The Magic are hungry for that first win, not going to be easy. Yao can't do it alone, the Magic will double and triple team Yao daring us to hit our jumpshots. Swift DW Juwan DA and RA need to start earning their paychecks.
A message to Derek Anderson TRUST YAO, HE'S THE CHOSEN ONE FOR NOW WHILE TMAC IS OUT. PLAY INSIDE OUT.. THAT'S THE KEY TO WIN GAMES.
Dude, i totally agree. I didn't watch the preseason but I remember there was a post about how good he got the ball to Yao and their chemistry yada yada yada.... Now, watchin the regular season he seems more like a slow version of Mike James to me... he annoys me when he shoots when he should be droppin the ball down low
.. and what's breakin my heart is when I saw Head dropin the ball to Yao for 2 or 3 times very easily... and yes... he's like a slow version of MJ... exactly what I first thought after 2 games..
This one is gonna be tough, fellas. Nevertheless, I expect a close win. The Magic are going to run with Francis, Stephenson, and Nelson. D Howard has a solid inside game, but should struggle with Yao's defense and offense. Cato seems to have given up a lot of minutes to Battie in prior games, but I think will play more 2nite given Battie's defense is softer. Yao will get his 20-10-2. Maybe a bit more. The game will turn on the play of Alston, Wesley, Anderson, and Barry on the perimeter. If their shooting remains off, it won't matter if YM gets 30-15-5. Stro and J Howard have got to do something on the boards 2nite.
Steve is gonna wanna go nuts in this game, so he needs to be contained. If we're not careful, Dwight Howard will have a career game. I'd bet that if you looked up some sort of list of "players' career games - most points scored," the opposing team that would show up the most is the Rockets. Sit on Howard, hope that Steve doesn't take his revenge with no T-Mac playing, hit your threes and get Yao the ball....we'll see what happens.
Right now AD thinks he is T-mac when T-mac is out. I hope he can play better today, otherwise, bring Spree here, he need money to feed the family.
I saw that McGrady was back to shooting in the gym. Any word on whether his 3-week injury vacation might be cut short?
The Magic is a bad team, just terrible! If we cannot win against them, then we should not make the playoff, with or without TMac. You can lose to a bad team occasionally, but to lose to them two in a row, then you are one of them!
I agree. But it's impossible for me to gauge this game based on what I've seen in the first two games. If we lose I'll be miserable but I do want to see someone other than Yao stand up. I think Howard, Alston and DA have been fine and Barry and Deke had bad games Saturday, but I'm somewhat optimistic about all of those guys. Wesley and Stro need to get something going. I don't care how much they score, but I want to notice positive plays from them without having to specifically look for them on the court. I want many positives coming from this game no matter the outcome. That may be a low expectation, but it's based on what I've seen.
