Yes, the Magic Are Elite
The focus is understandably on the Heat today after their stunning collapse last night in Miami. Still, the winners of last night's game, the Orlando Magic, find themselves being criminally overlooked. Coming off impressive wins over the Oklahoma City Thunder and the New York Knicks before they blitzed the Heat with a 40-9 run in the second half last night, Orlando is playing its best basketball of the season. And a very credible case can be made that this team will be representing the East in the Finals for the second time in three years.
For a few reasons:
1) Matchups: Now that the failed Vince Carter experiment (one of General Manager Otis Smith's few head-scratching moves) is over and Hedo Turkoglu is back in place, Orlando poses the same vexing matchup problems it did in 2009. Anchored by Dwight Howard inside, the offense relies on him drawing in defenders, freeing up the Magic's array of shooters to knock down threes. When they're shooting well (and they often are, leading the league in three-pointers made), they're tough to beat. But what truly separates them is their versatility at the four spot. They can punish teams that go small (with Brandon Bass) or stretch long, immobile fours with Ryan Anderson.
2) Competition: At this point, the Bulls (who Orlando plays tonight) pose the biggest threat to the Magic in the post-season. As I wrote last week, Boston sacrificed inside defensive presence by trading away Kendrick Perkins, which will come back to haunt if they play Orlando. And, Miami? Well, re-watch last night's game and try telling me this dysfunctional and emotionally fragile team is ready for a hard-fought seven-game playoff series. Plus, Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson (see more below) are perfectly equipped to exploit Miami's vulnerabilities at the center and point guard positions.
3) Stars: Dwight Howard, the league's premier big man, is enjoying his best season, averaging 23.2 points and 13.9 rebounds per game -- both career bests. He's expanded his offensive repertoire to give him more options in the post. And, as a result, he's as close to an unstoppable force as there is in the league right now.
Nelson, when healthy and making a conscious effort to aggressively driving to the basket, is as challenging a point guard to defend as there is in a conference loaded with talented one guards. If you have any doubts, just take a look at his 26-point destruction of Chauncey Billups Tuesday night.
The East is wide open, and at 40-22 the Magic sit 2.5 games out of the three spot and only 5.5 back of the top-ranked Celtics. Things can change quickly in what has been a very fluid season, but from where I'm sitting today, tonight's Bulls-Magic game looks an awful lot like an Eastern Conference Finals preview.
