Orlando Magic Diehards Smash a Cavalier

On Wednesday afternoon, in celebration of the Magic's win over LeBron and the Cleveland Cavaliers, 116-114, Orlando's Real Radio 104.1's The Buckethead Show procured a Chevy Cavalier, and smashed it with a sledgehammer.

After decorating the red Cavalier with spray paint, members of the show, as well as other Magic diehards, took their turns on the car like it was a pinata.

Speaking of pinata, the same radio show created a Big Baby Davis pinata during the Magic-Celtics series, and took a nice few whacks to it after the Boston star hit his famous game winning three against the Magic in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

There's no doubt that the city of Orlando is electrified and ready to watch their team take on the Cavaliers in a do-or-die matchup for LeBron and his crew.

Here's a link to the Cavalier smash slideshow.

Enjoy! Let's Go Magic! Blue and White Ignite!

Dwight Howard's Technical Foul Rescinded

After further review, the NBA league office decided to rescind the technical foul given to Dwight Howard during last night's victory over LeBron James and the Cavaliers.

After the technical foul, Amway Arena went beserk, yelling a resounding bull%*@* at the game officials. Apparently it was—and more specifically, it was a celebration, not a taunt.

The T was called after he celebrated a made basket. Cleveland's Anderson Varejao grabbed Howard around the shoulders on a hard foul and Superman pumped his fists in Varejao's direction after putting the ball in the hoop.

"I was just playing with emotion," Dwight said Tuesday night after the win. "I wasn't taunting Varejao or anything. My thing was, it was a tough play, he grabbed me around the neck and I made the shot, so hopefully they will look at it".

Kobe Bryant also got a technical foul wiped away in the Western Conference Finals, and three T's earned by Denver Nuggets' player Kenyon Martin were dropped as well.

The Magic are concerned that Dwight has earned a reputation with the officials and is not given the benefit of the doubt.

"When you get calls like that, you do feel that the guy is a marked man a little bit," Coach Van Gundy said.

Orlando Magic Fans Need to Learn the Ropes

Look, I understand that Orlando is a city sans a sports culture.

Besides the Magic, the only major sporting events I have ever been able to enjoy are Orlando Predators AFL games (which I never really enjoyed anyway), former AHL team the Orlando Solar Bears, UCF Knights sporting events, and the former MLB minor league team, the Orlando Rays.

Three of the teams disappeared after none of the teams were able to anchor themselves safely in central Florida, and the UCF Knights are still building their C-USA football team.

As a consequence, Orlando residents, most notably the ones that have been here all their lives, do not know how to be sports fans.

I'm not saying that to be mean. I'm sure there are a few who have been transplanted from other cities, like my hometown of Buffalo, but those fans don't usually invest themselves in Orlando teams when they already have a storied team from their hometown.

Orlando natives have been discouraged from becoming good sports fans as their teams have skipped town and the Magic are just now electrifying the city again after over 10 years of mishaps.

As I watched game three of the Magic-Cavs series last night, I was impressed in the beginning of the game at the sound of the fans and their thunder sticks on television. However, as the game went on, Magic faithfuls either got tired, or really nervous.

I tried to make excuses for these fans, but my fiance pointed out just how loud the Cavaliers fans were in games one and two in Cleveland. The Cavs have never won an NBA championship either, just like the Magic. So what makes our fans and Cleveland fans different?

Bingo! Cavaliers fans have other teams to practice with in their hometown—the Browns, the Indians,

We here in Orlando only have the blue and white and our college team. We're just not good sports fans here. Luckily, I have been taught the ropes of a good fan from my father and fellow Buffalonians. We cheer hard. We cheer loud. We get obnoxious, perhaps drunk and obnoxious. We cry and get stomach aches. We lay in bed the day after a loss.

That's the way it is.

I'd like to take this time to speak to Orlando sports fans and specifically Magic fans directly: I know you are a bit confused, but you have to keep the intensity going throughout the game. Don't get nervous and sit there biting your nails—our team needs your support. Even if that means not having a voice the next day, or having a hangover, or having a little bit of blue paint left on your face the next day when you're at work.

It's a shameless declaration you make as a sports fan, that no matter how weird, crazy, or intense your antics are, it's OK. Sports are a phenomenon that can't be treated like other everyday occurrences.

Give it your all, and you'll help Dwight Howard and his squad give it all. Give us a chance to be a legitimate sports town. Let's put up a little more decoration around the city of Orlando, and act like we're in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Stan Van Gundy: Master of a Turnaround

Last night, while watching the Magic take on the Cavaliers, I was not only impressed by the way that Dwight Howard and his squad were able to turn the game around, but I was most impressed by Stan Van Gundy's excellent coaching.

Thanks to modern technology, NBA fans are able to hear head coaches speaking with their teams during games, and the motivation and strategy that came out of Van Gundy's mouth was superb.

The Magic head coach reminded his players that they couldn't catch up to the Cavaliers' monstrous lead earned in the first half in a mere five minutes' time. It was going to take a little while, possession by possession. That's all they had to do, Van Gundy told his team, proving Shaq wrong.

Van Gundy will no longer be referred to as the "master of panic". He has proved that he's actually quite the opposite—a coach with the ability to stay calm, and initiate the turnaround.
Stan Van pointed out the fact that the Magic have been tested and the Cavaliers haven't. A big ego is enough to get in the way, as we all attested to last night. "They don't know about this—we do!" the Magic head coach told his players in the huddle.

Moments later, the blue and white proved that was true.

With the Magic down by 15 at halftime, without sound leadership, things were going to get really bad, really fast. A fired up Van Gundy told his players they were being LeBron's "witnesses", a mock reference to a Nike ad in which LeBron's fans are portrayed as the worshipping "witnesses" of King James.

"Right there, that brought the fire out of us," Dwight Howard told reporters.
Clearly, the Orlando Magic are no joke. It's up to Van Gundy to continue to lit a fire under his players and utilize the plays that will give them an opportunity to beat the Cavaliers. It is truly possible that the Magic can win a championship this season, and Van Gundy has shown that they're not afraid of the Cavaliers.

Here's to a coach who I knew was elite all along. It actually surprises me that the media took Shaq's critique of Van Gundy seriously anyway. It's always about drama on ESPN, it seems. Regardless of the reason the "master of panic" nickname survived for so long, Van Gundy will continue to become a driving force in coaching in NBA basketball.

All Magic fans should be happy to have him as head coach in Orlando and give him the respect he truly deserves.

Orlando Magic: Getting Primed for the Cavaliers

Amway Arena is mostly bare, save a few division title banners and one for an Eastern Conference championship. In Magic highlights that light up the jumbotron, there are no images of the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy, no fancy rings on any fingers.

There isn't any overt celebration going on in Orlando, either. The Magic have won the Eastern Conference semifinals, yes, but for a team that has only reached the Eastern Conference championship one other time, in 1996, it's time to look forward to bigger and better things.

The name of the game is focus for Stan Van Gundy's team. LeBron James and the playoff-perfect Cleveland Cavaliers are no walk in the park, and there's no way to get to the NBA Finals without taking them down first.

Magic general manager Otis Smith is keeping the game face on in the front office as well. "We have to stop talking about making it to the conference level, and start talking about winning a championship," Smith said Monday. "And then we have to stop talking, and start doing."

There are a few things that concern fans of the blue and white. The Magic are full of young players who haven't dug deep into a playoffs as of yet. Furthermore, the first two rounds weren't exactly a walk in the park. While the future of the 2009 NBA Playoffs is unclear, a few things are certain: Orlando must play physical, keep cool enough to shoot a high percentage under immense pressure, and ensure that Dwight Howard plays like the team leader he should be.

Stan Van Gundy must also keep cool as well.

So far, the attitude in the Magic locker room seems to be just right. Hedo Turkoglu, who put up a fantastic 25 points in game seven, is confident. "We have a chance. We never lose confidence of what we can do - not myself, not anybody."

If Turkoglu can continue to be the clutch player he's proved he can be, there should be many high scoring games in store for Magic and Cavalier fans in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Magic have no reason to doubt themselves; they have won the last eight of 11 against the Cavaliers.

As I keep saying, staying calm under pressure and keeping the confidence at present level is the most essential thing Van Gundy's team can do to advance.

It's all about just playing the game of basketball. The Magic should have no problem executing if they keep their heads right. For now, here's to an awesome game one on Wednesday night.

Orlando Magic: Why Not Us? Why Not Now?

Orlando Magic blogger Scott Anez stirred up emotion this morning when he dug up a quote from Magic owner Rich DeVos from 1995.

"Why not us? Why not now?" he asked Orlando.

Nearly 25 years after DeVos uttered those words, here we are, Magic fans, prepping for game seven in Boston against the 2008 world champion Celtics.

I believe that DeVos's quote rings true today. We're not the new team on the block anymore. We came up short in 1995 against Houston, but that doesn't have to happen today.

As Anez has commented, it seems to be the Magic against the world. The way the Magic have been treated by the media is ludicrous. All season, it's been about the Cavs, the Celtics, and the Lakers. It's been about the "master of panic" and how Orlando can't do it without Jameer Nelson.

It's been about how Dwight Howard is "too nice", and how the Magic just can't get it done.

This is despite being the only franchise to select three players to the NBA All-Star Game, despite 59 wins, and despite having the Defensive Player of the Year.

The only attention the media wants to give the Magic is negative.

Think about it: what stories about the Magic have overflowed the newspapers and SportsCenter storylines? Dwight calling out Stan Van? Marcin Gortat calling out Stan Van? Rafer Alston slapping heads and Dwight throwing bows?

That's about it.

But here we are tonight, going against the Celtics in game seven. We are on the national stage, and we have the ability to shine. We have the ability to shut down.

We have the ability to take down the haters and take down the Celtics.

Why not us? Why not now?

Orlando Magic Prepping for Game Seven

As 2008 World Champions, the Boston Celtics know how to win playoff games. It's apparent when the Celtics and Magic play each other that that the Magic are the playoff pupils and the Celtics are the instructors. Paul Pierce insists that their playoff confidence translates directly into game seven confidence. After all, they've been there before.

"Some guys play their best under pressure and some guys don't. We're comfortable in game sevens and we're not a team that gets the jitters," Pierce told reporters.

If the Magic want to win game seven, they're going to have to play with confidence and calm, and the "master of panic" Stan Van Gundy is in charge of making that happen.

Besides attitude and experience, there is not much separating the Magic and Celtics. Both are skilled enough to win, and anything could happen. However, the Magic would serve better to ignore the stats.

What stats? Well, how about the statistic that says the Celtics are an amazing 25-5 in game sevens all-time and an even better 17-3 on home court?

How about the fact that Boston is an incredible and intimidating 32-0 in eventually winning series in which they went ahead 3-2?

Much of that history was made by Larry Bird, Bob Cousy, and other Celtics greats from the past, but there is no reason to think that the present Boston team can't do the same.

The Celtics won two game sevens last spring en route to the championship, and eliminated the Chicago Bulls this year in game seven as well.

With Jameer Nelson gone and the Magic hardly experienced in playoff game seven situations, there is no doubt that Sunday night will be difficult for Stan Van Gundy and the boys.

So far, Van Gundy has been keeping his cool and staying positive. "History and the odds don't mean anything," the Magic head coach said. "As far as their (the Celtics) record in game sevens, I don't think it means anything. (Boston losing a 3-2 lead) is going to happen sometime. So we'll go and be the first."

There is no reason to think the Magic shouldn't be confident going into Sunday's game. After all, Dwight Howard played a stand up game on Thursday night in game six, producing a 23-point, 22-rebound, three-block effort. He's also averaging 17.2 points and 17.3 rebounds against the Celtics. If Superman plays like Superman, the Magic can make things happen.

Howard matches Van Gundy's positive attitude.

"We've had some tough lessons in this series and the biggest one is that you have to play all 48 minutes if you want to beat Boston," said Howard. "Whoever goes out there and plays the hardest for 48 minutes will win. They have the experience, but for us it's all about effort and energy. I believe in my team and I believe that we're going up there to give it our all."

Orlando Magic: It's Back to Business

After two days of hearing the city of Orlando criticize the Magic and their ability to close out games, the team challenged the Boston Celtics and rallied for a win in the fourth quarter, the final score 83-75.

Wisely, the Magic are not in celebration mode—in the locker room after the game, the air was palpable with a sense of urgency.

"It's just back to business," guard-forward Mikael Pietrus told reporters. "Tonight we came out under pressure and played extremely well defensively. I think that’s the way we’ll have to play on Sunday.”

An all-business, no play attitude is crucial at this time for the Orlando Magic. Someone is going home Sunday night, and it's either them or the 2008 NBA World Champions. Guard Courtney Lee feels that if game seven is played like game six, a win is in the works. "We have to go in there and do the same things we did today,” he said. “We have to rely on our defense instead of our offense and try to get stops down the stretch.”

The Magic also need Dwight Howard to play in the Superman fashion he played Thursday night in game six. Howard ignited for 23 points, 22 rebounds and three blocks, giving Orlando a surefire physical presence.

How does Howard feel about game seven? "It's going be a dogfight," he said.

In Boston, the Magic need to keep their cool, hit their shots from beyond the arc, and provide solid, commanding defense. If so, there is a good chance they'll be headed to Cleveland.