Magic News

"Detroit Pistons point guard Chauncey Billups apparently is feeling better, but he wasn't declared fit to play in Game 5 tonight against the Orlando Magic in Auburn Hills, Mich. Billups, who strained his right hamstring Wednesday in Game 3 in Orlando, sat out Game 4 on Saturday. Billups did not speak to the media Monday, but Pistons strength and conditioning coach Arnie Kander said Billups has not had any setbacks. "He's done a lot of cutting, rotating, pivoting. . . . He's had no problem, no limitations," Kander told the Detroit News and other media outlets."

"Dwight Howard ended his workout Monday at RDV Sportsplex with a light-hearted 3-point shooting contest against rookie backup Marcin Gortat, who proceeded to remind him that he belongs on a different part of the basketball court. Howard took the hint and almost tore the rim off the backboard with a thunderous dunk. He was grinning. The Orlando Magic are facing an ominous 3-1 deficit in their best-of-seven second-round playoff series that resumes tonight against the heavily favored Pistons in Detroit, but they don't look like a team heading to a depressing end, still believing they will return to play again in Orlando."

"Magic guard Jameer Nelson guaranteed his team would win Game 5 tonight and send the series back to Orlando. Nelson's not backing down from his words, despite saying them in the emotional wake of losing Game 4. He's still feeling very confident about the Magic, expounding on his prediction at Monday's practice: I've heard from people that I guaranteed a win, but what am I supposed to do -- guarantee a loss? We've got to win the game," Nelson said. "We have the confidence we can do it. I believe it."

"In the regular season, Howard finished with nine or fewer points in five games. The Magic won four of them. Ironically, they beat the Pistons immediately after the all-star break when Howard scored only eight points and hit two of nine shots. They also beat Portland, Cleveland and Washington when he had a single-digit point total."

"The catch phrase in boxing is that styles make great fights. That's not necessarily true, aesthetically, in basketball -- unless you're the Detroit Pistons. They see beauty in turning our most graceful and athletic team game into an ugly, slow-down contact sport. The Orlando Magic are the NBA's version of Dancing With the Stars while the Pistons are American Gladiators. As they often do, the Pistons are imposing their style on the Magic -- and are on the verge of eliminating Orlando in the Eastern Conference semifinals, even without all-star point guard Chauncey Billups."

"Quick, stop the presses! Rewind the DVR. Outspoken Magic guard Jameer Nelson actually made two guarantees for Game 5. You probably heard about the first one -- a predicted win for Orlando. The other one? Something to do with his 2-for-6 accuracy from the free-throw line in Saturday's Game 4. "I'm a player," Nelson said, "and the next time I step to the line I'm going to make them." Hear that? He's calling his shots."

"Rather than promising victories, Orlando should first strive for some simpler assurances -- like promising that Superman touches the ball at least occasionally. But perhaps basketball's Man of Steel possesses feet of clay. High drama generally serves as a casting call for the game's true stars, but Dwight Howard disappointingly proved again in Game 4 against the Pistons on Saturday that he's currently more a creation of hype than its validation. He shrank from the pressure. It was as though the basketball doubled as Kryptonite."

"There's no telling how Chauncey Billups' ailing right hamstring is going to feel by Tuesday night. Pistons orthopedic surgeon Dr. Robert Teitge said Saturday night with hamstrings, they could take anywhere between 36 hours and six months to heal properly. Now that's a pretty scary prognosis, though Teitge quickly added Billups' recovery looked to be more in the 36-hour range than six months. Still, you would think the Pistons wouldn't even consider playing Billups in Game 5. They have the Magic down, 3-1. They just won a game without Billups in Orlando and but for an ugly eight-minute stretch, outplayed them in Game 3 without Billups. "

"This game - This game -- like his entire postseason -- was wildly inconsistent for Hedo Turkoglu. Turkoglu never was better than late in the fourth quarter Saturday when he carried the Magic into the lead -- erasing their second-half fallout -- by scoring 11 consecutive points in a span of 2:45. He sent the sellout crowd at Amway Arena into a frenzy reminiscent of the glory days in 1995. It was deafening when he made it 88-86 Magic with 1:14 remaining. It was silent when he missed badly on his final attempt with 2.5 seconds left as the Detroit Pistons escaped with a 90-89 victory in Game 4, sending the series back to Detroit where it likely will end."

"What do you get when you cross Chauncey Billups' hamstring with Lindsey Hunter's suit, add a 15-point hole and 17,519 people screaming for you to lose? You get an object lesson in how to win when nobody thinks you should. Either that or a fine impression of a $3 folding chair. The Magic did that Saturday, but we don't want to be too negative on Jenna Bush's wedding day. Instead, Orlando should try to find something constructive in the collapse. If the Magic want to get where the Pistons are, the game was a prime example of what makes a championship team. The lecture was provided by Prof. Rasheed Wallace."

"It was enough to make Paul Porter speechless. And as far as the 2007-08 Orlando Magic are concerned, Porter may have excited a crowd with one of his "Yourrrrrrrr Orlando Magic!" declarations for the final time. Down 3-1 after Saturday's stunning 90-89 loss to Detroit means the Magic must win in Detroit in order to force a Game 6 in Orlando on Thursday. Even Porter, the team's smooth-talking arena announcer since the beginning, has some doubts because nobody appreciates "home-court advantage" more than he."

"It looks like it's now time to officially change the Magic mantra for the playoffs. The old rallying cry: "Blue & White Ignite!" The new death knell: "Blue & White Good Night." "It's over," said dejected Magic fan Eric Baker, his blue and white Magic wig slightly askew on his head after the Magic lost 90-89 Saturday at Amway Arena. "It was all there for us and we let it get away," said Baker's buddy, Ron Worley. "This is a bleak day.""

"The Detroit Pistons still made the big shot even without their guy nicknamed "Big Shot," robbing the Orlando Magic of their big chance. And now the Magic need a big finish against improbable odds after losing Game 4 on Saturday by one little point, 90-89. Trailing the Pistons 3-1 in the best-of-seven series, they face elimination on Tuesday night at the Palace of Auburn Hills."

"Is this series over now? The Pistons had better not think so, even after they took a 3-1 lead in this Eastern Conference semifinal series with a courageous, come-from-behind, 90-89 victory over the Magic in Game 4 Saturday. Richard Hamilton led the way with 32 points, while Tayshaun Prince contributed 17 points, five rebounds, five assists and the winning basket. "

"Chauncey Billups came to Orlando this week thinking he might have a nice time in Central Florida during the two days between Games 3 and 4. The weather has been perfect, although he hardly has gotten a chance to enjoy it, spending most all of his time getting treatment for the hamstring injury that could keep him out of today's contest. "

"The Detroit Pistons selected point guard Rodney Stuckey last summer with the draft pick they received from the Magic in the trade that brought Darko Milicic and Carlos Arroyo to Orlando in February 2006. Stuckey really could reopen the debate on that trade tonight. If veteran all-star Chauncey Billups misses tonight's Game 4 -- and indications are that he will -- the Pistons will put the ball in the hands of their second-youngest player, a rookie with just two regular-season starts."

"Which is exactly what happened in Game 3 when Orlando blew out the Pistons and turned this series from donnybrook to dance recital. Whether the Magic want to admit it or not, they finally came to grips with who they are: A fast, free-wheeling finesse team that is completely out of its element when they are asked to slug it out and slog it out with the Motown Maulers."

"Growing up, Rashard Lewis wanted to be a firefighter. "I always wanted to help people in the city or wherever," he said. "I always wanted to be considered as a hero in some weird way. "As I got older, I kind of grew out of it." Lewis doesn't consider anything heroic about putting a basketball through a hoop for the Orlando Magic."

""It doesn't bother me that much because people are going to say things," Lewis told Florida Today. "Obviously, Detroit is a better team on paper, they have won a championship and been to the Eastern Conference finals, so a lot of people are going to say that Detroit is going to win the series. But they still have to beat us because we're not laying down for anybody.""

"As renowned point guard Mick Jagger once said, you can't always get what you want, but you just might get what you need. As of Wednesday night, the Magic have gotten what they needed out of the season. Whatever happens now is gravy, an early Christmas bonus, house money. Pick a phrase, any phrase. Just don't expect the players to buy it. "We haven't accomplished anything yet," Jameer Nelson said."

"No matter what happens in the remainder of these playoffs, at least the Orlando Magic can say they contributed to the betterment of the NBA. They can say they sacrificed themselves for the sake of those who came after them... Clock-gate had Magic fans ticked off and NBA officials counting down the days until the end of the month when the league's Competition Committee meets. That's when the league will no doubt change it moronic policy so that instant replay can be used to avoid the shafting the Magic endured in Detroit during Game 2."

"The Magic say that former lottery pick Fran Vazquez of Spain wants to play for the team next season, but the roadblock is the $7-million buy-out in Vazquez' contract with European powerhouse FC Barcelona. His deal doesn't expire until after the 2008-09 season. "The kid wants to come over and play for us," Magic General Manager Otis Smith told the Sentinel on Wednesday after shootaround before the club faced the Detorit Pistons in Game 3. "But . . .it's the buy-out. It's pretty substantial.""

"Maybe that blinking oil light was just what the Magic needed. It started flashing on the flight home Monday night. The plane began to shake, smoke was spewing out of an engine and Stan Van Gundy jumped into Jameer Nelson's lap and just wanted to be held. OK, that's not quite how it happened. But if Hollywood was producing this series, the story line would be the Magic faced death. After that, what's so big about facing Detroit?"

"Caesar fiddled while Rome burned. They danced on the deck of the Titanic. And for all I know, Custer painted his face and made balloon animals that morning at Little Bighorn. A feeling of fierce, nervous celebration could be felt early Wednesday evening by the thousands milling around the north end of Amway Arena. They knew it could be the penultimate Orlando Magic home game of the season -- and the penultimate Fan Fest."

"The Detroit Pistons looked like a ship that just lost its rudder. The Pistons, who looked so confident and in control through the first two games of this best-of-seven, second-round playoff series, veered off course quickly when point guard Chauncey Billups went to the sideline with a strained right hamstring less than four minutes into Game 3 Wednesday night. Their leader was gone."

"The Pistons lost Game 3 to the Orlando Magic in the first quarter, when they fell behind by 18 points and lost point guard and team captain Chauncey Billups to a hamstring injury. They rallied to within three in the second half, but couldn't recover from their early troubles, losing 111-86. Their series lead is now 2-1."

"The Magic had a lot on their emotional plate prior to Game 3 on Wednesday, not the least of which was the 0-2 hole they were in against the Pistons. For starters, the team had a layover in Cincinnati after the team plane had mechanical problems on their way out of Detroit on Monday. That threw their schedule out of whack. Instead of having a film session and a short, comfortable practice Tuesday (which the Pistons did), the Magic had to cram all of that into their shoot-around Wednesday morning. "

"The series has a very different feel now. The Magic, given up for dead after two uninspiring losses in Detroit, raised themselves off the mat with a rousing 111-86 victory in Game 3 on Wednesday night at Amway Arena. "

"And just like that, an ugly streak has ended --- and maybe an intriguing series has begun. It has been a long time since one victory reverberated through the Orlando Magic franchise the way Wednesday night's did at Amway Arena. The Magic routed their Eastern Conference nemesis, the Detroit Pistons, 111-86 in Game 3 of their playoff series in front of a sellout crowd at Amway Arena."

"It's not a win, but the Orlando Magic and their fans did get a concession speech from the NBA on Tuesday. The big shots of the NBA ruled that Detroit Pistons guard Chauncey "Big Shot" Billups' 3-pointer shouldn't have counted. And the controversial play just might open the door for expanded instant replay to be used by game officials."

"Take this mask, paste it on some cardboard to turn it into a sign and help the Orlando Magic beat the Detroit Pistons tonight by disrupting the focus of Rasheed Wallace, known as the "Walking Technical Foul." We all know the Magic are down 2-0. They cannot lose a home game if they hope to have any chance of getting out of the second round of the NBA playoffs. They need your help. And Wallace is their emotional weak link. You can rattle him. The mask is Step One and some appropriate snarky comment is Step Two. "

"We conspiracy theorists are already concocting scenarios as to why the Magic's team plane didn't make it home directly from Detroit after the controversial Game 2 playoff loss to the Pistons Monday night. According to Magic spokesman Joel Glass, it was as simple as an engine oil indicator light coming on shortly after takeoff, forcing the team to land and spend the night in Cincinnati. However, some of us aren't buying it. You know and I know what really happened, right? The flight home was actually hijacked by that Game 2 clock operator. "

"Preventing the possibility of a similar shutout starts tonight in the first of two games in Orlando. It's all pretty simple: Falling behind the Pistons 3-0 lends an expiration date to the Magic's season. Talk about long shots. . . Orlando made something of a breakthrough in a 100-93 loss in Game 2: The Magic got their 3-point shooting on track. The 3-ball basically has been the lifeblood of a season in which the Magic set a club record for 3-pointers made (801). They live by the 3, lose by the 3."

"Adding to the aggravation of the Game 2 loss in Detroit was a rough trip home for the Magic traveling party. Mechanical problems with their team plane -- a Boeing 737-300 -- prompted them to land in Cincinnati at 1 a.m. Tuesday, where they spent the night in an airport-area hotel. The party of 42, which included players, coaches and front-office personnel, were transported in vans to their hotel and back the next morning. Coaches spent part of the night reviewing film and putting together their game plan for tonight."

"The NBA admitted Chauncey Billups' 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter of Monday's Detroit-Orlando playoff game should not have counted, but said referees weren't allowed to review instant replay to determine that. League president Joel Litvin also said the disputed shot, which gave Detroit a 78-76 lead in its 100-93 victory, could not have been replayed after the clock malfunction was discovered."

"The best shot clock operator might make a couple hundred bucks a game. The best players make a couple hundred thousand. Neither earned their money Monday night. If you're seething over Clock-gate this morning, channel some of that emotion into what followed. All Chauncey Billups' shot did was give the Pistons a two-point lead at the end of the third quarter. What gave them the game were all the shots Orlando missed in the fourth. It wasn't just the missing. It was how they missed that left you scratching your head. At least if your head was attached to Stan Van Gundy's body."

"Say what you will about the clock guy Monday night. Call him the second coming of the French skating judge. Call him the third coming of the Soviet clock operator in the '72 Olympics. Call him the biggest cheater since Roger Clemens. And if you're a conspiracy theorist you can even point out that Tom Mauer, the clock operator Monday night, was from the Minnesota Timberwolves, where Detroit Pistons Coach Flip Saunders once coached. But whatever you do, do not -- I repeat, DO NOT -- try to blame the clock operator for the Orlando Magic's Game 2 playoff loss to the Detroit Pistons."

"It has been 13 years since the Houston Rockets came from nowhere -- the No. 6 seed in the West, actually -- to win a second straight NBA title, finishing with a sweep of the Orlando Magic. A seed that low hasn't won since, and it won't happen this year, either. Only the top four from each conference remain in the hunt. The Rockets won the championship in 1995 with an incredible playoff run -- even erasing a 3-1 deficit in the conference semifinals -- and beat each of the teams with the four best records in the league that year."

"In the bitter end, it was the Orlando Magic who could have used a gift basket. After finally solving some scoring woes, the Magic couldn't find the hoop down the stretch and lost to the Detroit Pistons 100-93 on Monday night to fall behind 2-0 in the Eastern Conference semifinals. The Magic now face daunting odds as they return to Amway Arena for Game 3 Wednesday night: When the home team wins the first two games, it is a virtual lock, going on to win the series 94.4 percent of the time."

"It's safe to say that Superman was back in the building for Game 2, as Dwight Howard, a.k.a. The Man of Tomorrow, did just about all the things for which his superhero moniker has been known. He swooped through the lane to slam home missed shots. He broke through walls of defenders to grab rebounds. But he couldn't save his Orlando Magic team from slipping into a 2-0 hole in this best-of-seven series."

"Yeah, that whole clock-malfunction thing didn't go over very well with the Magic. Pistons guard Chauncey Billups hit a big three-pointer at the end of the third quarter on a play that started with 5.1 seconds left. The thing is, the clock stopped prematurely, and TV replays proved that the play took 5.2 seconds to run. Sadly for Orlando, officials couldn't review it because of league rules and, thus, they counted the hoop. "They were put in a very tough situation on that call," Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy said."

"But at the end of it all -- a wild second half marked with whistles galore, a clock mishap and the Magic's three-point bonanza -- the result was the same as the Game 1 blowout. The Pistons won, this time rallying from a second-half hole and icing the game at the free-throw line to clinch a 100-93 victory and a 2-0 series lead."

"One day after the Pistons and Magic players traded comments that could be classified as light trash-talk, Van Gundy said he hoped the verbal war wouldn't distract his team from the real battle on the court. He had to chuckle when he saw who made the comments on the Pistons' end -- center Theo Ratliff. "I'm not bringing up any names," Van Gundy said, "but sometimes it's pretty amusing to me that the guys who talk are sometimes not exactly key players.""

"OK, OK, what do you want him to do? Give it back? Chauncey Billups was handed a three-point basket by a clock screwup. Fine. He got three free ones. Detroit won by seven. No whining. "It sucks to be on the other end of that," Billups admitted of the play that ended the third quarter, a play that started under one basket and involved dribbling, passes, a dump-off and a Chauncey three-point bomb, yet on the clock only took less than a second. I know basketball is a fast game. It's not that fast."

"There will be no justice for the Orlando Magic on this one. There was a serious clock malfunction during Monday's Game 2 between the Magic and Pistons at The Palace, affecting the outcome of the end of the third quarter. It didn't affect the Pistons eventual 100-93 win. Pistons guard Chauncey Billups hit a 3-pointer in the final seconds, putting the Pistons up 78-76. Problem was, the game clock didn't run correctly, only ticking down from 5.1 seconds remaining to 4.8."

"Sometimes, you'd rather be lucky than good. That's what the Pistons were in Game 2 against the Magic in the Eastern Conference semifinals on Monday night at The Palace. And when it comes to the postseason, many believe you have to get a break along the way to help out, especially if you want to make a championship run into June. In other postseasons, there's always some play, some moment you can look back at and say it was a turning point. For sure, the other team feels cheated. But when you're the beneficiary of it, you don't look back. You simply take it, thank the heavens and keep it moving. That's what the Pistons will do with their 100-93 nail-biting victory before 22,076. They have a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series."

"There will be a lot of chatter about the clock malfunction at the end of the third quarter that essentially gave the Pistons a 3-point shot after time expired. There will be chatter about the seven straight 3-pointers the Magic nailed in the third quarter. And there will be chatter about numerous other crazy things that happened here Monday. But the reality is this: The Pistons took a lot of punches. They took a 22-point, 18-rebound hit from Dwight Howard. They took a 36-point punch from the Magic in the third quarter and took another 8-2 hit at the start of the fourth. But when the buzzer sounded, they were still standing -- up 2-0 in the Eastern Conference semifinals after a grinding 100-93 victory. "

"Somewhere, Grant Hill must be wondering where it all went wrong. He just made yet another exit in the first round of the playoffs, he may need surgery yet again and now he sits at home and watches his two former teams -- the Magic and the Pistons -- play for the right to go to the Eastern Conference finals. What's the old song from Hee Haw? Gloom, despair and agony on me, Deep dark depression, excessive misery, If it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all, Gloom, despair and agony on me-e-e!"

"As is his post-practice routine, Dwight Howard heaved the ball full-court at the basket Sunday. He takes as much delight in making a circus shot as a halftime contestant trying to win a vacation trip. Howard and long-distance shooting have more in common than you think. At 6 feet 11, 265 pounds, he is certainly the biggest key in the Orlando Magic's proficiency from the 3-point line. When multiple defenders swarm to Howard, it leaves shooters more open than Randy Moss."

"Pistons veteran Theo Ratliff was kind of amused to see young teammate Jason Maxiell rush to his defense after he was fouled hard by Orlando's Rashard Lewis late in Game 1. Maxiell quickly came to Ratliff's side and got into Lewis' face with a few choice words. "I just told him to calm down, or he'd probably get a technical foul. There was no sense coming to my rescue. That was Rashard Lewis," Ratliff said laughing. "He fouled me hard, but he's a 3 [small forward] man. No big deal." "Tell [Ratliff] he can come out to the 3-point line and guard me," Lewis said."