Archive for January, 2011

The theme coming into the season for the Orlando Magic was supposed to be continuity.  With a full season behind them, learning each other’s strengths, weaknesses and personalities was supposed to be the cure to the playoff collapse of last season.  Chemistry was supposed to be the solution.  Well, so far throughout the 2010-2011 the only continuity has been change and the chemistry turned out to be volatile.  The Magic have utilized ten different starting lineups already, thanks to a massive stomach bug and the substantial December mega-trades.  Far from consistent. Where we’ve been: The season so far has certainly [...]

The Orlando Magic and Boston Celtics did what they almost always do – played a back-and-forth game that came down to the wire. Unlike their first meeting on Christmas day, which Orlando won 86-78, it was the Celtics who executed better down the stretch and came away with a 109-106 victory. Dwight Howard was an absolute monster, finishing with 33 points and 13 rebounds while Ray Allen used a huge fourth quarter to lead the Celtics to victory, scoring 26 points for the game. The Magic used free throws (27-of-36) and the three-point shot (11-of-27) to rally from a 10-point [...]

After getting back on the right track with a victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves Saturday night, the Magic will face a different kind of challenge in the defending Eastern Conference Champions, the Boston Celtics. These two teams met in last season’s Eastern Conference Finals, with the Celtics winning four games to two. They also met on Christmas Day in Orlando when the Magic rallied for an 86-78 victory. The Celtics lead the Atlantic division and have the second best record in the East 30-9 record. The Magic are 26-14, good for fourth in the East and second in the Southeast [...]

Despite having to overcome yet another lackluster start, the Orlando Magic snapped their two game losing streak by defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves Saturday night 108-99.  The Magic trailed by as many as 15 points in the first half and were down 7 at the half.  The Magic outscored the Wolves in the third quarter 33-18 and would maintain control for most of the remainder of the game. The balanced scoring for the team continued with five Magic players scoring in double figures and every player in the 8-man rotation scored at least 7 points.  J.J. Redick and Jason Richardson led [...]

After winning nine straight games, the Orlando Magic have lost their last two, falling to the Hornets in New Orleans by three in overtime Wednesday night and suffering from a one-point loss to the Thunder in Oklahoma City Thursday night. The Magic will look to get back on the right track when they travel to Minnesota to take on the lowly Timberwolves Saturday night. The Timberwolves defeated the Washington Wizards 109-97 Thursday night but the win improved them to just 10-30. They have the worst record in the Western Conference. With their loss to the Thunder, the Magic fell to [...]

The Orlando Magic had a rough go of it last night defensively and that was only compounded by the lights out shooting and energy that was brought by Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.  The Thunder defeated the Magic on Thursday night 125-124. A few quick notes from the game and then I’ll bring you what those around the web took from the game. – Dwight Howard had a monster game despite getting into early 1st quarter foul trouble.  Dwight finished the game with 39 points and 18 rebounds and most impressively made 17 of his 20 free throws. Quite a sharp [...]

The Orlando Magic saw their nine-game winning streak come to an end with a 92-89 overtime loss to the Hornets in New Orleans Wednesday night. They’ll try to get back on the right track when they travel to Oklahoma City to take on the Thunder Thursday night in a nationally televised game. The Thunder have now won three straight games, including a 118-112 win over the Rockets in Houston Wednesday night. That victory upped the Thunder’s record to 26-13. The Thunder are tied for first in the Northwest division with the Utah Jazz and have the fourth best record in [...]

Here is the official word from the Orlando Magic and the NBA: DWIGHT HOWARD LEADS THE EAST AFTER FOURTH RETURNS OF 2011 NBA ALL-STAR BALLOTING –Howard ranks second overall in the NBA— Jan. 13, 2011 – Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic leads the Eastern Conference in voting after the fourth returns of 2011 NBA All-Star Balloting presented by T-Mobile were announced today. Howard ranks second overall in voting for the entire NBA behind only Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers. Bryant, The Finals MVP last season, is the overall leader with 1,757,216 votes, while Howard paces the East [...]

Here is the official word from the Magic: THE FLORIDA LOTTERY PARTNERS WITH THE ORLANDO MAGIC TO OFFER NEW SCRATCH-OFF GAME -Second Chance Promotions Will Offer Players the Chance to Win Amazing Prizes- Orlando, Fla. – The Orlando Magic announced today a new partnership with the Florida Lottery to offer an Orlando Magic-themed Scratch-Off game. Tickets for the ORLANDO MAGIC Scratch-Off game will be available at Orlando area Lottery retailers today, with additional distribution statewide in the coming days. Florida Lottery players will be able to show team spirit for the Orlando Magic while having the chance to win up to [...]

In what turned into an exciting game, the New Orleans Hornets overcame a late Magic rally that sent the game to overtime and came away with a 92-89 victory. Dwight Howard led the Magic with 29 points and 20 rebounds while Marcus Thornton led the Hornets with 22 points off of the bench. Chris Paul had 12 points, 13 assists and five boards. The Hornets forced the Magic to play the first half at their pace, not allowing the Magic to push the ball, which is something they’ve made an effort to do over the last 11 games. During the [...]