I still believe in Magic

Not sure if you watched Game 4 last night or not. That game has left a bad taste in my mouth. I still believe in my Magic. However, if the Magic lose this series, I fear Game 4 will haunt us 4 a long time.

1. Why did SVG bench Alston and play Nelson the whole 4th quarter? The unit may have been playing well overall, but except for that one assist to Howard, Nelson played poorly. Nelson especially played poor defense on Fisher which ultimately forced overtime. The Magic were noticeably better in transition and ball movement with Alston in. Nelson says himself he is not 100%. After our stellar Game 3 performance, I thought we had worked out our point guard situation; now, we seem back to square one. I am seriously baffled by our coach's decision, and disappointed overall with how he has managed our point guards.



2. On the Lakers last possession where they forced overtime, why did we not foul once they crossed half-court? We had a foul to give, the Lakers gave us the opportunity by inbounding from the full-court instead of half-court. Instead we gave up a weakly contested 3-pointer to Derek Fisher that sent the game into overtime.


3. With 4.6 seconds left, why did we not use our last timeout to get a better inbounds play? With what we got, Pietrus should have passed to Lewis to take the game-winning shot, but let's face it, we never should have inbounded the ball.


4. Despite these bad decisions and the 15 turnovers, if Dwight Howard hits just 1 of his 2 free throws with 11.6 seconds left, game over, Magic win. If Hedo makes one more free throw instead of missing 3 of his last 5 in the 4th quarter, we win.

We have been so resilient in these playoffs - beating Philly, Boston, and Cleveland after setbacks in each series. If any team can win 3 in a row to pull off the greatest comeback in NBA history, our Magic team can. The cards are stacked high against us again, but here's hoping.