In rethinking my initial reaction to yesterday's win against Cleveland, I realized I was entirely too optimistic; I went so far as to write "it's hard not to get excited."
That's the complete opposite of the truth, though. The Magic played sluggishly against a team missing two of its top players and only won because the Cavaliers played their second unit for most of the fourth quarter.
Bearing that in mind, here are some reactions from yesterday's game from around the web:
- Stan Van Gundy told the Orlando Sentinel's Brent Hannon that he liked his team's defense, but not its sloppy play.
- Brian Windhorst, who covers the Cavaliers for the Akron Beacon-Journal, offers his Cavs-sided commentary.
- Henry Abbott posted this report from Mac Lotze, who attended the game. The crowd was pretty wild, the arena announcer had trouble with the players' names, and basketball is really catching on in China. David Stern must be pleased.
- David Friedman of 20 Second Timeout posted this thoughtfully-written review of the game. Among his observations: the Magic went on a 9-2 run when Pat Garrity entered the game for J.J. Redick. He also offers commentary on why J.J. is not going to be a good NBA player.
I like that we're seeing all these reactions. It's too bad the Magic won't get much national exposure during the actual season, when the games actually matter.