The Fan Voice: "Bounce Back Magic"

By Live or Die Magic | May 29th, 2009

The Orlando Magic cannot point to bad officiating or a miracle shot this time. No, this time they need to look a bit more at themselves. It is one thing to allow the Cavs to once again move out to a big lead off of a fast start. But when you add poor shooting to the mix – especially from the free throw line – then any good you’ve done yourself by clawing back into the game is negated. The Magic shot 68% from the free throw line, and it was the timing of the misses that seemed to really hurt them. If the Magic make just 5 more of the 13 they missed, it might be a different ballgame.

Beyond that, we have to touch on the hero-to-goat angle. Rafer came back down to earth last night from his huge Game 4 performance, making only one of his 10 field goal attempts. The Magic’s “live by the three; die by the three” mentality was showcased in Rafer’s 1-for-7 night from behind the arc. The telling part is that only three of his attempts were from within the arc. His decision making was suspect as well. One poor decision that really stuck out for me: late in the fourth quarter, when the Magic were down by 8, but still in the game, Dwight Howard had incredible position on Anderson Varejao in the post, and the double team wasn’t coming. Alston was on the weak side – same as Howard – but instead of throwing it into Howard, Alston elected to launch a bad three point attempt. The Cavs quickly rebounded and Varejao converted an “and 1” play at the other end for a commanding 11 point lead. Considering that Howard could have converted the basket and possibly drawn a foul, then we are looking at the classic 6-point swing right there.

But once again the Magic’s resiliency was evident. The Cavaliers are pretty much incapable of sustaining a big lead against us. This is the first time that a breakdown in the fourth quarter has cost us a game against them. As good as this win must feel for the Cavaliers players, coaches, and fans, it must be frustrating as hell to play this Magic team, especially in their building. The Q is rocking, the stars are gawking, the Cavs shots are falling, and things are amen pass the gravy. But then here comes that pesky Magic team chipping away at that lead. Here is Dwight Howard smiling and swinging. Here’s Turk with that almost smug look on his face after burying a three. Here’s Rashard making everyone shiver cuz of how cool he is. Here’s Pietrus doing that head-bobbing thing after every made shot. And here’s Courtney Lee stealing from LeBron James, going up for breakaway dunks and getting fouled, and basically walking around forgetting he’s supposed to be affected by all this. If I were a Cavs fan, I’d be hating the Magic with every fiber of my being. And I love it! I loved watching the Cavs fans booing Howard every time he got another Cavs player upset. I loved the way Howard was eating it up, yet keeping his cool.

The Magic lost the game, and there were plenty of not-so-pretty things that led to it. But I didn’t see anything in this game that makes me think that the Cavs can do this two more times, especially considering the next one is back in the very loud, very intimidating (you listening Barkley?) Amway Arena. The Cavaliers still have not made adjustments, and have no answer for Howard. Big Z finally hit his outside shots and Mo Williams finally managed to play like the third-choice All Star player he thinks he is. Otherwise, another brilliant performance by LeBron James would have been wasted. But here I go banging on the Cavs when it was the Magic who should have done more.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, Game 6 is the biggest Magic game in more than a decade, because of what is at stake. If we lose Game 6, all the momentum goes back to Cleveland and the entire country will be delirious with renewed dreams of Kobe vs. LeBron. Sickening, yes, I know...but we are in a position to crush that dream again. I can’t wait to see it happen.

All season long, this has been a team that has bounced back from adversity and has played its best games against the best teams. They have regrouped from injuries and bad play, and have been able to win despite lineup changes. The depth of this team is as good as any team we’ve ever had. The fan base of this team seems as strong as it has ever been. Let the Cavaliers and their fans, and even Nike, the NBA, and their television partners, have their moment. Ours will come Saturday night.

This message was not subject of approval by the NBA or the Orlando Magic. The views expressed in this blog do not necessarily reflect the views of the Orlando Magic or the NBA, but solely the writer.

I'm already counting the minutes to it, but time will never pass fast enough.

Right on the point LODM, the Cavs were better yesterday and deserves this win, and it was quite logical considering that's a 66 W team, with a 8-0 record in postseason before starting this series.
But a lot of things has worked for them (support cast, 3 pts shot %, etc.), and we've played the worst game of the series, but still we had a chance. I'm confident that our guys would play a different game on saturday.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Luke_FfS,

I think you hit on the head with “bounce back”. This team reminds me of a kids clown punching bag, that takes your biggest punch only to bounce back upright and taunt you again with a silly grin.

It’s been said before and bears repeating, this team seems to play it’s best when the pressure is on and challenge is biggest. The Cavs on the other struggle against the best teams and even more so when it on the road.

Everyone talks about this being a pressure game for the Magic, what the heck is it for the Cav's? Both teams are under pressure and will be fighting it out, I like our chances as I don't see the rest of the Cav's shooting that well again.