One of my favorite thing about religiously following any team in sports is the fact that I live their events just as they do through the span of each year. Their successes become my own, and their failures mine too.
As a fan, you ride the peaks and valleys with your team, and there are plenty of them. It's easy to forget the bad times when things are good, and the opposite is just as true. Despite the ups and downs, the everlasting loyalty you give to your team is always present.
Each and every team is surely different and unique in their own way, and for the Orlando Magic, if you had to summarize their story in one word, it would be "Underdogs." Taking it back real quick to the beginning of last years playoffs and the Magic headed into the postseason with not many NBA analysts on their side. After surpassing the Sixers, the Magic headed into Boston as the underdogs (even with an injured Kevin Garnett on the sidelines).
Most basketball analysts expected the Celtics to beat the Magic in their second round series; even with the absence of Kevin Garnett. They also saw an easy road to the finals for the Cavaliers once the Magic had beaten the Celtics in seven games. The Magic once again quieted the doubters by amazingly beating Cleveland too. While the Magic played a respectable series against the Lakers, they were once again written off by the medial but things look better than they ever have in Orlando going into next season.
Orlando has seen some great additions to the roster, most notably the acquisition of All-Star Vince Carter. In addition to Carter, the team has built up its arsenal of role players, with the addition of valuable contributors like Matt Barnes, Brandon Bass, and Ryan Anderson. Rashard Lewis, one of the team's key players, will miss the first ten games of the season due to a failed drug test, but the team is still in a better position than ever before.
It will undoubtedly be predicted that without Lewis, Orlando is the third wheel in regards to the Big Three of the East. But for a Magic fan, there is no problem with other NBA fans and analysts predicting that. This is just another step in the road and from an Orlando perspective, a rather positive one.
With Lewis sidelined for almost an eighth of the season, the Magic seize a perfect opportunity to mess around with their roster and see who fits in well and where. It gives players like Matt Barnes, Mickael Pietrus, Brandon Bass, Ryan Anderson, and Marcin Gortat an outstanding chance to step up their game and not only help themselves in the long run, but the entire Magic team as well. Taking the Lewis situation as if it were an injury and the Magic can already honestly say that they have enough productive role players on their bench to fill the shoes of their starting All-Star without running into much of a problem whatsoever.
Now how many other contending NBA teams can genuinely say that if they lost one of their starting All-Stars for 10 games, there team would not be heading for disaster? None.
As a fan, you ride the peaks and valleys with your team, and there are plenty of them. It's easy to forget the bad times when things are good, and the opposite is just as true. Despite the ups and downs, the everlasting loyalty you give to your team is always present.
Each and every team is surely different and unique in their own way, and for the Orlando Magic, if you had to summarize their story in one word, it would be "Underdogs." Taking it back real quick to the beginning of last years playoffs and the Magic headed into the postseason with not many NBA analysts on their side. After surpassing the Sixers, the Magic headed into Boston as the underdogs (even with an injured Kevin Garnett on the sidelines).
Most basketball analysts expected the Celtics to beat the Magic in their second round series; even with the absence of Kevin Garnett. They also saw an easy road to the finals for the Cavaliers once the Magic had beaten the Celtics in seven games. The Magic once again quieted the doubters by amazingly beating Cleveland too. While the Magic played a respectable series against the Lakers, they were once again written off by the medial but things look better than they ever have in Orlando going into next season.
Orlando has seen some great additions to the roster, most notably the acquisition of All-Star Vince Carter. In addition to Carter, the team has built up its arsenal of role players, with the addition of valuable contributors like Matt Barnes, Brandon Bass, and Ryan Anderson. Rashard Lewis, one of the team's key players, will miss the first ten games of the season due to a failed drug test, but the team is still in a better position than ever before.
It will undoubtedly be predicted that without Lewis, Orlando is the third wheel in regards to the Big Three of the East. But for a Magic fan, there is no problem with other NBA fans and analysts predicting that. This is just another step in the road and from an Orlando perspective, a rather positive one.
With Lewis sidelined for almost an eighth of the season, the Magic seize a perfect opportunity to mess around with their roster and see who fits in well and where. It gives players like Matt Barnes, Mickael Pietrus, Brandon Bass, Ryan Anderson, and Marcin Gortat an outstanding chance to step up their game and not only help themselves in the long run, but the entire Magic team as well. Taking the Lewis situation as if it were an injury and the Magic can already honestly say that they have enough productive role players on their bench to fill the shoes of their starting All-Star without running into much of a problem whatsoever.
Now how many other contending NBA teams can genuinely say that if they lost one of their starting All-Stars for 10 games, there team would not be heading for disaster? None.
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