Game 8: Cavs at Magic - Wed, Nov 11, 8:00pm

[Niko23]

No talk of Howard's cheap shot on LeBron after the whistle either......

I though Magic fans were going to explode after Mo threw the ball at Dwight last year.....but LeBron is not classy for shaking hands. Pushing someone when the play is over? Very Classy

[rjgraca]

It's amusing to read the excuses from some of the Magic fans ignoring that the the CAVs are still in transition too with their rotation. It will make the CAVs next game against the Magic (when Lewis is back) that much more interesting.

What excuses are you talking about? Most Magic fans came in here to congratulate the fans for a good win.

All that is being said is that one cannot draw full blown conclusions because the Magic were severely undermanned. This is the same as how I believe that no one can draw full blown conclusions and count Cleveland out (because of the sluggish start) when it is so early in the season and the team is still meshing.

Cleveland is in a state of transition, and so are the Magic. The Magic have also played all of their games without Rashard Lewis, majority of them without Vince Carter, and a few without Ryan Anderson. At this point, it's probably safe to say that both Cleveland and Orlando will be better versions of themselves when they meet again.

Oh, they (Orlando) were severely undermanned and wasn't there talk about how they could easily handle the CAVs with a traditional line-up...yeah that was on display in this game. The Severely undermanned implies a big excuse in itself. You guys were gushing on the General Board about how Carter was going to step-up and be dominating.

Well...if both the CAVs and the Magic are in state of transition that wouldn't make the Magic severely undermanned other than to imply the Lewis is such a dominate force that he alone was the reason they lost at home. As you stated on the Orlando board, Anderson is a one trick pony and he doesn't help much when the trick isn't working. Yes, it is safe to say that both the Cleveland and Orlando will be better...but using words like severe to describe Orlando's plight without Lewis is an excessive excuse since many Orlando fans were boasting about their depth.

[Hilltop]

That is only an excuse if I said that the reason why the Cavaliers won is because the Magic were severely undermanned. But I said the Cavaliers won the game fair and square, and that this said lack of personnel was NOT the only reason why we lost. The Magic lost because they played poor defense, because Dwight Howard got into foul trouble, and because the team just lost their composure out there. Cavs played much better basketball that's for sure.

I bring up the fact that the Magic are undermanned to say that this early into the season, and only after our first game, it's ridiculous to draw full blown conclusions about anything. I hardly consider that slighting the Cavaliers, becaus even most Cleveland fans on the General Board seem to agree. We're really seeing beta versions of both teams.

And no I haven't changed my stance about the Magic. They are still widely considered to be one of the deeper teams in the league. We have played all games without Rashard, most without Vince, and some without Anderson. But more importantly, we have gone through numerous different starting lineups, rotations, adjustments etc. and we are still 6-3. It's like the Boston Celtics going without Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Perkins. The bumps along the way were pretty much expected. I'm not that worried about the team just yet.

[L&H_05]

The thing I don't like about the Magic (and I think will ultimately get them) is their perimeter defense...And when I say that, I'm exclusively talking about our matchups with them...

I only see one guy on that team that can defend along the perimeter and that is Pietrus... One of the most underrated aspects of our series last year was when the Magic would stick Lee on Mo... He made Mo work for everything and he was bigger as well...

I don't think Mo is gonna have any problems with Jameer guarding him for 3 quarters plus... Just don't..

I hope we can get one more perimeter scorer before the deadline.. I think that seals the deal IMO..