The month of March brings 10 home games for the Orlando Magic, more by three than any other month of the season. It’s good timing too, because the Magic seem to have finally figured out how to have success at home – winning their last four at Amway Arena – as well as on the road. The Magic are still in a three-way tie for most road wins in the NBA at 21. But they now have 17 home wins and should soon be able to claim more home wins than road wins.
The heavy home schedule isn’t the only thing that is working in the Magic’s favor. Of the nine home games left this month, starting with tonight’s match up with Toronto, six of them are against Eastern Conference teams and five of them are against teams with a sub .500 record. We do have tough match ups against a revamped Cleveland and a streaking San Antonio, but the Magic have a tendency to play up to the big teams and we should be able to grab a victory in one of those games.
Factor in a reasonable soft road schedule – at Washington, Miami, Atlanta, and Milwaukee, and the Magic have no excuse not to grab 10 victories this month, including the win they already have over the Knicks on Saturday night. As I have stated many times in this space, as long as the Magic beat the teams they are supposed to beat, we should exit the month of May within spitting distance of the 50 win mark.
With that said, here are my bold predictions for this month’s games:
March 4th - Vs. Raptors (No Bosh? No problem! Contain Calderon and put the subs in early.) – Magic WIN
March 5th – @ Wizards (Of late, Wizards are giant-killers, this is the one road game we drop all month.) Magic LOSE
March 8th – Vs. Warriors (This should be an exciting game with lots of points and little defense. I’m seeing a big shot from Turk near the end.) Magic WIN
March 10th – Vs. Hawks (For some reason, we let this team get to us. They won at Amway earlier this year, but Dwight gets up for the Hawks.) Magic WIN
March 12th – Vs. Clippers (If there can be a cupcake from the West, the Clippers qualify. They are in a tailspin, having lost 6 straight.) Magic WIN
March 14th - @ Heat (What’s the over/under on Pat Riley still being on the bench and Wade still being on the court by the time this one arrives?) Magic WIN
March 15th – Vs. Pacers (Back end of a road/home back-to-back, but this is one the Magic have to have.) Magic WIN
March 17th – Vs. Cavaliers (It’s either the momentum of a 5 game winning streak, or the leprechauns in the building.) Magic WIN
March 19th – Vs. Wizards (The “magic” had to end some time, and now they begin to wonder about that #3 vs. #6 matchup in the first round.) Magic LOSE
March 21st – Vs 76ers (Philly found a formula that works and go with it again. Miller and Green again run all over the Magic guards.) Magic LOSE
March 22nd - @ Hawks (A very frustrated Magic team do some venting in Atlanta. I feel sorry for the Hawks.) Magic WIN
March 25th – Vs. Spurs (Let’s be realistic here, can the Magic count on another incredible alley-oop to beat these guys? Maybe not, but they make a game of it.) Magic LOSE
March 28th – @. Bucks (After two days rest, the Magic end the month on a high note against an overmatched Milwaukee squad.) Magic WIN
And there you have it, 10 wins and 4 losses for the month, putting us at 47-27 as we head into April. You can mark it down...it’s science.
Trade Deadline Withdrawals Despite it being well over a week now since the trade deadline passed, I still open up ESPN.com’s main page with a flutter in my chest, expecting to see something big in the “breaking news” section. As the teams out West kept making big move after big move, I kept a defibrillator handy when I was surfing the Internet for information. There was so much activity leading up to the deadline, and so much anticipation that the Magic would get in on the act, that once the deadline passed, I was left with an empty feeling.
Like many of you, I thought for sure that Otis Smith would make a move – even a small one – at the trade deadline. With all the expiring contracts, and with our need for size, I truly thought we would be saying goodbye to some combination of Carlos Arroyo, Pat Garrity, Keith Bogans, James Augustine, JJ Redick, etc. etc.
What we do know is that Otis was active leading up to the deadline. He was listening to offers and was willing to make a deal if he heard one he liked. He says now that he is happy with the team he has and I have no arguments to make, despite my fantasies of seeing players like Reggie Evans, Kurt Thomas, Chris Wilcox, Udonis Haslem, or even Ron Artest in a Magic uniform.
This team should be primed for a second round playoff appearance this season. No one wants it to stop there, but it just seems like a natural progression for this team. Perhaps the case is this: we may know more about what tweaks this team needs after watching our performance against a team like Boston or Detroit in the second round.
Otis Smith is likely to still have some work to do this Summer. There are decisions to be made on players like Carlos Arroyo, Keyon Dooling, and Maurice Evans. And there still may be a trade that brings that unnamed player we’ve all been ranting about, we just may have to wait a few more months for it.
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.
"My life will go on, this much I know. Cars and games will come and go. But never once will I forgetta, the way we danced, dear Dick Bavetta." - from "I Left My Heart In Dick Bavetta"
Posts: 8112 | Location: Catching up with the OCTB. | Registered: February 09, 2006
LOD with all respect the Wizards wont beat us twice in March.Those are gonna be playoff games right their we wont lose either one imo. I think we run through March. I am gonna go with a bold prediction, you know the Be Bold Be Blue mantra, I am going to say 14-0, hows that for realistic.
Posts: 5717 | Location: North Pole | Registered: January 06, 2006
So far the Magic are 3-0 when I've been at the game.
I'm going to tomorrow's Wizards game.
So 11-3.
"You are not that funny. You are disgusting. .... hedo. i dont care about him or any other player. you have a problem. get a life. see a pyscic. and please dont bother anwsering me. because, you know what, i dont ::censored:: care about you and thethings you have said. just stop. stop man. i ::censored:: hate you speaking too much" -quarantin, 11/11/08
Lest anyone should fret...I will be rooting for the Magic against the Wizards tonight.
"My life will go on, this much I know. Cars and games will come and go. But never once will I forgetta, the way we danced, dear Dick Bavetta." - from "I Left My Heart In Dick Bavetta"
Posts: 8112 | Location: Catching up with the OCTB. | Registered: February 09, 2006
Thanks for giving me and everyone else your thoughts on the trade deadline. You spoke about it like a true fan of the Magic would.
I noticed you carefully sidestepped crticizing Otis. At the same time you expressed your disappointment with our standing pat. As a longtime member and friend of yours from years of talking Magic hoops here I respect and was curious of your opinion.
By the way, you missed tonight's prediction! Ha-Ha!!
Posts: 6529 | Location: Hangin' with the Kentucky Boyz...Bogans and Lee!!!!! | Registered: January 16, 2006
Originally posted by ball junkie: Thanks for giving me and everyone else your thoughts on the trade deadline. You spoke about it like a true fan of the Magic would.
I noticed you carefully sidestepped crticizing Otis. At the same time you expressed your disappointment with our standing pat. As a longtime member and friend of yours from years of talking Magic hoops here I respect and was curious of your opinion.
By the way, you missed tonight's prediction! Ha-Ha!!
Junkie...it was just so easy to get caught up in all the excitement that was going on with all the trades. The possibilities seemed endless. We started to really wish these potential moves on the team, even though Otis and Co. seemed content to stay cool. It is hard to argue with a team that just hit 40 wins and seems destined to achieve the 3rd best Magic record ever.
As for tonight's game, yeah, I didn't see a 30 point blow-out coming. "On paper," it was a good prediction...if you listened to all the commentary, and even the player interviews, everyone said the same thing about how the Wiz were playing coming into the game-.
Still sticking with my 10-4 overall record for the month.
"My life will go on, this much I know. Cars and games will come and go. But never once will I forgetta, the way we danced, dear Dick Bavetta." - from "I Left My Heart In Dick Bavetta"
Posts: 8112 | Location: Catching up with the OCTB. | Registered: February 09, 2006
Still, the thought of us winning all of these games to end the season and being rewarded by meeting up with a Washington team that will have gotten both Butler and Agent Zero back doesn't put a smile on my face.
"My life will go on, this much I know. Cars and games will come and go. But never once will I forgetta, the way we danced, dear Dick Bavetta." - from "I Left My Heart In Dick Bavetta"
Posts: 8112 | Location: Catching up with the OCTB. | Registered: February 09, 2006
orlandomagiczone.com 
