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A week ago, Magic Basketball’s team of writers were featured on a recent 5-on-5 roundtable discussion at ESPN.com, answering offseason questions pertaining to the Orlando Magic and providing our opinions on several topics, including our thoughts on Dwight Howard‘s future and more. But we didn’t stop there.

As a supplement, here is our 3-on-3 roundtable discussion on the Magic.

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What are your thoughts on Gilbert Arenas’ Twitter account?

Nate Drexler: Gilbert’s tweets are highly entertaining, but highly discouraging. I hate to make a big deal out of nothing, especially while there is no NBA season happening, but it’s almost all the evidence you need that he does not care about this game anymore. Being a goofball is one thing, but the aura that Gilbert has created in his tweet-o-sphere is childish to me. If I’m Otis Smith, Stan Van Gundy, or any Magic player, I’m thinking to myself, “I cannot wait until this guy is not my problem anymore.”

Eddy Rivera: Following Gilbert Arenas on Twitter has been one of my more hilarious endeavors since I signed up in 2009. If you want to see Arenas without a filter, then you’ve come to the right place. It’s refreshing to see that Arenas doesn’t hold anything back and you feel like you’re getting his real personality when he tweets. Sure, Arenas has gotten fined an undisclosed amount of money by the NBA for some of his content but at least he’s not playing it by the book. For Arenas, there is no book, just random pages.

Matt Scribbins: The pictures of him planking are the most entertaining I have even seen on Twitter and it’s not even close. His daily shoe contests are a fun way for him to interact with fans and reward his followers with a cool prize. I’ll give him credit for being honest, but he is probably to the point where he has offended nearly everyone. I think Foghorn Leghorn could probably sum it up the best – “It was the best of times, I said it was the worst of times.”

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I recently revisited Game 1 of the 2009 NBA Eastern Conference Finals between the Magic and Cavs. Cleveland was hot, and maybe even the team to beat coming into the series. Orlando had other intentions, though. My foggy memory was filled with ideas of a three-point shootout, a lot of LeBron isolation, and a big shot from Rashard Lewis. After revisiting, I realized my memory had failed me.

This was an epic showdown between two superstars — Dwight Howard and LeBron James. More than that, though, it was a showdown between two coaches, two benches, and two sets of roll players. The Magic won in all three of those categories, which meant they would win the game too.

No one on the corner has swagger like us
I remember watching every second of this series. In fact, I remember watching every second of the Cavs’ season. The Mo Williams pick up had me hooked from preseason on, and when LeBron and company arrived in the playoffs, I was convinced nothing could stop them. Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals was no exception. In fact, it probably epitomized that untouchable feeling more than any other game. The way the Cavs took the floor against the Magic was daunting. The Cavs were like a fresh rap group that, even if you didn’t like their song, you had to respect their swagger. LeBron was a man on a mission, and at that point had empowered Mo Williams and Delonte West to their max potential. It did not take long for LeBron to assert himself as a juggernaut, either. Ultimately, there was something special about that Cavs team, and what stopped them (perhaps the only thing that could have stopped them) were Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic.

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The memory of Game 1 of the 1995 Finals will haunt Magic fans forever. It was a stage where Shaq showed that he would someday be one of the greatest players to play the game, but would have to go head-to-head with another future Hall of Fame center. It was a game of dramatic runs, huge lead changes, and brutal post battles.

When Orlando lost Game 1 to the Rockets in overtime, there was a sense that the series and season were indeed over. Mrs. Momentum had changed her dress, and there would be no stopping the Rockets after such an abysmal unraveling.

The story is simple. The Magic had a 20-point lead late in the second quarter, and blew the lead by the beginning of the fourth. Nick Anderson had a chance to end the game with his Magic up three, but he went 0-for-4 from the line with 10 seconds remaining. It was shocking, and the game went into overtime on some clutch Houston shooting.

Shaq played a better game than Hakeem
This was slated as one of the ultimate center matchups in NBA history. They said no one could contain Shaq but Hakeem, and no one could size up Hakeem but Shaq. It was a battle of power and finesse, and one that will be remembered forever. In Game 1, though, Hakeem struggled (despite scoring 31 points) to dominate the game in the same way Shaq did. Shaq’s vision, especially in the first half, was the driving force that opened up the floor so much for the outside gunners. Even though Shaq scored fewer points than The Dream, he had a career-high in assists that evening, and nearly hit a triple-double. What’s more, he limited Hakeem to six rebounds in the game.

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Pythagorean wins is a formula that converts points scored and allowed into a predicted winning percentage. The results can show, among other things, teams that over/under perform, win/lose many close games, or just experience good/bad luck.

To predict an NBA team’s winning percentage, the following calculation is performed:

(Points Scored^16.5) / (Points scored^16.5  + Points allowed^16.5) = Winning Percentage

Approach
This article will focus on the NBA teams with the most total wins over the last four regular seasons (Lakers-236, Celtics-234, Magic-222, Spurs-221, Mavericks-213). The last four seasons are used because:

• Stan Van Gundy’s tenure in Orlando started four years ago (LAL, BOS, SA same coach all four years too)
• Rick Carlisle has coached the Mavericks for three of the last four seasons
• The stars (Howard, Bryant, Duncan, Nowitzki, Garnett, etc.) played with same team entire span

This piece counts a close game as any contest with a final margin of three points or fewer (one possession). A blowout is any contest with a final margin of fifteen points or more (five possessions).

Wins
Only the Timberwolves (do they even count?) have fallen short of their Pythagorean win total by a greater margin than the Orlando Magic over the last four seasons. During the same span, Orlando never finished a season with more actual wins than Pythagorean wins.

The Dallas Mavericks check in on the other end of the spectrum as they exceeded their Pythagorean win total by a greater margin than any other team (10). As I mentioned in a Hoopdata article, some of the Mavericks’ success can be attributed to their record in close games (34-18). The Mavericks’ scoring differential predicted 203 wins over the last four years, but they actually won 213. On the other hand, Orlando’s scoring differential predicted 232 wins, but they actually won 222.

The Lakers amassed the most regular seasons win during the period, but their Pythagorean win total was equal to Orlando’s. In other words, they were victorious 14 more times than Orlando even though their scoring differentials indicated the same number. The Spurs collected just one fewer win than Orlando, but their scoring differential indicated 14 fewer wins.

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Via Neil Janowitz of ESPN The Magazine:

The Dwight Howard Twitter Experiment was conceived by ESPN The Magazine to evaluate the manner in which the Subject, Orlando Magic superstar Dwight Howard (henceforth “Howard”), exploits Twitter and the benefits he derives therefrom. Over a four-hour period in Orlando on June 4, we observed Howard as he used the social networking site to arrange one-on-one interactions with six self-described fans, as well as ancillary encounters with more than 100 others. His behavior, and that of the participants, is documented herein.

Dwight Howard has never been hard to follow. The 6’11″ center has shoulders wider than the American political spectrum and makes more than his share of public appearances. If someone wanted — for a presumably healthy reason — to tail him, it would be a straightforward endeavor. Twitter, however, has made it even easier to track the man, and from the remote comfort of a smartphone. [...]

To arrange encounters, Howard posted five tweets between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. ET. The dispatches, sent at least 45 minutes in advance of each rendezvous, promised participation in a predetermined activity to the first responder to arrive at the given address.

Observing the experiment was a field research team consisting of the study’s author, a location producer, an indeterminate number of production assistants, a photographer and his assistants, a makeup artist, a stylist, her assistant, a video producer, a videographer and a sound technician. A four-row shuttle bus transported the team, along with Howard and Samples, to each destination. By ESPN standards, it was a modest production.

The article is worth the read for those that want to everything there is to know about Dwight Howard’s exploits on Twitter. Howard is truly a man of the people.

Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

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Via the Orlando Magic:

In the past year alone, Orlando Magic President Alex Martins not only oversaw the finishing touches on the construction and grand opening of the dazzling Amway Center, but he also served in a leadership role for a franchise that set new highs for season tickets sold and won at least 50 games for a fourth consecutive season.

So it’s easy to see why Martins’ impressive profile continues to rise among the most important and influential leaders in Orlando and Central Florida. Already named the Rotary Club of Orlando’s Outstanding Business Professional of the Year, Martins has climbed to third overall in Orlando Magazine’s eighth annual list of The Most Powerful People in Orlando. The July edition of the magazine will soon be released, revealing Martins ranking one spot ahead of close friend, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer.

Martins, 47, is the highest ranking private citizen on the list. Newly elected Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs is first in Orlando Magazine’s “Most Powerful People’’ rankings, while Speaker of the Florida House, Dean Cannon, is second. Martins moved up to third on the list after being ranked seventh a year ago.

Earlier this year, Martins ranked at No. 7 on the Orlando Sentinel’s most powerful people list. Magic superstar center Dwight Howard climbed to No. 26 on the Orlando Magazine “Most Powerful People’’ list after coming in at No. 39 a year ago. Howard was an All-Star for a fifth consecutive season, while averaging a career-best in scoring (22.9 points per game) and becoming the first player in history to win the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year award three straight years.