On The Magic

Every time I update this blog, I send an e-mail to a long list of family, friends, and colleagues in the business. The subject line for the e-mail is always "Blog updated...on [something]," be it "the Heisman race," "the Big Five," what have you.

My friend George Galante, the Orlando Magic's Director of Communications and co-star of the viral-any-minute-now "Dante & Galante Show" on the Magic website (there, you got your plug, now leave me alone), responded to one of my blast e-mails with this query:

"When am I gonna see 'Blog updated...on the Magic?' 10-3, baby!"

This was last week, before the Magic rolled up four more wins over Charlotte, Miami, Portland, and Seattle to improve to 14-3. If they can beat Phoenix on the road on Friday, they will match the best start in franchise history, which was recorded by (arguably) the best team in franchise history: the 1994-95 squad that won 57 games and lost to Houston in the NBA Finals.

George, you got it. "On the Magic" it is.

The most immediate effect of the Magic's start this season, in my world, is this: when I go to the gym, the grocery store, or the golf course, the Magic are all that anyone wants to ask me about. The topic of conversation has perceptibly shifted from college football to "Can you BELIEVE what the Magic are doing?" or "What's the difference this year?"

Let's tackle the second question first.

Thanks to my recent switch to DirecTV (which itself is probably worth an entire blog entry on its own, but did include one very satisfying phone call to a certain cable operator), I am one of the lucky few in Orlando who has been able to watch the team on both Sun Sports and FSN Florida. The most obvious difference in this year's team compared to last year, to me, is the freedom with which the team is playing.

That's an important word, "playing." Basketball may be a business, and a subculture, and a religion to some, but it's a game first. You "play" games, you don't "work" them. The Magic are playing with a looseness and confidence that is palpable. When a player misses a shot, he's not looking over his shoulder to gauge how much time he's got left on the floor before his head coach pulls him. That's not to say that Stan Van Gundy is just rolling a ball out there, but rather my perception that Van Gundy's system is one that grants his professional basketball players the opportunity to do what they do without fear. And yes, I admit that it's a totally different vibe from the days of Brian Hill, who took it personally when his players didn't execute the game plan that Brian worked so hard to prepare. We've been down that road on the blog before, and it's not worth revisiting.

Dwight Howard has completed the jump to Franchise Player, and is still climbing: 23.5 points per game (11th in the NBA), 14.5 rebounds per game (2nd), 2.7 blocks per game (4th), and 14 double-doubles (1st). Hedo Turkoglu is averaging a career-high 18.5 points per game, which is eight more than his career average. The light has also come on for Jameer Nelson, whose assist-to-turnover ratio is a respectable 2.36, mere percentage points lower than luminaries like Steve Nash and Jason Kidd. Note that we haven't even mentioned Rashard Lewis, his 19 points and 5 rebounds per game, or his mega-contract yet.

"What's the difference this year?" A perfect storm (at the moment) of key players hitting their primes and a coach who lets them play. Freedom plus experience equals confidence, which results in wins, which continues the cycle.

There's a saying among the golf media that certain PGA Tour pros tend to "play golf swing" rather than "play golf." In other words, some technically-minded pros get so focused on grip, stance, ball position, plane, and 400 other swing thoughts that they lose sight of the true purpose, which is to put the damn ball in the hole. It's not "how," it's "how many." Just hit it, dummy.

The Magic are "playing golf" right now as opposed to "playing golf swing." That's the best way I can state it. And at the moment, they're scorching the front nine.

"Can I believe it?"

Last month, I wrote the following on the blog:

"...as I look at the Southeast Division, the only team other than Miami or Orlando that can contend is Washington, which is a fun team to watch, but even thinner in the frontcourt than Orlando. The division will come down to the Wizards and Magic, with their free-for-all offenses and deep backcourts, against Miami, with the teetering health of Shaq and the MVP potential of Wade. Because of the presence of Dwight Howard, however, I have to give the Magic an early edge."

So yeah, I guess I can believe it, especially since Gilbert Arenas is out for three months in Washington.

Of course, more than one NBA observer has pointed out that the Magic got off to a hot start last season, too, going 13-4 before fading to 40-42. As I've written here before, this year's team is smallish without Darko Milicic (free agency) and Tony Battie (injury). Turkoglu and Lewis, in particular, are going to be compelled to play out of position often. However, only one of Orlando's three losses this season came against a team that went big on them (Detroit). The other two losses were to the jackrabbit Suns and the defending champion Spurs, who beat Orlando at its own small-ball game in a 128-110 track meet. Still, in watching Lewis get pushed around by Seattle's Chris Wilcox on Wednesday night, the Magic's lack of size is a concern.

But credit where credit is due: the team took a potentially disastrous situation with the Billy Donovan hiring and turned it into a home-run hire in Stan Van Gundy. General manager Otis Smith stuck to his plan, placing his faith in Jameer Nelson (a stretch) and Dwight Howard (a no-brainer), and facing the wrath of talking heads everywhere by committing $118 million to Rashard Lewis. Those three players are tied up in Orlando together through the end of this decade and beyond. Nelson signed his contract extension shortly before the Magic's season opener on Halloween night, and as one Magic staffer told me that night with a shrug and a smile, "this is your team."

So far, so good.