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Magic Season at Turning Point; 5 game road trip to decide the season
Topic Started: Mar 15 2005, 12:22 PM (217 Views)
NYCMagicFan
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http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/bask...?coll=orl-magic


This could either save our season, or get REALLY UGLY!!!


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By Tim Povtak | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted March 15, 2005


The Orlando Magic have reached the defining point of their season. Is it meltdown? Or get down?

They are about to make a choice.

Saddled with a four-game losing streak punctuated by an embarrassing Sunday night loss at the TD Waterhouse Centre, the Magic tonight begin the most critical road trip of the season.

The up-and-down elevator ride they began in October is about to stop at whatever floor they pick on this five-game, eight-day trip that starts in Sacramento, Calif., and ends in Charlotte, N.C., next Monday.

Are they the confident playoff team that crushed the New York Knicks and the New Jersey Nets on back-to-back nights earlier this month, or the frustrated, free-falling team that lost so badly to the same Nets on Sunday night?

When the trip ends next week, the answer should be clear. Do they liquefy, or do they solidify?

"On the road, we'll either come together and it'll make us stronger, or we'll fall further apart," said Magic captain Grant Hill. "We won't come back the same. That's why I'm looking forward to this trip. We're about to learn a lot about ourselves."

The Magic (31-31) are tied with the Indiana Pacers for the No. 7 seeding in the Eastern Conference playoff race. With 20 games to go, they have time and enough talent to climb as high as fourth, which is where the Washington Wizards are in the conference standings.

They also could drop completely out of the playoff picture if the Philadelphia 76ers make a late-season charge and grab one of the final spots.

The Magic's march toward the playoffs has been a baffling, stop-and-go affair. They have beaten the best in the NBA (San Antonio Spurs, Detroit Pistons, Dallas Mavericks), and they have lost to the worst (Atlanta Hawks and Charlotte Bobcats). They have won by 24 points (Nets), and they have lost by 24 points (Pacers).

"I'm not sure where we're headed," said Magic leading scorer Steve Francis. "I can only hope in the right direction."

Sunday's debacle could cloud at least the start of this trip. Orlando is expected to hear today whether center/forward Tony Battie will be suspended by the NBA for coming off the bench in the final seconds as a peacemaker in an altercation between teammate Hedo Turkoglu and New Jersey's Zoran Planinic.

The NBA also is expected to announce fines today for Magic reserves Stacey Augmon and DeShawn Stevenson for separate incidents after the game. Francis will be fined for two technical fouls Sunday that caused his ejection.

Stevenson kicked the ball into the seats after the game Sunday. Augmon had a confrontation with a reporter in the locker room after the game, and the league was investigating the incident. It ended when Augmon doused a few reporters with motion lotion.

The Magic spent much of Monday traveling to Sacramento, where they practiced upon arrival. Before announcing any fines, league officials wanted to speak with several Magic players Monday evening.

Before the team plane departed Monday, Magic Coach Johnny Davis called reporters to apologize for Augmon's behavior. After the game Sunday, he apologized for their play. He wasn't the only one who remained hopeful that the recent slide could be corrected.

"The good thing is that sometimes when you go out on the road, you've got to hunker down and band together," said veteran forward Pat Garrity. "When you play bad at home, you've got a lot of people telling you what you should have done. On the road, you have no one else except your team. And sometimes that's good."

Tonight's game against the Kings will be followed by games against the Los Angeles Clippers, Seattle SuperSonics, Portland Trail Blazers and Charlotte Bobcats. The Blazers are the only one of the five that the Magic didn't already beat in Orlando. The downside is that the Magic have won only 10 of 31 road games this season. They haven't beaten the Kings in Sacramento since 1993. They haven't won in Portland since '97.

It was no coincidence that the Magic's recent slide began when Hill left the lineup with a bruised left shin. In the three games he missed, the Magic were badly out of sync. His return Sunday, surprisingly, didn't solve the problem.

Their biggest problem was a lack of production from the front-court starters. Center Kelvin Cato, playing with a sore shoulder, had no points and three rebounds in 15 minutes. Rookie Dwight Howard had only two points and eight rebounds in 26 minutes.

"We've had ups and downs all season," said Turkoglu. "If we stick together, just play like we did earlier, the winning will return. We can turn this thing around. I don't think you should count us out yet."

The Blazers, Clippers and Bobcats are well below the .500 mark. Although the Kings (39-25) played well earlier this season, they have been mediocre since the trade of Chris Webber. Seattle (42-19) has staged one of the biggest turnarounds of the season.

"As weird as it sounds, when things are going bad, going on the road is good," Hill said. "Sometimes a little bit of chaos can bring a team together. That's what we need to happen."
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jfcasinabe
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I hope it won't be a "fall from grace" kind of season for us..
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Black and Blue
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LOL I had no idea the lotion Augmon shot was "Motion lotion"!!!!!! The fact that he shot sex lotion at reporters makes him awesome in my book!
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NYCMagicFan
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Black and Blue
Mar 15 2005 01:24 PM
LOL I had no idea the lotion Augmon shot was "Motion lotion"!!!!!! The fact that he shot sex lotion at reporters makes him awesome in my book!

LOL!! I missed that it said Motion Lotion!!! But whats he doing with it in the LOCKER ROOM???? O_o
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efenell
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Hopefully Augmon didnt use all of his Motion Lotion on that reporter because he's gonna need it tonight while he is on the bench suspended. He has shown me absolutly nothing. His defense might be ok, but his jumper is worse the Bo Outlaw's.
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c4ac5
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augmon looks like reggie miller compared to outlaw actually
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gomagic33
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Mr. Anderson
Black and Blue
Mar 15 2005 01:24 PM
LOL I had no idea the lotion Augmon shot was "Motion lotion"!!!!!! The fact that he shot sex lotion at reporters makes him awesome in my book!

The real question is why is there a Motion lotion in the Magic locker room ;)

Something's going on here...was the lotion his or was it Steve's? ;)

The plot thickens... :lol:
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