Using conventional wisdom and logic isn't "hate". Teams that live-and-die by the three pointer don't win championships. We've seen countless examples of that.
FYI, the Rockets took and made more three pointers than any other team in the league in its two championship seasons.
Exactly. The Rockets had Hakeem and a bunch of 3 point shooters. As a matter of fact the Magic remind me of the 93-94 Rockets
He didn't say they were identical teams or that Dream and Howard were identical centers. The team analogy is good when it comes to the inside/outside offense. The Magic have more good 3-point shooters than the Rockets did and are more gifted offensively in general on the perimeter. In crunch time, the Magic depend on perimeter shots to win games. The Rockets were definitely a better defensive team who relied more on shutting teams down and getting stops late in games instead of just outscoring opponents. My own skepticism of the Magic is based more on the last 2 seasons where they got off to strong starts, hit a rough patch sometime during the season and gave a weak playoff performance. I'm still thinking that might happen, especially if their amazing 3-point percentage comes down to Earth. But if Jameer Nelson keeps it going and the Magic continue hitting from long range at over 40%, they have a chance. Against the defense of the Celts or Cavs in a tense, ugly, 7-game playoff series, I'm not sure if that's possible.
Since when is 20.3 ppg 3.2 bpg 1 spg 13.9 rbg one dimensional? He kills Yao if it's stat vs stat. Ben Wallace is a one dimensional center.
I get the comparison as far as the inside/outside offense. What the Magic lack is Dwight being a post option in the closing minutes of a game. At the end of a close game you could dump it down to Dream and he would get you a bucket or get to the line. Like you said in the playoff teams will make the adjustment and take away your strenghts, It'll be interesting to see if they keep up the hot shooting in a 7 game series.
I would'nt say "Kills" Yao in stat vs stat. 19.5ppg 1.8bpg 0.4 spg 9.7rpg. They're comparable. As far as the soring well Yao plays about 3 minutes less per game. And as we all know is a + ft shooter.
It was a great game! Dwight Howard is a very good player, only if he didnt make those awful mistakes at the end. Nelson was amazing, why not rafer cant be like him!! Dwight stat line is awesome: 25/20 and they were 12 defensive rebs. I think Orlando will stay in 2nd round of the playoffs And I was impressed how Orlando beat Lakers 2 times this year, thats good.
the magic will go as far as dwight takes them...if any team gets dwight in foul trouble, the magic struggle but if dwight stays on the floor they are a VERY GOOD TEAM...the rockets beat them because Yao got him in foul trouble and the rockets controlled everything on from there... AS for their chances in the east, they should easily make it out the first round, as for the second when they play the cavs, pistons, or celtics..the pistons are playing horribly and their chemistry with iverson is not good at all so they would beat them... as for the cavs and celtics, we will see this week how the magic perform against them and then u will see how they compare to those teams because they play them boston next...and cavs end of the month
Tonight's Nuggets game was another example. It was close and then suddenly, BOOM!, the Magic are up 12-13 points and the Nuggets don't know what hit them (mainly because they didn't defend). I don't see that working in a 7-game series of "uglyball" against the Cavs, who will adjust their defense and contest all shots instead of leaving jumpshooters open. I see the Magic getting frustrated and not being able to adapt. If the Magic were an elite defensive team, my opinion would be different. Their stats might be good but most games I watch the Magic, they win by hot shooting, not shutdown defense. That and Dwight Howard.
True, but the same can be said about Yao's affect on the game aside from just stats. You can take Dwight all you want and that's your opinion. There's plenty of room for you here http://orlandomagiczone.com/groupee. All I'm pointing out is the whole "Dwight's stats are soo far above Yao's" is way over hyped.
You do know they are like the 3rd best defensive team in the league,right? They are better than the rox in opp fg% and ppg. Not only that, theyre scoring like 103ppg and giving 92. theyre opp fg% is 42% which is lower than the rox. Maybe in the past they werent defending, but this year theyre doing something right.
I said that I know the stats and there is no argument against them. But when watching the Magic this season, I don't see an elite defensive team. Maybe I just need to watch closer or perhaps bias is playing a part.
You need to get that red glare off your glasses Anytime you have Dwight anchoring the defense, you will be a good defensive team. You can overplay the man you're guarding, because Howard corrects a lot of mistakes. Jameer has done a really good job against penetration. Rashard has improved a lot. Battier has stayed in the league because of his D. The rookie Courtney Lee is an athletic defender. Same thing with Michael Pietrus
HA HA, I know. Rashard has gotten better and I don't know where they found Courtney Lee. He's a keeper. I'm not a big fan of Pietrus but he's athletic and can D-up sometimes. He's started the season very strong before the injuries. Tell you what: I'll give the Magic credit if they don't falter and start sinking before the playoffs. 33-8 is incredible but I'm still not sold just yet.
Magic to me could either be like the Mavericks of '06 that went to the Finals, or the '07 Mavs that had an even better record but lost to the lowly Warriors in the playoffs. I still lean toward them they're usual pretender selves for whatever reason...maybe cuz Boston the defending champs already reeled off a 19 game win streak. And the Cavaliers last I checked are undefeated at home, and have Lebron the MVP frontrunner who's taken them to the Finals before and is playing incredible basketball this year. Its almost like the Magic have been too consistentally 4-1/5-0 on the year to get on radar
You can say whatever you want about the Magic. But they are not just beating people. They are blowing out people, even good teams. So at least they look legit. And unlike the old Suns and Mavericks, they look like a good defensive team. We'll see when the playoffs starts.
