After a quiet first half with just three points on 1-of-3 shooting, much-maligned Orlando Magic shooting guard Jason Richardson exploded in the second half, scoring 28 points on 10-of-15 shooting, including an amazing 8-of-9 on three-pointers. He made four three-point shots in a 2:49 span late in the game to key a 16-0 Magic run, which erased an 88-78 Milwaukee Bucks lead. J-Rich finished with a career-high nine three-pointers in 11 attempts, and 31 points overall, his highest scoring game since he's been with the Magic. The nine three-pointers ties for the second-most three-pointers in a game by a player in Magic franchise history. The Magic made 15 three-pointers total in 37 attempts.

After struggling offensively for several games, the Magic's Hedo Turkoglu was a big factor in the Magic's comeback, scoring 19 points, including 12 in the second half, and added six assists, five rebounds, and a block. The 50 points combined on 18-of-31 shooting, including 12-of-19 on threes, from Richardson and Turkoglu more than offset below average games from Dwight Howard and Ryan Anderson, who combined for just 20 points on 8-of-23 shooting.

Former Magic power forward Drew Gooden led the Bucks with 21 points, eight boards, and four assists. Reserve power forward Ersan Ilyasova had a big game off the Bucks' bench, scoring 17 points along with 16 rebounds.

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It was a three point barrage for the Orlando Magic (16-10), as they set an all-time franchise record for most three point attempts in a game, outscored Miami 51-15 from the three point line, and never trailed in a 102-89 victory over the Miami Heat (19-7). Both Dwight Howard and Ryan Anderson had double-doubles, with Howard scoring 25 points along with 24 rebounds, four assists, three steals, and two blocks. Anderson had the third highest-scoring game of his career with 27 points, 11 rebounds, and three assists. Dwyane Wade led Miami with 33 points on 15 of 24 shooting. LeBron James had a sub-par outing pointwise, scoring 17 points on just 5 of 15 shooting, though he led the Heat with 10 assists.

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The Orlando Magic (15-9) were able to overcome a season-high 25 total turnovers, including a career-high tying eight turnovers from Hedo Turkoglu, to stave off the Indiana Pacers (16-7) comeback attempt and hold on for a 85-81 victory, their third in a row. The Magic's Ryan Anderson hit four clutch free throws in the final ten seconds of the game to keep the Pacers at bay. Indiana came as close as 69-68 with just over seven minutes remaining, but the Magic were able to hold the Pacers off the rest of the way.

Dwight Howard led the way for the Magic with 27 points, 8 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 blocks. Jason Richardson added 17 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists; Ryan Anderson had 12 points and 7 boards. For Indiana, Danny Granger led them in scoring with 19 points, and 7 rebounds, but shot just 4 of 16. Tyler Hansbrough led the Pacers' reserves with 17 points. Paul George, coming off a 30 point game Friday night, scored 13 points along with 7 rebounds and 5 assists. No one for the Pacers shot 50% or better from the field.

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The Orlando Magic (13-9) had a long-overdue offensive explosion, scoring 40 fourth quarter points to break open a 71-71 tie early in the quarter on their way to the 109-103 victory over the woeful Washington Wizards (4-19). The Magic's largest fourth quarter lead was 89-77, but Washington got as close as 104-100 before the Magic finally put the Wizards away.

Three Magic players scored over 20 points, led by Dwight Howard and Ryan Anderson with 23 points apiece. Howard added 18 rebounds and 4 steals, along with a respectable 11 of 16 from the free throw line, while Anderson shot 6 of 9 from three point range. J.J. Redick, starting in place of Jason Richardson at shooting guard, was very efficient while scoring 21 points on 5 of 7 shooting.

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In a very low-scoring game that wasn't as close as the final score might indicate, Andre Iguodala scored 14 points along with 11 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals to lead Philadelphia (15-6) over the struggling Magic (12-9) 74-69. Dwight Howard had 17 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Magic, but shot just 6 of 17 from the field and 5 of 13 at the free throw line. Ryan Anderson had a career-high 20 rebounds, including 11 offensive rebounds, to go along with 14 points. The Magic could only connect on 33.3% of their field goals, while the 76ers didn't do much better, making 37.5% of their shots.

Chris Duhon and J.J. Redick were the starting backcourt for the Magic, as Jameer Nelson and Jason Richardson sat.

The 76ers led much of the first half, and the half ended with the 76ers on top 37-33, as the Magic's largest lead was just one point. The Magic shot just 12 of 36 (33.3%) in the first half, compared to 17 of 43 (39.5%) for the 76ers.

Philadelphia began to pull away in the third quarter, as the Magic had a horrible quarter offensively. The 76ers outscored the Magic 21-9 as the Magic were 3 of 17 (17.6%) from the field, 0 for 6 on threes, and 3 of 7 at the free throw line. The Magic trailed 58-42 entering the final quarter.

The 76ers put the game away for all intents and purposes as they led 68-49 in the fourth with just 3:19 remaining. The Magic then finally showed signs of life offensively as they closed the game on a 20-6 run, with Redick hitting a three pointer at the buzzer for the 74-69 final. What's noteworthy is that the Magic made this run with Howard on the bench, as he was pulled with 2:51 remaining.

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Not sure if a game preview will be posted on the main page, so I put this one up as a fan post.

The struggling Orlando Magic have their work cut out for them tonight, as they face the much-improved Philadelphia 76ers, who are 14-6 and in first place by 4 1/2 games in the Atlantic Division.

Offensively, the 76ers are averaging 98.7 PPG on 46.9% FG shooting, 73.2% FT shooting, and 38.9% three point shooting. Their offensive rating is 107.4, which is fifth in the league.

Defensively, the 76ers are allowing opposing teams just 87.0 PPG on 41.8% FG shooting and 27.8% on three point shooting. Their defensive rating is 94.6, which is first in the league.

The Magic are averaging 92.3 PPG on 43.9% FG shooting, 63.9% FT shooting, and 38.9% three point shooting, with an offensive rating of 102.7, which is 16th in the league.

The Magic are allowing opposing teams 91.7 PPG on 44.5% FG shooting and 32.9% on three point shooting, with a defensive rating of 101.9, which is 15th in the league.

The 76ers have the clear-cut statistical advantage both offensively and defensively. The Magic need to obviously play at a very high level to have a chance of winning tonight.

The 76ers are 7 1/2 point favorites (http://sportsbook.com).

Ed. note: I'm letting Mike's analysis here serve as a Magic/Celtics game recap. - ED

In a performance that absolutely no one saw coming, the struggling Celtics, who were 0-6 against winning teams and were missing starters Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen along with key reserves Mickael Pietrus and Keyon Dooling, embarrassed the Magic 87-56. Many negative Magic franchise records were set in this game. Here are just some of them:

The 56 points scored by the Magic broke the franchise record for the fewest points scored in a game of 57, set in December 1996 against Cleveland.

The 16 of 65 FG shooting (24.8%) by the Magic broke the franchise record of lowest FG percentage in a game of 25%, set in November of 2003 against New York.

The 16 field goals made by the Magic shattered the franchise record of fewest FGs in a game of 21, set on five previous occasions.

The Magic became just the third NBA team in the last 27 seasons to score 60 or fewer points in a game along with FG shooting of 25% or less.

No Magic player shot better than 40% from the field. Ryan Anderson had the worst game of his career with 0 points on 0 for 8 FG shooting.

Lastly, the Celtics were perfect in 19 free throw attempts. This was the ninth time in franchise history that a Magic opposing team was perfect from the FT line, and the second-most makes without a miss.

Here's how the Magic shot and scored each quarter: First Quarter: 6 of 18 FG (33.3%), 0 for 3 on threes, 8 for 8 on free throws for 20 points (Warning: it goes downhill from here). Second Quarter: 5 of 20 FG (25%), 2 of 5 on threes, 4 of 6 on free throws for 16 points. Third Quarter: 2 of 11 FGs (18.2%), 2 of 7 on threes, 4 of 10 on free throws for 10 points. Fourth Quarter: 3 of 16 FGs (18.8%), 0 for 1 on threes, 4 of 6 on free throws for 10 points.

First Half: 11 of 38 FG shooting (28.9%), 2 for 8 on threes, 12 of 14 on free throws for 36 points. Second half: 5 of 27 FGs (18.5%), 2 of 8 on threes, 8 of 16 on free throws for 20 points.

How bad of a game was this for the Magic? In the second half, the Magic had more than three times as many turnovers (17) than made field goals (5).

I hope it's a long, long time before the Magic have a game coming close to how bad they were in this game.

Sportsbook.com has come out with the championship odds and win totals for each NBA team.

For the Orlando Magic, the over/under on wins is 37 (at -110 odds), while the odds for the Magic to win the Eastern Championship is +1400 (14 to 1).

The odds for the Magic to win the NBA Championship is +3000 (30-1). In other words, a $100 wager on the Magic to win the NBA title would return $3000, plus the original $100 wagered, if the Magic did win the NBA title.

Four teams in the East all have better odds to win the conference than the Magic. Miami is the favorite at -110 (1 to 1.1), followed by Chicago at +250 (2.5 to 1), Boston at +500 (5 to 1), New York at +800 (8 to 1), then the Magic at +1400.

As far as the NBA Championship goes, nine teams are favored ahead of the Magic, with Miami the favorite at +180 (1.8 to 1), followed by Oklahoma City and the LA Lakers at +500 (5 to 1) and Chicago at +600 (6 to 1).

Click here and go to NBA Futures for the complete listings,

The Magic will open the season Sunday, Dec. 25th at Oklahoma City at 8 PM, and will host their home opener the very next night, Monday, Dec. 26th, against Houston at 7 PM. The season ends on Thursday, April 26th at Memphis.

The 61st NBA All-Star Game will be played on Sunday, February 26th at Amway Center.

Some facts about the Magic schedule:

The schedule features 19 back-to-back contests and one back-to-back-to-back set (Jan. 16 at New York, Jan. 17th vs Charlotte, Jan. 18th vs San Antonio).

Their busiest month will be January, as the Magic play 17 games in 31 days. They play 16 games in March, 15 games in February, 14 games in April, and 4 games in December.

The Magic's longest homestand will be three games, which will occur four times. Their longest road trip will be five games.

The Magic will have 16 games on National TV, nine times on ESPN, six times on TNT, and once on ABC.

For the complete Magic schedule, click here.

I heard the good news on Sportscenter early Saturday morning.

Training camps will open December 9th.  There will be a 66 game season which will begin on Christmas Day with a tripleheader.

Best of all, this new agreement will be in effect for ten years, with an option for either side to opt out after six years.

For further details, click on the following links:

http://www.sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AmplDC9fQy7CZXTfZSv7kCc5nYcB?slug=ap-nbalabor

http://www.sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AlmEsY_NZQdKP8R.oAuhceQ5nYcB?slug=aw-wojnarowski_nba_lockout_ends-112611

The current CBA has expired with no new agreement being reached, so the NBA Lockout is on.

I'm curious to see how long Orlando Pinstriped Post members feel the lockout will last.

Are you optimistic that a quick agreement can be reached, or do you think that this will be long, protracted, and drawn out until an agreement is reached.

I have listed four choices below, and feel free to include any comments.  Thanks!

Bumped to frontpage - ED

To no one's surprise, Chicago Bulls' PG Derrick Rose was named the NBA's MVP this season, and becomes the youngest player at age 22 to win the award.  Rose finished with 1,182 points and 113 first place votes.  Howard finished a distant second, with 643 points.  Miami's LeBron James finished third.

Even though I am a huge fan of Rose and he is my favorite professional athlete to watch, I have always maintained that Dwight Howard should win the MVP because of his historical statistical season of 22.9 ppg on 59.3% shooting along with 14.1 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game, which no one had ever accomplished before.  Howard was also the most dominant player on both offense and defense in the game, and didn't have nearly as good a supporting cast as Rose did with the Bulls.

I would have placed Rose second on my imaginary ballot, as he became just the seventh player in NBA history to average at least 25 ppg, 7.5 assists, and 4 rebounds per game.

What really helped Rose in the eyes of the voters was the fact that Rose was the best - and most prolific - offensive player on the Bulls, along with being the obvious go-to-guy on the team that finished with the best record in the NBA.  The fact that the Magic finished 10 wins behind the Bulls didn't help Howard's cause either.

Rose's inefficiency on offense has been well-chronicled on this blog, but the fact that Rose can drive to the hoop and finish so well along with drawing fouls and getting to the free throw line more than makes up for his inefficiency from the outside.

Congratulations to Dwight Howard on winning the Defensive Player of the Year and finishing second in the MVP balloting!

Here is what Howard had to say after the game, courtesy of the Yahoo! Sports post-game recap:

We've been talking for a long time - all we seem to do is talk.  You guys know what the difference is.  You watch the games.  If guys don't want to play, they need to sit down.  We just can't have guys or anybody out there not playing hard. 

We're professional athletes.  This is what we do for a living.  If you can't go out there and go hard for two hours, then you shouldn't be playing.

Coach Van Gundy's take on the game:

Down the stretch it was just terrible.  When we got the lead we had a couple of careless (turnovers) and it's terrible. 

I'm not happy with anything other than Dwight right now.  I'm not happy with anything.

 

The Orlando Magic opened January by winning their first four games, which put them on a nine-game winning streak and seemingly re-established the Magic as championship contenders.  The Magic tailed off though, splitting their last 12 games to finish the month with a 10-6 record, and 31-18 overall.  For January, the Magic were 6-1 at home (18-6 overall) and 4-5 on the road (13-12 overall).  The Magic were 1-5 against teams currently with a .500 or better record, and 9-1 against teams currently under .500.  After 49 games last season, the Magic were 33-16.

February's schedule sees the Magic playing 11 games (8 home, 3 away) in 25 days beginning on the third, including a tough seven games in eleven days stretch between the third and 13th.  The Magic do not play any road games after Feb. 9th, with a six game homestand to close out the month. With the All-Star Break, the Magic will have six straight days off.  Five of the month's games will be against teams with a winning record, but four of those games will be at home.

Home:  3) MIA;  8) LAC;  11) NO;  13) LAL;  16) WAS;  23) SAC;  25) OKC;  27) CHA

Away:  4) @WAS;  6) @BOS;  9) @PHI

The Magic have just two sets of back-to-backs in February, but the second of both are on the road.

Last February, the Magic were 8-4 for an overall record of 40-20.

This February, I predict the Magic will go 7-4 as they try and right themselves after their recent mediocre play.  I am hoping the Magic can win at least three of the five games against the over .500 teams, and improve in those areas in which their opponents have exposed them in recent games.

This article was written by Bulls' beat writer K.C. Johnson for Thursday's Chicago Tribune.

Referring to the Bulls' 107-78 loss to the Magic on December 1st, Bulls' PF Carlos Boozer said: 

"Yeah, I remember we got blown out," Boozer said. "They kicked our butts on the boards. They were more aggressive than us. They were more focused than us. We haven't forgotten that."

"I never dismiss those games," coach Tom Thibodeau said. "We have to do a lot better. They dominated us on the boards, basically got whatever they wanted. They put a lot of pressure on you because of their shooting and (Dwight) Howard's ability to roll to the basket.

Thibodeau also had this to say about the rest of the Magic:

"Jameer Nelson is one of those guys who never gets enough credit. He's a fierce competitor. He makes that team go. Put Jameer and Howard in the pick-and-roll and that opens things up for them."

"Richardson is an explosive player. Arenas is very talented. He hasn't been healthy. But that's a scary team. Howard is a dominant center who controls the paint and (blocks shots). Offensively, he has gotten a lot better."

"I'm very excited to play them," Boozer said. "They're a very good team. We like to think of ourselves as a very good team."

The Orlando Magic started December on a very promising note with resounding road wins at Chicago and Detroit, but then the stomach virus tore through the team and a very bad road trip ensued which was part of an eight losses in nine games stretch.  Two blockbuster trades on the 18th were made which saw Vince Carter, Rashard Lewis, Mickael Pietrus, and Marcin Gortat depart and Hedo Turkoglu, Jason Richardson, Gilbert Arenas, and Earl Clark arrive.

The Magic finished the roller-coaster month of December at 8-8, for an overall record of 21-12.  For the month, the Magic were 3-3 (12-5 overall) at home and 5-5 (9-7 overall) on the road.  The Magic were 4-6 against teams that are currently at or above .500, and 4-2 against teams currently under .500.  After 33 games last season, the Magic were 24-9.

This month's schedule is not nearly as difficult as last month's was, but the Magic will still have their share of tough games, including a challenging five game road trip from the 8th through the 17th, with four of the games against very tough teams.  The Magic play 16 games in 29 days with 7 home games and 9 road games.  Seven of those 16 games will be against teams currently at or above .500, but only one of those games will be played at home while the other six are on the road.

Home:  3) GS;  5) MIL;  7) HOU ;  19) PHI;  21) TOR;  24) DET;  30) CLE

Road:  8) @ DAL;  12) @ NO;  13) @ OKC;  15) @ MIN;  17) @ BOS;  22) @ HOU;  26) @ IND;  28) @ CHI;  31) @ MEM

The Magic have four sets of back-to-backs this month, with the second game of all four back-to-backs on the road.

Last January, the Magic finished 9-8 for an overall record of 32-16.  This January, with the team currently on a five game winning streak and team chemistry improving significantly since the trades, I predict the Magic will go 7-0 at home and 4-5 on the road for an 11-5 record and 32-17 overall.

The Orlando Magic finished the month of November at 12-3, with one postponement, for an overall record of 13-4.  For the month, the Magic were 8-2 at home, and 4-1 on the road.  The Magic were 3-2 against teams that are currently at or above .500, and 9-1 against teams under .500.  After 17 games last season, the Magic were also 13-4.

The month of December features a much tougher schedule for the Magic, starting with Wednesday night's game at Chicago, as the Magic play 16 games with ten road games and six home games.  Four of those road games will be against teams currently over .500, while five of the home games will be against teams over .500.  The Magic's longest road trip will be four games from the 9th to the 14th, and seven of their first eight games of the month will be on the road before closing the month with five of eight games at home.

Home:  6) Atlanta;  18) Philadelphia;  21)  Dallas;  23) San Antonio (TNT);  25)  Boston (ABC);  30)  New York (TNT)

Road:  1) @ Chicago;  3) @ Detroit; 4) @ Milwaukee; 9) @ Portland (TNT); 10) @ Utah; 12) @ LA Clippers; 14th) @ Denver;  20) @ Atlanta;  27)  @ New Jersey;  28) @ Cleveland

The Magic's game against the Bulls Wednesday will be the second game of a back-to-back.  They play four other sets of back-to-backs this month, with three of the final four games of the back-to-back on the road.

Last December, the Magic went 9-4 for the month for an overall record of 23-8.  This December, I predict the Magic will go 6-4 on the road and 5-1 at home for an 11-5 record, and a 24-9 record overall.

In the LA Lakers' 112-95 win in Minnesota Friday night, former Magic SF Matt Barnes had a sensational stat line of 24 points on 7 of 7 FG shooting, including 5 of 5 on three pointers and 5 of 5 FT shooting for a freakish eFG% of 135.7% and TS% of 130.4%.  He also added 7 rebounds and 6 assists and 2 steals.  According to ESPN, this was only the third time in the last 25 years that a player has scored 20+ points along with 5+ rebounds and 5+ assists on 100% FG shooting in a game.  The other two players to accomplish that were Charles Barkley and Gary Payton.

Even though it's early in the season, I wanted to compare Barnes' season statistics with the Lakers to the Magic's Quentin Richardson, who the Magic signed to take Barnes' place at SF.  Barnes, in 21.3 minutes a game, is averaging 9.4 ppg, 5.8 rebounds, and 2.4 assists and is shooting 50% from the field, including 46.7% on three pointers with a TS% of 60.7%.  Richardson, in 21.4 minutes a game, is averaging 6.5 ppg, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.3 assists and is shooting 35.6% from the field, including 27.7% on three pointers with a TS% of 46.4%.

Many Magic fans were really disappointed to see Barnes leave the Magic because of the toughness and energy he brought to the team, but the signing of Richardson was supposed to be better for the Magic offense because Q can stretch the floor a lot better with his shooting than Barnes.  So far this season, that has not proven to be the case, and there is no question Barnes is doing much better for the Lakers than Q is for the Magic, but with Richardson's 15 points on Thursday against Phoenix, hopefully that's a sign of better things to come for Q, as there's still a long way to go in the season.

Despite the one-sided loss to the Heat Friday night, the Orlando Magic have a favorable schedule for this month and have a great chance to finish the month as one of the top teams in the NBA record-wise.  That would follow the pattern from the last four seasons.  During that time, the Magic have ended November with outstanding records.

2009:  14-4
2008:  13-4
2007:  14-4
2006:  12-4

Starting Tuesday, the Magic play 16 games in 29 days this month, with ten home games and six away games.

Home:

11/3:  Minnesota
11/5:  New Jersey
11/8:  Atlanta
11/10:  Utah
11/12:  Toronto
11/15:  Memphis
11/18:  Phoenix
11/24:  Miami
11/26:  Cleveland
11/30:  Detroit

Away:

11/2:  @ New York
11/6:  @ Charlotte
11/13:  @ New Jersey
11/20:  @ Indiana
11/22:  @ San Antonio
11/27:  @ Washington

The Magic have four sets of back-to-backs this month, and three of those will feature the final game of the back-to-back on the road.  From the 2nd through the 13th, the Magic play eight games in that time, and from the 18th to the 27th, the Magic play six games in that time.  A busy schedule, to be sure, but there are a lot of home games in there, with the only extended road trip a two-gamer.

I project the Magic to win 4 of their 6 road games, and to win 9 of their 10 home games to finish the month with a record of 13-3 and an overall record of 14-4 to keep in tune with their outstanding starts over the last four seasons.

From sportsbook.com

Eastern Conference Championship

Miami  -200 (wagering $200 to win $100 plus the original amount wagered)
Orlando  +300 (wagering $100 to win $300 plus the original amount wagered)
Boston  +400
Chicago  +1200
Atlanta +2000

NBA Championship

Miami  +180
Los Angeles Lakers  +300
Orlando  +700
Boston  +1000
Oklahoma City  +1500
Dallas  +1500
Denver  +2000
Portland  +2000

The early line on the over/under for Miami regular season wins is 62 1/2.

It will be interesting to see how much the odds change by the time the regular season opens.

Congratulations to the Chicago Blackhawks, the 2010 NHL Stanley Cup Champions! 

The Blackhawks beat an outstanding Philadelphia Flyers team in Game 6 of the Finals Wednesday night in a dramatic OT win 4-3, winning the series 4 games to 2.  This breaks one of the longest championship droughts in any sport, as this is the first Blackhawks' championship since 1961!

After all the disappointment of having the Magic being eliminated by Boston in the ECF, it's a feeling of elation now for me with the Blackhawks winning the Stanley Cup.  Just wanted to share the great news, even though I realize that most OPP members aren't Blackhawks' fans.

I can only hope that one day we Orlando Magic Fans will get the chance to experience the Magic winning the NBA Championship.

Record:  59-23 (H 34-7, A 25-16)

Oct.-November:... 14-4 (H 6-2, A 8-2)
December............. 9-4 (H 7-1, A 2-3)
January................ 9-8 (H 5-1, A 4-7)
February............... 8-4 (H 5-2, A 3-2)
March....................12-2 (H 7-1, A 5-1)
April....................... 7-1 (H 4-0, A 3-1)

When scoring:

<80 points............ 0-2 (H 0-1, A 0-1)
80-89 points........ 2-6 (H 1-2, A 1-4)
90-99 points........15-10 (H 6-3, A 9-7)
100-109 points... 20-4 (H 11-1, A 9-3)
110-119 points....14-1 (H 11-0, A 3-1)
120+ points.......... 8-0 (H 5-0, A 3-0)

When allowing:

<80 points............ 3-0 (H 1-0, A 2-0)
80-89 points.......  19-3 (H 10-1, A 9-2)
90-99 points.......  25-7 (H 16-4, A 9-3)
100-109 points..... 8-9 (H 5-2, A 3-7)
110-119 points..... 4-3 (H 2-0, A 2-3)
120+ points........... 0-1 (H 0-0, A 0-1)

Margin of Victory/Defeat

1-5 points......... 6-7 (H 3-3, A 3-4)
6-9 points.........14-10 (H 8-3, A 6-7)
10-14 points....13-2 (H 5-1, A 8-1)
15-19 points....13-3 (H 9-0, A 4-3)
20+ points........13-1 (H 9-0, A 4-1)

Days of the Week

Mondays.............7-2 (H 4-0, A 3-2)
Tuesdays........... 5-2 (H 2-0, A 3-2)
Wednesdays..... 15-5 (H 13-3, A 2-2)
Thursdays.......... 5-3 (H 2-0, A 3-3)
Fridays................ 9-8 (H 5-3, A 4-5)
Saturdays........... 7-1 (H 3-0, A 4-1)
Sundays............ 11-2 (H 5-1, A 6-1)

Even Numbered Days.... 33-10 (H 20-2, A 13-8)
Odd Numbered Days...... 26-13 (H 14-5, A 12-8)

vs. teams that finished the season .500 or better..... 28-16 (H 17-5, A 11-11)
vs. teams that finished the season under .500......... 31-7 (H 17-2, A 14-5)

vs. Eastern Conference... 39-13 (H 20-6, A 19-7)
vs. Western Conference.. 20-10  (H 14-1, A  6-9)

Fifty is nifty. Here's Mike's recap. - BQR

For the first time since the 1995-'96 season, the Magic have achieved 50 victories in a season, thanks to a 104-84 victory over the Bulls.  The Magic led from start to finish and put the Bulls away in the fourth quarter while leading by as many as 24 points as they outscored Chicago 22-10 in the final period.  The Magic led 36-24 at the end of the first quarter as they shot 11 of 14 (78.6%), including 5 of 7 from 3 pt range.  Chicago cut the Magic lead to 53-48 at the half and trailed 82-74 after three quarters before the Magic put the game away in the final period.

Hedo Turkoglu was the overall star of the game for the Magic, as he scored 24 points with 8 assists, 4 rebounds, and 3 steals.  Dwight Howard was a big factor down low again, scoring 13 first quarter points and finished with 19 points in just three quarters.  Even though he attempted just four field goals, Howard was fouled repeatedly trying to shoot down low and made a very respectable 13 of 17 free throws.

Continue reading this post »

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.

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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).

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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.

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