Posts Tagged → Dwyane Wade
Orlando Magic are Southeast Division Champions for a Third Straight Year
Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images
Via John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com:
The Southeast Division all theirs and the Atlanta Hawks and Boston Celtics no longer a concern in the standings, the Orlando Magic now have their sights set on trying to catch the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Magic clinched their third consecutive Southeast Division title Tuesday night when the Hawks lost to the Charlotte Bobcats. It also guarantees that the Magic (54-23) will enter the playoffs as the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.
If the playoffs started today, the Magic would face the seventh-seeded Charlotte Bobcats (41-36). The Michael Jordan-owned Bobcats are two games back of Miami (43-34) for sixth and three games ahead of Toronto (38-39) in eighth. The Magic are 3-1 against Charlotte this season.
Another division title is nice and the Orlando Magic should be commended for becoming Southeast Division champions for a third straight year, especially with the Atlanta Hawks on their heels for the majority of the regular season. But it can’t be understated how important it was for the Magic to enter the postseason with the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference so that they didn’t have to run the gauntlet, meaning not having home-court advantage against either the Cleveland Cavaliers or the Boston Celtics in a seven-game series, for a second consecutive season in hopes of making a return trip to the NBA Finals.
Additionally, the fact that it’s looking more and more like the Charlotte Bobcats — not the Miami Heat — will be Orlando’s likely first round opponent, the bracket is shaping up nicely for the Magic. Now, the Bobcats will be a challenge but the Heat would have been a nightmare. Especially with Dwyane Wade presenting himself as the ultimate wildcard, a player that can win a series by himself. So, barring something weird happening, Orlando dodges a bullet there.
One last thing to look out for in the East is the race for the No. 3 seed between the Hawks and the Celtics. The Magic are a combined 6-2 against Atlanta and Boston, but there’s no doubt that Orlando has a preference between the two teams. And that’s the Hawks, a team that doesn’t matchup well with the Magic. In contrast, for all their consternation, the Celtics still pose as a threat.
Nevertheless, it should be interesting to see how things pan out before the playoffs start.
Media Log: Orlando Magic 110, San Antonio Spurs 84
Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images
I was able to speak with head coach Stan Van Gundy amongst the media, as well as talk with Jameer Nelson, Marcin Gortat, Rashard Lewis, Matt Barnes, and Dwight Howard after the Orlando Magic defeated the San Antonio Spurs by the score of 110-84.
Stan Van Gundy
Rashard Lewis got things going in the first quarter and it seemed like you ran a few plays for him to get him going. Could you talk about his performance tonight?
Well, I thought … certainly the first play … I wanted to get the ball in his hands on a play where I thought he had a chance to get a shot. I just wanted to get him into the flow right away but yeah, he played well tonight and shot the ball well. Everybody is going to have ups and downs but he’s always been a guy that’s bounced back and I thought he had a good night tonight.
Jameer Nelson
With Tony Parker absent from the game, how do you think that changed things for the San Antonio Spurs?
Well, he’s a big part of what they do. He’s a one-man machine on the fast break and they need that. They need easy buckets and we didn’t allow that tonight. We all got back, for the most part. We shut down the paint and made them shoot jumpshots.
Could you talk about your relationship with Anthony Johnson? What has he taught you?
Well, he just … each game we warm-up, he stays on me about practicing certain shots. We [are] out there practicing certain shots before the game in the layup line. Every timeout, he’s in my ear about certain things that he see and he could be not playing, he could be one of the guys that’s just … ‘aw, I’m not playing, I’m not going to say anything’ but he’s not like that and he’s the ultimate professional. I’ve been very fortunate to have him, guys like Grant Hill, and other guys around me that are great professionals.
