WHEN
Wednesday
March 19, 2008
7:00pm EST
VS
Yeah, this is going to rub the EJ apologists the wrong way. I'll be the first to admit that despite all my criticism of EJ, he is in fact a pretty "decent" coach. However, he's a stubborn S.O.B that absolutely refuses to change his methods for the better of the team. His rotations are poor, his post T.O plays are atrocious, and his matchup management will always be based against the system he employs. At times, however, we have seen EJ coach like a genius and is almost perfect. This is where we get those little streaks going only to be met by a team where the right matchups are key, and EJ goes full blown "Jackarse" mode. Orlando is a team where we need to have the right rotations...NO SMALL BALL!!! Depending on which coach is on the sideline tomorrow will go a long way to determine the victor.
NBA.COM Preview
The Orlando Magic are out to prove to the rest of the East that the conference has more than three contenders to advance to the NBA finals.
They should be especially eager to show a team they may face in the first round of the playoffs. The Magic look to claim their sixth straight win and close in on a Southeast Division title on Wednesday when they host the second-place Washington Wizards. The Magic, who have averaged 111.0 points while going 8-1 in March, had one of their most impressive performances of the recent run in Washington, beating the Wizards 122-92 on March 5. "They took it to us," Wizards coach Eddie Jordan said that night. "They were the aggressors, and we just didn't compete physically."
Orlando also won 94-82 at Washington on Nov. 3, back when the Wizards still had guard Gilbert Arenas in their lineup. Both Arenas and Caron Butler were out against the Magic earlier this month, and while Arenas continues to work toward a return from a knee injury that has kept him out since November, Butler has shot just 33.3 percent from the field in three games since missing 16 with a hip injury. Butler is now playing through a wrist ailment similar to the one that is plaguing point guard Antonio Daniels. "We've got some serious beat-up guys on our team," Jordan said. Antawn Jamison had 25 points and nine rebounds in a 105-96 home loss to Atlanta on Monday, but Jamison said the Wizards just "went through the motions."
Washington had won its previous three games, and finished its five-game homestand at 3-2. The Wizards have won three of their last four road games, with the only loss coming to the streaking Houston Rockets, but Jordan still decided to implement a team curfew for the first time this week, hoping to avoid "a Florida pleasure trip." The brief trip concludes at Miami Friday.
