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Eastern Conference First Round: Magic vs. Raptors, Game Three

Orlando @ Toronto


Eastern Conference Playoffs, Round One
Orlando Magic main logo
@
Toronto Raptors main logo
Magic Lead First-Round Series, 2-0
Air Canada Centre
7:30 PM
NBA TV, Sun Sports
Probable starters:
Jameer Nelson PG T.J. Ford
Maurice Evans SG Anthony Parker
Hedo Turkoglu SF Jason Kapono
Rashard Lewis PF Chris Bosh
Dwight Howard C Andrea Bargnani
Series Central

Sam Mitchell promised changes to the Raptors' lineup. Tonight, we'll see if the 2006/2007 Coach of the Year can outsmart Stan Van Gundy and win a game in this best-of-seven series.

[Note by Ben Q Rock, 04/24/08 11:38 AM EDT ]
: Apparently, Mitchell will keep T.J. Ford in the starting lineup rather than replace him with Jose Calderon, despite the fact that Calderon has outplayed Ford by every possible measure in this series. Dave Feschuk of the Toronto Star (via TrueHoop's First Cup) elaborates:

But perhaps the change that would make the most sense - inserting Jose Calderon as the starting point guard in place of the struggling T.J. Ford - can't and won't be made.

Ford, with his chemistry-killing refusal to be Calderon's backup this spring, has established he won't respond well to it.

Never mind that Ford's poor play at the outset of games has been a big reason why the Magic have carved out 20 and 18-point first-quarter leads in Games 1 and 2, respectively. Never mind that Ford's half-hearted perimeter defence has helped lead to a parade of penetration, that his 12-per-cent field-goal shooting and four Game-2 turnovers have helped dig those big deficits.

Speaking as a general NBA fan, this news troubles me. Calderon is a fantastic player who should have made the All-Star team this year, and I hate that he has to defer to an inferior, prima-donna player with a horrible attitude. But Calderon's loss is the Magic's gain, as they're much better off when Calderon's on the bench and Ford's starting. So, uh, thank you, T.J. Your inflated sense of self-worth may just help us win our first playoff series since 1996.

0 recs | Comment 6 comments

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Wow

Apparently the team needs your blog more than we thought. The fix is in on sb nation!

by Eyriq the Red on Apr 24, 2008 11:30 PM EDT reply reply actions actions   0 recs

Talk about bad timing

As I understand it, the Cowboys traded for Pacman Jones, like, 2 minutes after the network went down. Fans of every MLB and NFL team (and most NBA teams) got hosed with the server crash.

by Ben Q Rock on Apr 25, 2008 1:08 PM EDT to parent up reply reply actions actions   0 recs

We’re losing and I can’t come here to grouse my sorrows! SB Nation can DIAF.

In the meantime, how about Maurice Evans’ 0 points and 21 minutes of lacktion, huh??? And don’t forget Jameer’s equally horrific game, yay! Our point guards certainly lived up to their reps, didn’t they.

I’m incredibly moody and irrational right now. >:( That is my unhappy face.

by TheGiantSquid on Apr 24, 2008 11:42 PM EDT reply reply actions actions   0 recs

At least Calderon is getting more minutes (25-23) per game than Ford in the series, though the difference should probably be greater…

by Alex Boeder on Apr 25, 2008 5:24 PM EDT reply reply actions actions   0 recs

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