Orlando
Philip Maymin
Basketball News Services
The Magic may be entering their most important weekend of the year. They face the Wizards in back-to-back games, at home on Friday and on the road on Saturday. The Magic trail the Wizards by four games for the second spot in the Southeast contest, who are themselves only 3.5 behind the Heat. This weekend gives the Magic a chance to get within a couple games of second place and just a handful of games behind the top spot in the Eastern Conference.
They need to make their move this weekend with Larry Hughes out, though the Wizards have continued to be hot. They only face the Wizards one more time this season, and that on April Fools Day. So far they are 0-1 against the Wiz and they'll need to win that series to get a chance to earn home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
The Wiz are in possession of the fourth-seed if the playoffs were to be held today. That fourth seed will prove to be quite valuable and if the Heat are going to win the Southeast, it'll probably be the second best team in the Southeast that'll have the fourth seed (the primary competition for that will be the second seed of the Central division, currently Detroit).
This weekend could prove to be a pivotal one come April.
NEXT GAME
The Magic (22-19, third in the Southeast) have a back-to-back home-and-road set with the Washington Wizards (26-15, second in the Southeast) this weekend, starting with the home game on Friday, January 28th, 2005. The game starts at 7:00pm Eastern and will be broadcast on Sun Sports, Comcast Sports Net and NBA League Pass.
TEAM NOTES
In his recurring column, Dante's Speak, Magic Radio Producer Dante Marchitelli spouts off at the mouth offering his opinions and thoughts on various NBA-related topics. Check out installment 19.
INJURY UPDATE
Mario Kasun(knee) andBrandon Hunter(elbow) are on the injured list.
Dick Scanlon ofThe Ledgerwrites: Christie's trademark -- and part of the reason some players refer to him as "Strange," -- is his habit of communicating during games with his wife, Jackie.He has a series of hand and arm movements to let his wife know he is thinking about her. They are inseparable and their relationship has been a source of ridicule, but Christie doesn't mind. "My family (they have two daughters) is all I have, so it's something that helps me stay grounded and let's me know that life is bigger than basketball," he said. "Even if it doesn't go well, I know that I'll have a smiling face and a hug and a kiss when I get off the court. That kind of helps you out."
Michael Parente ofThe Woonsocket Callwrites: Reid will have a tough decision to make next week knowing that Owens’ future could be at risk if he decides to let his star receiver play. Orlando Magic forward Grant Hill suffered a severe bone bruise during the 1999-2000 and had the same surgical procedure performed on his ankle.It took him four years and two more surgeries until he was finally healthy.
Lacy J. Banks ofThe Chicago Sun-Timeswrites: Opponents are taking notice. Orlando Magic guard Steve Francis, one of the game's most competitive players, paused to praise the Bulls after they defeated the Magic 105-90 on New Year's Day.''They have a very young, talented team that is playing hard,'' Francis said. ''It shows that [operations chief] John Paxson is doing a good job of getting quality, hard-working guys.''