Game thread - Orlando Magic vs Cleveland Cavs 3/2/03
Well, this is the beggining of that easy March scheadule that us Magic fans have been bragging about. It's time to actually stop the talking and start the playing. We have to understand working hard is gonna take us to a better seed and we know our players understand the importance of that home court advantage. We haven't had a good seed for the past 3 seasons and this season looks like a copy-cat of it. We are 8th seed of the playoffs, but this time the Hornets and the Bucks are very close. If we can put up a good column of "W"'s in the month of March we just might get to the 6th seed, you never know. Tracy McGrady should have his way with the Cavs, but I am expecting Drew Gooden to once again be the X-factor in this one. McGrady is gonna put up his usual stats and throw in some sick things in the mix, but Gooden with his defensive and offensive low-post presence is going to be the difference maker just like he has been for the past 4 games even though one of them was a lost, he had an incredible performance. He definately doesn't play like a rookie, trust me.
I'll post more about this game later but I just wanted to give out some of my thoughts on the game, and start-up the thread because the game is tommorow afternoon. Come on guys, let's get this board rolling again start your posting..
Yea, this should be a victory for the Magic and the team knows it. The only problem will probably containing Illgauskas. Magic have major problems defeding inside and Z is the 2nd best post up center in the league. McGrady will most likely end up with a big game. Ricky davis isn't exactly known for his defensive capibilities.
I say Cavs are more dangerous than what their record shows. They have some good players like Ricky Davis, Miles, big Z. That said, Magic have some good players now, so they have a good chance for a win. Maybe T-Mac will score 40+ in this game.
It wont be a walk in the park. Ilgauskas is a good Center, and Kemp can't guard him effectively as you might think. Gooden and Booazer will be a good matchup. Boozer is a tank, so it will be interesting to see who gets in Foul Trouble first.
Obviously they wont have an answer for TMAC. But Miles has the speed, size, and athleticism to make TMac have to work for his points. Ricky can score, as well as Wagner. Overall, the Cavs can present a bigger challenge than you think.
Originally posted by Vintage!
It wont be a walk in the park. Ilgauskas is a good Center, and Kemp can't guard him effectively as you might think. Gooden and Booazer will be a good matchup. Boozer is a tank, so it will be interesting to see who gets in Foul Trouble first.
Obviously they wont have an answer for TMAC. But Miles has the speed, size, and athleticism to make TMac have to work for his points. Ricky can score, as well as Wagner. Overall, the Cavs can present a bigger challenge than you think.
I agree with this, as the Cavs present problems for any team that has no BIG presence in the post. Gooden is better than I thought, but it doesn't take much to be better than Garrity!
If Giricek can step up his defense plus score and deClerq plays hard and can actually make some "catches"(the guy has hands of stone, I swear), the Magic have a chance to win this game.
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Bad Bartons:"Looking at the world through emerald colored glasses -
I think it will be a much tougher game then we expect but I don't think we should let our imagination fly, we are still the favorites to win this and they have no answer for McGrady. Sure, they have Darius Miles and Ricky Davis but they won't be able to contain T-Mac whatsoever. This game is going to be very crucial because it is the start of the month of March which is due to be an easy month since our scheadule is in our favor, and we need to get off on the right foot. We have to win to get the winning type of feeling going, I think that is extremelly important. I take that very seriously, I'm a keen believer that starting well leads to success.
The game is just in a few hours, let's hope we can put on some Magic tonight and return to the Magic Kingdom with a win in our hands. We have the 7th seed right now, and we can't turn and go back we have to keep going forward!
TMac only played 3 quarters again, as the Magic blew the game wide open in the 3rd. Jumaine had zero buckets for the 3 quarters TMac was on him - nice defense by TMac, as usual.
Now they'll have some legs for the game against the pesky Bulls, who are like 18/9 at home so far? They are tough to beat at home!
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Bad Bartons:"Looking at the world through emerald colored glasses -
Originally posted by SkywalkerAC!
was dmiles or jones manning the pf position? if miles, how was he looking?
I thought that Darius looked a little tentative in the minutes he played today. I don't know if that's from the time he was injured or if he is having trouble fitting in with his new team. Probably some of both for him. Maybe he needs "Q" there so he doesn't play with such a tentative look.
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Bad Bartons:"Looking at the world through emerald colored glasses -
This is the ideal start I would have wished for the start of the month. Exellent play by our squad, and it's good to hear we dominated enough so McGrady got to sit out for the rest of the game (4th quarter). I still haven't been able to watch the highlights but I'm sure I'll catch it on ESPN Sportscenter later tonight. So, I'm just basing my thoughts for now on the game trough stats provided on NBA.com. It seems to me that not only did McGrady step up, a trio of players provided some spark in the points department. Garrity had 17 pts, Giricek had 16, and Gooden had 13. That's combined for 46 pts, now that's a very nice thing to see for a Magic fan who has seen this ball club struggle to get anyone besides McGrady above 10 pts. Whoa, this just feels so good that we can now count on a few players besides T-Mac that can provide some points. Jesus christ! this trade has just been so good to us Magic fans, I don't know how to thank these two rookies. They have totally changed our franchise!
Checking the stat page, soemthing that pops up is that Gooden once again had another double-double. He had 14 rebounds! and 7 of those were offensive, now tell me this Gooden kid isn't gonna be a future all-star? This guy fits our team so well. He's been the missing part of our puzzle all along! Hats off to those rookie's again, just playing like veterans as if they have been doing these playoff pushes with pressure for years. Anyways, it's now safe to say that the Magic Kingdom are actually gonna put up a fight for a better seed in the playoffs. Go Magic!
Originally posted by Yyzlin!
Yea, this should be a victory for the Magic and the team knows it. The only problem will probably containing Illgauskas. Magic have major problems defeding inside and Z is the 2nd best post up center in the league. McGrady will most likely end up with a big game. Ricky davis isn't exactly known for his defensive capibilities.
2nd best post up? not sure about that... well if you subscribe to the school of thought that duncan is a pf on any team besides the spurs and lakers, he is still a center in my book
Originally posted by Jamal!
This is the ideal start I would have wished for the start of the month. Exellent play by our squad, and it's good to hear we dominated enough so McGrady got to sit out for the rest of the game (4th quarter). I still haven't been able to watch the highlights but I'm sure I'll catch it on ESPN Sportscenter later tonight. So, I'm just basing my thoughts for now on the game trough stats provided on NBA.com. It seems to me that not only did McGrady step up, a trio of players provided some spark in the points department. Garrity had 17 pts, Giricek had 16, and Gooden had 13. That's combined for 46 pts, now that's a very nice thing to see for a Magic fan who has seen this ball club struggle to get anyone besides McGrady above 10 pts. Whoa, this just feels so good that we can now count on a few players besides T-Mac that can provide some points. Jesus christ! this trade has just been so good to us Magic fans, I don't know how to thank these two rookies. They have totally changed our franchise!
Checking the stat page, soemthing that pops up is that Gooden once again had another double-double. He had 14 rebounds! and 7 of those were offensive, now tell me this Gooden kid isn't gonna be a future all-star? This guy fits our team so well. He's been the missing part of our puzzle all along! Hats off to those rookie's again, just playing like veterans as if they have been doing these playoff pushes with pressure for years. Anyways, it's now safe to say that the Magic Kingdom are actually gonna put up a fight for a better seed in the playoffs. Go Magic!
I have been saying for more than a year - since the team let go of Bo Outlaw - that TMac was having to do wayyyy too much. This year he was(until the trade)
the leader in points,
assists,
rebounds
and blocked shots!
Now if that doesn't tell anyone how bad the supporting cast is for TMac, they can't see - & are either blind or blind on purpose!
Pat Garrity was the worst starting Power Forward of all time! Since he has gone back to the bench, he is happier and the team is winning, and the fans are or should be happier!
Gooden is young, eager, persistent, and a fighter - a rookie who actually goes after rebounds like a power forward should!
I am really happy for TMac and the Magic - a trade like this was way too long overdue!!
Plus - they are fun to watch again!!
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Bad Bartons:"Looking at the world through emerald colored glasses -
Game thread - Orlando Magic vs Cleveland Cavs 3/2/03
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