Playoffs Round 2: MAGIC v CELTICS Game 3 (Post-Game)

"yeeuh boi"

Easy come, easy go. Eyewitness accounts from those who were in attendance of the game mentioned a noble figure yelling "RONDO SUCKS" during the national anthem and a raucous atmosphere throughout the contest. The Magicians were in firm control for almost the entire game even with Alston being scolded for his Uncle Phil slap on Eddie House. Courtney Lee, inspite of not playing for about 10 days, didn't miss a step. And Ray Allen still could not get anything going, is JJ Redick actually playing defense? The C's had a brief window of opportunity towards the end of the 3rd quarter when Jackie Moon flopped D12 into his 4th foul and sending him to the bench. However, this was squashed by Rashedo Turkoglewis, who had a total of 52 points. Anthony Johnson also took his geritol and Centrum 50 before the game because he turned into Baron Davis out there. In a fit of rage, Kendrick Perkins attempted to give pretty boy Redick a Glasgow smile, as shown below:


Bad move slick. In addition to checking Pietrus in the throat, Perk may have to sit out Game 4 with the NBA being so trigger happy with suspensions these days. Big Baby as the only real meaningful big guy up front for Boston would spell doom for them.

Magic vs. Pacers Pt. 1

Final (OT):
Magic - 100 Pacers - 98

The Magic pull it off thanks to Rashard playing his ass off in OT. 23 points, 5 boards, and 6 steals is just the sort of stat line we need to start seeing from this dude on a regular basis. D12 notches his usual double-double and makes a clutch block in the final seconds, while Nelson is on point with a solid 22 points and 9 assists. Unsurprisingly, Hedo Turkoglu, née Mr. Fourth Quarter, managed to turn in one of his worst career games yet. Um, when's that trade deadline again?

Anyways, part II of what ought to be a pretty epic throwdown happens at Amway Arena exactly one week from now. More from our AH correspondents after the game.





Stay blue.

Orlando Magic vs. Detroit Pistons (Game 3)

Not a sweep.

Trying out this new technique called "Dominance," Dwight Howard & the Orlando Magic brought some rusty Detroit Pistons to their knees tonight. If there's one thing I've learned about the NBA Playoffs this year, it's that home court advantage can make a whole universe of difference in a team's night.

The Magic stepped up its game as a team, to keep Motown under from start to finish. Furious defense and an equal turnover count (11 by both teams) contributed heavily.

Man of the hour was one Sweet Lew, who has grown over the last couple weeks to finally fill those big golden shoes we bought him in the off-season. No. 9 turned in a LeBron-esque night with 33 points, many of which were made up of morale-crushing three-pointers. Continuing along the road to greatness was the Howitzer, who added six blocks to his requisite double-double (20 pts, 12 rbs). Jameer Nelson played a superb game with 18, Dooling added a nasty 10 off the bench, and Hedo evidently remembered why we call him "Quatro," dropping another 18, which included some clutch mortar rounds when Rip Hamilton started looking hot.

It's a big win. No team who goes under 0-3 ever comes back to win a series. We've shown the Pistons we can deal with them. Still, it's just one win and it's a win at home. We're going to have to take the next game this Saturday, but more importantly, we have to win one at Auburn Hills.

As I noted in the last post, Chauncey Billups was the nightmare in Game 2. He got injured early in this contest, playing only four minutes. We can't forget what an incredible player this man is. If we let him run circles around us in Game 4, we're screwed.

The Magic shot absurdly well tonight. 53.8% of field goals went in. 45.8% of treys found their mark. We can be murderous when are shooting game is on. What worries me is that it's not going to be on all the time. The whole team played brilliantly tonight, but I hope they'll be able to keep up their intensity on the defensive end. We have to utilize our team's youth and height in the rest of this series. I trust head coach Stan Van Gundy to keep things in perspective, though. If we stay hungry in the paint and don't turn the ball over, we might just be able to send Detroit's old horse to the glue factory before long.

Final Score: Magic: 111 Pistons: 86

Orlando Magic vs. Toronto Raptors Game 4 (Part 2)

YES!!!!

So we go home with three wins under our belt. It was a close game, painful to watch, but we did it. Two clutch threes at the end of the fourth had their intended effect. In spite of a huge showing from Bosh (39 points and 15 boards!), the raptors choked and we took advantage in a big way. Dwight gave another epic performance with 19 points, 16 rebounds, and 8 blocked shots. Also rockin' was Sweet Lew. He hit his threes late to give us hope and sap the last of Toronto's energy. 27 points, 12 grabs off the glass, and 5 assists. Hedo played admirably, if short on heroics. Nelson was player of the night, soldiering on and nabbing 10 of his 18 in the 4th while combatting back spasms and soaring above and beyond expectations.

The Raptors went foul crazy in the last minutes of the 4th, hoping to achieve God knows what. They'll get slaughtered at the Amway Arena next week, so we'll tolerate their childishness for now.

Also:

Suck it, Calderon!!

Orlando Magic vs. Toronto Raptors, Game 2

Above: Magic point guard Jameer Nelson. In Game 2 he played just over 30 minutes, with 12 of his 18 points coming from downtown.

It was a nail-biter by the end but the Magic came out on top Tuesday night. 104-103. Dwight with another awesome game (29 points, 20 rebounds, 3 blocks) and the team still keeping up a high standard of play. Having 2 games up on the Raptors is a big advantage that shouldn't be downplayed (in NBA Playoff history teams that lead a series 2-0 are 191-13).

Game 3 will take place in Toronto tonight, and it'll be tough, but with the Magic's great road record this season (2nd best in the Conference behind the Boston Celtics) they've got a very good opportunity to nab that third straight victory. Continuing success in this series will surely be based on maintaining a vigorous defense (especially in guarding All-Star Chris Bosh), mercilessly snatching rebounds, and keeping cool, level heads.

As for my own personal doubts, I'm a little anxious about the team's self-confidence and endurance, being that Dwight Howard's Magic hasn't yet won an NBA playoff series. D12 has had two fantastic games, but I'd like to see even more contribution from the rest of the squad. On Tuesday, Rashard Lewis came away with 18 points, 6 boards, and 5 assists. Hedo Turkoglu's stat sheet read 12-9-5. These aren't bad numbers, at all, and they don't even tell the whole story. It's difficult for me to appraise the situation, not being able to watch the games, but it seems as though everyone's making a strong effort. Obviously, it'll take more than that to win this series and even more still if we're going to have a good shot against our opponent in round 2 (probably playoff vets Detroit). We're lucky in that we've got a good number of long-range shooters (Hedo and Rashard, "Mogans") who, when allowed to find openings, can wreak serious havoc from three-point land, but it's not something we can rely upon to win games.

Sleepless night. Not really sure how much more of this living situation I can handle. Guess I'm just going to have to deal with it. Here's hoping that the Magic will keep this up and running so I'll have something to distract myself from this ultramodern dung heap.