I don't think he has a long way to go. He's already there ... he just needs to be surrounded by a better system and also play with a legit #2 guy, preferably someone who has a post game. Mo Williams is not a #2 caliber kind of player, he should be the third scorer.
"That guy's an a**hole!" <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/pQKfqfN2k7U&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/pQKfqfN2k7U&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
I'm not sure why the Magic making the Finals a few years after a blockbuster trade should be considered a detriment to that player traded. Isn't Weisbrod being gone related to ORL's new success? And anytime you get yourself in the lottery, you're at the mercy of fortune. They were lucky to be so bad in a specific year to where they could draft Howard. Drafting Nelson seems to be a good move. Oh, and they don't have a championship yet.
No one is belittling what Morey did. He did a fairly good job but Magic GM did a great job! Also note that I was talking about the GMs of both organizations in general as the TMac trade was included.
I agree, Rafer was huge. They gave up no one and got a starting PG otherwise they would have gone into the playoffs with Johnson as the starter and Lue as the backup. Rafer came up big in some games so it was a good trade for them.
You know they are either innate idiots or they are tools for media sensation. Watch out how people will talk about Howard when Magic lose in the finals to LA.
Um, isn't it possible just to say that both the Rockets and Magic benefited greatly from the trade? I have absolutely no regrets on the Rafer deal, and found it brilliant for Houston as well as for Orlando - Morey is hardly an idiot for making that deal.
Yet another rough night to be a Dwight Hater. Those that continue to foolishly play this card continue to look dumber and dumber by the day. Congrats to Rafer. I hope he plays his heart out. Still can't believe he'll be starting for an NBA Finals team.
Let me also say: Mike Brown was badly outcoached this series. His defensive gameplan for Howard (double immediately, dare their shooters to beat you) is precisely what the Magic wanted. You're playing right into their hands by doing that and that strategy should have been discarded entirely after he lit you up for 30 in Game 1 despite all the doubling. If I were coaching I would have played Howard strictly one-on-one with a strong emphasis on doing your homework early on defense by trying your best to deny him position. My gameplan would be essentially the opposite of what Mike Brown tried all series: let Dwight "get his", make their shooters beat you with textbook defense and contested shots. You can only watch them feed Dwight, see the defense collapse then watch Dwight hit a open shooter SOOOOOO many times before you need to change up your strategy. Daring 40%+ 3-pt shooters to beat you doesn't sound the like smartest idea in the world to me. But i'm no Coach of the Year.
But at the time of the 2004 draft, everyone was saying the Magic should take Okafor and the Magic decided to take a different route and they selected Howard. More then likey, if they ended up with the 2nd pick, they might still of gotten Howard but at the time, everyone was saying Okafor was going to be the #1 pick in the draft. So it wasn't just fortune they got Howard, they scouted him and made a choice alot of others didn't think they would.
I think it was just a bad mathup for them. They built their team to beat boston, but ran into a team they had no answers for. Its sound easy to advance scout and let howard get his, but he still scored and he has the energy to do it all night. Top that off, they still could run pick and roll at the top of the key and force a switch, then what?
Well, I would hate to see what the C's would have done to this one-trick-pony Cavs team if KG had played. Cleveland might not have won a game in that series which is weird to say considering this Cavs team without Mo Williams managed to take the C's to seven games last year. I'm sorry but I just don't see the same defensive-minded, physical Cavs team that I saw last year. At least in the playoffs. Statistically speaking, I know the Cavs showcased strong defensive numbers across the board and looked on top of their game beating up on broken teams like Detroit and Atlanta. All the same, I just didn't see that same effort against this Orlando team. Agreed totally that they had the "What the hell just hit us?" look. ....and Rafer running a PnR with Howard? That works with Turkeyglue given his playmaking ability but I don't know if it's just me but when I watch Howard play (which is fairly frequently) I rarely ever see him PnR at all.
