Injuries Sminjuries!/Redick Needs A Nap/Fox Sports Likee Magic

Magic management is saying one thing today:

"Zippity-doo-dah! Zippity-yay! My oh my what a wonderful day!"

The reason is that yesterday the injury gang of Trevor Ariza, Keyon Dooling, and high priced free agent Rashard Lewis returned to the practice floor yesterday! Stan Van Gundy said, "Rashard didn’t look real comfortable on (his sore ankle), but he got the whole practice in,’’ which is akin to "Rashard was playing like he had glass slippers on." Either way, it's spectacular news heading into the last preseason game of the regular season.

The countdown has begun for Pat Garrity to kill one of these guys to get their playing time.

Meanwhile, JJ Redick has begun playing the blame game, saying that the flight was the reason for his shooting woes overseas. While most people will say this is a load of crap, I will actually side with Redick since I have trouble sleeping in planes or buses. I only seem to be able to get a good night's sleep at yo momma's house. Ohhhhh!

To further prove that the news surrounding the Magic of late has been of the super happy variety, Fox Sports is picking the Magic to make it to the Eastern Conference Finals. The article actually says things like:

Indeed, Keith Bogans is the only starter who could conceivably be called a
stopper. He's a rough and ready performer who would be more effective on a
better-balanced squad.

-And doesn't even mention anything about Trevor Ariza. Garrity getting props and Bogans being mentioned as a key cog in the Magic attack? Look for those flying pigs any day people.

Tomorrow will come the official announcement of the NEW SITE, so you're not going to want to miss it!

I sound like a commercial...sigh, my worst fears are now realized.

Bogans The Starting SG?/Garrity Resurgance/Injuries Linger

First off: New website announcement is still a little ways off since we still need to get our ducks in a row. Should be soon though!

For now, some old news to start the week off: Bogans looks to have won the starting shooting guard spot...for now. The complete implosion by JJ Redick, offensively and defensively, on the China reshaped the starting lineup and now it is Bogans' job to lose.

Wow, for all of that "Who will start at shooting guard? Ariza or Redick?" preseason talk, Keith Bogans came out of nowhere and snatched the spot! While Redick has more potential that Bogans (will the word "potential" ever be the same after Darko?), Stan Van Gundy seems to be a fan of playing without mistakes.

-That last comment makes the next one even weirder, but Pat Garrity just might have a shot at the starting lineup. Stan has been impressed with what he has seen from Garrity, and that leaves the door open with injuries to players like Rashard Lewis, Trevor Ariza, and Keyon Dooling. Garrity does seem to have recovered his three point shot, but I'm still skeptical. The use of my short term memory is thanks for that. I give it 10 days before we learn Garrity is pumped on HGH.

These topics are nice, but what Magic fans are REALLY talking about today are the aforementioned injuries to Lewis, Ariza and Dooling. Lewis' ankle keeps swelling up, Ariza said he heard a "pop" (which in injury terms is the deathblow, although I think he was overestimating it), and Dooling's injury sounds serious although it has been vague enough to lead me to believe he is actually decapitated.

Rashard's injury could be okay if he resumes practice today, so more news on that later. For now, I have to run to see a concert for the performer Kenna. If you haven't heard of him, check out his music. He's one of the few singers I actually can stomach!

Exciting News Coming/Yahoo Predicts Magic Will Win Southeast

Sorry in advance for the short entry today, but I am extensively with some cohorts on a new website that promises to rock your socks off. More news on that later.

For now, Yahoo is predicting the Magic will win the Southeast. That love we were looking for all these years is allllllllmost here. Now we just have to win, which shouldn't be too hard right? Right?

Good lord I hope Rashard's legs hold up.

Have a great weekend everyone and hopefully by the next entry I'll have exciting news to share.

A (Belated) Magic-Cavs Full Game Recap/Magic Beat China!

Note: This was supposed to be posted yesterday, but as you know Blogger crapped out on everyone yesterday. Here it is in belated fashion:

--------------------

Well, it's official: It's easier to watch the Magic when they play in China then when they play in Orlando.

I just got done watching the DVRed record of the Magic-Cavs game, and I saw some big pluses and minuses. While our team did great, looking like a better overall team than the Cavs, it was a shame not to see Marcin Gortat on the international stage. The only time I saw him, someone was yelling at him to move down on the bench (literally.)

Let's go through the game position by position, shall we?

-First off, at PG Jameer Nelson is a COMPLETELY different player. Sweet sassy mo-lassy. Even though the stat sheet doesn't necessarily reflect it, he was the best player on the floor by far besides Dwight. He was driving through the lane, making amazing passes, and reminding our sluggish squad to run the floor. The Cavs could only foul to contain him. Hello, contract.

On the flipside, Carlos Arroyo looked like something Ira Newble shat out (apologies to the religious online Arroyo cult). He slowed the game down, he shot low percentage shots, and just looked rather lax on offense and defense. When Arroyo left the floor, the team seemed to come alive.

-At SG, yes Redick had a bad shooting game, but he also seemed rather lost on defense too. He seemed best suited to be 'the guy who passes to Dwight', a role that many handicapped people could easily do. He wasn't good and he wasn't bad, he was just absent the whole game.

Keith Bogans also had a so-so night, but he gets an "A" for effort in my book. He was hustling for rebounds, running the floor, and seemed like a man on a mission. The only thing that really killed his stock was that he was 3-8 for three pointers (not including 2 that he missed that were just inside the line). I know, I know, that is a good percentage, but when you take into account that every single shot of his was WIDE open, you can understand how difficult it was to watch that many shots clank off of the rim. Stan's system really allows for wide open threes, a great sign.

-At SF, Turkoglu...my whipping boy...actually didn't play terrible. He made his shots and wasn't trying to force anything. What he DID play like was an 80 year old man. When he touched the ball, I had to make sure my DVR wasn't in slow-mo mode. He is only like 28, so he shouldn't be looking like that. No wonder Stan Van Gundy thought he looked sluggish in other games. I think doctors need to re-examine our boy Turk to make sure he doesn't have some advanced aging thing...seriously.

The other tall white guy to play SF was Pat Garrity. Early in the game Hubie Brown was talking about how working with Stan Van Gundy could revitalize Garrity's career. Pat took this as his cue to suck...hard. Everytime the ball touched his hands, it was up for grabs and I'm convinced that one of his relatives must work for the NBA to have his statsheet only say 1 turnover. He held onto the ball like it was a red-hot piece of lava.

-I really didn't get a chance to see poetry man Foyle or James Augustine much since they were in for so short a period (usually playing during lackluster Lebron highlights...damn you ESPN), but they seemed okay. Foyle played well all around and Augustine rebounded a good amount, despite not shooting well. Augustine will most likely make the team and contribute here and there when they are being outrebounded.

-Which leaves us with Howard. I will give Patrick Ewing a pat on the back right now because he looks like a monster out there. Last year you could say he was a big guy with a lot of potential and a limited game. Well, this game he was just unstoppable everywhere (except his lone jumpshot, which still didn't look too bad). His free throws have improved too, making the Cavs actually regret it when they fouled him as opposed to using it as strategy. I can not express how impressed I was with him this game. Mark my words, this year is going to be his coming out party and Kevin Garnett would even say "Ooo-wee!" if he saw how D12 played today.

For coaching, Stan could constantly be heard from the bench "RUN! GO!", especially whenever Arroyo was anywhere near the ball and watching it bounce like a yo-yo. His lone time that he was onscreen calling a play, he yelled, "O-C! O-C!" as loud as he could. He then proceeded to say, "UM, MY MISTAKE...I MEAN'T 3-5! THIRTY-FIVE!" I chuckled at this right up until the play unfolded into a spectacular alley-oop dunk for Dwight.

That's our Stan for you: Laugh at him one moment and then shake your head at how good a coach he is the next.

Overall, a promising game. While it is easy to say the team did well despite Lewis, Ariza, and Dooling being out, the Cavs were also without unsigned players Pavlovic and Varejao so they were a little short on talent too. I am sure Stan will have a lot to say about how slow the team looked out there, but they did just take a super long flight so it is understandable.

Time to get some Lo Mein to celebrate the win.

---------------------

Update: The Magic, after a slow start, are killing the Chinese National Team in their game today. Stan seemed to play some of the people he thought were lackluster yesterday, and there were mostly positive results: Carlos Arroyo redeemed himself after a poop game to go for 25 points and 7 assists and James Augustine (of all people) lit up for 14 points and 7 rebounds. Turkoglu had 17 points and Marcin Gortat had 8. On the flipside, JJ Redick's achilles heel remains the western hemisphere as he was 2-9, after an 0-6 start. For the boxscore, because yahoo hates Chinese people, go here:

http://www.nba.com/games/20071018/ORLCHN/boxscore.html

One Of The Best Magic Posts Ever/PJ and Webber Still Possibilities?

Very few things in this world make me laugh out loud: The movie "Killer Klowns From Outer Space", Joe Namath trying to kiss Suzy Kolber, and the complete and utter annihilation of collar-poppers...yup that's about it.

But every so often I see something that just makes me lose it. On the Orlando Magic message boards, poster Thisistheyear wrote the following:

Chris Sheridan reports:

Los Angeles Lakes owner Jerry Buss has displayed an open mind to the idea of a
trade for their perennial superstar. Rob Pelinka, Bryant's agent, has stated that Bryant has expressed interest in a few teams thus far, the Dallas Mavericks, the Phoenix Suns, and the Chicago Bulls. Surprisingly, however, Bryant has told his agent that the East "intrigues" him, presumably two teams, the Chicago Bulls and the Orlando Magic."He says that the thought of playing alongside Dwight Howard has intrigued him." Pelinka said, a void that has been missing from the Lakers team since Shaquille O'neal's departure. "The idea of a trade, however, is of course still far too premature".

sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?page=Roundtable-Kobe

What followed were more than a few people commenting on the good/bad aspects of Kobe Bryant coming to Orlando. With Kobe's trade demands as of late, it was only natural.

Of course, when you click on the link, you get quite a different insight into the matter altogether. That is what made me laugh. Click it!

This began a big conversation revolving around how little links are actually looked at on sites. Someone else posted that Steve Nash was actually involved in the discussion. You really can't argue with journalism like that. I think that water I was drinking actually came out of my nose when I saw that last link.

Kudos to Thisistheyear and the gang at Magiczone for reminding readers to actually take the time to look at links. For people like myself who constantly post them, it is nice to have one or more people actually check them out from time to time.

In other (actual news) news, John Denton is reporting that PJ Brown and Chris Webber could actually be options still for Orlando. This isn't much of a surprise as the Magic are mysteriously leaving a roster spot open going into the season, coupled with their hopes to get an injury exception (aka money) from Tony Battie's injury.

With today just devolving into madness, I leave you with a quote from the underrated show "How I Met Your Mother" from last night:

Ted: "The fact that you slept with her. Ugh, I just couldn't get it out of my head, like that damn Chumbawumba song."

Marshall: "Oh, which Chumbawumba song?"

Magic Rock The Three-Ball/Guys Injured/China Time!

First off, I had to read the score from the Miami-Magic game twice: 102-69.

Granted, the Heat were without Wade and Shaq, but they will be without those two for a while at least to start the season anyways. Granted, the Bobcats blew them apart the next night, but the Bobcats are improved and the Magic beat them too. Bottom line is that it was a great win and even Pat "The Punching Bag" Garrity played well...which occurs only once a year (he might have used up his good game).

There is a lot to be optimistic about with the Magic, although 3 players (not including swiss cheese rotator cuff) are injured: Lewis has a sprained ankle and won't play Wednesday, Ariza has an inflammation in tendon in left foot and won't play at all this week, and Dooling has some bizarre groin/pubic bone area pain and will play Saturday at the earliest. This isn't too big as these guys would probably play if it were the regular season, but Ariza and Dooling have to realize that their potential starting jobs are slipping between their fingers with the emergences of Redick and Nelson. There's no such thing as job security in the NBA.

The biggest difference between last year and this year's Magic squad appears to be the emergence of the trey. The team has been throwing up anything beyond the line and for the most part they have been going in. JJ Redick has been shooting lights out from that range, and Hedo has been doing decently as well after being given a free pass to shoot from there as much as he wants. To me, this is a wonderful thing to see as the Magic seemed afraid to attempt three pointers in Brian Hill's fascist gameplan, despite the fact that the team was largely full of a bunch of long range guys. If Dwight Howard can refine his passing with Ewing's help, this team could be unstoppable from 3 point land.

Wow, who would have thought I could write that last sentence...including Hedo Turkoglu no less?!...you gotta love Stan Van Gundy.

On a side note, Yahoo Sports' NBA headline is a piece on Darko Milicic starting over again. The pressure the media put on Orlando for not resigning him seems to have subsided a bit as every NBA preview I've seen has his stint in Orlando as average at best. Worth 10 mill? Puh-lease.

This week, the team travels to China to play a few games. I set up my DVR to record the 8am game on Wednesday, although word is that Lebron might not be playing (he probably hurt his shoulder signing autographs). It will be a fun experience for our young guys, but an even better experience for Stan Van Gundy's stomach as there is so much to eat: Egg rolls, Lo Mein, Small Chinese children...the list goes on.

For the Dolphins fans of the blog, here is my short Monday Morning Dolphins Review:

They suck. Cleo Lemon is not the answer. Put John Beck in at QB after the Patriots game next week. That is all.

2007-08 NBA Pooptacular Preview: PACIFIC DIVISION

Tonight Stan Van Gundy and the evil known as "He Whom We Do Not Name" (Pat Riley) square off for the first of many grudge matches this season. With such an interesting story line, it's amazing that the NBA is not televising this game nationally...and instead televising the games in China at 8am in the morning. David Stern will truly never rest until the entire globe is under the control of his synthetic balls.

Today we continue the season preview, going from the Atlantic to the Pacific:

PREDICTED PACIFIC DIVISION STANDINGS:

1) Phoenix Suns

Wondering if Phoenix will win this division is like wondering if the sun will rise (an unintentional pun there with the whole "sun" thing...God, I hate unintentional puns). Barring the explosion of the team flight or a season-long suspension for gambling, this team ALREADY has this division won and the season hasn't even started yet. The real question is whether they have the testicular fortitude to win it all finally. Every single person in the world is saying yes, but I am a little more skeptical...The team expected to win it all seems to never do it in the NBA.

2) Golden State Warriors

Golden State and the Lakers had the same record last year, but I am giving the edge to the Warriors this season. Why? To be honest it has very little to do with their solid draft and amazing playoff run last year and everything to do with my complete hatred of the Lakers. There, I said it. Baron Davis could be decapitated and I would still pick them here because (like the Patriots in football) no one wants to be that douche that predicts good things for the Lakers. On a side note, what an amazing turnaround for a team with a futuristic FTD florist guy logo. That just goes to show what wonders getting rid of Mike Dunleavy can do for you.

3) LA Lakers

It was reported recently that Jerry Buss has said he wouldn't mind trading Kobe. Everyone is on his back about it, but I will be the one person to say, "Jolly good show, old man." While talented, Kobe Bryant is just a damn child whose self-centered posturing does not translate into a winning team. He was obviously a different person during those championships, and you can see the timeline of when he transitioned from "hot-headed talent" to "complete dickhead" with the mass exodus of talent from the Lakers organization (Shaq, Rick Fox, Gary Payton, etal) If you want to shut your ears and sing to yourself while I write about how awful of a person he is, you can do so, but at least pick up Phil Jackson's book and leaf through it. While Jackson has quietly pushed a lot of his commentary to the side to work with Jerry Buss' daughter again, you can't ignore the things he wrote about how arrogant and crappy a person like Kobe was to work with. (Steps down off of soapbox)

4) Sacramento Kings

The Maloofs have worked wonders with this team. -And by "work wonders" I mean "driven this organization straight into the ground". The once-proud Kings are a collection of scrap metal from when they were good, with the exception of Kevin Martin. While their fans and stadium are still some of the best in the country, I don't know how many more years they can abide by a rapidly declining "Kermit The Frog Voice" Mike Bibby. It has been a few years without incident, so this may be the year that Ron Artest finally snaps and just disembowels another player. At least that will be worth watching.

5) LA Clippers

This franchise is back to its old crummy ways after seeming so promising for a while. I maintain that the bandwagon jumping by Lakers fans onto this team when they were good was one of the most shameless things I have ever seen (Jack Nicholson wearing a Clippers jersey? Are you kidding me?) Although they got Al Thornton in the draft, which was a pretty good move, they are playing Corey Maggette, Sam Cassell, and Cuttino "Steve Francis' Love Monkey" Mobley. Toss in the fact that Elton Brand (The executive producer of the Christian Bale movie "Rescue Dawn", no joke) and Shaun Livingston are crippled and you have the makings of a loooooong year. No bandwagoners for a while on the Clipper ship.

There you have it. Hopefully SVG and the boys in blue kick the crap out of Riles' boys. Updates will be added as they come up and otherwise have a good weekend everyone.