<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Another Magic season is going rapidly into the sewer. Since there were legitimate reasons to expect so much more, this will go down as one of their most disappointing seasons of all. The Magic went 16-6 at the end of last season, then opened this season at 13-4. Since then, with the same roster, they are 16-32. If they do make the playoffs, it will be only because the Eastern Conference is so weak. Rarely, if ever, has there been a conference in which two or three playoff berths were more available. Starting with tonight's home game against Utah, the Magic will have to go 9-8 just to finish 38-44, and anyone who has watched them recently would have to agree that looks unlikely. Yet 38 wins would probably get them into the playoffs. For most of this season, the playoffs have been considered pretty much of a given for the Magic. It was just a matter of where they would be seeded. What happened? Even while they were winning in November and December, the Magic had several glaring weaknesses. Their ball handling and decision making are atrocious, all the way up and down the roster. For most of the season they have led the NBA in turnovers. They miss a lot of free throws. They don't have a consistent perimeter shooter. And although their defensive numbers have been misleadingly solid, their guards are small and vulnerable to bigger, stronger opponents. Magic opponents have learned to exploit these deficiencies as the season wears on. Consequently, the same teams the Magic beat early in the season are beating them now. Much of this is a failure of coaching, but it's almost too easy to put the blame there. Young players are supposed to get better. With the exception of Dwight Howard, the Magic's young players have made little progress. The holes in Jameer Nelson's game have become more visible. Darko Milicic, now in his third season, is still as soft as a bunny. Trevor Ariza's development has been set back by a knee injury, the Magic's only legitimate injury excuse. And then there is J.J. Redick, another wasted first-round draft pick, at least in terms of what he has contributed as a rookie. Brian Hill's reason for not playing Redick is that he must wait his turn because the "veteran'' guards playing ahead of him have earned the minutes. We'll have to trust him on that, since we don't see much evidence of it in the games. Allowing your top rookie to atrophy on the bench can be overlooked when you are winning. But the Magic haven't been winning for a long time. Another problem with the Magic is a lack of a sense of urgency. Losing doesn't seem to bother these guys enough. You go into the locker room after a loss these days and you expect to see more frustration, perhaps some anger. Nelson is the only person I can remember accepting some direct responsibility for a loss. Perhaps that is the real danger of missing the playoffs three years in a row. You can get used to it.</div> Source
great article... but very depressing to read... it's not too late though... i'm hoping that the Magic squeeze into the Playoffs, turn some heads... then that will attract some free agents during the summer. We should be able to prove that the talent is there, the motivation, the coaching, and the discipline isn't. Hopefully we can get a veteran like KG to come play for Orlando and lead them for the next few years. KEVIN GARNETT IN 2007-08!!!!
C'mon guys, you should be supporting the Magic in their time of losing! we need to give them all the support, to keep up that great losing form.
