Orlando Magic News for April 17th: Predictions, Past and Present

by Ben Q Rock on Apr 17, 2008 3:56 PM EDT in News Comment 6 comments

Can you believe it? Not that we made the playoffs; that much was never really in doubt at all this season. But we're just 2 days away from the start of the real season. The second season. So, with that in mind, here are some PLAYOFF LINKS! YEAH!

(I'm kinda pumped)

Okay. Here we go.

Ball Don't Lie, the Yahoo! Sports NBA blog, asked me for some insight regarding the upcoming Magic/Raptors playoff series. Check it out here. I picked the Magic to win in 6, while Jeff Wong of The Score picked the Magic to win in 7 due to a questionable whistle, saying "That's the only way they can beat the Raptors, right?"
- And, in case you missed it earlier this week, here's my contribution to Hardwood Paroxysm's Magic playoff preview.
I also contributed to CelticsBlog's NBA Previews Review, in which bloggers who participated in CelticBlog's season previews reflect on their predictions. Not to pat myself on the back too much, but I hit it right on the head when I wrote that the Magic's strengths would be three-point shooting and rebounding, and that their weaknesses would be leadership and depth.
Here's ESPN's Magic/Raptors playoff page. 9 of 10 ESPN experts picked the Magic to win, with Marc Stein the lone dissenter.
Mike From Illinois looks at the Magic's won-lost splits as compared to last season. My favorite part? We were 25-16 at home this year and last year, which means our 12-game improvement came by winning 12 more games on the road than we did last season. Whuh...?!
If you want to know which TNT broadcasting teams will call which playoff games, Awful Announcing has the list. The Magic/Raptors series has drawn play-by-play man Matt Devlin, color-commentator Mike Dunleavy Senior, and sideline reporter Stephanie Ready. (Thanks, HP.)

Plenty more playoff coverage to come, especially tomorrow, when we migrate to the new SBN platform. You can find our previous playoff coverage in this news post from earlier in the week.

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Tsk tsk

You actually predicted 7 oh ye of lil' faith! You seem to fall into the herd by buying into the pg tandem owning our boys, which they won't. Look for Meer to represent! I heart that kid and really hope he breaks through against a match up that everyone is counting him out on. Then of course our bench attack of three guards will continue to give us flexibility to go small (how we go big exactly is another question). You were right to say 6 and should have stuck by your guns!

by Eyriq the Red on Apr 17, 2008 9:59 PM EDT reply actions

whoops

I suppose that’s what I get for coding HTML all day.

Third Quarter Collapse: An Orlando Magic blog at SB Nation

by Ben Q Rock on Apr 18, 2008 1:25 PM EDT up reply actions

consensus

I’m really surprised the CW is an easy Magic win. This season has not been easy. It has been frustrating and I don’t see why that would change now. The national media has actually been making me more optimistic.

If you're not having fun, stop participating.

by redandblue on Apr 18, 2008 12:59 PM EDT reply actions

Not many people are picking the Raptors, which worries me. They may be only 41-41, but they’re also damn good.

Third Quarter Collapse: An Orlando Magic blog at SB Nation

by Ben Q Rock on Apr 18, 2008 1:25 PM EDT up reply actions

right

There’s always one series that the CW (conventional wisdom) gets wrong. I’m scared that this is the one but I think that I’m just being pessimistic, a state that I don’t like to be in. Let’s just agree to be optimistic and, if we’re wrong, we’re wrong for being too optimistic. That’s healthier.

If you're not having fun, stop participating.

by redandblue on Apr 18, 2008 7:25 PM EDT up reply actions