During the dead time before training camp let's get to know each other!

[Capo d'Orlando 85]

So by loyal you mean blind to reality. :)/>

 

Does loyalty sometimes lead people to ignore reality? Of course. But for the sake of my own enjoyment (after all, this is a getting to know you thread, so why not share my beliefs), I ask: have I misstated reality? (And before you get into this magicblue, I saw your smiley, I'm not taking anything seriously here; I never do on these boards.)

 

Consider the following: Duncan and Popovich have beaten the 8th seeded Knicks, the Nets, the Pistons, that terrible Cleveland team featuring Booby Gibson (recall that the Spurs' road to those Finals was made much easier when Dallas was eliminated in the first round by the Warriors), and most recently, a Miami team that, while solid, was also very shallow and, at least with respect to Lebron, burnt out. Am I trying to discredit the Spurs' championships? Yes. Should they be discredited? Probably not. Championships are tough to come by. I just don't like the Spurs, no justifiable reason, I just don't.

 

But you have to ask yourself, would any of those championship Spurs teams have beaten the Bulls teams of '97 and '98 which Malone and Sloan faced? Would they have beaten any of the championship Bulls teams for that matter? Would they have gotten past the Hakeem-led Rockets in '94 and '95? I'm inclined to say no. Michael Jordan doesn't lose in the Finals and a fundamental bank shot is no match for a Dream Shake. (Cool stat I came across: except for the Baltimore Bullets and Rochester Royals, the Chicago Bulls are the only team to have won the Finals without ever losing in the Finals.) In other words, had Duncan and Popovich reached their peaks at the same time as Malone and Sloan, they would likely also be championship-less.

 

Conversely, could the prime Jazz teams of the '90s have beaten the Nets, the Pistons, that terrible Cleveland team and the solid, but shallow and burnt out Heat? I'm inclined to say yes. (I left off the Knicks because Malone and Sloan actually participated in those playoffs and lost in the second round. But that was a shortened lockout year, so it doesn't count. :)) Just some food for thought before we look no further than total championships to declare Duncan the greatest power forward of all time, even though he's a center.

 

I'm obviously not being totally serious, but I kind of am, but since I'm not, don't bother arguing this issue with me because I can't be dissuaded from a position I've had since the first time someone claimed Tim Duncan is the GOAT several years ago. Here's their head to head stats in case you're interested: Malone v. Duncan

 

If you take the championships out of the equation, which I believe are more a product of lucky timing than anything else, Karl Malone looks like the better player. Or at least, it's a much closer call than anyone seems to think.

 

Do I have an obvious bias towards the Jazz? Yes. Have I hated Tim Duncan ever since I thought Keith Van Horn from the University of Utah should have been rookie of the year simply because he went to the University of Utah and I had his autograph? Yes. Do I realize that I'm the only person I've ever met that holds the aforementioned beliefs? Yes. But has loyalty made me blind to reality? I'm not so sure.

 

And in case you're wondering (you're probably not), I'm convinced that if not for injuries, TMac would go down as a better player than Kobe Bryant. I even made a multimedia presentation in high school detailing how Dr. J passed the torch to Michael Jordan who then passed the torch to Tracy McGrady. I called it "Three Kings". But that's a discussion for another time. Need to get back to work.

[NittanyBuc 757]

Funny story, when I was like 4 and lived in Naples (far before I cared about the NBA), my dad was asking me about basketball and then asked "Do you like the Miami Heat?". I responded "No, they suck."

 

I got in trouble for the language but I'm proud that I've had good taste, even in my younger years.

[Emory889 353]

Born in Detroit, Michigan... lasted in the cold weather a whole 6 months and relocated to Orlando Florida. Iived and grew up all over Orlando, 3 Elementary Schools, 6 Middle Schools and 2 High Schools (University and Boone). I was once a Orlando Police Explorer in 93 and work for the ATF as a underage operative in 94.

 

Became a Magic fan by the love of basketball (I played everywhere, all day long), watched when they were our first NBA team in 89.And I also collected basketball cards throughout the years, I have so many rookie cards (Kobe, Tim, Iverson, Wade, Melo, Shaq, Webber, etc). I will have to say that is odd to see basketball cards of players that are now coaches.

 

Left for the Marines in 98 but took my Magic (and Detroit Lion) pride with me every where I went. I finished my duty in 2004, where I picked up as a Cyber Security guy. Now im 34, just hit it this month. I started my own company called securetelligence, where im creating a home security technology.

 

That's interesting. We joined the military in the same year.

[MagicFanInNevada 51]

That's interesting. We joined the military in the same year.

 

 

What branch were you in? I was in the Navy from 2000-2004

[Captain Hi-Top 791]

Florida native here, born in Daytona Beach, FL. Grew up watching basketball, boxing and baseball with my dad. Watching some of the great teams from the 80's was a fantastic way to get interested in basketball, but I never had a favorite team, I never felt connected to any of those teams. When the Magic started up, all of that changed and we were excited to have a home team. He split season tickets with a guy from his office. Upper deck, front row, half court. Not bad seats at all. Heck, at that point I would have been thrilled to be up against the back wall.

 

Joined the Marines in '94, after a brief stint in college. Wrapped up my tour in the beginning of '99, went back to school (helping to win the state diving championship by performing the legendary Triple Lindy) and graduated from Stetson. That kicked off my career in the tech world, mostly database/system design and admin and now branched out into risk analysis as well.

 

I've traveled around, lived on both sides of the Country (as well as Okinawa for a year), but always stayed true to the boys in blue.

 

I may root for other teams from time to time, like the Kings when they were battling things out with the Lakers (and really anyone the Lakers, Boston and most recently the Heat face in the playoffs), but never ever been tempted to jump ship from the Magic.

[bhnole 153]

I am Groot

[ILoveOrlandoMagic 12]

I was born in Israel and moved to Oklahoma when I was 2 years ago and lived in Oklahoma ever since and when I saw Anfernee playing on TV, I became a Magic fan in 1993 and ever since the Thunder came here, I always go to Magic-Thunder games every year but Magic have not won in Oklahoma yet so I hope Magic will finally win here this year!

[richnba 3]

Im Rich I used to be active on this forum back when it originally stood up. But as life has taken over ive become a ghost just popping in reading topics. Im going to try and keep more active on this forum for this season. Im in the army now and stationed in Alaska so this forum will really be my only connection to the magic.lol Looking forward to hopefully an exciting and promising Magic season. Been a Magic fan since the heart and hustle season, I still remember being heart broken as a kid when the team got eliminated from playoff contention by the Milwalkee Bucks

[A Better DJ & Photographer 456]

Those of you active and inactive in the military, thank you for serving our country!

[Emory889 353]

What branch were you in? I was in the Navy from 2000-2004

 

Air Force. 98 to present.

[Lil Penny 0]

I am Groot

 

 

Winner.

[MagicFanInNevada 51]

Those of you active and inactive in the military, thank you for serving our country!

 

I appreciate it