The Magic Make Their Case

On a night in which Cleveland cemented itself as the leader of the East with a big win over Boston, Orlando pushed itself into the NBA Security Council with a blow-out victory over a good Atlanta team. The Magic ran off a 20-4 lead in the opening minutes and had a 38-point lead at halftime. Basically, Orlando had 40 minutes of garbage time against a potential top-four seed. If Cleveland's 15-point win built a foundation of hegemony, the Magic broke out the concrete too.

And now we have Boston in third place in the conference. Would anyone pick Orlando over Boston in a best-of-seven series? Heck, would anyone pick Orlando over Detroit in a best-of-seven series? If folks had been unwilling to grasp how unbelievable the Cavs have been until last night, how long will it take Orlando to get respect as a fellow potiental usurper?

Dwight Howard's offense still needs work; instead of scaring Magic fans, that should scare Boston. Orlando's defense is only half-a-point per 100 possessions worse than Boston's, and the offensive output has been virtually identical. But Hedo Turkoglu hasn't been near his best, good fit Mickael Pietrus has been injured, and -- again -- Howard is still figuring things out. Boston will be better than they are now by March, without question. But Orlando can still improve too. This isn't a one-team conference like last year, or a two-team conference like last month. Orlando's real, and third-place Boston is finding that out now.

This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.