fishercob wrote:As Dandridge said, I loved the effort. If we see more of this -- win or lose -- I'll be happy.
Someone asked why they don't play like this on the road. I simply think it's human nature to play with less focus and energy in a hostile (or apathetic environment). It's part of the growth process for our young team, and I expect us to continue to struggle with it.
Great to see Gilbert and Nick attacking JJ Redick to the point of abuse. Redick did an amazing job chasing Ray Allen off screens, but he stands no chance when someone as strong and skilled as Gil drives right at him.
One note of nitpick is that Gil made a tactical error on his final drive by going to Howard's side. If he had gone right, he would have had an easier play one way or the other. More importantly though, Gil looked great. Even though the 3 wasn't falling, he looked almost like himself going to the basket.
The Magic are doomed to second tier finishes as currently constructed, IMO. They have no regulator -- no one to take the ball say "calm the eff down, I got this ****." They need Chauncey Billups in the worst way.
Looking at the replay, it looked like Dwight Howard was playing center field, which he could afford to do with 3.5 seconds left. It didn't matter if Arenas went right or left to the basket, Howard was going to be there IMO.
While I agree that Orlando probably isn't going to win the title, I wouldn't read too much into this game from their side either. It is their second game of a back to back and they did end up coming out of Washington with a win. Yes the game was closer than it should have been. Then again, Orlando blew the Wizards out of the water by 40+ points to begin the season.
Orlando has been in the habit of pulling out close wins against sub-par teams like Indiana, New Jersey, and now the Wizards. It's human nature for them not to show up against lesser teams.
