Orlando Magic News for March 9th: The Celtics Might As Well Have Won Yesterday; Plus, Courtney Lee Needs More Shots
A lot of the reaction to the Orlando Magic's defeat of the Boston Celtics yesterday--some of which erivera7 touched on earlier today--has been overwhelmingly negative... for the Magic, who apparently cannot win for winning, so to speak. To wit:
Ian Thomsen, SI.com:
The win pulled Orlando within 2 games of the second-seeded Celtics heading into the final quarter of the season. But who out there views Orlando as being in the class of the champions or the top-of-the-conference Cavaliers? Coach Stan Van Gundy thinks his team deserves more appreciation for its toughness. "That's something I never hear about,'' he said after this game. "All anybody talks about is three-point shooting. But look at our defensive numbers and see where we rank.''
Brian Robb, CeltisHub:
Finally I still do not see this Orlando team as being much of a threat for the C's come playoff time. The undermanned Celtics played one of their worst tames [sic] of the year today (10 assists and 17 turnovers) and still only lost by 3. I give kudos to the Magic for holding on to win the game but I can't see them competing with this Boston team at full strength in a 7 game series.
Red's Army headline: "Orlando Should Be Embarrassed"
If that's the reception the Magic get when they win, I can only imagine what they would have heard if they had lost. Nearly blowing a 22-point lead against a team missing two of its best players merits some ribbing. I get that. And ultimately, I agree with Thomsen's thesis, which is that the game's result shouldn't change anyone's perception of either team. Nonetheless, I'm reminded of a quote from one of my favorite films, Wes Anderson's The Royal Tenenbaums. Here's Eli Cash, portrayed by Owen Wilson:
Why would a reviewer make the point of saying someone's not a genius? Do you especially think I'm not a genius? . . . You didn't even have to think about it, did you?
In non-Celtics news, The Puns Are Starting To Bore Me wants to know why Courtney Lee isn't getting more involved offensively--11 shots in his last three games combined, compared to 18 in the game before that alone--and passes on this interesting fact:
The team does not struggle offensively without Courtney scoring, however, it doesn't hurt when the rookie gets hot. In games when Lee scores 10 or more, the Magic are a whopping 17-1. You can't argue with those results.
0 recs |
1 comment
|
Comments
Can't please 'em all.
My only request is that critics are aware that the Magic are missing Jameer Nelson. Yes, Rafer Alston has stepped in to replace ‘Meer but .. it doesn’t change the fact Orlando is missing a key component on the team.
Former Senior Writer for DePaul's Scout.com website
Hey yo, who's the best/heavy like dumbbells on your arms/I bury you broads, while spitting barbarian bars - Black Milk
by erivera7 on Mar 9, 2009 6:56 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

by 














