Thought of the Day
This will not be one of my usual rants or YouTube videos or lists. Instead, an apology is in order.
All year long, I doubted the Orlando Magic. I said they shot too many threes, I said they were soft, I said that without Jameer Nelson they lacked play-makers, and of course, I have a natural bias against them because of the Nick Anderson play in '95 and since their nickname doesn't end in s.
But I was wrong. The Magic showed, first versus the 76ers, then against the Celtics and finally against the Cavaliers, that they are not the strictly outside shooting, soft, stand around team I thought they were. They cause matchup problems with their variety of long-distance shooters to go along with Superman himself, Dwight Howard. They can switch on all pick-and-rolls with their long, athletic guards and forwards. And coach Stan Van Gundy has shown that he knows what he's doing at crunch time, something that his former (and some current) players doubted.
I don't know if they can beat the Lakers in the Finals, my prediction will be posted in the next few days. But the Magic sure advanced further than I expected, and my perception of their squad has changed 180 degrees in the past six weeks.
All year long, I doubted the Orlando Magic. I said they shot too many threes, I said they were soft, I said that without Jameer Nelson they lacked play-makers, and of course, I have a natural bias against them because of the Nick Anderson play in '95 and since their nickname doesn't end in s.
But I was wrong. The Magic showed, first versus the 76ers, then against the Celtics and finally against the Cavaliers, that they are not the strictly outside shooting, soft, stand around team I thought they were. They cause matchup problems with their variety of long-distance shooters to go along with Superman himself, Dwight Howard. They can switch on all pick-and-rolls with their long, athletic guards and forwards. And coach Stan Van Gundy has shown that he knows what he's doing at crunch time, something that his former (and some current) players doubted.
I don't know if they can beat the Lakers in the Finals, my prediction will be posted in the next few days. But the Magic sure advanced further than I expected, and my perception of their squad has changed 180 degrees in the past six weeks.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment