Are We Sure the Orlando Magic are Disrespected?

I would rather listen to a former player when it comes to short term situations. They know more about the game than any writer in America. So for game-by-game analysis, I would turn to Bowen and Legler.

However, in the long term they are lost compared to the Peltons and the Dwyers of the world. With the research ability it takes to become a success in the media, they are naturally more knowledgable when it comes to predicting title contenders. So I wouldn’t say you should always put more stock in what Dwyer says, but in this situation you are right.

…Ben’s posted quite a few articles by them that definitely advertise the fact we are to be taken seriously. Secondly, ESPN HATES THE ORLANDO MAGIC. They always have, 90% of their so called “analysts” don’t like us, some of the more blantant “we want Cavs/Lakers Finals” comments have come from them, and it is clear that they are infatuated with the city of LA, KB8, and the Lakers. (How many documentaries called Kobe Got Game or whatever do we have to be subjected to every April? Was it necessary to do a documentary about the Lakers again this spring?)

But one thing I noticed which is where I think most of us develop this disrespectful sentiment is because of the way commentary is presented to us. For example, in the final minutes of Game 4 on Monday one of the commentators on TNT was like “you gotta give the Magic credit…they are a pretty sound defensive team…so they are going to give whoever beats them a hard time doing so.” I’m paraphrasing obviously, but my point is its always negative…to this commentator he had to talk about someone beating us like it was a foregone conclusion…he couldn’t just leave it at his defensive team comment…or maybe say “if they keep up this defense they have a good chance at winning it all.” Its funny to win cause at the moment they are the first team to sweep and they did it convincingly yet they have to discuss the moment someone (I bet he would of loved to say the Cavs) beats us. So its comments such as those that tell me that we still don’t really get the respect. I can site to other examples but for the sake of this thread, I’d like to hear from others if I’m just crazy or if this is really the case.

The Magic certainly aren’t as under the radar as they were last year. But there’s still some discrepancy between their potential and how the media views them. Even going into the playoffs, the talk was all about Dallas, L.A. and Cleveland. The Magic were an afterthought; hell, the most attention they got was being the lone candidate for an upset in the first round.

And this is where my issue comes to form: Any respect the Magic get always comes with a caveat.

“If…Howard and Carter return to the mean…”

“One team…might be the most capable challenger to the Cavaliers’ quest…”

Those along with many other statements that show Orlando with potential, but never with the absolutions that Cleveland or L.A. gets. You won’t hear any of the major talking heads announce that the Magic will win the championship hands down. It is always Cleveland’s to lose. Granted, there is proof that one writer (Mannix) feels that way, but in the sports world that is like your mute twice removed cousin showing up to cheer you at your soccer game.

It must be considered that analysts in all mediums tend to be very reactionary, more so when it comes to TV due to the limited timelines on the material. However, the point still stands, even if it is splitting hairs somewhat. I would wager that any time the Magic are said to be a contender, there will always be a qualifying statement to that projection. Much like KingJafi states above, the Magic are very rarely realized as an overall threat, it is more along the lines of being a fly in the ointment.

One great example is how the first round was covered. There was very little credit given to the Magic for overcoming what it is considered the best defensive team in the league with Dwight spending most of his time on the bench. And yet, we were told by Lebron that the Bulls were going to see a “whole different animal” in the playoffs. An animal that let a vastly inferior team push them in all but one game, showing they still have defensive deficiencies that better teams can take advantage of. But all we heard was how amazing Lebron is and how his scapegoat elbow has affected him.

Had the Magic struggled (yes, I am officially saying the Cavs struggled in spite of a 4-1 series win) against a team like that it would be all doom and gloom. And this is why people feel disrespected. The Magic aren’t given credit because they don’t have a high-flying superstar that scores at will and commands (albeit arrogantly) the spotlight. No one likes the team dynamic because they can’t fawn over it; they can’t separate it from the masses a put it in a pedestal. That is, until it comes time to write a feel good story that makes it seem like they had their finger to the pulse of the Sports World for an eternity. So, should the Magic win a championship, expect to see many articles titled, “I Knew It All Along.”

Any team not named the Lakers or Cavaliers is going to feel the “disrespect card” this time of year. You COULD blame Jeff Van Gundy and the way he worships Lebron James during every telecast he does (Cavs playing or not). You COULD blame Nike’s relentless puppet campaign. You COULD blame our perceived bias against Dwight by the referees. As much as I hate the feeling of my team being “Disrespected”… I think due to SVG’s coaching style, it is a positive thing for the team. Now, next year when we are going for the repeat… things will be different.

Those victims are the some of the Cavs fans (not all of them). There are many that believe, even today, that they will sweep the Magic. That the ECF is an afterthought, actually, that there is nothing that stands between the Cavs and the trophy. I don’t know if they are serious when they say that, or it’s just trash talk, but I find it a little sad.

It’s just that simple. If we had Melo/Wade/Lebron or some equivalent on our team, there would be no end to the hype. But the Magic are built around balanced scoring, and our best player doesn’t fit the typical macho underbite, chest thumping mold of a Kobe or KG. I would argue that Dwight isn’t any more immature than KG, but the perception is that because of his demeanor.

All that being taken into account, I don’t really mind the media disrespect so much. Anybody that knows anything about basketball knows the Orlando Magic are a contender. That doesn’t mean that they are going to beat the Cavs, necessarily. But they certainly have the ability and you would be a complete fool to think otherwise. John Hollinger, for instance, has written repeatedly that he feels the real NBA Finals is a Cavs-Magic series. In many ways, that shows disrespect to the entire Western Conference. He is essentially saying that there are only two teams in the NBA in title contention, the Magic and the Cavs. Also, he works for ESPN. So does Henry Abbott, who also picks us to win a championship. So it isn’t as gloomy as we would like to think.

PS. Skip Bayless, Bruce Bowen, Jon Barry, Michael Wilbon…as Ben said…consider the source.

The good writers/analysts respect us, whether they pick us to win or not. Even the ESPN-type analysts respect us, though they almost have to pick the big names for TV.

The more the fans, players, and coaches complain about respect, the less respect we’ll actually get, IMO. When our coach and our face of the franchise are doing the most griping, we just come off as a whiny team.

We do get respect. We were the second best team record-wise and we were the only team to sweep the first round opponent. The media has to cover the big names, because that’s what draws the casual viewer to their shows. There’s no doubt that marketing Kobe and Lebron will make them more money than marketing Dwight and the Orlando Magic.

It was a great motivator for our team last season, but how far will that really take us? Larry Brown tried to use the “respect card” on us in this series, but how did that work out for them? In the end, it all comes down to which team is better. We are one of the top two teams in the league, so we will have a pretty good chance in any series.

When we win a championship one of these days, don’t expect to get the respect of the ESPNish media. They will ALWAYS favor the big market teams and whoever will bring them the most money. Who cares about what they say anyway? It’s awesome seeing them make excuses for their golden boys.

I think he just loves being in Dwight’s Fav-Five though…

We’re always an “underdog” when we’re contenders, and we love to play with that “Us against the world” mentality. As others have stated, the primary reasons we don’t get much respect are because we are a small market team and we don’t have a superstar wing in his prime. If we had Dwyane Wade, those few analysts who don’t have their heads stuck up (unless they all do) LeBron’s and Kobe’s asses would probably be anointing us champs year after year. The NBA has evolved from a physical inside game to a more perimeter-oriented game so if you breathe on any of those players listed, you commit a foul. If we happen to face the Bucks in round 2 and mop the floor of them in 4 and if the Cavs struggle with the C’s, I’ll be dying of laughter hearing the analysts change their argument from last year to how the Cavs would mop the floor of us because they “struggled” with their first two round opponents while we took care of business as quickly as possible when the roles were reversed last year. And since Dictator Stern cares about $$$ he does not advocate good team basketball, in his world it’s all about how one man can carry a team “on his back.” Michael Jordan has corrupted the NBA!

Good point about Bowen, I heard him on Mike & Mike a couple of days ago and his “analyst” was awful, totally superficial and it seemed like he hadn’t even watched any of the games. His main point was that D12 didn’t play well (based purely on two stats) and that the Cavs were the superior team.

I think people are starting to come around.

I see it with my personal friends, people on Twitter, and the media- We are making people believe. The team is eliminating excuses and reasons why the Magic can’t win it. You sweep a team like Charlottle and people start to buy-in.

Orlando is still in a good spot, plenty of doubters to keep them motivated.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/The-10-man-rotation-starring-two-teams-that-hat;ylt=AjRaQaemwVk8jdA8iT32P68vLYF?urn=nba,237706

story No 11, called : OPP. I know more about basketball than Bruce Bowen. I’m awesome.

We surprised people last year.

When it comes to fans, of course every single one of them, regardless of their team will have a higher estimation of their team than the rest of the world. Having said that though for a legitimate title contender (and there’s only about 4-5 of them in the league), we get the least attention, and are written off the easiest.

On The Basketball Jones didn’t really refer to the overall picture, but they did say the Magic would beat the crap out of whoever won the Hawks v Bucks series.