The Fan Voice: "A Warm Homecoming"

By Live or Die Magic | November 28th, 2007


A warm homecoming is what I received upon returning from spending Thanksgiving week with family up North where it was actually cold, with the leaves falling as much as the temperature. I arrived back to Orlando, greeting by 80 degrees and a hot house. No matter how long I live here, I’ll never get used to sweating in December.

A warm homecoming is what Rashard Lewis received last night in Seattle. Lewis was concerned about how the fans would treat him, based on past experiences with Seattle athletes and Seattle fans, not to mention the recent not-so-warm reception given to Grant Hill upon his return to Orlando. It turned out that Lewis actually had nothing to worry about as he was given a warm welcome and even received an small ovation from the crowd (Please note, after perusing the Seattle papers this morning, I couldn’t find anything negative written about Lewis, although one columnist characterized Lewis’ reception as “lukewarm.”).

A warm homecoming is what the Magic will receive when they arrive back in town next Friday night to play the Pacers at the Amway, sporting a 16-4 record (sorry, but I have a tough time seeing the Magic beating the Suns in Phoenix. Incidentally, I have a tough time seeing any of the Magic games!). I still am being stubborn and refuse to move off my stance of waiting until January to get truly excited about our exceptional record. The national pundits are not waiting. Just this morning, two basketball “experts” at ESPN.com stated that we would finish 2nd or 3rd in the East this year and that we were “for real,”, in part because of Dwight Howard’s accelerated improvement.


Farewell Trevor, We Hardly Knew You!

I was as surprised as anyone when I read that the Magic had traded Trevor Ariza to the LA Lakers. For the last 20 months, I had assumed that Ariza was a part of our “core of the future.” I thought Ariza would eventually make his way into the regular rotation, if not as a starter, then at least as the 6th man. His athleticism, defense, and nose for the ball made him a good compliment to Dwight Howard. However, the one thing that would have made him a great compliment to Howard – shooting – was just not there. Of course, I don’t know this for a fact, I’m not watching the practices and seeing Ariza take 200 jump shots a day. I can only take the word of Otis Smith and Stan Van Gundy that this is a move that was necessary.

The players we received in return (the Battie injury exception allowed us to perform the “2 for 1”) both can list shooting as a primary skill. I must admit that I have not seen either of these players actually play for the Magic yet (between the holidays and the FSN dispute, I haven’t been able to watch the games) but from what I know about these players, they will provide us a solid back-up shooting guard (who can defend and shoot) and a big man who can nail the three. This sounds terrific on paper. Since our offense under SVG is a classic inside/outside game, these players should fit right in. But who’s to say if either player will have any more of a long-term future in Orlando than Trevor Ariza had.

Part of the problem for me as a fan is that I have once again wasted time investing emotionally in a young player who I thought was going to wear Magic pinstripes for years to come. First Darko, now Ariza. The little playing time that JJ Redick is receiving has me wondering just how long he will remain in the Magic organization’s plans.

Trades are part of the NBA. Teams are always tinkering with their lineups. Even teams who win championships consider roster moves. After all, Greg Popovitch considered replacing Tony Parker with Jason Kidd a few years ago, despite the fact that the Spurs had just won a title with Parker running point (of course, it turned out to be a good thing that Kidd stayed put. Parker now has two more rings since then.). It would just be nice to see how the Magic perform when they are not faced with lineup and coaching staff changes each year.

Most fans think that another move is still coming before the trade deadline. We are still in need of a back-up big man and we have expiring contracts to offer. The fact that we are 14-3 and seemingly “for real” might make Otis Smith less likely to make any significant changes to a bench that might be finally finding it’s groove. But then again, if you told me a month ago that Trevor would be traded, I wouldn’t have believed it. Stay tuned!


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.

Great blog LOD.

I think we were all surprised by the Ariza trade, but IMO, it's working out pretty good so far.

I look at it like this. Ariza wasn't playing all that much this year to begin with, so why let him waste away on the bench?

I'm from up north, and I will NEVER get used to this heat.

thats def. what our fans need to bring next friday...an EXTREMELY warm welcome...

now i know we should never overlook an opponent, but that game is vs. a sorry team who is a long shot to make the postseason (Indy)

but regardless, we still need to be crazy, loud, and supportive of our team...and ESPECIALLY show our appreciation for their performance during this long western swing...

cuz even though we may be playing a sorry team...dont forget to Be Bold. Be Blue.


and unlike LOD, i think we'll beat Phoenix tomorrow evening...
and we'll beat LAL on sunday...

but i think if we have any chance of losing on this trip, it will be @ GSW in the final game of the trip, the 2nd night of a back to back...

but hopefully...we wont lose...at all....

79-3, baby!

What are guys really need is the 3 days off that come with the homecoming. They look like a tired bunch of players. The fact that they are still playing so well is absolutely remarkable to me.

I really have no idea if there will be another trade at the deadline. I think its 50/50. Unless a glaring weakness becomes apparent from now until February, I can easily see Otis sitting on any moves and let the rest of the season play out. I honestly don't know if this is a good idea or not.

As for the Ariza trade: I liked it when I first read about it and from what I've seen I think my initial reaction was correct. Evans so far as provided the same things that Ariza did but with the ability to spread the floor. Cook hasn't gotten on track yet but I think alot of that might have to do with conditioning. Cook just didn't get alot of court time in LA. Two quality roleplayers for the price of one is almost always a good deal.

quote:

Originally posted by You're Fat, Pat!:
and unlike LOD, i think we'll beat Phoenix tomorrow evening...
and we'll beat LAL on sunday...

but i think if we have any chance of losing on this trip, it will be @ GSW in the final game of the trip, the 2nd night of a back to back...

Hey, YFP...what do you think about me calling those games, huh?!

quote:

Please note, after perusing the Seattle papers this morning, I couldn’t find anything negative written about Lewis, although one columnist characterized Lewis’ reception as “lukewarm.”

Their own team only gets a "lukewarm" reception, so I guess Rashard got par for the course.

Ohh, and nice prediction on the 16-4 record.