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.

Not much in the tubes today.

• Mike Freeman of CBS Sportsline has nothing but nice things to say about Dwight Howard:

  When you think Howard, think Shaquille O'Neal or Patrick Ewing or Tim Duncan, but instead of O'Neal's flab there are finely tuned gams. Instead of Ewing's more plodding game fit for a schoolyard, there is finesse. Howard possesses the power Duncan never had. And Howard isn't injury prone like Yao Ming.

  (HT: Hardwood Paroxysm)

• Chad Ford (ESPN Insider) has put together a nice rundown of the free-agency situation this summer. In my dreams, Elton Brand opts-out of his deal with the Los Angeles Clippers, then signs with us for the full mid-level exception, leaving tens of millions of dollars on the table for a chance at a title. Dude doesn't need the money; he can just keep producing Werner Herzog films (Rescue Dawn!) to pay the rent.

  Like I said, in my dreams.

• Brian Schmitz writes in his blog about the importance of the Magic holding on to that third playoff seed. If we drop to fourth, we'll likely face a first-round matchup with the Toronto Raptors, with whom we do not match-up well.
• Alex Kennedy at RealGM makes the case that Hedo Turkoglu should win the league's Most Improved Player award this season. (HT: Punisher in this thread at MagicMadness)

And since there's not much in the way of Magic news, we now turn to our division rivals:

• The Atlanta Hawks are 1-4 since acquiring Mike Bibby from the Sacramento Kings. Bibby has struggled, averaging 11.8 points, 2.0 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and 3.0 turnovers as a Hawk. He's only shooting 38% from the field. Despite their poor record lately, I expect Atlanta to make the playoffs. The East is that bad.
• The Charlotte Bobcats' slim playoff hopes ended last Friday when Gerald Wallace, their leading scorer and franchise cornerstone, left a game on a stretcher after the Kings' Mikki Moore inadvertently elbowed him in the face. Wallace suffered a concussion -- his fourth in the last four seasons -- and will miss at least the next two weeks.
• The Miami Heat earned their second win since Christmas last night, blowing out the Kings, 107-86. The Heat are now 2-22 in 2008 and haven't been relevant since... well, last season. Understandably, the folks at Sactown Royalty aren't happy with last night's results.
  • Speaking of Sactown Royalty, check out this diary post I made there to caption a picture of Hedo Turkoglu and Ron Artest talking. Join the fun!
• The Washington Wizards are just 3-10 this month, and got absolutely destroyed in Houston last night, 94-69. The Wizards managed to score just 23 points in the first half. But it hasn't been all bad for Washington this week: DeShawn Stevenson had the game of his life Monday night, scoring a career-best 33 points and hitting the game-winning triple to propel the Wizards to a victory over the New Orleans Hornets. Were the playoffs to begin today, we'd play the Wizards, so they're definitely worth keeping an eye on.

Don't forget the game thread, and stay tuned: I have a fairly large post in the works for sometime later this week.

Dwight Howard throws down a dunk in the Orlando Magic's 107-91 victory over the Miami Heat on Wednesday night.
Photo by Fernando Medina, NBAE/Getty Images

There were two big blowouts in the NBA last night: the 76ers crushed the Bucks by 43 points, and the Raptors downed the Wizards by 39. Considering the Magic are more talented than both the 76ers and the Raptors, and considering the Heat dressed only 10 players last night, the Magic should have won by more than 16 points. The game was an anomaly in that it was unsettlingly close before we put it away in the fourth quarter, as you can see in this GameFlow from PopcornMachine. Typically, we'll take a big lead, then give it all back late in the fourth, as we did versus New Jersey and at Charlotte. Oddly enough, those games also took place on Wednesdays. I write this on my brain.

This game illustrates two main points: Hedo Turkoglu is having an amazing season and our point guards are playing pretty terribly.

It's too bad the coaches already turned in their All-Star reserve votes, because Hedo Turkoglu played like an All-Star last night. However, I don't think he stands a chance at making the team. One of the reserve spots went to Joe Johnson (Atlanta Journal Constitution via FanHouse), who is completely undeserving. To be fair, I also left Turkoglu off my hypothetical ballot, but that's only because Josh Smith caught my eye with his incredible defense. He, not Johnson, is the reason Atlanta is in the playoff picture. If Johnson made the team at Turkoglu's expense, it will be a true injustice. Maybe I'm taking this All-Star thing too seriously, but pardon me for wanting players more deserving than Joe Johnson (Jose Calderon, Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, Turk, Gerald Wallace...) to get the recognition they deserve. I am, quite frankly, disgusted with the coaches' ignorance in this selection.

Something with which I am more disgusted is our point guard play. We're winning in spite of it, not because of it, as some Carlos Arroyo fans would like you to believe. Both he and Jameer Nelson have played terribly lately, which should concern Otis Smith. He says he doesn't want to make any moves before the trade deadline, but if a reasonable offer for a point guard comes along, he might have no choice but to pull the trigger. A title-contending team would probably be happy with either Arroyo or Nelson as its backup point guard, but not at its starter. Every title-contending team gets All-Star-level production from its point guard: Dallas has the one-two punch of Devin Harris and Jason Terry; Detroit has Chauncey Billups; New Orleans has Chris Paul; Phoenix has Steve Nash; Portland has Brandon Roy, who plays point forward; and San Antonio has the flop-happy Tony Parker. The only exception to the rule is Boston, which has three future Hall-of-Famers in its starting lineup. If we're going to contend, we need to upgrade that position. Period. Last night, Jason Williams -- Jason freaking Williams!!! -- had 11 points and 8 assists against us. Darrell Armstrong -- Darrell freaking Armstrong!!! -- came off the bench for the Nets four weeks ago and went absolutely bananas against us. Anthony Carter -- Anthony fre... you get the idea. Run-of-the-mill point guards routinely torch us, and we won't be facing too many of those in the playoffs.

Okay, we won the game. Lovely. But we should have won by a lot more, and there's no reason to think our season is going any better than it was. Yes, I am indeed complaining about playing .617 ball, which is about a 51-win pace. The fact is, we can do better. And I'm not going to be satisfied with anything less than the team's best effort. But hey, at least we've beaten the Heat eight straight times.  

If you've ever wanted an up-close view of Brian Cook's quads, you're in luck.

	vs.
14-23		24-16
Charlotte Bobcats Arena
7:00 PM
Sun Sports
Probable starters:
Jeff McInnis	PG	The Closer
Raymond Felton	SG	Mogans
Jason Richardson	SF	Turk
Gerald Wallace	PF	Sweet Lew
Emeka Okafor	C	Big Baby Jesus

The Magic reach the halfway point of their season when they take on the Bobcats in Charlotte tonight. It will be the last meeting between these two teams this season unless they meet in the playoffs, which is unlikely given Charlotte's record.

The key to a Magic victory tonight will be stopping the Bobcats' scrubs non-stars from breaking out. The stars will get theirs: Jason Richardson has been on a tear recently, averaging 24.4 points per game this month, up from 20.2 last month, despite shooting worse from three-point range. Gerald Wallace, the Bobcats' other perimeter scoring threat, is averaging 25.3 points per game this month. Yet the Magic withstood a combined 57 points from that duo in defeating the Bobcats on December 29th. Matt Carroll and Raymond Felton could get hot. Heck, maybe Emeka Okafor will finally have a good offensive game against us; Dwight Howard has done a great job containing him in the teams' three previous meetings this season.

This game has the potential for a letdown, considering that it's against a mediocre team on the road on the second night of a back-to-back. The Bobcats can't be overlooked. Despite their poor record, they have managed to beat Utah and Boston this season, and would have beaten the Celtics twice were it not for a boneheaded inbounds pass that was stolen, which lead to a miraculous Ray Allen three-point buzzer-beater. Hopefully, the boys won't lose focus tonight and will be able to take care of business.

	vs.
20-11		10-17
Amway Arena
7:00 PM
Sun Sports
Probable starters:
Carlos Arroyo	PG	Ray Felton
Keith Bogans	SG	J. Richardson
Hedo Turkoglu	SF	Gerald Wallace
Rashard Lewis	PF	Emeka Okafor
Dwight Howard	C	Nazr Mohammed

Tonight is our third meeting with the Bobcats already in this young season, but the first since they've had Nazr Mohammed available. He was acquired just hours before we played them last time, but he was not in uniform; hell, I doubt he was even in the city. Anyway, he's played well in Charlotte, averaging 13 points and 10 boards per game on 58% shooting. He's a better offensive player than most people realize. And at 6'10", 250 pounds, he has the size to bang around with Dwight Howard on defense.

I have Carlos Arroyo listed as our starting point guard for two reasons: he played great last night in Miami; and, judging by his post-game comments, Stan Van Gundy seems to really like him:

"We just put the ball in Carlos Arroyo's hands virtually every possession down the stretch," Van Gundy said. "We ran the high pick-and-roll, and he made good decisions. I thought he was very confident with the ball in his hands."

"Good decisions" and "confident" particularly stand out. Jameer has not made good decisions lately, nor has he been confident. Even if Nelson retains his starting role, I suspect Arroyo will take a large share of his minutes, especially in close, late-game situations. Kinda cheapens Nelson's nickname, "The Closer," doesn't it?

I'll be in the stands for this one tonight. Hopefully we play better than we did the last time I was in attendance. Good God, that was awful.

Register your pre-, in-, and post-game comments in this thread. Or, bash me for my unwavering support of Jameer.

Well, this one's up really late. Sorry about that.  

	vs.
8-12		16-7
Charlotte Bobcats Arena
8:00 PM
ESPN, FSN Florida
Probable starters:
Raymond Felton	PG	Jameer Nelson
Jason Richardson	SG	Keith Bogans
Gerald Wallace	SF	Hedo Turkoglu
Emeka Okafor	PF	Rashard Lewis
Primoz Brezec (?)	C	Dwight Howard

UPDATE: Thanks to Detroit Bad Boys for pointing out this A. Sherrod Blakely blog post which reports the Pistons have traded Nazr Mohammed to Charlotte for Primoz Brezec and Walter Herrmann. I assume this trade means Brezec won't be available for Charlotte tonight. Perhaps Ryan Hollins will start in his place?

Brian Schmitz reports Carlos Arroyo is out again tonight with a sore foot. Jameer and Keyon will have to pick up the slack. He also mentions that Stan Van Gundy will be wearing a microphone as part of the NBA's attempt to give fans more access to the game.

Of course, if you don't like the Worldwide Leader's NBA coverage, you can catch the game on Sun Sports FSN Florida.

Sorry about that. My mistake.

Maurice Evans and Brian Cook, the Magic's two newest players, watch their team play against the Charlotte Bobcats on Friday night. The Magic won, 105-92.
Photo by Fernando Medina, NBAE/Getty Images

The Magic overcame a shoddy shooting night from Rashard Lewis to beat the Charlotte Bobcats behind Dwight Howard's 34 points and 17 rebounds. Gerald Wallace, the Bobcats' leading scorer, left the game with an injury after playing just 12 minutes, forcing them to rely on Walter Herrmann and Matt Carroll for offense. Here's the boxscore.

Since the game wasn't televised, and since I elected not to attend, I don't have many observations to offer. It's encouraging that we beat a division rival by double-digits despite Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu combining to shoot a putrid 10-of-29 (.344) from the field.

Is there any doubt that Dwight Howard is the league's MVP so far in this young season? He's posted consecutive 30-point games for what may be the first time in his career. So far, no team has been able to contain him. He is as close to unguardable a post player there is in this league right now, and it must be scary for other teams to think that he's not yet 22 years old.

For those of you who are wondering, Brian Cook made his Orlando Magic debut, wearing jersey no. 34, scoring 3 points, grabbing 1 rebound, and blocking 1 shot in 8 minutes. Maurice Evans was active and wearing no. 1 (!), but received a DNP-CD. I was hoping he'd get some minutes, but Keyon Dooling's impressive double-digit scoring performance kept him on the bench.

In spite of he victory, Stan Van Gundy was not happy with his team's performance. He criticized them for "playing the scoreboard" instead of "playing every possession." The chance to win by 20 points slipped away in the fourth as the Magic let up on the gas, so to speak, allowing Bobcats rookies Jared Dudley and Jermareo Davidson to take control.

Big test for us tomorrow against the Heat. They've gotten off to a rocky start, to say the least, but they're still dangerous, especially on the second night of a back-to-back.

	vs.
6-5		10-3
Amway Arena
7:00 PM
No local TV
Probable starters:
Raymond Felton	PG	Jameer Nelson
Jason Richardson	SG	Keith Bogans
Gerald Wallace	SF	Hedo Turkoglu
Emeka Okafor	PF	Rashard Lewis
Primoz Brezec	C	Dwight Howard

The holiday has forced me to abbreviate this game preview, but I do have some quick thoughts:

• This game has "letdown" written all over it. The Magic have only lost to elite teams this year, but they're bound to lose to average ones at some point. With the Heat/Van-Gundy-vs.-Riley showdown on Saturday, the Magic may be looking past Charlotte, which they simply can't do if they hope to win. Gerald Wallace has snapped out of his early-season funk and Raymond Felton is having a career year.
• I want to see what the new guys can do, which obviously involves them being on the active roster for the game and somehow carving out some minutes. And even then, I won't be able to literally see the game; it's not locally televised. Maybe I'll end up buying a ticket and seeing it in person. Hrm.

	vs.
0-0		0-1
Amway Arena
7:00 PM
Probable starters:
Raymond Felton	PG	Jameer Nelson
Jason Richardson	SG	??? J.J. Redick
Gerald Wallace	SF	Hedo Turkoglu Rashard Lewis
Emeka Okafor	PF	Rashard Lewis Dwight Howard
Ryan Hollins	C	Dwight Howard Adonal Foyle

UPDATE: Big props to John Denton of Florida Today, who reports that Adonal Foyle and J.J. Redick will start tonight for the Magic. I've updated the Probable Starters box above to reflect these lineup changes.

25 words or fewer: The Magic will look to rebound from Monday's loss against Atlanta by taking on the Charlotte Bobcats, who will be opening their preseason schedule.

Know your enemy: The Bobcats, like the Magic, made significant personnel changes this summer: They obtained high-scoring swingman Jason Richardson from Golden State on draft night and they hired first-year head coach Sam Vincent. Tonight's game will mark their first chance to see how well Richardson plays with franchise cornerstones Gerald Wallace and Emeka Okafor, and how the Bobcats adapt to the faster-paced style that Vincent wants to play.

Useless information: The Bobcats defeated the Magic for their first-ever win, 111-110, on November 6th, 2004. Primoz Brezec lead Charlotte with 20 points, and Cuttino Mobley paced the Magic with 23. Pat Garrity scored 6 points on 1-of-10 shooting. Way to go, Pat!

Bullet points:

• Tonight's game will not be televised, but the radio broadcast will be available for free at NBA.com by signing up for NBA Audio League Pass. All you have to do is create an NBA.com account, which only takes a minute. Dennis Neumann and Richie Adubato have the call for the Magic.
• I really have no idea who will start at shooting guard for the Magic. Keith Bogans got the nod on Monday night, but was benched after failing to get back on defense. As a result, J.J. Redick played starters' minutes. There's a chance that Stan Van Gundy will give Bogans another chance to start, especially after his strong performance in camp last week, but it's also possible that Van Gundy will give Redick another look.
• We might get a chance to see Kevin Kruger tonight. Kruger, a 6'2" guard from UNLV, played well on the Magic's summer-league team and shot a blistering 45.5% from three-point land. He did not play Monday night.
• With the shooting guard position so wide-open, it's also possible that Torrell Martin -- and his great hair -- will get more playing time. He played just 4 minutes on Monday, but did score the game's final basket with a putback dunk on Carlos Arroyo's errant game-tying three-point attempt. You can watch it in this YouTube clip to which I linked yesterday. That said, Martin's chances of making the team are very slim, as the Magic's top priority is signing another big-man.