[Orlando Sentinel] Magic reveal new tough-guy side

This is what the Rockets are missing...

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/spor...er120504,1,1606441,print.story?coll=orl-magic


Feisty Magic reveal new tough-guy side
Scrappy Orlando picks up 3 technical fouls and 1 ejection in showing Memphis who's boss.
By Brian Schmitz
Sentinel Staff Writer

December 5, 2004

Tony Battie was thrown out for throwing an elbow. Rookie Dwight Howard uttered something close to a curse word. Mario Kasun and his tattoos had to separated by a ref from a glaring opponent.

Even Grant Hill asked for (and received) a technical foul -- one of three player techs called on the home team.

What was this? Could it be that the newest wrinkle the Orlando Magic are adding is a snarl?

Saddled with the reputation as a soft, amiable, let's-do-lunch bunch the past few seasons, the Magic showed every sign of becoming tough guys in a 96-91 victory Saturday night against the Memphis Grizzlies.

Hill slightly sprained his left ankle in the third quarter -- yes, that ankle -- but played on and led the club with 23 points. He didn't shove it in a bucket of ice.

"I rolled it a little. It hurt a little on the outside, and maybe I'll have some pain [today], but I'm fine," he said. "It's like a football player. You're going to get hit. You got to live and get up."

One sign of toughness still eludes the Magic: They have yet to acquire a killer instinct.

They couldn't score their first early knockout of the season after finally getting off to a good start. The Magic allowed the Grizzlies (6-12) to get up off the floor from a 19-point, second-quarter deficit and take them deep into the night.

The Grizzlies cut the lead to five late in the final period, the Magic wasting another chance for starters to put their feet up.

"You go up by 20 points, . . . then it should be 30," Hill said. "That's our next step in our growth as a team."

Maybe it's picking nits. After all, the Magic have 11 victories and the best record in the Eastern Conference, continuing their stunning turnaround from the depths of 21-61.

They've won three in a row and five of their past six games, conceding nothing to the Miami Heat in the Southeast Division.

No telling what the Magic can become if they ever become merciless and keep their turnovers and tempers down.

Their feisty play against the Grizzlies after a gritty comeback against the Knicks was a welcome sight and a needed carry-on for the trip to the West Coast.

Players held what Hill called a "screamfest" in the locker room at halftime when they trailed the Knicks by 10. "It's healthy," he said.

"It got us going. This is the personality of this team. It will fight."

And again Saturday night, the Magic (11-5) looked nothing like the apathetic, passionless club that General Manager John Weisbrod called "an easy team to play against" last season.

Actually, they went overboard emotionally with all the complaining and cries of persecution.

Kelvin Cato (who had a career-high 18 rebounds), Steve Francis and Hill received technical fouls for complaining about calls or general yakking.

Then there was the high elbow that Battie was caught throwing Pau Gasol's way in the first quarter.

Battie was ejected, leaving Cato to man the boards, especially when Howard got into foul trouble.

"You do have to meet force with force, but at the same time, you also have to maintain your composure and be disciplined," Coach Johnny Davis said. "There's a fine line there, yes."

Francis is an emotional powder keg, having led the league the past two seasons in technical fouls.

"The Houston guys," as Hill calls them -- Francis, Cato and Cuttino Mobley -- "bring a toughness to us. They are guys who can get blue collar on you."

Cracked Mobley, "We're rubbing off on Grant when he gets a tech."

Said Hill: "We've got guys who want to compete, who care. This team doesn't quit. I'm not implying that teams here in the past have, but we take it personally when we lose. So I don't think it's a bad thing. I got a tech. Sometimes you got to get one."

Could it be that the face of the Magic is now a scowl?