Looking back on...stuff (post-weekend edition)

Not a lot of great games this weekend, I have to say. The Knicks went to overtime a couple times, but...well, those games involved the Knicks. But, here's some stuff about two games.

GSW-PHO

So, the Warriors are still frustrating as hell. Who'd have thought? They were in this game for a while, and Azubuike and Curry were having nice nights. With some teams you get the feeling that a couple players are stepping up every night to make a difference, but with this Warriors squad it's more like a bunch of guys are just not doing shit. If that makes sense. Anyway, it was a game for quite a while, but then the Warriors gave up/started sucking, and the collapse led to a somewhat easy Suns victory. They've not exactly started the season in an encouraging fashion, but I still have no idea what we'll get from this team. So I'll just expect more disappointment.

On the Suns' side, they've started quite nicely, albeit with a somewhat favorable schedule. The (once again) wide open offense is working for everyone, as the squad at Gentry's disposal is pretty much ideal for this. Just about every single player is a great fit for this season, so...we're perhaps a few players having truly resurgent seasons away from the Suns being a semi-factor. I don't think they've got a real shot at any sort of meaningful contending, but they could creep into the five or six slot. Possibly.

Here, everyone was efficient as fuck, mostly because the Warriors' D is awful when they put up as little resistance as they did on Friday night. Like I mentioned in their preview, the Suns have five or six really solid guys, and when those guys all have it going they really are a scary team. I'm hoping Leandrinho is going to keep playing well all season, as the NBA is just a little bit less fun when he's not being awesome.

Orlando-Toronto

Christ, what a game. I went into this one wondering if the Magic could pull it off, sans Vince and 'Shard, and who steps up? JJ motherfucking Redick. 27 points on 14 shots, along with 5 dimes. How fucking deep is this team? Christ.

Obviously, it wasn't just Redick. Ryan Anderson has stepped up in a big way for Orlando so far, making that trade look goddamned brilliant, and he got 20 points against the Raptors. Howard and Nelson put up big numbers, but both were at least forced to work for their numbers. Toronto could have lived with the decent but not great production from those two, if it hadn't been for the other guys stepping up. Sort of the same thing I alluded to with GSW, except this time it's in the positive sense.

Toronto fought back well after going down big early on, but Orlando's crazy-awesome three point numbers (17 of 32) really killed them eventually. As we sort of knew from the beginning, this Raptors squad has a lot of offensive threats, and Chris Bosh and Andrea Bargnani really hurt Orlando in this one. Their defensive effort wasn't really awful in this one, as...if the other team's going to go 17 of 32, there's not a ton you can really do. I don't think they are ever going to be the Spurs of days past, but it's hard to blame Toronto's potentially porous defense for this loss. On another day, perhaps they win this game, and I think Toronto would have probably taken one out of two from Orlando and Cleveland if it was offered beforehand.

Amigos' NBA Previews: Orlando Magic

Recent Past They got Dwight, they built, they got SVG, they got pretty awesome, and then they lost in the finals. And if you don't know, now you know.

Offseason Hedo left, but they traded Rafer and Courtney (and Tony Battie) for Vince and Ryan Anderson. They also managed to bring in Matt Barnes and Brandon Bass, while keeping the Polish Hammer. WHAT?

Projected lineup Jameer Nelson, Vince Carter, 'Shard, Brandon Bass, and Dwight Howard. Jason Williams, Mickael Pietrus, JJ Redick (?), Matt Barnes, Ryan Anderson, and Marcin Gortat as key subs.

General Overview Goddamn, the Magic are good. Really fucking good. Look at that lineup. There is exactly one real weakness: backup point guard. Other than that? Motherfuck.

Everyone in that starting 5 is capable of putting up pretty goddamned nice numbers, and a couple are capable of being truly awesome. Off the bench, there's at least four really quality guys that can come in and contribute. When healthy, this team will be goddamned hard to beat. They look likely to rely less on the three-ball this season, and the Hedo loss has turned into a positive as a result of the moves they made to make up for it. This team is capable of so much, all over the floor, and really altering itself in a few different ways to allow it to more effectively combat various types of opponents. And with Van Gundy at the helm? Look, I know a lot of people like to bash the guy because he's sort of a mess, but dude knows what he's doing. And if they can play to their ability? Well, there may only be three teams in the East, but goddamn...there are 3 MOTHERFUCKING SQUADS in the East. Is it bad that I'm already looking forward to Spring? Acus....

If they were a hip hop act
07-08 was Instinctive Travels, sort of introducing themselves to the world and letting their impending awesomeness be known. 08-09 was The Low End Theory; sort of brash, and pretty goddamned awesomeness, but still, you get the feeling it's not necessarily their peak. 09-10? Well, this could well be Midnight Marauders.

(and, yea, I just threw my name into the Midnight Marauders>Low End Theory crowd)

((also, Orlando's versatility is somewhat equivalent to the various styles Tribe were able to bring))

(((Dwight's Q Tip, in that he'll still be doing his thing after everyone else is gone)))

((((there we go))))

Guessing how they'll do I think I put down the Celtics for the east, but goddamn, that could be a fun matchup. Anyway, I have the Magic down for about 60 wins, and they could well win the championship. I can't stress enough how amazing those top three in the east are, and how much getting that one seed will matter.