We had a long, enjoyable run, and I would like to thank every Orlando Magic fan who contributed to our small community on the web. This message board will be left online as an archive into the thoughts and minds of a group of Magic fanatics who lived through a 21-win season, the drafting of Dwight Howard, and an eventual NBA Finals appearance. You can also visit the original MagicMadness Forum at http://orlandomagic.proboards.com.
Special thanks to our Staff Members: Black and Blue, MAGICMANEVAN, and NYCMagicFan!
MagicMadness
Forum Owner
| Playoff push; Making the playoffs is still doable | |
|---|---|
| Tweet Topic Started: Feb 26 2006, 01:20 AM (1,218 Views) | |
| Punisher | Feb 26 2006, 04:05 PM Post #16 |
|
Pure domination
|
Well I think most people including me think this seaon is lost unless by some miracle the teams ahead of us start losing while we start gaining ground on them. How many games do we have left? 28. We need to win at least 18-20 games to make it to the postseason ,but I think we will be very competitive for the rest of the season and its gonna be fun to watch whats left of our seaon. But like you say anything can happen so who knows.
|
![]() |
|
| MagicMadness | Feb 26 2006, 04:20 PM Post #17 |
![]() ![]()
|
It's one thing to believe, and it's one thing to be completely off your rocker. For the Magic to make it to the playoffs, they're going to have to go on something like a 21-7 run. Are we just going to "magically" turn into the Mavs overnight? |
![]() |
|
| Darkofan | Feb 26 2006, 04:40 PM Post #18 |
|
Rookie
|
The average Detroit fan thinks the Pistons will lose about 3 games the rest of the season. And they might not be far off. They got some pretty good defenders and they can really put up the points too. But Orlando also has some pretty good defenders, and some scorers to boot. Compare them to Cleveland for instance. Cleveland has one big scorer, James. Today in the Pistons-Cleveland game, Ilgauskas and Gooden each got their first bucket mid-third quarter. Cleveland basically had James, then nothing. Orlando in contrast has Grant Hill and Gooden, two guys they can count on scoring most nights. Dooling can hit some shots. If you look at what Arroyo did in his full year with Utah where he was getting starters minutes, low and behold, you find he is a scorer too. Darko is the wild card here. If he can score well, that will give you five guys in your starting lineup who can put the ball in the basket. Most NBA teams can't brag of being able to get scoring, balanced scoring, from all five starters. Detroit comes close, yet even they have Ben Wallace as a starter who can't hit a jump shot to save his life. On defense, you are pretty solid. Arroyo is the only guy even suspect on defense, but he is not all that bad. 6-2 is good height for a point, and Arroyo is not that slow either. I find Arroyo generally finds a way to neutralize his opponent. Ball denial, keeping the guy away from his sweet spot. Darko again is the wild card here. He led the league in the preseason in shotblocks, despite coming off the bench. He has looked pretty good when Detroit has played him, but we still don't know how Darko is going to do with starters mintues guarding the leagues starting bigs.\ Look at it this way, if Darko is that good, yes you can make the playoffs. Why not believe in him and see where it goes. |
![]() |
|
| Magic333 | Feb 26 2006, 04:46 PM Post #19 |
|
McGrady and Howard... What could have been
|
I say the Magic go even the rest of the way..... I think they would go 14-13 |
![]() |
|
| Black and Blue | Feb 26 2006, 07:59 PM Post #20 |
|
Have You Hugged Your Van Gundy Today?
![]()
|
I can see us doing slightly better than .500 the rest of the way too. Very promising given our draft pick coming up and our amazing money situation. |
![]() |
|
| BRINGthaMAGIC | Feb 26 2006, 08:20 PM Post #21 |
![]()
All-Star
|
it would be nice if we make a good run at the playoff it will show lots of hart |
![]() |
|
| Tony | Feb 26 2006, 08:32 PM Post #22 |
![]()
Dwight Howard = MVP
|
You gotta be realistic. Of course anything could happen, but its not gonna happen. What makes you think we're gonna go 21-6. We're already 1-3 after the trade. Its not that I dont have faith in the team, its just Im not in denial.
|
![]() |
|
| gomagic33 | Feb 26 2006, 08:34 PM Post #23 |
![]()
Mr. Anderson
|
You mean Howard right? Although I agree with you that we have alot of potential, I still think that making the playoffs this season is a loooooooong shot. There is also one thing that we need before we can even think of getting near the playoffs - thats chemistry. What we have is new team - Francis and Cato are gone, Arroyo, Darko and Ariza are new, Nelson is injured and not playing, and Dwight is still getting used to being "the man". Not to mention Hill just getting back into game shape. So with all this factors, it will take some time before things come together. Detroit is the best example of how important chemistry is to basketball. The Knicks being the exact opposite. I guess it just proves that you just can't "throw mud at the wall hoping of it to stick". The future is bright for Orlando though. We have the "potential" of becoming a very good team. We are still missing pieces here and there, but the core of Howard, Nelson, Darko and Arroyo looks great. I hope we can keep GHill, he could be the veteran voice to lead this our group of tadpoles. |
![]() |
|
| MagicMadness | Feb 26 2006, 08:40 PM Post #24 |
![]() ![]()
|
Alright, so I guess we only have to go like 21-6 the rest of the way, right? Seriously though, I'll be happy with losses like tonight. We actually outscored our opponent by 10 points in the 4th quarter, which is a marked improvement. We usually faulter in the 4th, getting outscored by even more than we were originally losing by. |
![]() |
|
| Tony | Feb 26 2006, 08:56 PM Post #25 |
![]()
Dwight Howard = MVP
|
Yea same here. I know we lost but it was by only 5 and we tried 100% in the 4th quarter. I cant get mad at a loss like tonight. And we're also a new team now. |
![]() |
|
| Darkofan | Feb 26 2006, 09:42 PM Post #26 |
|
Rookie
|
You don't need chemistry, you need for your coach to start Arroyo with Milicic and Howard in together. In this loss today, you lost to Houston because your coach would not go to a Howard-Darko front line. And when Arroyo was in the game, the coach was sitting Dooling and Hill most of the time. You need all the ball handlers you can get. Chemistry can be created in 2 seconds. It just takes a coach to put the right guys out there with skills that mesh. Your coach did not coach for a win. And certainly not toward getting into the playoffs this year. Starting Battie at center is not going to get any team into the playoffs. And starting Stevenson is not going to get any team into the playoffs. These two are fine subs, but not starters. You belive in chemistry? Then it would be important to put in a starting unit that can win as soon as possible. Right now, thats Arroyo, Dooling, Hill, Howard, and Darko. The quicker they start to play together as a unit, the more chemistry they will have. From this, you bring in subs that can defend. Ariza for instance. Stevenson, Battie. I don't know where Hedo fits into this. The guy has a lot of talent but it seems to be on a very inconsistent basis and his defense is not exactly stellar. He is probably best looked as as a depth player at the big man position along with Kasun. I don't know much about Diener, but if he can bring the ball up and run an offense, maybe he can spell Arroyo a bit for now. If he can't, Dooling will have to do, but Arroyo is going to have to play 40 minutes. Having a real point guard in the game at all times is very needed. Or of course, you could use Hill as your point while Arroyo sits. (I would not do this as it ends up splitting your starting unit up too much. Better to have Arroyo and Hill in together.) |
![]() |
|
| MAGICMANEVAN | Feb 27 2006, 12:11 AM Post #27 |
![]()
#1 Magic Fan
![]()
|
dont give me that "Your coach did not coach for a win" B.S. he coached to the best of his ability. he knows and sees the players 100x more than us. and he knows who needs to work on what, and which players work well with each other. darko isnt ready for big minutes or ready to be thrown in with howard on the frontlines. hes basically a rookie. |
![]() |
|
| Solid Snake | Feb 27 2006, 12:45 AM Post #28 |
![]()
Legend
|
When I said we would win the next 14 games, I meant after the rockets game. There are a couple key things for us to make the playoffs. However, it starts and ends with Nelson. We need Nelson and his offense to have any chance. It helps that he can flat out take over teams and is very clutch. Unfortunately, he isnt back for 3 weeks.... Another thing that would need to happen is to put Darko in the SL. No offense to Battie and I hinted at this before, but Darko is a lot better. Darko is a NICE defensive presence, that could go a long way with this team. |
![]() |
|
| Tony | Feb 27 2006, 12:56 AM Post #29 |
![]()
Dwight Howard = MVP
|
I think we need to start Darko. He has a nice defensive presence but he can also drop 10+ pts a game, IMO. |
![]() |
|
| gomagic33 | Feb 27 2006, 01:36 AM Post #30 |
![]()
Mr. Anderson
|
Although many of us, myself included, wants to see a Darko-Howard frontline, I think its understandable why Coach Hill is not doing this at the moment. You just don't give a starting spot to a new player who has not played all that much in his career so far. If Darko was a Kevin Garnett or Tim Duncan, no doubt Coach Hill would stick him in there. But he is not. He has played only an an average of 5.6 MPG his entire career for crying out loud. I'm sure he will eventually crak the SL, but I'm quite sure that Coach Hill is making a point in here with his players. YOU HAVE TO WORK TO EARN IT! And Darko is just about working on getting there.
I have not seen the game tonight, so I can't comment on what he did on the game. I just read from the posts in the game boad that he allowed the Rockets to pull away in the 3rd or something. But saying in general that Hill did not coach to win is BS. Actually, I think it's quite the opposite. Coach Hill as with any other coach is always about winning. Their careers depend on it. I think that he himself is just getting used to the new Magic lineup. He has not seen enough of the combination of players to have consistency on his substitutions. For heaven's sake, how many practices have they had?
I guess you are a believe or "throwing mud at the wall and hoping it will stick". If it works that way, then the Knicks would be title contenders by now. Again, I am sure Darko and Arroyo will eventually start, but they need to get not only on-game playing time, but alot of practice time with their new teammates to get it done. I'm sure that they are already happy with their new team, that is a good start, but you should not blame Coach Hill, if he wants to keep his other players happy as well, by not making it seem like he will just give away a SL and PT just like that. Otherwise, there will be grumbling in the roster and that is not a good thing.AGAIN CHEMISTRY!
Don't even get started on Diener ![]() Seriously, Arroyo will have to compete with Nelson for the starting spot. It will be an interesting battle for the PG spot. |
![]() |
|
| Go to Next Page | |
| « Previous Topic · Orlando Magic Locker Room · Next Topic » |













If it works that way, then the Knicks would be title contenders by now. Again, I am sure Darko and Arroyo will eventually start, but they need to get not only on-game playing time, but alot of practice time with their new teammates to get it done. I'm sure that they are already happy with their new team, that is a good start, but you should not blame Coach Hill, if he wants to keep his other players happy as well, by not making it seem like he will just give away a SL and PT just like that. Otherwise, there will be grumbling in the roster and that is not a good thing.
3:30 PM Jul 11