need vets, but i don't buy on signing Harpring. He's a bruiser but he's past his prime. You give them someone else on the roster other than Redick, and get someone other than Harpring (or hey even just unload two of our guys, like Hedo and Arroyo) and Millsap and I'm cool with it.

i still don't like the idea of ariza as a 2-guard due to his lack of shooting ability but i love him as a player. but we did do amazing in smallball at one point. to bring up that same spurs game, in the 2nd half comeback the lineup we ran the whole half was. PG- Nelson SG- Arroyo SF- Redick PF- Turk C- Howard if i hadn't watched the game myself, i would have cried if you told me those 5 were on the floor together.

also, i'm a little unnerved that nothing seems to be happening. i read the rumors page on ESPN everyday and there's trade talks up the @$$, but all we're doing is slowly working on Jameer's extension, which i guess is a step.... hopefully this gets addressed next

i would also like to say i would be interested in seeing AJ here. I am a 3rd year nole, but sad to say i didn't start going to the games till last year, so i never got to see AJ play (i did see Al Thornton whip up on the Gators and just about everyone that came to town though), but i would be interested to see him cheaply fit into our system.

i'm getting kinda tired of people suggesting that Ariza start at SG. The front office has stated that they want him as their star 6th man. On top of that, a shooting guard needs to SHOOT. Ariza made me cringe every time he went to the FT line, almost as much as Dwight did. He is a pure SF in that he is a slasher. He runs and gets his points off of energy. Your 2-Guard needs to be someone you can kick the ball out to and can shoot the open J. Not someone with a career 64% FT rating. Which is where the redundancy kicks in...how can Ariza be the star 6th man, if he is 3rd string SF? Hedo needs to go, he does what Rashard does, just not as well (although a helluva lot cheaper though). And I'm willing ot give Gortat a chance, but I still realize that...he did really well...in the summer league. That means practically nothing. I'll wait to see him in the regular season before passing judgement. And even then, with D12/Battie/Gortat, we are still only using a 3 man rotation for 2 postions. We have Auggie and Garrity, but both will be riding the IL all year, mainly because Garrity is useless and shouldn't be included in any depth chart. le sigh. find a big man otis. i love our guards and hedo, but move some of them, and find a big man.

...why would we trade for a SG? they want JJ to fill the hole. We have 3.5 PG's (dooling is combo) 2.5 SG's 3 SF's (including Hedo and Ariza who will both have chopped playing time behind Rashard) 2 PF's Battie and Garrity (gag) 1 C D12 why trade for a 2? when we have no viable 2nd string for the 4 or 5?

it is up for grabs. I would like to see Jameer, JJ, Rashard, Battie, and D12. i say Battie only because he is a body to fill and right now he's our only other true big. we have NO depth at the 4 or 5. i don't like using Ariza as a SG, because he has no range, he's an attacker, not a shooter. However, i still don't know what they plan on doing with both Hedo and Ariza as backup SF's to our new "superstar" in Rashard Lewis. i also know that JJ's starting depends on the development of his defense, which i hope happens. i love Ariza to death, but I like him as a 6th man energy boost, not as a starter.

I still think that if they plan to use Ariza to the level that they are claiming to, they need to move Hedo out of town. If they throw in Arroyo's expiring contract we might even be able to get a pretty decent big man out of the deal. Having two decent players behind your starting superstar is not going to be good for sharing minutes. Ariza can't shoot well enough to be moved up to the 2, isn't tall enough to play the 4. We have too much talent at some positions. I'm not saying they are the best players in the world but you have no need for an above average 3rd string guy, especially when we have no useful backup Power Forward or Center

I am also horribly scared. I was not amazingly impressed with Darko's performance last year but I did recognize that we NEED a big man. We now have two viable options for the 4 and 5. Yet we have 3 point guards (a 4th if you want to count the combo Dooling). Also, there is much talk about wanting to make Trevor Ariza the star 6th man...but unless you slide Hedo up to 4...what's going to happen to him. Otis Smith said he admired the redundancy between him and Rashard, but all I see is a situation in which yet again, 1 PG and now 1 SF are never going to get used to their potential, all while we are sitting on 2 positions that have not even decent role players for a second string.

Chicago we could beat, but I agree that the blowout last month was very scary. On top of that King James earns his Cavs television coverage a lot, and in watching them play the Heat, the Mavs and the Nets, even in victory, the Cavs have no offense. Gooden is streakier than Darko and Nelson combined, Hughes has been downright horrible and they have no true point. Most of their possessions result in LeBron storming the basket as the shotclock winds down and getting to the line, making what looks like a Running Back contested layup, or an outside shot by any of the 5 that usually goes off the front iron. I will be at games 3 and 4 either way, but I'd rather see LeBron than Ben Gordon or Chauncy Billups.

I agree with the irony in the rooting for Indy sentiment, but hey, it's what it takes. I'm a Magic fan who realizes that winning it all is not all it takes to keep a fan on board. We should be there through thick and thin and improvement is what you start with. Making the playoffs is the first step, making the 2nd round would be better. However, as much as I love the Magic I don't see the second round if Detroit is in the way. So deal us Chicago or Cleveland and we'll take our chances on the road. and to that end GO MAGIC and just as importantly GO PACERS. "Jermaine O'Neal a gametime decision for Wednesday"