ORLANDO MAGIC
Recap Rewind: Speaking of Magic, this Orlando squad was wielding it early in 2006, but by the time 2007 took hold, O-Town’s spell over the rest of the league had fizzled faster than a lidless bottle of soda. Sure, Dwight Howard is Moses Malone reincarnated, that is, if Moses was in basketball heaven, but the pastor’s son is not ready to carry the burden himself, even with his Atlas-sized shoulders. Still, the Magic squad featuring a core of PG Jameer Nelson, SF Hedo Turkoglu and the surgically-repaired Grant Hill could do no better than the No. 8 seed. Perhaps if the team had wised up and gotten free agent to be Darko Milicic into the starting five earlier, things might have been different.
Notable News: As you might have guessed, teams sporting a below .500 record don’t often advance far in the playoffs. In fact, since the NBA moved to a seven-game format in the first round of the playoffs, no eight seed has tasted the sweet deliciousness of second-round action. For Hill though, getting back to the playoffs is its own just desserts. You see, the $93 million dollar man has waited seven years and 589 games to get back to the postseason after suffering the broken ankle that has sent his once-proud, Hall-of-Fame-bound career on a never-ending downward spiral. Now he’s back and wants to make the most of it.
Fast Forward: In what seems like a scripted occurrence, both Hill and the equally troubled but in an entirely different way Milicic, get to square off against their former team, the Detroit Pistons in round one. Unfortunately, Hill doesn’t move as well with that giant fork stuck in his back and Darko is dealing with a foot sprain and still can’t seem to crack the starting five even though it would be the Magic’s strongest lineup. Once known as the Human Victory Cigar because his mere presence on the floor meant a certain victory for the dynastic Pistons, Milicic is hoping his twin tower days with Howard extend a little further into spring. It wouldn’t hurt if Howard could hit a free throw or two either.