Some morning links...

• 3QC community member Marie, via the FanPosts, passes on this translation of an interview with Marcin Gortat. I skimmed it, and doing so only reaffirmed my love for The Hammer. I hadn't realized how much he busted his behind last season: he gained 26 pounds!

  In honor of Marcin, I present this YouTube of highlights from his rookie year. Yes, it reaches for content at times -- we get clips of every screen he set and every rebound he grabbed -- but it also has one of my favorite moments from the Playoffs; fast-forward to 2:10 to see it. Gortat absolutely schools Rasheed Wallace, an outstanding defender, in the post.

• Brian Schmitz says Dwight Howard needs to take on a more active leadership role, and thinks adapted Kevin Garnett's no-nonsense demeanor on the court is the way to go. I heartily endorse this idea. Dwight already has one of the league's most intimidating bodies, yet he's also one of the league's goofiest stars. With an edge, a tougher attitude, he'd become absolutely fearsome.
• ShamSports does what John Hollinger did a few weeks ago by rating each free-agent signing this summer. He hates the Mickael Pietrus signing and, perhaps facetiously, loves the Anthony Johnson one.
• The Lakers Nation discusses the possibility of former Magic forward (and 3QC fave) Trevor Ariza supplanting Lamar Odom in the Lakers' starting lineup.

Confirming a rumor we first heard in March, former Magic forward Corey Maggette might be interested in re-joining the team in free-agency this summer. Tim Povtak of the Orlando Sentinel cites "a Maggette friend who is close to both the player and the Magic organization" as a source for his story in today's paper.

What Maggette's really interested in, I suspect, is making more money. SHOCKING, I know. The more cash-strapped teams he encourages to offer him money, the more leverage he has in negotiating with teams that have more cap room. The most Orlando could offer him is the mid-level exception, which has a starting salary of around $5.5 million (it changes from year to year due to the salary cap). Maggette, coming off a season in which he averaged 22.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.7 assists, is certainly worth more money than that. Hell, the Magic paid Rashard Lewis a max-level contract worth $118 million over six years after a season in which he averaged 22.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 2.4 assists. While no team can afford to offer Maggette that kind of money this summer -- and Maggette knows as much -- Lewis' contract ups Maggette's market value.

I wonder who, exactly, Povtak's source is. Who might be in a position to know players and teams equally well? Perhaps an agent... like Rob Pelinka, who represents both Maggette and Magic free-agent guard Keyon Dooling. We suspect Pelinka floated this rumor himself to increase Maggette's paycheck, not to mention his own. Additionally, by bumping Maggette out of the Magic's price range, Pelinka ensures the team has enough money to re-sign Keyon Dooling. Everybody wins... except Orlando, which loses the prospect of ever using the absurdly talented Jameer Nelson / Maggette / Hedo Turkoglu / Lewis / Dwight Howard starting lineup.

Maggette's coming off a career-best season and, at 28, knows this summer will be his last chance to secure a lucrative, long-term deal. He won't risk losing millions of dollars just for the opportunity to play close to home. The fact is, no borderline All-Star like Maggette has taken the mid-level exception to play for a contending team. Veteran lunchpail-types in their mid-thirties have (see Boston's free-agent crop last summer after it acquired Kevin Garnett), but never players of Maggette's caliber.

Summarily, the odds of Corey Maggette signing with the Magic this summer are slimmer than Shaquille O'Neal's chances of winning the Three-Point Shootout. And I'm pretty sure the previous sentence marks the first time anyone has used "slim" with "Shaquille." Go figure.

UPDATE: Mike Bianchi, writing on his blog, makes a salient point about the Magic's chances regarding Maggette:

Secondly, don't the Magic have more pressing needs than another small forward/shooting guard? They already have zillions tied up in Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis and have spent their last two first-round draft picks on J.J. Redick and Courtney Lee. I guess the Magic conceivably could do some sort of sign-and-trade involving Turkoglu and somebody else, but then you have to ask yourself is Maggette appreciably better than Turk?

That last sentence underscores why I don't understand the logic behind trading Turkoglu for Maggette, although it didn't stop me from making it a poll option, nor did it stop at least one reader from choosing it. For all intents and purposes, Maggette plays the same offensive game Turkoglu does, only without the playmaking ability for others: 68% of Maggette's shot attempts last season were jumpers, compared to 67% for Turkoglu. However, Turkoglu shot a much higher effective field goal percentage (.495 to .418), and created more of those shots off the dribble; just 49% of his jumpers were assisted, compared to 75% for Maggette.

So, really, what advantages do Maggette have over Turkoglu? The biggest one is his ability to get to the foul line, as he averaged more than double the free throw attempts per 36 minutes than Turkoglu did (9.8 to 4.7). But, in many respects, that's Maggette's only advantage. Before you say "age!" keep in mind that Maggette is a shade less than 8 months younger than Turkoglu.

If anyone wants to explain why they'd dump Turkoglu in favor of Maggette, I'm willing to listen. Right now, I'm unconvinced.

This summer, 3QC will take a look back on each Magic player's 2007-2008 season. The first nine posts will evaluate, on an individual basis and in alphabetical order, the players who played in at least 20% of the team's total minutes; the final post will briefly evaluate the five players who appeared in less than 20% of the team's minutes.

Today, our focus is Rashard Lewis.

Rashard Lewis faced more scrutiny last season than any other Magic player had in recent memory. Fresh off signing the largest contract in team history, Lewis entered the 2007/2008 season facing high expectations. The Magic hoped Lewis would become the top-flite scorer the likes of which they hadn't employed since Tracy McGrady last donned blue-and-white.

The result? Mixed.

There's no telling what sort of season Lewis would have had if Tony Battie, Orlando's incumbent power forward, hadn't suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in October. With Battie out, the Magic had no choice but to start Lewis, a natural small forward, at power forward. At 6'10", Lewis has the height to defend most other power forwards, but not the strength or skill-set. As a result he had to expend most of his energy on the defensive end, muscling up against the likes of Zach Randolph, Chris Bosh, and Kevin Garnett. As one might expect, Lewis finished with poor rebounding and block numbers for his position.

Offensively, Lewis played a game more in line with his skills. He roamed the perimeter and launched three-pointers with impunity, keeping defenses honest. But apart from the very infrequent post-up on the left block, Lewis showed little offensive versatility and became the team's third option on most offensive sets.

Not that he seemed to mind. He never complained publicly about his role with the team, recognizing that Dwight Howard is, unequivocally, its cornerstone, and Hedo Turkoglu is its savviest scorer since McGrady. But as much as we appreciate Lewis' being a team player, we still wish he'd assert himself more often. Because of Turkoglu's emergence as a playmaker, the Magic rarely called on Lewis to win games for them, but when they did, the result was not always pretty:

• 30 November 2007: Losing to Phoenix by 2 points with 9 seconds to play, Stan Van Gundy draws up a play for Lewis, shooting 6-of-18 (3-of-11 from beyond the arc), to take a three. Lewis might have been fouled, but it doesn't matter. The shot misses. Magic lose.
• 21 January 2008: With the game versus Detroit knotted at 100, the Magic have 3.6 seconds and the ball coming out of a timeout. They go to Lewis at the top of the arc. He dribbles to the right side of the key, gets Richard Hamilton in the air with a great fake, and hoists a 15-footer at the buzzer. Money. Magic win.
• 8 February 2008: Trailing the Lakers by 3 with 14 seconds to play, Lewis gets the ball in the right corner and shoots what would have been the game-tying basket. Lamar Odom gets his fingertips on it. Magic lose.
• 1 April 2008: Down 1 to New Orleans, the Magic go to Lewis at the top of the key, as they did against Detroit two months previous. Lewis once again dribbles right, only this time he passes to Keyon Dooling on the wing. Dooling, who did not appear ready to receive the pass, rushes his jumper and misses. Magic lose.

If the Magic expect to become elite, they need to get more offense from Lewis, especially in late-game situations now that opposing teams expect them to go to Turkoglu. The answer might be to move him to small forward, which should boost his scoring average and, perhaps, his confidence in the clutch.

But overall, Lewis was the ideal third banana, if we use Bill Simmons' description:

he ideal "third banana" should be someone who isn't consistent enough to be great, but good enough to have a game-to-game impact and occasionally carry you for a game.

Looking simply at Lewis' statistics and skills, there are plenty of GMs who would love to add him to their teams, but certainly not at the price Otis Smith paid him. Fairly or unfairly, the media judge players based on their salaries, as if they somehow expect players to show humility by turning down nine-figure salaries. Lewis would've needed an MVP-caliber season to justify his contract. Magic fans had to settle for him being their team's third-best player. They probably weren't okay with that, but somehow, I think Rashard is.

Yesterday, virtually every major basketblog linked to this YouTube video, a modification of the trailer for The Dark Knight in which Kobe Bryant plays Batman and Kevin Garnett plays the Joker. The timing of this video seems strange to me because I started working on this Batman-themed post for this site's Diversions section earlier this week. So, here it is: selected NBA teams compared to Batman villains.

The Detroit Pistons are Two-Face

Billups photo by Michael Conroy, the Associated Press; Two-Face action figure by DC Direct; Wallace photo by M. Spencer Green, the Associated Press

One of comics' most tragic villains, Two-Face was once a celebrated district attorney named Harvey Dent. When crime boss Sal Maroni threw acid on Dent during a trial, it scarred Dent's visage and psyche. Now a man divided between good and evil, and flips his trademark scarred coin to determine how he'll behave. The Pistons have a similar balance in their personalities: they have Chauncey Billups, team captain and winner of the NBA's citizenship award, on the "good" side and Rasheed Wallace, owner of the league's most notorious temper, on the "bad" side (although he does good things, too). And, like Dent, they have two distinct attitudes toward their craft. When they're motivated, they're one of the league's best teams; when not motivated, they lose to the Knicks by nearly 30 points. Their frustrating inconsistency mirrors Two-Face's refusal to seek treatment for himself, despite Bruce Wayne's repeated offers of support.

The Los Angeles Lakers are The Joker

Bryant photo by Ric Francis, the Associated Press; Joker art by Doug Mahnke, DC Comics

Ignore the fact that the Lakers and the Joker share a favorite color (purple, although the Lakers have a different name for it), and the fact that the silver screen's original Joker sits courtside at Lakers games: the similarities between the Lakers and the Joker are uncanny. Both entities are icons in their respective idioms, the Lakers for their dynasties and the Joker for being so damned entertaining for so long (he first appeared in 1940). Both entities are of the "love to hate" variety. And both entities enjoy toying with their victims before they strike. The Joker kills whomever he wants whenever he feels like it, and does so with glee just as the Lakers (and Kobe Bryant in particular - scroll down to the paragraph that begins with the words, "Consider that Denver") are similarly inclined to relish their kills victories.

And if Kobe Bryant himself is the Joker, then Sasha Vujacic (far right) is Harley Quinn.

The Phoenix Suns are The Penguin

O'Neal photo by Ross D. Franklin, the Associated Press; Penguin art by Simone Bianchi, DC Comics

[Insert Shaquille O'Neal fat joke here].

The Suns, before they acquired O'Neal, were one of the league's most entertaining teams because they relied on coach Mike D'Antoni's fast-paced, "Seven Seconds or Less" offense. And, for most of his criminal life, the Penguin employed trademark trickery of his own: weaponized umbrellas and trained birds. When the Suns realized they wouldn't win a title playing that style, they traded their biggest trick (Shawn Marion, a do-it-all forward) for a more traditional player (O'Neal, a low-post center). Similarly, the Penguin abandoned his gadgets when he saw the opportunity to become wealthy a more traditional way: through organized crime. He cast aside his umbrellas and birds and opened the Iceberg Lounge, a "legitimate," high-class nightclub in which he publicly gladhands Gotham City's well-to-do while privately engages in shady dealings with mobsters.

The San Antonio Spurs are Ra's al Ghul

Popovich photo by Getty Images; al Ghul art from Batman: The Animated Series

Ra's al Ghul -- whose name translates as "The Demon's Head" -- is arguably Batman's most formidable foe. A master strategist, he managed to kidnap Robin and deduce Batman's secret identity in his first-ever appearance just as the Spurs were immediately successful in winning 56 games during Tim Duncan's first season with them. And, like the Spurs, al Ghul may be misunderstood. He wants what most people want: a clean, healthy planet in which to live, just as the Spurs want only to win a title. But the means al Ghul uses to achieve his end (terrorism, genocide) are certainly villainous, just as the Spurs' tactics (flopping, cheap-shots) are questionable. Additionally, al Ghul is immortal: he has lived for centuries by periodically immersing himself in Lazarus Pits, which are the DC Universe's equivalent to fountains of youth. Similarly, the Spurs have remained competitive for the last decade, having the highest winning percentage of any team in all four major North American sports over that timeframe.

The biggest Magic news of the day concerns Otis Smith. The team extended his contract, along with that of assistant GM Dave Twardzik, but did not disclose the terms of the extension. However, Brian Schmitz reports that Otis' deal is for three years, with the fourth year a team option. In a separate post, he writes that it's time Otis backs-up his talk of bringing a title to Orlando:

He had posters of the NBA trophy plastered throughout the team's practice facility and in their arena locker room. Players are parroting Smith's message.

It's a terrific goal and you have to like the confidence . . .. but Smith can't simply tease the faithful with championship chatter.

He's on the record --- and on the clock.

The ticking begins loudly, and in earnest, next season when all-star center Dwight Howard's five-year, $85-million maximum contract kicks in.

[....]

Smith has work to do, and little cap room left to cut the gap between the Magic and the aging Pistons and the Celtics.

He must find more help for Howard. The Magic need more defense, more big bodies and, to hear critics tell it, more point-guard assistance.

Yes indeed, the time is now for Otis to prove himself as GM. So far, he hasn't made too many personnel blunders (as long as you don't count the draft). But he hasn't distinguished himself, either. With nearly $230 million owed to Howard, Rashard Lewis, and Jameer Nelson over the next five years, Smith doesn't have much flexibility, so he'll have to prove himself by making smaller tweaks to surround his core with complementary players. But he can't do it alone. Most great teams got to where they are by fleecing incompetent GMs:

• the Celtics got Kevin Garnett, one of the best power forwards of all-time, for Al Jefferson and change;
• the Lakers got Pau Gasol without giving up anyone in their nine-man rotation;
• the Pistons got Rasheed Wallace for a first-round draft pick and assorted riffraff (including former Magic guard Chucky Atkins).

The only exception to that rule is the (now-fallen) Spurs dynasty (?) which lucked into the right to draft Tim Duncan, then drafted smartly by getting Tony Parker (28th, 2001) and Manu Ginobili (57th, 1999). And as much as most of us like Otis, we don't think of him as an R.C. Buford-type talent evaluator.

Not yet, anyway. But if he's able to draft well this year, and juggle his own free agents, Otis might establish himself as an above-average GM. While he hasn't done anything astonishing yet -- jettisoning Steve Francis, his awful attitude, and his ridiculous contract was Smith's best move, and that involved Isiah Thomas' incompetence -- he hasn't done anything worth firing him over, either. And with the team on the verge of greatness once more, it'd be unfair of the Magic to fire him.

Not exactly a ringing endorsement from me, sure, but don't get me wrong: I still believe in Otis. And so do the Magic, evidently.

And speaking of the draft, plenty of mock-draft sites updated today. Interestingly, four of the ten sites we're tracking at 3QC have the Magic selecting Memphis guard Chris Douglas-Roberts with the 22nd pick. DraftExpress thinks he is, at best, Jerry Stackhouse; that he's the best NCAA junior in the draft; and that he's the third-best shooting guard. Not bad, no?

• Dwight Howard joined Kevin Garnett, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and Chris Paul on the All-NBA First Team. Dwight was a Third-Teamer last year, so it's nice to see him make the leap. It's also nice to see that he finished ahead of Amare Stoudemire of Phoenix, who went nova after the Suns acquired Shaquille O'Neal. But Dwight dominated at center all year, and Amare dominated at power forward for half the year. Advantage: Dwight.
• Tim Povtak reports on Chauncey Billups' hamstring injury in the Orlando Sentinel. It sounds like it hasn't gotten better or worse, so there's still no indication if he'll play Saturday or not:

  "I'm sore. It's still sore," Billups said from the sideline Thursday. He walked slowly into Amway Arena with no energy in his step, but showing no signs of a limp. "I don't know (if he could play Saturday). I can't honest say either way at this point."

• John Denton has this perspective from the Pistons' trainer, Arnie Kander:

  "Most hamstring injuries that you are really fearful of are speed-related. They happen off fast movement. This was the slowest hamstring (injury) you're going to see," Kander said. "This was like a dancer who tries to do the splits and isn't ready for it. They get sore but they don't usually have any lasting effects. He's going to go through about 90 different treatments in the next couple of days and my goal is to get him ready for Saturday."

• Austin Kent of Hoops Addict says the Magic will only go as far as Dwight Howard takes them. He admits that this conclusion "isn't advanced neuroscience by any means," but the article is thoughtful and worth a look. (HT: EtB)
• Vegan Fish Tacos (yeah, I don't know either) has its latest mock NBA draft up. It has the Magic taking Jason Thompson, a center from Rider, with the 22nd pick. "If the Magic take a player who is not a big, their GM needs to be disembowled." (Another HT to EtB)
• Elie Seckbach, the embedded NBA correspondent, has a video interview with former Magic forward Trevor Ariza up at FanHouse. It's a nice interview, and features a cameo from Trevor's favorite Magic teammate (and one of my favorite players). Check it out, yo.
• Did I really just say that? I am so sorry.

Don't forget to weigh-in on the Fran Vazquez situation or on last night's big win over the Pistons. And wish Keyon Dooling a happy birthday, while you're at it. Have a good one, folks.

Lots of buzz hubbub surrounding last night's Magic/Hornets game. Let's check out the reaction from around the web...

• First, if you missed Keyon Dooling swatting Jannero Pargo's fast-break layup attempt, click here for the NBA.com highlight. I promise you won't get Rick Roll'd.
• Kelly Dwyer of Ball Don't Lie in today's Behind the Boxscore feature:

  I wrote a lot about this game, and I'll get to it in a sec, but the best summation about the back-and-forth comes from an email from Matt at Hardwood Paroxysm:

  "These two in a Finals would be fascinating. It may not be as interesting as Kobe vs. KG, but the basketball may not be better."

  Just the thought of the Lakers and Celtics (regardless of roster makeup) in the Finals leaves me giddy, and the thought of the Boston and Los Angeles rosters (forgetting, for a second, that the franchises in question are the Celtics and Lakers) in the Finals leaves me swimming. Either one works.

  And yet, for the two and a half hours of actual game action, man, it might be hard to top Orlando and New Orleans. I know we've seen some real crackers from the C's and Lakers games this season, this is just a hypothetical, but it's worth understanding that this was a terrific, terrific pairing.

  In case you missed it, Pat Garrity played 14 minutes last night. More from Dwyer:

  Pat Garrity cannot help an NBDL team.

  From another email, this one coming from a prominent scribe from another major sports site who also invented something called PER:

  "They have to sign another 4 to a 10-day. HAVE TO. This is ridiculous."

  Garrity's PER of 1.3 puts him below the lowest designation on the PER reference scale, which is "On the next play to Yakima." Maybe the Sun Kings could use a power forward...?

• Matt sent me an email as well:

  I take it back, you're not going to get swept in the first round. You have way too many offensive weapons and too much pure talent for that to happen. And the best part is, if you can get one on the road, you'll actually be in a pretty great spot, even against the beasts from the East.

  Nothing to be embarrassed about from this loss. Learning process, and a good one against a great team.

  Nothing to be embarrassed about except being outhustled when it counted, I guess. Still, losing to the Hornets by only a point is a result most teams would be happy with.

• At the Hive:

  Nothing like winning a game you have no business being in.

  Given our pathetic rebounding effort, we had no business winning either.

• Hornets247:

  • The Magic have some impressive pieces. I knew what to expect from Howard, but I didn't realize Lewis could D up like that, or that Hedo was so versatile. That dude has great handles for a guy listed as 6-10, and he has those big lunging steps that help him get by guys and finish in the lane. Very nice player.

  Nice to see some recognition for Lewis and Hedo. Something tells me they won't sneak up on people in the postseason, though.

• Basketbawful:

  Hedo Turkoglu cordially invites you to visit Peja Stojakovic's man region, and Peja's welcoming expression seems to say: "Go to that fertile land of gentle breezes where the peaceful waters flow."

  While Matt and John Hollinger emailed Dwyer with observations on the game itself, I emailed Basketbawful a silly picture of Hedo and Peja before the game. Perhaps I don't have my priorities quite in order.

	vs.
47-27		50-22
Amway Arena
7:00 PM
Sun Sports
Probable starters:
Jameer Nelson	PG	Chris Paul
Maurice Evans	SG	Morris Peterson
Hedo Turkoglu	SF	P. Stojakovic
Rashard Lewis	PF	David West
Dwight Howard	C	T. Chandler
19 Nov 2007: Magic 95, Hornets 88

I did a double-take when I looked back in the archives and saw we beat the Hornets in our first meeting. Really? We beat the Hornets? Then I remembered that Chris Paul missed that game, and Tyson Chandler left early with a knee injury. So we eked-out a victory over a team missing the best point guard in the league and its All-Star caliber center. Forgive me if I'm not too enthusiastic about that win, which also happened to be the last time Trevor Ariza played in a Magic uniform; we traded him to the Lakers for Maurice Evans and Brian Cook the next day.

The New Orleans Hornets are really freaking good. 50-22, on top of the best conference in the NBA, and, by extension, on top of the best division in the NBA. But because they play in a small market, haven't gone on a huge win streak, and didn't make a huge trade this season, they're flying under the radar. For more on the Hornets, let's hear from Rohan, who writes for At The Hive.

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3QC: Chris Paul is a legitimate MVP candidate having arguably the best "pure" point guard statistical season (21.6 points, 11.3 assists, 2.7 steals, 49% shooting as of this writing) in the history of the league... and he won't turn 23 until May. How high is his ceiling? Can he -- or anyone else, for that matter -- play the position any better than he is right now?

Rohan: This guy is playing scary basketball right now. You put it well- he is indeed having the greatest year statistically in the history of the point guard position. His 28.8 PER eclipses anything Oscar Robertson, or Magic ever did; in fact the top 10 PER years by point guards are all Magic and Oscar, except for CP up at number 1. Right now there's nobody even close to Paul; Nash is posting a 21.1 (his best MVP year was 23.8), and he's the closest guy there is to Paul this year. In fact, Nash, Jose Calderon of Toronto, and Utah's Deron Williams are the only other guys in the 20's, but Paul is getting close to the 30's nonetheless.

Pretty much any Hornet telecast you tune into, you'll hear the announcers comparing Paul to another great, Isiah Thomas. Comparing with the same stage in Isiah's career, Paul shoots about 3 percent better, pulls down half a rebound more per game, shoots 12 percent better from the stripe and 4 percent better from long range, is about even on steals and assists, but impressively averages an entire turnover less. And according to Dean Oliver's DRtg stat, Paul is actually the better defensive point guard overall.

As far as his ceiling goes... let me just say, I'd be happy if he didn't improve from his current level at all. That said, there's two things I can pinpoint as areas of potential improvement. The first is a must- improving defensively against bigger point guards. I'm sure you've heard of his struggles against Deron Williams. The Jazz guard has about 4 inches and almost 40 pounds on him, which is huge. CP is going to have to learn to outsmart Williams on the court, and rely on his quickness to defend him. Utah's the one team I absolutely do not want to see in the playoffs, and the Chris Paul-DWill matchup is a large part of that. The second potential improvement isn't as much of a necessity- I want to see if Chris Paul can continue his fantastic improvement on jump shots. He came into the league at 45 eFG% and is currently at 53%. That's a testament to the work he's put in during the offseasons, and if he can ever come near Steve Nash levels (ie, 60%), playing against him would just be unfair.

3QC: In a Q-and-A session with ClipsNation, I gave Steve an opportunity to talk about how great Al Thornton is. So, in that vein, I'm giving you a few paragraphs to rave about David West, the Hornets' starting power forward and arguably the league's most underappreciated player. Have at it.

Rohan: Haha, I just kind of went off on Chris Paul, so this feels weird. Nevertheless, I'll gladly take the opportunity. West is one my favorites for one big reason: he gets maximum results out of his specific skill set. What I mean by that is West isn't as athletically gifted as the Howards (who is?), Amares, Odoms, or Garnetts of the world. When you watch him play, you won't be awed by an explosive first step or come from behind rejection into the eighth row. Even with Paul continually throwing alley-oop lobs, you'll never see West on the finishing end of one of those dunks. And he understands that. When he first broke into the league, I (and other Hornets' fans) came to know him as a tireless worker on the glass. Gradually, he improved his offensive game, year by year.

West is equal parts power and finesse- one of his go-to moves is powering his upper body into a defender, before taking a soft fall away jumper. Unlike most power forwards, he will give you a decent cross over as part of his drive to the hole. One thing you and your readers might not like though is that he'll be yelling every second of every minute of every game (at the refs). I'm stunned he hasn't gotten more technicals this year, but off the court, he's a really low-key and mild mannered dude.

3QC: Talk a bit about the job Byron Scott has done coaching this team. Certainly having the All-Star talent of Paul and West helps, but he's also turned the likes of Ryan Bowen, Rasual Butler, and Melvin Ely into regular rotation players. Is there a more deserving candidate for Coach of the Year?

Rohan: I say he's COY. First, I don't think he gets enough credit for the offensive system he's implemented in New Orleans. A lot of people will just point at Chris Paul and say it's pretty easy to coach with a point guard like him. However, they miss how well he's taught the other Hornets' players their specific duties on offense; New Orleans implements a highly complex variation of the Princeton offense. This allows the finds CP has to make to be a lot less risky; Peja Stojakovic is having one of the best seasons of his career due to the way Scott has set up the offense for him.

On the defensive end, Scott makes his case even stronger. In the last three years, the Hornets have jumped up in defensive efficiency rankings, starting at 20th, getting to 16th, and culminating at 9th. That's really impressive to me when you have a guy like Peja Stojakovic as a starter. Stojakovic isn't atrocious, but he's certainly a weak link; Scott specifically designs the defensive strategies, game to game, to cover for Peja through various types of help defense. On the player-coach interaction front, Scott has successfully integrated a known head case, Bonzi Wells, and a guy coming off a 2 year NBA ban, Chris Andersen, back into the rotation. That has to count for something.

3QC: Along the same lines, how about the work Jeff Bower has done in assembling this team? It really is hard to imagine better complements to Paul than Peja Stojakovic at the three and Tyson Chandler at the five. Does he deserve Executive of the Year consideration? Or is he just really, really, really good?

Rohan: Yeah, this team has been assembled through some very shrewd moves over the past few years. Number one is obviously the Chris Paul selection (by all accounts, New Orleans had him higher on their board than Deron Williams). The P.J. Brown and J.R. Smith for Tyson Chandler deal is looking brilliant. The decision to slowly elevate David West into the starting PF role (let alone giving him a chance as an undersized PF) instead of pursuing a big name free agent has worked out beautifully. Getting a three point shooter some pegged to be on the downside of his career has paid dividends. Most impressive, to me, was Bower pulling the trigger on acquiring Bonzi Wells, and reacquiring Chris Andersen. You have to understand that this was a playoff team with or without those two guys. Bower could've easily sat back, and have been absolved of any of the potential blame that comes with acquiring a head-case and a former drug user. Instead, he showed real commitment to building a bona fide contender- he put his own neck on the line for the good of the franchise. To me, that's worth just as much, if not more, than signing two big name free agents in one offseason (Boston).

3QC: This question's really just for fun. This year, the Hornets introduced an alternate logo, cleverly titled the "fleur de bee," to be worn on a jersey patch. What's your take on the fleur de bee? I ask only because I think it's the best alternate logo in the league, and because not enough people see it.

Rohan: Hahaha, you're right, it's indeed a clever play on the "fleur de lis" and props are in order to whomever coined that. I think it really showed the Hornets commitment (at the time it was released) to the city of New Orleans, with all the drama floating around about leaving the city. The city and its fans have just rewarded the franchise's commitment by showing up to games en masse these last two months.

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Thanks once again to Rohan for his insight. Check out his site, At The Hive, for more on the Hornets. Click here for my answers to his questions about the Magic, including my take on Rashard Lewis' contract. Another great resource for Hornets news and analysis is Hornets 247. There's also this great post about the Hornets at Hardwood Paroxysm.

As Biased Fan reminds us in this comment here at 3QC, a Magic victory over the Hornets tonight goes one step closer to helping the Jazz secure home-court advantage in the West. I think we owe them that much, since their drubbing of the Wizards last night sealed the Southeast Division title for us.

The tip's at 7 on Sun Sports, and there really is no excuse not to watch this game. Clear your schedule. Chris Paul should will be a joy to watch, even if when he's shredding our perimeter defense.

Get them donuts. Go Magic.

One year ago today, some chump with a laptop and entirely too much time on his hands I started a website dedicated to the past, present, and future of the Orlando Magic. Yes indeed, Third Quarter Collapse is now one year old! To celebrate that occasion, I've compiled links -- in bullet form, naturally -- to my favorite posts from the old site. Enjoy the archives. Happy birthday to us. And to Hedo Turkoglu, while we're at it. Turk turns 29 today. Bold 'N' Blue has the birthday thread.

• Introduction - The first-ever 3QC post!
• In Defense of Brian Hill - Ugh.
• Streaky Like Superman's Cat: Magic 94, Knicks 89 - Not a particularly special post, but I love the title.
• Intelligent Design - Wondering if Dwight Howard can improve between his third and fourth seasons the way Kevin Garnett did.
• There's A Battle Ahead - Making the case that Magic fans need to GET WILD AND CRAZY to increase Orlando's standing as a sports town. I invoke the words of William Shakespeare and Winston Churchill.
• Brave New World - Just a few days before the start of the postseason, I describe the feeling of impending doom I have. The Magic promptly drop four straight games to the Pistons, and I look fairly intelligent. What that post doesn't tell you is I had the Magic playing the Rockets in the Finals.
• My coverage of the Billy Donovan Saga.
• Reverse the Curse: Forgive Shaq and Bring Him Back - Begging the Magic ownership to reach-out to Shaquille O'Neal and offer him a consultant position with the team once he retires. Not quite sure what I was thinking there.
• The Case for Keeping Grant Hill - Arguing the Magic should re-sign Grant Hill. Again, not sure what I was thinking.
• The Orlando Magic Free-Agency Countdown. Boy, am I glad I did this series.
  • Part One: Vince Carter
  • Part Two: Mo Williams
  • Part Three: Chauncey Billups
  • Part Four: Gerald Wallace
  • Part Five: Rashard Lewis - I had this one right -- does anyone seriously believe we'd be better off with one of the other guys? -- but I was way off-base when I said Lewis "rebounds well." Whoops.
• WKMG: Rashard Lewis Will Sign with Orlando for 5 years, $75 million - If only that dollar amount were accurate.
• ESPN: Grant Hill to Sign with Phoenix Suns - "Grant Hill may be a great basketball player, but if NBA-ers were rated in Consumer Reports, Hill would certainly not be a 'Best Buy'." That's as charitably as I could put it.
• Which Free-Agent Big-Men Should the Magic Pursue? - I begin my love/hate relationship with coding HTML tables.
• End of an Era, Such as it Was: Darko Milicic, Orlando Magic Part Ways - I was really proud of this piece when I wrote it, but it embarrasses me now. But go ahead. The picture at the end is worth the click-through.
• The Future Is Now: Rashard Lewis Formally Introduced at Press Conference - I'm more interested in the fact that I thought Keith Bogans would be behind J.J. Redick on the depth chart. Bogans went on to start the first 35 games at shooting guard for us. Whoops.
• In DeFense of DeVos/In Support of a New Downtown - Hard to believe that just last summer we were worried about the Magic leaving in a few years if they couldn't get that arena built...
• Success! Venues Plan Passes by a 5-2 vote... especially since the arena funding got approved 3 days after I wrote that first post.
• Are the Magic a Playoff Team? Discussion From Around the Web - Also hard to believe that many observers picked Orlando to finish out of the playoff picture, even in the Eastern Conference. To be fair to them, no one could have predicted the Bulls would suck this badly, nor could anyone have predicted that Hedo Turkoglu would have an All-Star season. But still, not even in the top 8 in the East? It was as absurd then as it is now.
• Don't Free Keyon - When the Keyon Dooling-for-Reggie Evans rumors circulated over the summer, I was seemingly the only guy who didn't want the Magic to make the deal. I have no regrets. I LOVE KEYON DOOLING AND THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN SAY OR DO TO CHANGE MY MIND! THAT'S MY PURSE!
• Carlos Arroyo Shows Masonry Skills as Mexico Upsets Puerto Rico - "If the Magic want to have their new arena built on-schedule, they might consider asking Carlos Arroyo to lend a hand. His brick-laying skills might come in handy." I'm so proud.
• Who's Under Contract: A Tentative 2007/2008 Orlando Magic Roster - Does anyone think I need to work a post like this into the sidebar somewhere? An at-a-glance summary of the Magic's players and their contracts? Let me know.
• The Southeast Division Outlook, Part Three: Miami Heat - "[T]he Heat's grip on the Southeast loosened considerably this summer, making the possibility of Orlando or Washington seizing it much more likely." Yeah, I'll say.
• Tell Harris Rosen Where He Can Stick It - I sincerely hope Harris Rosen read this post. Actually, I hope he's reading this one. Hey, Harris: thanks for failing at your bid to steal an arena from Orlando citizens so you can line your pockets. We really appreciate it, scumbag.
• The Southeast Division Outlook, Part Four: Orlando Magic - "I'm not saying that the Magic are going to win 57 games, but I am saying is that they will improve." 57 games isn't out of the question, actually. The Magic will reach that total if they go 12-1 the rest of the way.
• Summer of 2007: An Orlando Magic Photo Album - I was really scraping for content at this point, as I knew the SB Nation relaunch was just around the corner. Still, I'm happy with this post; pictures are fun!
• Orlando Sentinel: Surgery a Possibility for Tony Battie - The last news-related post at the original 3QC. Sucks that it's such a bummer.
• I've Moved to ThirdQuarterCollapse.com - "Thanks for everything." Thanks, indeed. Here come the waterworks...

When I started 3QC last year, I had no idea it'd ever get this "big." Okay, it's not BlogABull or TrueHoop or anything, but it went from a nondescript Blogspot site averaging 13 hits a week to a fairly reputable SB Nation site averaging 13 hits an hour (give or take). So I'd like to thank the SB Nation crew for letting me come aboard as well as the readers who brought this site to their attention in the first place. I really appreciate the support I've received.

Thanks for everything. I'll be here as long as you guys will have me.

And, uh, for what it's worth: the Magic are 54-29 (.651) since I launched the original 3QC. Just saying.

This year's Magic team is shaping up to the best since the mid-1990s one that featured Shaquille O'Neal and Dennis Scott, among others. But will it enjoy similar postseason success?
File photo by Chris O'Meara, the Associated Press

It's time to talk playoffs.

Not super in-depth or anything; there's still another month or so to go in the regular season, so a lot of things can change. But there are a few reasons why I want to discuss the postseason now:

• This report from the Daytona Beach News-Journal, which says the Magic need to win only three games -- or have New Jersey and Chicago lose three games -- to wrap-up the East's third playoff berth. (HT: MagicManEvan)
• A few days ago, ESPN posted its current playoff matchup page for the 2007/2008 season.
• Some fans are already getting a bit antsy about it.

I agree with Red's Army, a Celtics blog, when it says the playoff matchups are basically set; that is, we're not moving up from the third seed. Assuming that holds true, we'd match-up with the sixth-seeded team which will likely be either Washington or Philadelphia. For the sake of this post, though, I want to review our matchups with the other four plus-.500 teams in the East to gauge our chances of getting past them to either the Eastern Conference Finals or -- gulp -- the NBA Finals.

The other plus-.500 teams in the East are Boston (51-12), Detroit (46-18), Cleveland (37-28), and Toronto (34-30). We have a combined record of 7-5 against these teams, with only two meetings with Cleveland left. Additionally, we're the only NBA team to defeat both Boston and Detroit twice this season. We're in good shape, right?

Well, not so much. There are several other factors in play here. I submit to you now a list of things to consider before proclaiming us world-beaters:

• We got lucky. A lot. Four of our seven wins went down-to-the-wire, and each time we caught a lucky break.
  • November 14th @ Cleveland: Dwight Howard inexplicably goes 13-of-16 from the foul line and hits the go-ahead free throw with 5 seconds left in overtime. On Cleveland's ensuing possession, LeBron James drives to the basket, only to be tied-up by Hedo Turkoglu. The final horn sounds after the jump-ball, and the Magic escape Cleveland with a win.
  • November 18th vs. Boston: Paul Pierce's three-pointer at the buzzer clanks off, and the Magic win by two points despite letting the Celtics score almost at will in the second half.
  • January 21st vs. Detroit: Rashard Lewis nails a seventeen-foot banker at the buzzer to give the Magic a narrow 102-100 victory.
  • January 27th vs. Boston: Hedo Turkoglu improbably drills a step-back triple at the buzzer -- with Pierce's hand in his face -- to win the game for Orlando.
• Our opponents were hurt. A lot. At the risk of stating the obvious, it's a heckuva lot easier to beat a team when it's missing its best player. Unless that team is Houston, in which case you don't stand a chance.
  • January 27th vs. Boston: All-Star forward and future Hall-of-Famer Kevin Garnett (18.8 points, 9.7 rebounds per game in 2007/2008) misses the game with an abdominal strain. Despite the fact that his replacement, Brian Scalabrine, contributes just 1 point and 1 rebound, the Magic win by a scant three points.
  • March 4th vs. Toronto: All-Star forward and certified Magic Killer Chris Bosh (22.6 points, 8.9 rebounds per game in 2007/2008) misses the game with a sore knee. The Magic don't assert themselves in the first half, and only win because Toronto's T.J. Ford decides to play one-on-five basketball in the fourth quarter.

Point differential is a better indicator of a team's ability than won-lost record is. With that in mind, let's take a look at what point differential tells us about how the Magic really stack-up with the rest of the good teams in the East. Make the jump to read the rest of the story.

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