bravlady

I have not posted here for a very long time but today I have to thank Stan Van Gundy (my fellow Braves fan) for some exciting games! He's is one of the most charismatic coaches in the game today. He raised the bar and dared the players to jumped over it. Those who did are better players because of Stan. Those who thumbed their noses at him...well you know who you are. He was dealt a screwed-up hand and he played it to the end. He never bluffed for one minute. Most coaches in his position would have crumbled under that kind of drama. We haven't seen the end of Stan - he will land on his feet somewhere and I look forward to seeing his next team excel.

Picking a fight with Bianchi is the kiss of death. He'll kill you with words in his column and if that doesn't work then he'll talk you to death on the radio.

I hated it when the League Pass feeds were from Atlanta. Can't stand Rathbun. He was a moron when he called Braves games and is still a moron!

Let's roll!

History always repeats itself. Once you give the Hawks something to hang their heads about they are goners! JJ brought back his days at Duke. He took control of the ball and did what he does best and that's shoot. Because he was getting touches, he got into a rhythm. If Stan can't see that, he's absolutely nuts.

This is the first time in 4 years that I couldn't make it to Orlando for the 1st round! I'd like to get there for the 2nd round! So let's play some ball the Magic way and blow these chumps away.

Absolutely shave them! It's not their identity. It may work for the San Francisco Giants but that's baseball. The Magic's identity is hitting 3's and wearing out the opponent on the defense. Time to get the razors out and be gone with them.

The Magic are due for a blow out! They can put these chumps away if they just play and have fun! Look at what Indiana and the 76ers did this past weekend. They cut the knees out from under Chicago and the Heat. Found their achilles heel and kept biting at it. They played like they had nothing to lose. Get this one out of the way and the Magic can go back to Atlanta and put the dagger in their hearts. It won't take much to get the Hawks to hanging their heads again. Once that happens, the Hawks are toast.

Arenas is good for every other game. The guy's got no cartilage in either knee. Believe me I know what that feels like. He can only take so much jumping around, running on the hard surface, or cutting around on the floor. On the other hand, he's used to playing on a crappy team where he can be the STAR. If he's not the STAR then he wants to blame his lack of productivity on the coach. He couldn't play for Flip and now he can't play for Stan. The Magic should do what the Wizards were trying to do. Buy him out and let him go. Then he won't have anyone to blame.

Drew is a Doc Rivers wannabe. Stan fires a few shots at him so he had to run to look at film so he could fire something back. He hasn't learned how to hang with the big boys. Not that he can because he's not nearly in the same class.

One good thing is that Bravetta and Joey Crawford officiated the Heat-76er game today so they won't be inflicting pain and frustration tonight.

Whatever happened to the rule they passed a couple of years ago that flopping would get a technical called? I can't recall ever seeing it called in any game. But then again I never knew there was a 10 second rule for shooting free throws until this year. I'm sure if Dwight flops we'll see them pull the flopping rule out of the book and see how many they can call on him.

Nobody would be having this discussion if the Magic were getting ready to sweep the Hawks again. Stan is doing well with the hand he was dealt. The team would be doing better if Jameer would follow the game plan, get off his dribble, dribble, shoot mentality. There are 4 other players on the floor wide open and he thinks he has to be the hero on every single offensive play. Hedo needs to "ball". Ryan needs to play his game when he's on the floor just like he was doing at the end of the season especially crashing the boards. Brandon is just too sad for words. JJ's bringing a spark but he's not 100%. Leave Gilbert on the bench. He's not into it physically or mentally. Can't get blood out of a turnip, but it would be nice if Stan had something nice to say when they interview him at time outs. The negativity is getting really old.

Which Hawks player was it last year during the infamous butt kicking from the Magic, Joe Johnson or Josh Smith who said he didn't care if the Atlanta fans showed up or not? The fans have very short memories up there. Bring out the bandwagon pics because there's a lot of them riding it for free around here.

JJ might just get the next start if J-Rich is suspended. This could be the spark the Magic need. JJ always plays well when he gets the start because he gets into a good rhythm. In the 76er series a couple of years ago, JJ got the start in game 6 in Philadelphia and played well. Last night JJ was up in Joe Johnson's grill and when they decided to play team defense, he was able to hold his own. JJ was holding his own on Crawford as well. Had me scratching my head why Stan took him out and put Jameer on Crawford.

This was truly a pathetic game. The Hawks were flopping like dying carp and playing like the thugs they are. I thought for a minute we were watching the Raptors/Magic playoff series from days gone by. It was only a matter of time before Pachulia got what was coming to him. His antics lead to the altercation. He brought it on himself. If he wants to headbutt, move on to the WWE. I think it's time for the Magic to shave off the silly beards and get back to the basics. With the way they're playing they need more than beards to get them through this.

Have you guys ever been to downtown Atlanta or Phillips Arena? It's the arm pit of America. Just getting to the arena, you need to make sure you carry a weapon, have two body guards, and even then you may not make it out without getting mugged or swarmed by pan handlers. That alone should explain away this post. Atlanta Hawks are a bunch of thugs! The only players I'd give you two cents for would be Joe Johnson and may be on a good day Hinrich. Those guys got talent and have fallen into a band of thieves. Our Magic can kick their butts all day every day and twice on Sunday.

In addition to rehabbing in Canada, JJ has been practicing balancing dancers on his head! LOL

I was at this game sitting behind the Magic bench and I actually saw SVG smiling and giving civil feedback to the players throughout the game. I haven't seen him smile that much in about 2 years. Stan must have been feeling the love in the city of Brotherly Love. The Magic had no reason not to win this game with Igudola (can never spell his name) sitting this one out. Kind of disappointing even to a Magic fan because he usually brings his A-game to the Magic and makes the game a lot closer and more intense. I haven't been to a Magic-76'er game in a couple of years that didn't come down to the final buzzer. There is one thing that I have noticed at the games in Philadelphia is that before the game starts, Doug Collins comes to the opposing team members especially the coaching staff, shakes their hand, and wishes them a good game. Where do you ever see that! Doug Collins is a class act. JJ was there but did not play much to the disappointment of the Magic faithful in our section. On a closing note, the beards are not looking all that bad. Dwight's is coming in nicely and I'm glad to see that they're not letting them look scraggly. May be the Magic have hired a beard stylist?

Shades of Matt Barnes ! I thought he had returned to the Magic after watching Q-Rich. At least if he was going to get ejected and possible suspension he should have gotten his money's worth and wiped the floor with Henderson. Now I'm a huge Duke Fan and rarely see a former Duke player in the NBA that rubs me the wrong way, but Henderson is a pompous little jackass. His counting of the seconds on Dwight's free throw was really unprofessional...but hey I guess he did learn how to count to 10 at Duke...or is it that he had 10 fingers? Some where a long the way in his short career he thinks he's great and wonderful. Yea, he basically scored at will against the Magic but he's not Lebron or D-Wade and never will be. It's great he's on the outside looking in and the Magic move on. As for Dwight, would have been better to rest against the 76ers on Monday than Chicago on Sunday, but that's the way it goes. He can only take so much and it's time to get past the fact that he's got that target on his back.

It's got to be eating at JJ not playing. He hasn't sat out this many games since his rookie year. I'm understanding it takes time and he hasn't thrown in the towel yet, so there's still a chance he's going to get better and get back in the game soon.

I'm reading the Sentinel this afternoon and they're indicating JJ is out again tonight! I can't imagine what a guy goes through with a strained abdominal muscle but can it be this bad to keep him out 8 games and yet Stan says he doesn't need surgery? Did Grant Hill's advice leave too many people thinking it's worse than what it is? Can the team keep buying their time until his absence starts to really take its toll. Waiting too close to the playoffs could throw everything out of sync. Remember Jameer's come back after being most of the 2nd half was the beginning of the end. Come on JJ...get better soon and get back on the court.

Nice assessment. It's gotten to the point with Dwight that if he's going to get called for a foul because of a flopping player then he should make it worth the price of admission and make sure that player doesn't flop again. As long as other teams are allowed to get away with flagrants, it will continue to happen. There's not a player in the conference that can play Dwight one on one so they resort to a type of play that by far is unacceptable and gives the NBA a bad rap. It's embarassing at times and Dwight doesn't deserve to be treated that way. These guys playing hoodlum ball need to man up!

According to the Sentinel this morning JJ flew to Vancouver to see a Specialist and according to Stan will not make the road trip staying at home to rehab. If my memory serves me right, Grant Hill saw a Specialist in Vancouver when he had that problem. At least JJ's pursuing 2nd opinions from the experts.

Why is it that recently when the Magic loses, SVG threatens changes in the rotation? Q-Richardson comes in rested, makes a couple of shots, and now SVG dangles the carrott to get the what he wants from the rotation. Last night JJ's on the bench in the 4th and there's that stagnant ball movement and absolutely no energy. In at least two of the recent losses, JJ was on the bench in the 4th quarter instead of being in the game. Apparently SVG is incapable of learning from "HIS" mistakes in judgement. SVG is falling into a rut making the same decisions expecting different results.