Re: Yes, A Win.

["DJB" <dajubo@earthlink.net>]

On 29 Nov 2001, at 21:5 bird wrote: 


>  
> Not sure about the origin of the cupcake comment: on the Magic 
> broadcast, though, they mentioned that the "Celtics were *actually* 
> ahead of us in the standings!" (as in, "what a wacky beginning to the 
> season, huh, Bob?  Those crazy Celts are ahead of us, the inheritors 
> of the Eastern Conference Championship -- everybody said so!").  I 
> take it some representative of the Magic was vocal in taking the C's 
> lightly before the game?  Ha!  Good. 
>  
> Bird 
> (The Celtic "Tird") 



The comment comes from this article in the Orlando Sentinel: 
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Cake walk 

By Tim Povtak | Sentinel Staff Writer  
Posted November 29, 2001  

It's time to start kicking sand in some faces. 

The Orlando Magic begin the softest seven-game stretch of their season  
tonight, hoping to use it as a springboard to turn an uninspired start 
into the  season they were expecting. 

If they can't win consistently now, then winning consistently this 
season  may be out of the question. 

"The next 10 days to two weeks will tell us a lot about where we are 
going  this season," veteran power forward Horace Grant said. "We still 
have 60- some games to play, but it's time to start showing what we can 
do." 

Each of the next seven games are against teams that failed to reach the
  playoffs last season. Only the Boston Celtics (6-6), tonight's 
opponent at  TD Waterhouse Centre, are at the .500 mark. The other teams
have a  combined 17-51 record. 

The Magic play Chicago, the worst team in the Eastern Conference. They  
play the Memphis Grizzlies, the worst team in the Western Conference.  
They play the Los Angeles Clippers, the worst team in the Pacific 
Division,  and they play the Washington Wizards, who have lost nine of 
their past 10  games. And they play the Atlanta Hawks twice. 

A victory tonight quickly could turn into a seven-game domino effect, 
which  would upright a ship that is beginning to take on water. 

"This is an important stretch of games, a very important stretch," Magic
  Coach Doc Rivers said. "It's a stretch we should already be in, but 
we're  not. You want to give yourself a cushion before you go out West. 
But if we  screw around now, drop a couple more, go West needing to win 
four of five,  then we're in trouble." 

The Magic have made this stretch considerably more difficult than it 
looked  a week ago. Grant Hill is out again with a troublesome left 
ankle. Although  it not considered serious this time, he likely will 
miss the next two games. 

The Magic also have been struggling defensively. Although they lead the
  NBA in scoring (103.5 points per game), they have rebounded and 
defended  poorly, causing three close losses at home. 

In their seven victories this season, the Magic have allowed an average 
of  91 points. In their eight defeats, they have allowed an average of 
108.5  points. The difference has been dramatic. 

"Who we've got coming up doesn't really matter if we don't improve the 
way  we've been playing," Grant said. "But if we play hard, 
aggressively, then  we'll win the games we're supposed to win. It's 
pretty simple." 

The Magic spent the past two days working almost exclusively on defense,
  going back to basic drills that some of their players hadn't seen 
since  college or high school. 

"We talk about it every day," guard Tracy McGrady said. "Defense, or the
  lack of defense, is killing us. It's killing this team right now. 

"I haven't seen some of this stuff since high school, but if that's what
it  takes, I'm all for it. I really believe these last two losses were 
the wakeup  call. You'll see a different team in these next 5-6 games, 
and it's going to  start with me." 

The Magic lost back-to-back games at home against the Charlotte Hornets
  and Detroit Pistons. In both losses, McGrady had a chance to tie the 
score  with a late shot, but both times he missed. Neither of those 
opportunities,  though, bothered him as much as the defensive lapses 
that came before. 

The Magic may have picked a tough assignment to start their move up the
  Atlantic Division ladder. Boston guard Paul Pierce (26.9 ppg) and 
forward  Antoine Walker (24.3 ppg) form the best one-two scoring punch 
in the  Eastern Conference. They combined for 61 points in Tuesday 
night's victory  in Miami. No one else with the Celtics scored more than
six points. They  didn't need to, with Pierce and Walker dominating the 
action. 

McGrady will go from guarding Pierce tonight to guarding Michael Jordan 
in  Washington on Saturday. If he can slow down both of them, then the 
Magic  should be successful. 

Neither the Grizzlies (Monday) nor the Bulls (Wednesday) have won this  
season away from home. 

"The bottom line is that we shouldn't be 7-8 right now. We're a better 
team  than that," McGrady said. "It's going to turn around. I'm the 
leader, and I'm  going to make sure of that." 

Rivers has been critical of the defensive effort throughout his lineup. 
Grant  particularly needs to do a better job in the frontcourt, while 
McGrady has to  become a better defensive leader on the perimeter. 

"It's not that we can't do it. We're a great defensive team for 12 
seconds,  the best in the league, but the last 12 seconds is killing 
us," Rivers said.  "We still have to make a run now. This isn't the way 
we planned it. It's not  going to be as easy as we thought. 

"But it's out there. I can see the light. It's just a long tunnel we 
need to go  through first." 

Tim Povtak can be reached at tpovtak@orlandosentinel.com or at 407-420- 
5328.