Archive for June, 2009

There are so many questions the Magic and their fans have been asking since the conclusion of game 4. Why was Jameer Nelson in? Where was Rafer Alston? Why, after showing some much improvement was Howard so awful from the line? How does Turk miss 4 of 7 free throws? How do you let Fisher get that open for the two biggest shots of the game? I think the biggest question to ask Magic coach Stan Van Gundy today is why he didn’t foul before Fisher had a chance to attempt the first three? Sure, the Magic would have been [...]

According to Marc Stein at ESPN.com, Magic 6th man Mickael Pietrus won’t face a suspension for his flagrant foul on Pau Gasol at the end of game 4. “I wasn’t trying to hurt him or anything like that,” said Pietrus, whose fists were clenched as he swiped at Gasol with 3.4 seconds remaining. “Hopefully they’re going to let us compete. I’ve been in the NBA six years and I never had any hard fouls, I never had any hard feelings about any players. It just happened.” Pietrus has been key throughout the playoffs, averaging 10.8 points per game off of [...]

Game 4 was an absolute heartbreaker. There’s no other way to explain it. The Magic had this one – a few different times. Magic players, coaches and fans must be sick to their stomach. I know I am. The Magic played maybe their best defense in the first half last night, holding the Lakers to just 37 points and building a 12 point lead at the break. That’s when things went south. Hedo Turkoglu picked up his 4th foul early in the third quarter and had to sit for the remainder of the quarter. The Lakers outscored the Magic 30-14 [...]

Stan Van Gundy once again seats a hot Rafer Alston in the game 4 overtime loss.    A decrease in playing time for Alston has been a theme in all three of Orlando’s loses in the finals.  Jameer Nelson doesn’t seem to be playing at the level he was in the regular season or even up to the level Anthony Johnson was playing at throughout the playoffs.  Van Gundy seems to be the only person in Orlando that hasn’t fallen in love with Rafer. Missed free throws at the end of the fourth quarter helped give the Lakers a shot [...]

Hey everyone, I’m Joey, and I’m the new writer for Howard the Dunk. Congratulations to the Magic for getting their first ever finals win, on Tuesday, in what was considered a must win game. The Magic shot a phenomenal 63% to help push them to a 108 to 104 victory. In typical sports media fashion, Kobe Bryant was the focus afterward for his poor performance late in the game.  This has many people wondering if he hit a wall. The Magic seem to play better with each passing game in the finals, and hope to continue to do so tonight [...]

Courtney, Courtney, Courtney! You had the shot, but 20 turnovers is what cost the Magic the game.

Bloggers from multiple FanSided.com sites will partake in this chat during the game. Should be a blast. Feel free to join us — Go Magic! NBA Finals Game 2 – Magic at Lakers

The Magic are off to the finals for the first time since the Shaquille O’Neal days holding off LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in six games to capture the Eastern Conference crown. Their reward however is a date with Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers. The task won’t get any easier the Magic are headed to LA for a two away games before returning home. Dwight Howard had a monsterous game as he posted a career high 41 points as the Magic outstood a the Cavs to win the series four games to two.