I am going to make this very simple: The Orlando Magic are not going to make the NBA Finals. The team that it used to be is definitely no more. The team last year destroyed the teams they needed to beat, and could stand toe-to-toe against the big guns. The Orlando Magic of last year was a no-nonsense team that was underrated throughout the season, leading to its surprising run in the playoffs. That team is not shown here today. After losing to the pathetic Washington Wizards for the second time this season, after leading by 15+ points at one point, we are seeing that the Magic are eight times worse than last year.
Let’s look at the pathetic box score, shall we? Matt Barnes: 6 points. Vince Carter: 5-17 shooting. The fact of the matter is, this stupid stuff has been happening all year round, and more and more we are realizing that it was absolutely stupid to lose Hedo and not attempt to keep Courtney Lee. The Magic are my main focus in the NBA aspect because quite simply, they were only three wins away from winning the championship. So why on earth totally change the starting lineup? Why not loosely fix what’s already there, and try again? Losing Rafer Alston was definitely going to happen, but why not keep Turk or Lee? Why are they depending so much on Jamieer Nelson, a player who spends more time injured than active?
The Orlando Magic is just like the Cleveland Indians of the NBA: usually a lot of good players at the core, but a lot of stupid changes and additions and subtractions. In all honesty, if we had stripped away minutes from Nelson, added more to Reddick (or Lee had we kept him), and matched the offer for Hedo, then we would be a top 3 NBA team right now. Instead we have a Magic team with a good record, but very, very little confidence. They are not better than the Lakers, Cavs, Hawks, Jazz, Nuggets, and even the Celtics. Watching them is so painful, since we know that they could be better. Stan should also be to blame, because he’s going to have to demand for Howard to step up his game and ask for the ball more—since the guards and forwards just aren’t getting the job done. Nobody has yet to fill Hedo’s shoes, and I doubt we will see that happen for the rest of this season.
The top team in the NBA remains the Los Angeles Lakers, but they are also making some stupid, stupid moves by criticizing Kobe Bryant’s attempts to earn the scoring record, creating unnecessary drama. The man has been a ballhog for the last 10 years, and now you decide to say something? Another issue with the Lakers is that they are letting an injured Kobe play ball on a nightly basis. If you do not rest him, mark my words in the playoffs he will absolutely run out of steam. Not sure why he is so determined to earn that fifth ring (Shaq: 4. Kobe: 4. Hmmm..) but if he continues playing hurt, its going to affect him in the long run. The NBA wants a Cavs/Lakers final, and by the looks of it, it just might actually happen this year. Especially with the Celtics growing old, the Magic growing dumber and mentally weaker, and with not a single Western team truly challenging L.A.
The NBA this year has been decent, but we have yet to come even close to matching the intensity and insanity of the 90s. Back then, the rivalries were hot, the players were better, the coaches were better, and the NBA in general was just more of a delight to watch. Even with the Bulls running away with a slew of championships, there was always that glimmer of hope from the Heat, Cavs, Hawks, Pacers, Sonics, Knicks, Spurs, Blazers, Rockets, and even the Magic. Thank goodness for YouTube having most of the epic playoff moments of the 90s. We at least have that to look back upon whenever we get tired of seeing the Kobes and LeBrons.
The NFL experienced a great season of football though. The football now was better than in the 90s, even if the amount of rules is slowly but surely butchering the game. Personally, I think the NFL has become more competitive amongst more teams nowadays. The AFC had at least 7 teams still fighting for a playoff spot in the last two weeks of the season. But if there was a Game of the Year, the Saints-Vikings contest should be in the running. If there’s a game that took everyone’s breath away, it was that slugfest.
Unfortunately for Vikings fans, they failed at the end once again. Just like the 1998 Vikings, just like the 2003 Vikings, they fell short. Brett Farve definitely surprised me this season, as I predicted they would fail miserably last year:
August 19th, 2009:
“Thanks for making my football picks that much easier. I now have one less team to consider in terms of whether or not they can make the Super Bowl, let alone, the playoffs. As a matter of fact, if you even win more than 6 games, I will be presently surprised. Instead of developing a stronger defensive line, you decided to fork over a lovely amount of 10 million to a man with more grey hairs than an experienced politician. Instead of trying to recruit young players to develop into a more formidable opponent like your rivals the Chicago Bears. You were 10-6 last year, why on earth did you have to do such a drastic change? Now the leader of your team is an overrated quarterback whose best years were last decade.
Your leader has thrown more interceptions than any other quarterback in the history of the NFL. Your leader started his career when Big Ben, the quarterback who won it all last year, was just 9 years old (For more hilarity, Tom Brady was 14, and Payton Manning was 15). Your leader can’t make up is mind, is arrogant, attention-hungry, greedy, a traitor, a deceiver, a team-killer, and should have retired years upon years ago. Instead of him carrying his attention-grabbing ways elsewhere, you bought the bait and now you find yourself in a hole.
Be happy you are not in the AFC East, NFC East, or the NFC South. Otherwise, you would have looked more like the 2008 Detroit Lions record-wise. Vikings, I just wanted to tell you---your organization is run by a delightful assortment of idiots. These people have let the team down, let down the fans, and let down the entire state of Minnesota.”
He definitely proved me wrong….until the end. Brett Farve is definitely a great quarterback, but in the playoffs does not think. His shoot-first-ask-later mentality can’t work in the playoffs, because it could be YOUR LAST GAME. All he had to do less than a minute left in the 4th quarter was run out of bounds, and let the field goal kicker attempt the upset. Instead, the Saints intercepted, and won the game in OT.
One thing is for sure, the Saints don’t look like the incredible team back in September. The Colts look like they will win the Super Bowl; even if it will be a close match. The Colts could have been the first team to fire a coach after nearly reaching a perfect season, because they almost lost to the one team that they allowed to enter the playoffs in the first place: The Jets. What dramatic irony would it have been, if the Jets had made the Super Bowl. That probably would have shaken the foundation of football. Nonetheless, it was a crass move by Indianapolis to throw away the game to preserve the health of their players. In my opinion if they get hurt playing at the end of the year, that means they weren’t ready to play in the playoffs in the first place. My opinion.
It should be a great Super Bowl though.
I did get one thing right about Minnesota back in August though:
“Better luck next year”
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