Magic 3-0 on the Road Trip

After losing to the Heat at home last Wednesday the Magic were on the road for the next three including a 4 games in 5 night schedule. Which meant two back-to-backs in a row with a day rest in between. It seems the schedule has been ugly for them as they've played the Cavs and Hawks both coming off days of rest before playing Orlando. Besides all that, being the resilient Magic team from last year, I think that characteristic is coming back. The Magic have picked it up since the lost to Miami and gotten down to business.

Dwight Howard:
The fiasco with Stan and him being too negative has hopefully died down by now, however Dwight looked to be still struggling. Now I think that session is over as I felt his first dominant game since playing the Nets (Nov 13th. 26 pts 12 reb) was against the Hawks on Thanksgiving (10 pts 6 rebs in the 3rd). It was also the first time Dwight scored 20+ since that Nets game. His sudden turn on sparked the Magic to come back from a 14 point deficit and the Magic to victory. The next game in Milwaukee, Dwight poured in 25 points and grabbed 20 rebounds. Another 20-20 on the map! Once again he was key in turning around the 17 point deficit the Magic faced that game. Also the last three games Dwight has scored 20+ points. So has the beast unleashed? How? Charles Barkley? I believe Dwight has been a bit smarter on some of the tacky fouls he struggled with but for whatever reason this is the way us Magic fans want to see him and even better.

Dwight Howard's last 3 games:
@ATL: 22 pts 17 rebs 4 blks
@MIL: 25 pts 20 rebs 4 blks
@NYK: 24 pts 16 rebs 2 blks

Cold Blooded Warming Up?
Since coming back from his 10 game suspension Rashard Lewis has been struggling with his shot. He did have a few games as the near triple-double (17 pts 10 rebs 9 asts) against the Thunder and a double-double against Boston (16 pts 10 reb) but never really found his shot. However that would be contested as the way he played in New York last night. He shot 8-15, 5-9 3PT, and 5-5 FT and scored 26 pts along with 8 rebounds. I think the difference was that he attacked the basketball more rather than just settling for jump shots. The Magic are a better team when he does take it do the basket and posts up than when he is a sitting duck at the 3 PT line.

Overall I think the Magic have begun to get things together and find a rhythm. The defensive has picked up for the better over the past couple of weeks and with the play of Dwight and Rashard looking better recently things can only go up from here. The point guard play so far has been superb. Jason Williams and Anthony "Dad" Johnson are doing great in their respective roles. After Wednesday's home showdown against the Knicks they will head out on a 7 day 4 game trip. Playing the Warriors, Clippers, Jazz and Suns. I think the Magic should come up 4-0 in this trip however a 3-1 is acceptable by me.

GO MAGIC!