Friday, January 9, 2009

Magic Wands: January 9, 2009

-Marc Stein's Weekend Dime on ESPN.com has some interesting minutiae. Box One is all about how Stephon Marbury might end up a Celtic. But if you scroll down to the bottom of the page you will find another interesting tidbit. Last Friday (when the Magic defeated the Heat) was the first time in 29 years that all NBA teams were in action in one day. Happy New Year.

-Last Friday's win over Miami gave Orlando its best 33-game start at 26-7. That mark ties the 1994-95 club (that went to the Finals) and the 1995-96 team (that lost to the 72-10 Bulls). Pretty good company.

-ESPN has some predictions for the '09 year. Interesting things might be coming down the pipe for the NBA. Mostly the salary cap implications of the recession. For the first time in a long time, don't be surprised that the salary cap actually decreases.

-Mark Cuban is going to save my job and change journalism's and newspaper's future.

-You know that moment after a timeout when the crowd stands up and cheers the team, pushing them to a big win? Well Keyon Dooling would love to know when that moment is in New Jersey. It got so bad that they began booing him after he missed a free throw (a rare moment, they probably should keep that ticket).

-Courtney Lee earned his first start Tuesday against Washington. He has certainly earned that playing time and my nice column this week espousing how awesome it is to get a draft pick right. David Thorpe in his weekly Rookie Watch says Lee has become successful because he is filling the role the Magic need. It is so easy when you do something better than anyone else can on a team.

-Way off topic. But Magic Kingdom without Space Mountain? A crime against humanity... or at least Orlando.

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