What They're Saying: Magic vs. Warriors 12/15

Orlando closes out its five-game West Coast road trip with a trip to Oracle Arena to face Golden State.

The Magic have faced plenty of adversity this road trip. Whether it is their missing defense or losing superstar center Dwight Howard to injury, it has been a difficult but revealing trip.

Orlando won its first game without Howard on Saturday with a gutsy win against Utah. Winning at EnergySolutions Arena is not easy at all. Winning without your best players is even harder.

The Orlando Sentinel is reporting that Howard will not suit up again tonight.

The Magic will have to work hard against a struggling Warriors team without their big man. Golden State is 7-17, but still have that explosive Don Nelson offense that can get point sin a hurry. Lots of young guys should keep Orlando on its toes for its last game on the trip (often the toughest).

-Gotta love how coach Stan Van Gundy takes everything in stride and with humor. So many coaches have been fired this season (former Magic man Reggie Theus of Sacramento is the latest), but Van Gundy feels he is as safe as he can be with Orlando. Brian Schmitz of The Orlando Sentinel reports that Van Gundy has accepted there is going to be a time when he will not have a job in Orlando anymore.

-New Warrior (and former Magic player) Corey Maggette is having a tough time getting used to his new team, Janny Hu of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Maggette signed a big contract with Golden State this summer after years of constantly being on the block with the Los Angeles Clippers. Maggette is not likely to be traded after signing a new contract.

-Mickael Pietrus won't be playing tonight against his former team, but Marcus Thompson II of The Oakland Tribune reports Pietrus feels he is in a better place than where he was with the Warriors last year, where he did not receive a lot of minutes and was played out of position. There are no hard feelings though. The move worked for everyone.

-Golden State Warriors blog Golden State of Mind has a few good nuggets (and videos!). The blog feels the Warriors will still get pasted by the Magic even without Howard. Plus video montages for former Golden State guys Mickael Pietrus and Adonal Foyle. I sense some hard feelings between Warriors fans and Pietrus though. Blogger Atma Brother ONE writes:

"It's true that when (Pietrus) was with the Warriors MP2 didn't have the greatest sense of where the out of bounds line was, came back from injuries ridiculously slow, was super streaky, and was a little whiny with his trade demands last season, but I always loved the guy's goofiness and friendly demeanor. Flashy player and a cool cat. Hope he's happy in Orlando."

Some of what is said there might not be soo good for Orlando -- especially the "came back from injuries ridiculously slow" and "super streaky" parts. So far, so good I guess.

-Matt Steinmetz of the Golden State Warriors Examiner thinks about what could have happened if Otis Smith stayed with Golden State and what he has done with Orlando. Let's just say that he feels his success isn't just the drafting of Howard.

This is a tricky game for Orlando. Golden State can certainly turn up the heat and score points even without star Baron Davis, whom the Warriors lost to the Clippers over the summer. Without Dwight Howard, the Magic will need another stellar efforts from Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu to get a win and finish the road trip 4-1.

The fact this is the last game on the trip is also something to watch out for. That is usually a game teams struggle in as they think about sleeping in their own beds for the next couple days.

Orlando has to fight through that. Losing your superstar should create that focus and I think the Magic will win a hard-fought game to close the trip.