Dwight Howard was a man possessed last night. If he's shooting 75% from the stripe, and his teammates are shooting 41% from beyond the arc, it's damn near impossible to beat them. So, good for the Magic, they deserved it.
Funny, after doing a quick search of this thread not 1 Magic fan was crying out "conspiracy", but then we have to put up with **** like this? Bias officiating, giving someone nearly every call - does not imply a conspiracy. Even saying "the NBA wants Lebron vs Kobe" isn't crying conspiracy. Many people mean it in a subconscious way, and it goes in part with the whole "#1 Star" treatment. Many of us felt that Dwight was getting the shaft throughout most of the playoffs, but stop acting like everyone here is wearing tin foil hats, cursing the name of David Stern in our sleep...
Congratulations. You guys truly deserve it. I will never root for another team outside of the Heat the way I'll be rooting for Orlando starting next Thursday. **** the Lakers.
I just read on ESPN News that Jameer Nelson might come back for a couple games this series. Magic won two games against the Lakers when he was in, but he's been out so long and Alston has really gotten in sync with the other guys. I say keep him on the bench and keep the current lineup in the game.
There is no way in hell he would enter the starting lineup after being out so long... But I wouldnt mind him getting some of Anthony Johnson's minutes...
Bill Simmons as I have been saying ...for years..is an idiot. he knows jack **** about basketball. He is a self appointed "expert". Anybody with a BRAIN could see that this series at BEST for the Cavs was gonna be close...and if you were an astute basketball watcher like me...would be picking and backing up the pick with $$$$ on orlando. I told you that orlando matched up very well with the Cavs... Congrats Magic fans. now... There has always been a tell tale stat in the finals. backcourt Point differential. it will be indeed odd if Orlando bucks this very long standing trend to beat the Lakers. Unless of course...the Magic can stay within -10 for the backcourt. Then I like the Magic to win. Very tough series to handicap..and I will be sitting this one out. Although..I will say this...the winner of Game 1...wins the series. lakers are 6 point favorites in game 1....I am taking whoever LOSES game 1 against the spread in Game 2. that will be my play.
oh cmon phinz- i think its true in that not many fans REALLY think there's a conspiracy, but there were many times when it seemed overly obvious that people wanted to play that card, even if just in the heat of the moment.. now i know, you'll say HD was just trolling.. but these were just 2 things i found about david stern controlling the nba. and i know you said that doesn't imply 'conspiracy', but what else did you want someone to say? "hey man i think i saw that ref take a 50 dollar bill from some guy then call a foul on the magic"? i won't deny that I too believe david stern hoped to god for a lakers cavs final, but regardless the NBA is most likely getting insane ratings these playoffs anyway. and every fan is a conspiracy theorist. anytime a call goes the other way you think or yell something about a ref being paid or home court refs or all that. none of us are truly innocent
LeBron sent this email regarding him storming out of Amway Arena after the loss Saturday night. Translation: "My world came crashing down on me. I couldn't even man up in the face of defeat and tell you best of luck in the finals. THAT SHOULD BE ME VS KOBE, DONT YOU WATCH TV???!!!!11111"
"It's hard for me to congratulate somebody after you just lose to them," he said. "I'm a winner. It's not being a poor sport or anything like that. If somebody beats you up, you're not going to congratulate them. That doesn't make sense to me. I'm a competitor. That's what I do. It doesn't make sense for me to go over and shake somebody's hand." http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playof...ory?id=4219933 Translation.....Most of my teammates are losers and non competitors since they were classy enough to stick around and shake hands with the enemy.
Jeez, what a sorry ***. He didn't represent his team very well by doing that. Shows he's still a kid in a grownups body from being pampered way too much since high school. Everybody else goes out to shake hands, he runs off the court to pout.
ESPN doesn't have the Press Conf with LeBron from today up on their website yet. From what I have heard, he said that the Cavs had a better team than Orlando. LeDouche.
Im loving this victory so much. Finally I feel avenged after watching that asswipe beat my HS in the state finals in back to back years!!! My Magic have a larger talent pool than 800 students. Suck on that LeBoohoo!!!
I'm a huge Cavs fan but that is funny right there. Congrats to the Magic. No question you were the worst possible match-up for the Cavs. You guys played incredible and deserved the win. What a series! Before that final game there were only 2 points separating the series (each each had a 10 pt and a 1 pt win I believe - with you having the extra 2 pt win). I think 3 games came down to game-winning shots in the last 20 seconds, too. I still see that turn-around 3 by Nelson when I close my eyes. With Nelson back next year y'all are going to be tough. I look forward to reloading and meeting you in the playoffs.
I've already thought that if the Magic win the Finals and Dwight beats both Bron and Kobe in the playoffs... how awesome of a commercial it would be to have the 2 puppets doing their thing... and then the camera pans out and you see Dwight holding the strings controlling the 2 as the puppetier... just standing there smiling like he always does...
Ummm... is this just a weird picture at a weird angle? Or is Bynum really that much bigger than Dwight?!? That cant be right? Can it? Dwight looks like a midget! Even Shaq doesnt make him look that small...
looks like dwight howard is standing to bynum's right side by a few feet. deceiving picture. Bynum IS taller than Howard, though by only 2 inches. Bynum also has Howard by 20 lbs. 265 to 285.
It doesn't matter. Howard is a physical beast. Bynum will not be able to keep him out of the paint. Gasol wont even play post D on him if he can avoid it. That match up is def. in your favor.
NBA.com has it at only a 1 inch difference. Even with the extra inch & 20 lbs, he is not nearly as physically imposing as Howard. However, Boston showed how important it is just to put a big body on him, period. I just hope Howard can stay out of foul trouble, they Lakers will definitely be coming right at him.
Nelson cleared to play... On ESPN First take this morning John Denton reports that the team has cleared Jameer to practice with full contact with the team this week. If they determine he can handle the contact and not injure his shoulder any more he is going to play in the finals. His role TBD. http://orlandomagiczone.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/8891029871/m/147101662
WOOOOOOT Will Rafer and Jameer see the floor at the same time? This move can be great, wow. Bring on the Lakers!!!!
No way, that would be a tiny backcourt...and neither of them can guard Kobe. Nelson should come off the bench for 10 mins/game or so to spell Alston. This would limit the minutes we would be forced to give to Anthony Johnson, which is a major plus as long as Nelson is truly healthy enough to play effectively.
Jameer Nelson has not played in months....he can only hurt the team. Uhhhh...you got here without him...why **** up a good thing? Play him off the bench in Anthony Johnsons role for about 10 to 12 minutes a game.... You play him big minutes..you will hurt the team./
Yeah, I know what you mean, I posted about this yesterday morning, if Nelson wants to play some minutes that's great, but we've done so well without him, it would be pointless to bench somebody, like Alston, when he's getting it on with the starters now. If it ain't broke, why fix it?
They keep talking more and more on ESPN about the possibility of Nelson playing. They even had the 76'ers coach on the phone asking him about it.
"Dwight Howard says fans will determine future" Dwight Howard, in his first public comments regarding his future, told the Orlando Sentinel the fans would have a big say in how long he plays with the Magic. "You know what? I'll be here as long as the fans want me to be here," he said, according to the Sentinel. Howard, an All-Star center who in April was named the league's defensive player of the year, has been with the Magic since he entered the league in the 2004-05 season. He has four years left on an $85 million contract. Dwight Howard is the fifth player in history to lead the NBA in blocks and rebounds in the same season. "I tell my friends this: I want to stay here. It will be based upon the city. We want the support of our fans. That's what carries us, that's what inspires us, that's what keeps us motivated," Howard told the Sentinel. "You want to feel loved. That's the biggest thing. I show my love to the community. I show my love to this city by stepping on the floor every night and playing as hard as I can. That's all we want back." http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs/2009/news/story?id=4223806
Not gonna happen. Its a pipe dream. ESPN is just selling it to you. http://www.orlandosentinel.com/spor...rl-jameer-nelson-magic-060409,0,2411236.story
Dwight's new Vitamin Water commercial! Love how it mimics the Kobe/Lebron one! [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xw0UxIzOghI"]YouTube - Dwight Howard vitaminwater Ad - Dwight vs Dwight[/ame] Dwight said on his blog its going to play tonight during game 1.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozFvio2L0c8"]YouTube - Recap of the Orlando Magic's 2009 Playoff Run[/ame]
