Steve's birthday present to the Magic...another Super Bowl?

Oh good Christ, yes, the BBS was integral.

 

Though KellyD denied saying that, I want to ask you something here - are you implying Orlando will make the playoffs and win over 39 games this season?

Looking at their schedule, I do not think they have what it takes to make the playoffs or win 40. I could be wrong.

 

Don't act like the idiot manager in Orlando.

I wish Steve best in the rest of the season.

 

Lest you think I'm accusing you of plagiarism, I'm not.

However, the "these kids today!" school of NBA analysis, especially with respect to the players in question (who according to you would never get Orlando anywhere near the playoffs) isn't exactly the most original piece of journalism to have ever been created.

 

They don't even have to play .500 ball to win 40 games. Don't let your hate cause you to be stupid.

 

Don't be a silly twat - I just asked a simple question. The least you could have done was decline an answer

 

You wrote that you don't think they will win 40 games. Beyond expecting an injury, that's just silly. They only have to go 12-18.

 

If they play the rest of the season like they're playing @ home vs Indy, they are not going to make the playoffs.

 

It is OVER for Stevie! Apprently his hangover has carried to today's game, check out the killer stats line:

So far...

25 Min, 2-10 FG, 2-5 FT, 2 RB, 1 AST, 4 Fouls, 1 Steal, 4 TO, 0 BS, 6 Points!!!

It is one thing to miss the flight and alienate your team, but to compound things by coming back and having your worst game of the season, that is a deadly "KO" combination.

Weisass on the phones as we speak...

--Tiger

 

BTW, Be on the lookout for some rought post-game comments from Stevie's teammates/coach/GM/etc.

I will post them when available...

 

Welcome Back, Kotter.

 

Perhaps he just really really wants to stay in Orlando - it's hard to trade a stat line like that.....

 

DAMN

 

At the beginning of the season, was it plainly obvious that the Magic would they be better than last? Absolutely. But it was never really a matter of how well the Magic would do this year; Weisbrod had all of the capital in the world to put together the building blocks for a contending team - Tracy McGrady and the #1 pick in the draft - and for the most part he squandered it. Instead of assembling young talent, he's left with 27-year-old Francis - a ball-dominating cancer who kills their up-tempo offense - and a team whose ceiling is maybe 45 wins in the East.

Weisbrod made one of the worst swaps in NBA history. He's almost as bad as Rick Pitino.

 

Steve wanted to chill for his birthday. That aint so bad.

Maybe Steve can get traded to the Knicks for Penny Hardaway/Allan Houston!

Penny can be back to Orlando and the Knicks can have the ultimate street ballers in the world!

 

Yeah he did dat! oh yeah he did dat he did dat!

 

Steve's response?

"It was personal reasons...I've been fined before...I ain't worried about it one bit."

Classic.

 

As I promised you before the post-game talk, there was going to be at least one diss pointed towards Francis from one or more Magic player.

Here I am delivering on my promise

"I want to be a part of Grant's comeback, and you know what, he's one of the guys who will give me the ball," Howard said in a not-so-subtle dig at Francis. "Grant keeps telling me that five years from now he's going to be telling his children that he played with me."

 

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/spor...?coll=orl-sports-headlines&ctrack=3&cset=true

Oh, Stevie -O

by Mike Bianchi

Steve-O starting to follow road Me-Mac took

Every Magic player was there on the first day of practice after the all-star break. From all over the country, they all did what they had to do to be there. They all probably wished they had another day or two off; they all likely wished they could spend some more free time with their friends and families.

But everybody was there Monday. Even Grant Hill and Dwight Howard, who arrived in Orlando at 5 a.m. after participating in the all-star weekend in Denver.

Everybody.

Except Steve Francis.

Except the man who is supposed to be this team's floor leader and emotional engine.

Steve-O became Steve No Show.

And then, predictably, the Magic followed their leader and failed to show up Tuesday night in their first game back from the break. The result was an inexcusable 108-84 loss to the Indiana Pacers in a game where the Magic were booed by their own fans.

"Personal reasons," Francis said Tuesday when asked why he missed Monday's practice.

He did not elaborate, but could those personal reasons have been because Monday was his birthday and he wanted to stay at his house in Houston to celebrate?

Happy birthday to me,

Practice starts at 3,

All my teammates will be there,

But I'll be home eating brie.

Must have been a heckuva party. Francis came out Tuesday and said he couldn't even see, evidenced by his 2-of-10 shooting, six points and four turnovers.

This is much bigger than just the $10,000 fine Francis received. This is about loyalty to your team and respecting your teammates. A real leader doesn't start the second half of the season by sending this message to his compatriots: My time is more important than our team.

"The implication of this is much deeper than him not being here," Davis said. "There's a responsibility to your teammates."

Especially in the wake of Davis and GM John Weisbrod trading Tracy McGrady essentially because McGrady thought he was bigger than the team.

Me-Mac was on the worst team in the league. What's Steve-O's excuse?

Weisbrod, who publicly questioned McGrady's commitment last season, said Tuesday that he's not overly concerned about this situation because Francis is not traditionally a loafer.

"I haven't seen anybody in the league who works harder and wants to win more," Weisbrod said. "When you see the effort Steve gives, you tend to want to give him some slack."

Slack? This word seems strange coming from Weisbrod's mouth, especially on Tuesday, which happened to be the 25-year anniversary of "Miracle on Ice." Who will ever forget Coach Herb Brooks and the underdog U.S. hockey team winning the gold medal in 1980? As a young hockey player, Weisbrod was drafted into the pros by Brooks and put this Magic team together with the same "nothing comes before the team" philosophy preached by Brooks.

Weisbrod's plan will only work if Francis buys into it. If he doesn't, this Magic rebuilding project will be doomed just like all the others.

Francis needs to show more responsibility -- on and off the floor. He's a terrific talent, but he is among the league leaders in technical fouls and turnovers. That's unacceptable.

It's hard to trust a teammate who doesn't take care of the ball, can't control his temper and failed to show up for a practice that might have set the tone for the rest of the season.

Herb Brooks once said, "I'm not looking for the best players; I'm looking for the right ones."

Francis has given us little indication that he is the right player to lead the Magic to any sort of miracle finish.

In fact, on a team being run by a hockey guy, Steve-O is dribbling on thin ice.