As expected, the Magic took care of the hapless New York Knicks in convincing fashion. You could get the sense early on that this was going to be a good old fashion shellacking. The Magic came out with good energy, executed well and ultimately wore down a decimated Knicks line up. Depth was a big factor again for the Magic, with Brandon Bass and Matt Barnes picking up the slack on an off night for Vince Carter. Dwight Howard was his usual self, overpowering opponents and claiming his domain inside the painted area. While Rashard Lewis continues to be extremely effective with his long range accuracy since his return from suspension.
Watching this game and others around the association tonight made me seriously contemplate the state of the NBA. Six out of the ten games on the slate for tonight’s action were blow outs, with the Atlanta Hawks leading the way with an impressive 146-115 drubbing of the Toronto Raptors. As many teams, such as the Knicks, jockey for salary cap relief for the impending free agent class of 2010, we the fans, are left to watch a lackluster product to say the least. The Eastern Conference actually has 10 of it’s 15 teams sporting sub .500 records. With the inept New Jersey Nets off to an NBA Record worst start at 0-18. Jay Z will need to become one heck of a salesman to pursuade Bron Bron to join the pitiful Nets.
As a native New Yorker, it is hard to comprehend the current state of the New York Knicks. They do not have a single player on their roster who would even warrant any legitimate basketball fan purchasing a ticket to watch them go through the motions. Instead of instituting a meaningless dress code for the players, why doesn’t David Stern demand that franchises field competitive teams? I’m shocked some slick talking New York City Attorney hasn’t sued the New York Knick organization for performing fraudulent business practices. How can you charge people a premium ticket price for the mediocre talent they carelessly assembled? While pushing hope like some low life TV evangelist, that they somehow have a legitimate shot at acquiring Lebron James. Who mind you, has yet to win anything of significance, unless you count his High School Championships. Which I’m sure 90 percent of NBA Players can claim to have won as well.
Now let’s get back to the Magic, who are playing excellent basketball and staking their claim as the top team in the East. Already collecting wins on the road in Boston and Atlanta, two out of the three other serious title contenders in the conference. I can’t stress enough, the significance of the Magic’s ability to get contributions from different players on any given night. We’ve already witnessed the likes of Jason Williams, Mickael Pietrus and reserves Anthony Johnson, Brandon Bass and Ryan Anderson provide much needed contributions on nights when the Magic needed a player to step up.
As good as things have gone over the last ten games or so, there’s still a lot to improve on. I’d still like to see Vince Carter, Dwight Howard and Rashard Lewis play more aggressively and start to impose their dominance on opponents. Coaches are always instructing players to take what the defense gives them, however, players of their stature are game changers and need to be more assertive, especially when attacking the rim. Success in sports, such as it is in life, is due in large part to a certain mentality or mind set. And I still think the Magic lack a killer instinct that is going to be critical if they have championship aspirations.
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