You know, this is not the kind of post I wanted to read right before the first game. I want to read that Pietrus will be amazing and that we are winning a championship this season. I don’t care how unrealistic it is, today should be a strictly optimistic day.

LETS GO BLUE!!!!!!!!!

I didn’t think he was a quality signing, and certainly a reach on management’s part, but I’m still skeptical that Rashard Lewis wasn’t badly overpaid either. So, there is that.

On the flip side, if Peitrus picks up steam as the year goes along, I’m not sure many will care. Of course, and I think this is a bigger deal than maybe some realize, but the Magic don’t have much cap room for next season to re-sign Turkoglu IF they wanted to without going over the luxury tax.

There is also a strong possibility that the luxury tax and salary cap levels will come down due to decreasing sales of everything due to the hard hit most American’s are taking at the moment financially. David Stern is a true putz if you ask me, but this isn’t the proof, yet, of that.

Pietrus is still trying to figure out who he is in this league and what he’s capable of doing. There’s a progression there, likely a lengthily one, that we’ll witness over the next year or two. As he recognizes his best skills as a player and how he helps the team the most, that’s when he’ll become more of specialist, more of a role player who plays within himself. Until he’ll over-reach on several plays and have some consistency problems.

I don’t know what to expect from Pietrus. He has a bunch of very interesting skills (his defense and slashing interest me the most) and his career could in so many different directions from where he is today … or it could stay exactly the same to the frustration of everyone.

It’s clear that he is exactly what we need at the 2 spot. His offense may leave much to be desired, but his rebounding, steals, and blocks will more than make up for it. Also, now that JJ is in the rotation (knock on wood), I’m thinking we’ll get much better production from that position on both end of the court, overall. Plus, I really think Peaches will come around on the offensive side. Time will tell.

Our biggest problem last season, in my opinion, was the fact that shooting guards were having huge nights against us all the time. Pietrus doesn’t have to do a lot, just stop the other team’s starting sg from having a career night. We have plenty of other scoring options if he can’t make plays on offense.

If he can keep Larry Hughes and Ben Gordon from dropping 30 on us, than I believe this was a solid acquisition.

.. is very underrated and a ton of GMs applauded the move the Magic made to sign him. I think he’s going to surprise some people this year, now that he’s a starter full-time.

I think, even with all those statistics, you need to take it with a grain of salt considering Don Nelson is an unconventional coach, and because of that, his players’ statistics will be skewed both good and bad.

I think having Pietrus at the 2 will maximize his talents as a player …