Bottom line, to me, is that people don't believe a team is capable of winning in the playoffs until they actually do it. I remember that Boston wasn't a hot pick last year going into the playoffs. About 95% of NBA "experts" picked them to lose at least one of their series'.
When they shoot 3s like they just did out west, they are nye unbeatable....can they maintain it? absolutely not....if they got hot at the right time, I could see them winning it all, but that is unlikely, so Dwight better learn to shoot FTs, because that is what will elevate him to championship status for this team....
Exactly. The Magic are going to have games when they're hitting from behind the arc, but during the course of a series teams will adjust defensively and defensive rotations will be sharper to run guys off the line. If the Magic have final possession and down by one point who's going to step up and take the shot?
You guys are forgetting just how clutch Hedo Turkoglu has proven to be. Both last season and this year, he has made big shot after big shot when we need him too. In a final possession, there are few players I'd trust over Hedo because he just kicks into a whole different gear when the game is on the line. He has the name "Mr. Fourth Quarter" for a reason. Also, to those of you saying we don't have a LeBron James or a Paul Pierce to handle the scoring load, we have something better than that: balance. We don't need a superstar to dominate the ball when we have offensive weapons like Jameer, Hedo, Shard, and Dwight who are all capable of scoring 30 points on any given night. We don't need a superstar who can go toe to toe with other scorers, something we proved in our games versus the Lakers this year. In the first game, Kobe dropped over forty points. However, it was in a losing effort because Jameer and Shard. In this last Lakers game, Kobe had a triple double and once again, we had Jameer and Dwight leading our team offensively. Our balance and many scoring options isn't a weakness, it's an advantage. If Kobe is injured or in a slump, the Lakers will struggle to win games. When Dwight Howard was out earlier this season and we were starting Marcin Gortat, we continued winning because we still have guys to carry our team offensively. Because we have so many options, when one guy is having an off night, the others can pick up the slack and because two or three of ours guys are effective each night, we don't need that LeBron or Pierce to dominate the ball and jack up twenty plus shots per game.
Maybe in experience, not in talent....no other team has as many pieces in place....they create a bind for teams in the half court: double howard or get beat, and if you double howard, you better be able to rotate defenders or a really good shooter is going to take an open bomb....when those bombs go in, the only answer for the other team is try to match them, but its hard matching 3s with 2s, especially when you arent getting easy 2s because of the eraser that roams the paint.... the solution for teams is to let the ball into the post and then rough up Dwight Howard, but that only works if he can not make you pay at the stripe....if Howard ever gets his % above 75, then the new solution is to pray.... the bottomline is that the Orlando Magic have long, athletic players that can score the basketball and that creates problems for defenses, especially in the half court, which is where you play in the playoffs....they are a serious contender right now, and when they shoot like they are capable of shooting, no superstars triple double is going to beat them....what they lack is a physical body to help Dwight on the block....god forbid if one of the 2010 super free agents decides he wants to come to Orlando for a lesser deal and win a bunch of titles....
I agree with what someone in here said, and that is that when the Magic are down at the end of the game, they have Hedo. Whether he scores or finds someone, he is capable of it. I mean against other SG's and SF's he has the height advantage, so getting a shot up is not a question, plus his height helps him see the floor a little better (not saying he is a great passer, but he can at least see more). The reason why I don't see the Magic as a championship contender like the Cavs and Celts are considered to be, is cause that 3pt shot will bite them sometime during the playoffs in a 7 game series. It'll help them win games, no doubt, but it can also lead to losing games, cause of all the missed shots.
they have hedo and he has hit some big shots in the past couple of years, but he still isn't a player on the level of lebron or pierce(or kobe) at closing out a game. the fact that they have a lesser player in that role is an advantage for boston/cleveland.
You clearly don't know what kind of player Hedo is at the end of games. He was third behind only Kobe and LeBron last season in points per fourth quarter and he had many buzzer beaters (I want to say around five).
On top of that what teams have other players who are always capable of closing out games? Think about it. Rashard Lewis and Jameer Nelson are just as capable. We've seen them all switch in taking over in the 4th quarter. I don't think the Cavaliers and Celtics have something like that.
Yeah just ask Kobe and the Lakers. We have three players who can turn it on and dominate in the fourth. Balance is everything with the Magic.
Balance is everything. Kobe Bryant couldn't close it out in the 4th when versing the Orlando Magic. When Kobe's off. Your whole team is.
