The NBA recently gave me some feedback about my blog postings stating that there weren’t many positive stories. This was delivered to me on the heels of the Magics dreadful loss to the Chicago Bulls this past Saturday night, leaving me in a rather precarious position.
Instead of ripping the Magic for losing to the Bulls, who were in the midst of self destructing themselves, I decided to bite my tongue or in this case my fingers and give them a chance to redeem themselves against the Pacers on Tuesday. With the Pacers dealing with injuries to Danny Granger and Troy Murphy, you would think this was an ideal scenario for a team looking to regain their composure on the road.
Much to my dismay, the Magic mailed it in against the Pacers, being severely outplayed by a second rate team and even more surprisingly a second rate big man in Roy Hibbert, who simply embarrassed Dwight Howard.
Hibbert turned in 26 points and 8 rebounds against Dwight “The Coward” Howard, who manages a mere 11 points on 2-7 shooting and 15 boards. I was unaware Roy Hibbert was even on the Pacers until this game, and then to see him play like an All-Star against the Magic front-line was appalling.
After two tough road losses, the Magic returned home on Wednesday night to face the Toronto Raptors who are lead by Chris Bosh.
Once again, the Magic simply didn’t show up to play and were dismantled by Bosh and company.
What troubles me more than anything about the losses, is the lack of effort and intensity by the players. Are they quitting on Stan Van Gundy this early in the season?
Perhaps the criticism Dwight Howard levied against Coach Van Gundy earlier in the year about his negative attitude was a sign of what was to come.
No matter what the reasoning, Dwight Howard is simply not playing near the level he was at last season. His shot attempts are down drastically in recent games, which can be attributed to foul trouble to some degree, or a possible change in the Magics offensive strategy.
I’ve said it repeatedly that Howard is not a number one option on offense and that the Magic need another low post scorer to help balance out their attack. The continued reliance on outside shooting is the exact reason why they are playing inconsistent and not winning games against weaker opponents.
Shots aren’t always going to drop, so you have to have another scoring option. Otherwise, teams will pack it in and make you beat them from the outside.
All teams go through peaks and valleys during a long regular season. However, you rarely see a championship caliber team drop three games in a row. Especially, against teams with losing records who are dealing with injuries and internal strife in the case of the Chicago Bulls who were rumored to be on the verge of firing their Head Coach.
Since the NBA wants a glass half full story, I will try and put a positive spin on things. Yes, the season is long, so there is plenty of time for the Magic to right the ship. Secondly, Orlando is still loaded with talent and in my opinion lead by an excellent head coach.
So if in fact Orlando chooses to stand pat and move forward with the current roster, there are changes they can make such as; moving Rashard Lewis to the small forward position and inserting Brandon Bass in at the power forward. Or, go retro and bring back the “Twin Towers” with Gortat and Howard featured up front.
On the other hand, if Otis Smith does decide to tinker with the roster, their is a wealth of talent for him to deal, giving him plenty of leverage.
It’s too soon to give up on what could still turn out to be a great season, so let’s stay positive for the time being.
There is a silver lining here, as the Magic head up north tonight to face the Washington Wizards who are in complete disarray.
The Wizards have given new meaning to the phrase “Strap em up” and get ready to play. Sorry I couldn’t resist the temptation 
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