Some playoff-centric stories for today...

• Brian Schmitz writes that tonight's Game Five between the Magic and the Raptors is Orlando's biggest in the Dwight Howard era:

  All season the mantra for the Magic --- heck, all offseason, since they were swept by the Pistons --- has been this:

  Win a series for the first time in 12 years, and it has been a great season. Everything after that is gravy.

  But lose, yikes, and 52-30 has all but been a waste of time. A good run spoiled.

  [....]

  The Howard Era Magic have taken step No. 1: Winning a playoff game.

  They have taken step No. 2: Winning a road playoff game.

  Now this is step No. 3: Closing out a series.

• Stan Van Gundy, who I imagine will receive some third-place Coach of the Year votes, used Pat Garrity extensively in practice yesterday, even though he's not likely to play in this series. Garrity, as the longest-tenured Magic player, participated in practice and spoke to his teammates about what it's like to lose a 3-1 lead in a playoff series.
• Meanwhile, David Whitley worries that Orlando residents will blame the Orlando Sentinel for jinxing the Magic if they lose tonight's game, and if they go on to lose the series.

  Regardless, I don't want Sentinel fingerprints near the Magic's windpipe. So we completely endorse the following comments:

  "It's not over yet," Dwight Howard said.

  "We're taking it one game at a time," Jameer Nelson said.

  "I'm looking forward to the second round," Tracy McGrady said.

  Arrrghhh. Please forget that last one.

  I'd say he did a fine job covering the Sentinel's assets on that one. I question the choice of decorating the front page of this morning's Sports section with a toe-tagged version of the Raptors' alternate logo. Yikes.

• Steve Buffery of the Toronto Sun (via TrueHoop) says Raptors coach Sam Mitchell needs to put Jason Kapono in the starting lineup tonight. After all, what does Mitchell have to lose? His job? Here's an interesting statistic from Buffery's article: Dwight Howard and Chris Bosh are essentially canceling each other out in this series. But the Magic's remaining four starters are scoring 16.7 points per game each, compared to 8.7 points per game for the Raptors. And Mitchell won Coach of the Year last year? Uh, okay...

One final, non-playoff link:

• Last week, We Rite Good hosted the final round of 2007/2008's blogger MVP/RoY rankings. They expanded the rankings to include Coach of the Year, Most Improved Player of the Year, and Seventh Man of the Year. So, here's Part I and here's Part II.

Maurice Evans shoots against in the Magic's 121-105 win over the Hawks on Tuesday night. Evans scored a career-high 27 points to help the Magic win for their first win it Atlanta in their past six visits.
Photo by Gregory Smith, the Associated Press

From my preview of this game yesterday...

So yes indeed, our guys need to have their focus at the foul-line tonight if they hope to earn their 51st victory of the season. They'll also have to find some way to stop Joe Johnson, whose scoring output has increased (24, 27, 34) in each game against the Magic. Maurice Evans and Keith Bogans have their work cut out for them.

So, how'd that work out? We shot 72% from the foul line and held Joe Johnson to 10 points, only 2 in the second half. Maurice Evans nearly tripled Johnson's output, with a career-high 27 points, and 15 in the third quarter alone, helping the Magic turn a four-point halftime deficit into a 9-point advantage after three periods. Kudos also to Jameer Nelson, who scored 7 of his 14 points in the period.

We needed Evans' hot shooting tonight. Dwight Howard couldn't get anything going offensively, and didn't seem too engaged in the action. He finished with 13 rebounds, but easily could have snagged 3 more had he not simply given up on them. He also seemed frustrated that the Hawks were allowed to hack him with impunity. That's fine, though. The officials let him get away with some, uh, extracurricular contact also.

It really is hard to complain about this win. The Hawks used a 14-1 run at the start of the second quarter to take control of the game, and at halftime it looked as though we were headed toward our 31st loss of the season. Fortunately, our starters were motivated in the third quarter, asserted themselves, and retook the lead. As a result, Stan Van Gundy was able to empty the bench in the fourth quarter: J.J. Redick scored 11 points on 6 shots and Keyon Dooling dished 7 assists in the period, finishing with 9 on the game. The only non-rotation player not to see action in the fourth was James Augustine, who didn't make the most of his four first-half minutes. Pat Garrity got the call instead.

Be sure to check out Brian Schmitz's recap at the Orlando Sentinel, which sheds some light on the Magic's free-agent preferences this summer. You might be surprised by what team president Bob Vander Weide thinks about Jameer Nelson.

So the Magic won and managed to rest their starters. SUCCESS. Let's see if they can do the same in the season finale against Washington this evening.

Quick notes on this stiflingly humid Friday.:

• Monday,  a panel of FanHouse writers named Hedo Turkoglu the NBA's Most Improved Player. Now, Ball Don't Lie has a poll which lets its readers decide who should win. Hedo leads the field by a wide margin, with 44% of the vote. Andrew Bynum, who would probably be the front-runner if he hadn't busted his knee, holds second place in the poll with 25%. Anyway, uh, vote Hedo!
• The Blowtorch looks at the Magic's weakest link: their back-up big men:

  Here is a list of bench players 6'9" and over that have played in games for the Magic this year:

  Brian Cook
  

  Pat Garrity
  
  Adonal Foyle
  
  James Augustine
  
  Marcin Gortat
  
  Bo Outlaw

  I'm serious. Bo Outlaw played in a real NBA game for a real NBA team this season. I don't think he's actually on the roster right now, but that's ridiculous.

• Speaking of backups, the Orlando Sentinel confirms that Brian Cook will probably miss at least the first round of the playoffs due to his broken hand.
• Dwight Howard and Chris Paul share the spotlight in this split-screen NBA Playoffs commercial. For the love of Seikaly, please let the Hornets and the Magic play each other in the Finals sometime soon. (Thanks, HP).
• Last week, SLAM gave a sneak peek of the cover to its latest issue, which features Dwight Howard. It's on sale now, and the magazine's website has a behind-the-scenes look at how the photographers made Dwight fly. And if you need any more incentive to get this issue (cop this ish? I have no idea), it also profiles D-League star Rod Benson. BOOM THO.

	vs.
49-29		19-59
Amway Arena
7:00 PM
Sun Sports
Probable starters:
Jameer Nelson	PG	Randy Foye
Maurice Evans	SG	Marko Jaric
Hedo Turkoglu	SF	Kirk Snyder
Rashard Lewis	PF	Ryan Gomes
Dwight Howard	C	Al Jefferson
Season series:
6 Nov 2007: Magic 111, Timberwolves 103

We should have no trouble with Minnesota at all. The Timberwolves are a decent rebounding team (12th in offensive rebound rate, 15th in defensive rebound rate), but don't do anything else well. They have Al Jefferson, who'd be an All-Star if he played for a team anywhere close to .500. He's one of only four players in the league this year averaging 20 points and 10 rebounds; Dwight Howard, Antawn Jamison, and Carlos Boozer are the others.

Jefferson is a poor defender, though. In an improbable victory over the Suns earlier this year, Jefferson scored 39 points, but allowed Amare Stoudemire to score 33.... on 14-of-16 from the field. Dwight Howard will destroy Jefferson tonight, provided that his teammates do a good enough job of getting him the ball.

They also have free-agent-to-be Ryan Gomes, who can play either forward position and is a solid "glue guy," the kind of role-player I'd like to see us sign this summer. But he told Hoopsworld he wants to stay in Minnesota. What a shame.

I get a feeling like we'll get to see plenty of J.J. Redick, Carlos Arroyo, Pat Garrity, and James Augustine tonight. It's our last game against a Western team, so if there's ever a time to rest the starters, it's tonight.

Go Magic. Get that 50th win, and we can all celebrate with free Dunkin' Donuts Saturday morning.

Here's Mike's recap from tonight's Magic/Bulls game. Thanks, Mike! - BQR

Looking to erase the stench of the awful loss to the Knicks Sunday night, the Magic (49-29, 24-15 home) got off to another slow start in this game, as Chicago jumped out to a 18-10 lead, and Magic C Dwight Howard had to sit with two quick fouls.  Howard then returned and caught fire in the second quarter, as he scored 16 points in the second as the Magic led at the half 62-49.  The Bulls were able to cut into the Magic lead and get within 78-70 with under two minutes remaining in the third quarter, but from that point on, the Magic pulled away quickly and dominated, outscoring the Bulls 37-13 the rest of the way for a 115-83 win.

The focal point of the Magic's offense against Chicago was Dwight Howard.  He did an excellent job setting up down low, the Magic players did a great job in getting the ball to him, and Howard was quick and decisive when he got the ball, either shooting that nice little jump-hook off the glass or dunking the ball, as the Bulls had no answer for Howard, who finished with 30 points on 12 of 15 FG shooting along with 14 rebounds.

Continue reading this post »

The Magic took the night off, somehow managing to lose to the Knicks. Mike From Illinois did not take the night off. Here's his recap. - BQR

The Magic, having already clinched the third seed in the East, had very little to play for Sunday night against the Knicks except to stay sharp as the playoffs near and to avoid an embarrassing loss.  The Magic failed miserably, as the Knicks, losers of 17 of their previous 19 games and having not beaten a team currently over .500 since mid-February, had the lead for virtually the entire game and sent the Magic to a 100-90 loss.

Even though the Magic outshot the Knicks from the field 40% to 35.9%, the Knicks shot better from 3 point range (30.4% to 25%), from the free throw line (77.1% to 58.6%), outrebounded the Magic (55-52), had a better assist/turnover ratio than the Magic (20/8 to 17/14), and had better bench production than the Magic (29-14).

Continue reading this post »

Here's Mike's game recap. Be sure to click "Full Story" so you won't miss more stats and analysis - BQR

Despite being thoroughly outrebounded by Cleveland and a sub-par offensive game from Dwight Howard, the Magic (48-28, 25-13 road) took over the game in the fourth quarter and dominated as Cleveland (42-35) shot just 4 of 23 (17%) from the field in that final quarter while the Magic made 9 of 15 from the field on their way to outscoring the Cavs 32-14 for a 101-86 victory.

This victory clinched the third seed for the Magic in the East, and was only the second Magic victory in 22 games this season when the Magic trailed after three quarters.  The Magic win the season series from Cleveland 3-1.

Continue reading this post »

• Jameer Nelson's injury is worse than the Magic initially thought, John Denton says. When Nelson collided with Dwight Howard's elbow last Tuesday against the Spurs, the team took him out and he was diagnosed with a bruised jaw. Now? Concussion, Jameer's third in the last 17 months. Nonetheless, Jameer plans to start this Saturday against Cleveland.
• The Magic's recent rebounding woes have Stan Van Gundy searching for answers. Notably, both Van Gundy and GM Otis Smith acknowledge that Rashard Lewis will play power forward next season, but want to switch him to his natural small forward position. So where does that leave Hedo Turkoglu? To no one's surprise, Smith says he won't sign a free-agent or D-Leaguer to replace the injured Brian Cook. Sure looks like we're due for a heavy dose of Pat Garrity.
• In light of Gilbert Arenas' surprise return to the Wizards' lineup last night, Brian Schmitz cautions Magic fans against overlooking any of the team's possible first-round playoff opponents. The Wizards, Raptors, and 76ers would each present challenges to the Magic in the first round. I'd rather draw the 76ers. Although they have indeed won 20 of their last 27 games, as Schmitz points out, they're also a poor three-point shooting team, and we have the firepower to bury them early in games and to keep them at-bay. Washington, even with Arenas back, doesn't scare me nearly as much as the struggling Raptors do. Chris Bosh could average 35 points a game over the course of a single series, and the T.J. Ford/Jose Calderon point guard monster would have its way with our point guards. No, thanks.
• Yesterday, Pat Garrity helped the charitable organization Feed the Children distribute food and "personal care items" at the Downtown Recreation Center. Garrity isn't much of an asset to the Magic on the court, but he's a great asset off it, which is why I hope the Magic can make room for him in their community relations department.
• A few days ago, Sentinel scribe Mike Bianchi wrote about the significance of winning the Southeast. There are times when I really disagree with Mike. This is not one of those times.
• Speaking of, the Magic's online shop now carries this t-shirt and this hat to commemorate the Magic's Southeast Division championship.

A quick site-related note: Mike From Illinois, whom you may know from Orlando Magic Blog, will handle 3QC's recapping duties for the Magic's next three games: Saturday against Cleveland, Sunday against New York, and Wednesday against Chicago. I'm taking a bit of a break from writing recaps, but I'll still post previews and open threads. Thanks to Mike for agreeing to pinch-hit.

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.

The Magic's Hedo Turkoglu drives past the Hornets' Peja Stojakovic in New Orleans' 98-97 victory over Orlando on Tuesday night. Turkoglu scored a game-high 26 points, but Stojakovic had the last laugh on April Fool's Day, hitting the go-ahead three-pointer in the fourth quarter.
Photo by Kevin Kolczynski, Reuters

Damn. What a way to lose. The Magic dropped a tough one to the Hornets tonight, 98-97, despite having a lead as large as 14 points. Here's the boxscore.

The Hornets wanted this game more, and we only have to look at rebounding to see why. Their 21 offensive rebounds (in 49 opportunities) compensated for their poor field goal shooting. And make no mistake: the rebounds they got weren't balls that took lucky bounces. Jannero Pargo and Chris Paul both took boards away from Dwight Howard. That's a terrible showing on the defensive glass, and we didn't compensate by dominating on our end. Our final offensive rebound total -- 2 -- sets a new franchise low. Inexcusable.

Anytime Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis combine for 50 points on 31 shots, and we hit 13 three-pointers, we should win running away. Instead, the Hornets' extra effort put them over-the-top. They earned this win.

However, the officiating seemed suspect at times. As a rule, I never directly blame a loss on the referees' whistles; it's our fault for letting the game get close enough for a single call to swing momentum in either direction, and the officials weren't the guys beating the Magic to every loose ball. However, I should note the Magic were called for 25 fouls compared to the Hornets' 18. As a result, the Hornets enjoyed a solid 27-15 edge in free throw attempts. The game-changing play came when Maurice Evans was whistled for an away-from-the-ball foul when he got tangled-up with Morris Peterson. Replays showed Peterson clearly pushed Evans first, and fell because he merely lost his balance, but it didn't matter. Peja Stojakovic hit the penalty free throw, then drilled a three-pointer on the resulting possession -- just his second field goal of the night -- to give the Hornets a 96-95 lead they would not relinquish.

Final notes:

• The Magic got the final shot with a chance to win. Coming out of a timeout, Turkoglu inbounded the ball to Lewis, who drove to his right and... dished the ball to Keyon Dooling, who came up well short on the final shot. That's the best we could do? Yes, Tyson Chandler gave Lewis some trouble when he switched to cover him, but Lewis needed to be more aggressive and assertive.
• Sun Sports displayed a graphic at the beginning of the fourth quarter that showed the Magic have the fifth-best record of any NBA team when entering the fourth quarter with the lead. I called it a jinx as soon as it happened. Hate to say I told you so, ALRIGHT.
• Dwight Howard played 42 minutes, yet got just 9 shots from the field and 5 shots from the  line. He needs more touches if we expect to win.
• Jameer Nelson was a late scratch. Carlos Arroyo got the start at point guard, and had a game to forget: no points on 5 shots. Jameer might have been able to make the difference tonight.
• Think we miss Brian Cook? Pat Garrity took Cook's spot in the rotation, going 1-of-4 and registering a plus-minus rating of minus-14. Ouch.

We have a tough matchup Cleveland in a nationally televised affair on Saturday. BIG GAME for us. Sure, we're essentially locked into the East's third seed, but we need to come out and stomp the Cavaliers to show the league and its observers that we can't be written-off.