Wow goodness holy gosh we can go to sleep night one overall with a smile on our faces for the Magic. Are there things to harp on? Of course, rotations, transition, communication, but do you know what matters? Winning, and guess what, it’s what we got. I am also all on board for the efficiency of the 2 and the 4 spot. Incredible night from both guys and honestly both guys seemed to look very comfortable and in the zone all night. It is no reason to be upset with performances like that. I enjoy having the blank slate that we have available and getting to walk away night one is literally all you can ask for. Both sides of the ball should get better as the year goes on, and starting out like this is the perfect slope to grow off of.

With the season starting I find it very appropriate for magic fans to have some excitement with them for this next season. The preseason play of CA was something that should be bringing a lot of hope. The man wants to be aggressive, looks to attack defenders with his dribble not his jump shot, and most amazingly he has such a great feel for the floor with or without the ball that he’s always going to be a threat to score. It’s also very nice to see the magic commit to their young guys, give the money where the money is due. Fultz and Isaac are wonderful pieces honestly. Both go to work on the floor, it’s just a real shame that AG was not a contract they also extended. He’s such a strong asset when he wants to be aggressive and this year he’s seemed to really be wanting to work around the rim. He’s been alive on the boards and has shown at times going downhill with much success.

Last night overall was an incredibly good preseason game for the Magic. Outside of having the young guys bring you all the way back for a win, the Magic has most everything go their way. So much experience and confidence should have been gained by the young fellas last night as they were a huge reason for the Magic ever being in the game with their scoring runs. A lot of the guys off the bench last night for the mast part were on and ready to play. The starters showed some glimpses, but last night was a big example of why the investing should go to the future and not to the spot they are currently in. DBacon, Okeke, Cole Anthony are all guys who do exactly what you want in being aggressive, but they also just do it in more ways than just jump shots. They work defenders and make people think, true attackers of the rim. The Magic need more of that, especially if 90% of the roster seems happy to settle for a jump shot, these guys are going to do wonders in make sure that the floor is still actually moving.

The Magic basketball coming back tonight was very well timed and much needed. Although it almost feels as if it’s deja vucci with how much I am bitching at him to get off the perimeter, but alas it is still preseason. That’s why I get too crazy with things and too in my head about things but I do find there are some positives to walk away with. The most noteable and the only one I really pray doesn’t change is the just the energy. AG and most everyone was looking at attacking the cup. Working from the inside out and looking to make the dribble be effective. This type of focus can cause so much more confusion and can work to create really effective floor spacing. Having the action is just so much to work with, and I feel it’s such a positive step for the Magic. The last thing I can say is that I really like Okeke. I think he’s going to be a fantastic addition.

The Magic last night received a steal in the draft by every definition of the word. For where they were picking especially based off hype a year ago, the Magic absolutely received a godsend at the 15 spot. Now for the Magic’s roster and for the situations that the team are dealing with do I believe it was the absolute best pick for the spot? Now I’m not entirely sure, but what does make me most excited is the fact Cole Anthony is coming off a year in which he had sparks, but also struggles. Cole wanted to focus on and seem like he was being driven by the struggles, and if that’s his motivation, his drive to greatness is going to be a very fun one to watch. Someone who can relish in the times he wasn’t doing his best, is someone who is going to find a way to make sure he’s always working towards being his best. The right mental attitude and drive is so hard to come by and being able to find the person who’s grateful for the opportunity to do better at any level I truly believe will find more success than someone driven by any other factors. I am so exited for the future of Cole Antony and I just pray his breakout year doesn’t come with another team after Cole leaves the Magic, like is Magic tradition.

If I am being an objective basketball fan, I really can’t hold much against the Heat for their first half performance. A lot went against them such as the refs, the rims, and Lebron James. Honestly though, I am bored as shit and I don’t feel like being objective so i am just going to talk out of my ass for a second in sadness. The Heat had opportunities to do things in these games that could always make a difference, the problem was the only person who seemed to want to do it was Jimmy Butler. And then some guys didn’t even wanna show up for the roles they were assigned to, I won’t mention names, but I will just say shooting is the role that is being referred to. Now were the Heat outmatched in a way? Yes, but that still doesn’t cover the fact that the Lakers couldn’t get not one single role player to hardly leave the hotel, let alone two at once. But, what’s funny is, at least they had the chance, at least they looked to go ahead and give their shot and get a championship. 

Ultimately though, anymore all that matters at this point is the fact that we have no basketball for honestly at this point, who knows how long, and honestly I have never had more of a harrowing feeling of darkness ahead than I do right now, so now I say, we are excited for the PBA playoffs and the fact we can dump all of our mentally draining thoughts and ideas as to how our team gets better for the next season on our girlfriend.

With the season getting close to winding down, I feel I would be doing myself no good if I didn’t go ahead and give one more speculation at how I think the Heat can do enough to turn this series around. At this point I feel as if maybe a couple options have come across my mind that are bad, but at the end of the day there is only one true way I can see it being really any possible at all.  The thing that I believe has controlled the flow of the game more than anything in these NBA finals games are just how much the refs are getting involved in plays and how many times the plays are being stopped with whistles. So the fix to that at this point is prayer. You pray to god that somehow the refs decide that tonight isn’t going to be about them. 

Oh, and too maybe not living and dying by a couple guys shooting the ball, hope to god you can get everyone involved who’s on the team and hope they all find their drive to try and fill it up. There have been some real no shows from guys who added a lot early on in these playoffs and the heat needs everyone. I understand they can light it up from the arc at times, but the heat needs to lay off the run and gun maybe a little and try to make the Lakers completely work on defense. Not even just off dribbles, the heat have some guys who can be dangerous off catches, and they have a coach who does a wonderful job of setting up a spaced floor before sets occur. Delaying getting into sets and things are things it seems the heat like to do, not saying trying to control the tempo is a bad thing, but the Lakers have guys who get caught not in the right position on defense a lot and giving them more opportunities to make those mistakes would be very beneficial to the heat.

After three games if you told me the heat would have two major guys injured in the starting rotation I truly would have believed that I would have started looking at draft picks by now, but honestly Jimmy Butler has done yet another thing to prove just how incredibly special he is. The fact that so many teams who are sitting at home right now with no shot have said that Jimmy Butler wouldn’t be able to do what they need is just so absurd, and it should lead to so many jobs being gone. This man is willing to do absolutely anything he notices or that is pointed out to him to give his team a chance to win, and then he can still go and get a bucket for you on Lebron in the paint. He sees the floor so well when he has the ball and when he doesn’t he’s in positions that give everyone a chance for success. Out of everyone who has done things in this bubble to really shine, JB is the only truly differentiated stand out performance. He has done anything needed, not just scored, or just set the floor up well, he has done every last bit of what is needed and honestly at this point all he needs from anyone is just the utmost respect. Any basketball player who even aspires to be a leader at any level needs to find as much tape as they can of Jimmy Butler and they need to make sure they emulate every last bit of it. He can add so much willpower and spirit to a team on top of showing up and doing anything needing on either end that is just so valuable. three guys in one.

I am sitting here reviewing more and more of what has gone on last night and exactly what I think the Heat are capable of. Seeing the way Miami and can switch freely 1-5 with ease and simple communications is very magical to see. Now that is not saying that everyone on the floor is capable of handling the assignments that they have but they can step in and do a decent job of keeping the person they need to in front or at least forcing them to where they know they can get some help if the ball is in a dangerous part of the court. The Heat do a wonderful job of also frustrating people off the ball, they make sure that catches aren’t easy and they do a wonderful job of just making sure that any possession starts as slow as possible, working to be as much of a problem as they can be. The thing that makes this Miami team so special is that all this is happening on defense all while they have these guys coming out and doing very magical things all throughout the playoffs. Whether it be the shooters coming absolutely alive or having someone like Bam just get hot and be able to work like the point guard with his ability to read the floor. All while having a heart, having a guy with a lot of passion who isn’t afraid to do what is needed or who can speak up and be loud and get everyone’s attention just when it’s needed to. They have a real real leader, just like the Lakers do, but I think they have a lot better pieces around the locker room than the Lakers. I feel as if this is going to have an absolutely amazing chance to go down as one of the better finals we have ever been blessed to see. One thing people have done is completely discredit and underrate Jimmy Butler and the one thing he’s been able to do in his career so far is show nothing but success when he is given trust and opportunity and that is the most important thing you have to do in this league. 

Now that enough time has passed and I can actually pick my head up off the pillow, I will be honest I have been getting a lot of joy out of watching the Celtics fans try to rationalize all of their losses with things that are a lot easier to say from the couch than the floor. With the zone that was ran last night, every Celtics fan just believes you should be able to bring the ball up the floor and just know how to beat a zone, instead of understanding how rotations and moving defenses work that do not give you the same look, Celtics fans just yell at their TV that they could be giving the zone 20 from the elbow because “that’s how you beat a zone!” That is what twitter is great for though, once I get my gripes out about the team I enjoy, I can then turn around and go ahead and turn around and watch everyone else have to figure out how the crazy situations they are dealing with. 

Another thing that did help me when I was down and in the gutter is that all the magic fans who I generally see on twitter were truly completely out on the current roster as it is and they were finally to make some major changes without being upset. This is something that I have been waiting to hear in majority for a long time and honestly being there to witness it first hand for just a moment was able to put a smile on my face, then I realized I would more than likely be watching Fournier again next season taking the floor for the magic and depression came right back over me.