RealGM

Not a bad feel good read, some decent points. It is a Hoopsworld article so you can expect some homerism, inaccuracies and tons of grammatical errors. He says that the Magic got younger and then forgets that the Pistons actually got younger and Orlando got older, technically.

The Magic Will Beat The Pistons

the only real quote worthy snippet

They better be very serious when the series starts on Saturday. The Magic aren't happy just to be in the playoffs and win a round; they expect to win. So when the Pistons look in the eyes of their opponent they won't see fear, they'll see fire.

nice to get some love, as long as it's not a curse...

Decent article. He does make a solid point at the end: the Heat beat them in '06. The Cavs beat them in '07. Why not us in '08? This is a beatable team, no question.

Meh, no need to wake them up.

Definitely have a shot at beating them, though it'll be a tough challenge.

I mean yeah, they've lost a playoff series at some point 5 out of the past 6 years, so it's not like we're playing an unbeatable team or anything.

I have confidence that this will be a hard fought series either way.

one thing that is not mentioned in the article, when speaking about the two most recent teams to beat the Pistons in the ECF, Cleavland and Miami, both of those teams had an unstoppable penetration scheme. Miami with Wade and Cleveland with LBJ. Detroit was never able to stop these guys, that coupled with frequent trips to the line for those 2 and their ability to draw so much attention is what led to the Pistons demise. The fact remains that Orlando does not have an option like this, none whatsoever and we will be playing a much more straight up style of basketball against Detroit.

we are not a good defensive team and we have yet to devise a way to get our #1 the ball consistently, so we will be working in overdrive for the duration of this series.

not impossible...

i know that hedo is no wade or lebron but he gets to the rim with a good amount of consistency.... and shard will have someone on him that he can take of the dribble and if last series is any indicator it seems shard is looking to drive more in the postseason... so thief if we get these guys going to rim wouldnt we be able to present some of the same problems as the teams you mentioned??

They don't understand that we've got paypaaa..

btw..paypa is my new nickname for shard.

^ i like it

in all the playoffs Detriot is the toughest matchup for the Magic imo. A jump shooting team that plays good defense. Dwight can't be the entire defense if they don't drive down the lane.

McDyess scares the crap out of me (does the guy EVER miss a top-of-the-key jumper??)

dribble drive/penetration/ability to finish/ability to draw fouls

Wade>>Hedo+Shard
Lebron>>Hedo+Shard

ability to create/ability to shoot the ball/ability to bail out

Shard>Lebron+Wade
Hedo>Lebron+Wade

theTHIEF wrote:ability to create/ability to shoot the ball/ability to bail out

Shard>Lebron+Wade
Hedo>Lebron+Wade

mind if I use this quote as a sig?

if you want to take something out of context for youre sig... thats pretty lame... look at what he was saying

MagicFan149 wrote:if you want to take something out of context for youre sig... thats pretty lame... look at what he was saying

"Ability to shoot the ball"... I agree wholeheartedly. "Ability to create/bailout"... I beg to differ.

That article is pure hyperbole with little substance. It reminds me very much of a Bianchi piece.

down by 1, 10 seconds left, rushing into defense, fouls excluded, i'd rather put the ball in Hedo or Shard's hands than LBJ, I feel more comfortable that they will exhaust all options before settling...

just my opinion, differ all you want...thanks for the free advertisement...

^lol

theTHIEF wrote:one thing that is not mentioned in the article, when speaking about the two most recent teams to beat the Pistons in the ECF, Cleavland and Miami, both of those teams had an unstoppable penetration scheme. Miami with Wade and Cleveland with LBJ. Detroit was never able to stop these guys, that coupled with frequent trips to the line for those 2 and their ability to draw so much attention is what led to the Pistons demise. The fact remains that Orlando does not have an option like this, none whatsoever and we will be playing a much more straight up style of basketball against Detroit.

we are not a good defensive team and we have yet to devise a way to get our #1 the ball consistently, so we will be working in overdrive for the duration of this series.

not impossible...

Wait wait wait.....

We have Jameer who can do that, we have Shard who can do that, well, and we have Hedo who can do that. Sure they aren't as good as Wade or Lebron at that, but Hedo and Shard are PRETTY good at attacking the basket, getting to the line or getting high percentage shots or assists.

drawing fouls:
Wade>>Turk+Nelson+Lewis
Lebron>>Turk+Nelson+Lewis

07/08 Season FTA Per Game:

Nelson: 2
Turk: 4.7
Lewis: 3
Wade: 9
Lebron: 10


Career FTA Per Game:

Nelson: 2.2
Turk: 2.9
Lewis: 3.5
Wade: 9.1
Lebron: 8.6


Playoff FTA Per Game:

Nelson: 2.7
Turk: 2.2
Lewis: 4.7
Wade: 10
Lebron: 9


dribble driving to the lane:

Wade>>Turk+Nelson+Lewis
Lebron>>Turk+Nelson+Lewis

I agree that Nelson is a very good penetrator off the dribble when he does it, however he is very inconsistent and often times just does not go for it. Hedo is our best asset at driving to the basket, and completing however there are lapses in this strategy sometimes. Rashard plays around the basket but doesn't drive to the basket and complete near as much as we need, often times he will drive and kick or drive, post thus closing the opportunity to draw the contact. That is a downfall considering he does have the ability to do so very well against his normal match ups.

we do not have a thoroughbred in this department, we are one good basket attacking player away from having a serious title contending team...

we do not have a thoroughbred in this department, we are one good basket attacking player away from having a serious title contending team...

Now I think I finally see why so many are salivating over the idea of aquiring Maggette regardless how implausable it may seem. On a side note, I don't see Maggs warming up to the idea of being the 3rd or 4th option offensively.