One of the topics I hit on for my show Friday overnight was that the Nuggets and Magic could be standing in the way of the much-hyped Lakers/Cavs showdown in the NBA Finals. With the Lakers taking Game 3 in Denver, it appears as if they have control of the series. But with the Magic going up 2-1 and home for Game 4, it appears as if they could upset the top-seeded Cavs. While I’m just an outsider looking in on things with nothing at stake, Dwight Howard is letting people know what it’s like to be the leader of a team that’s serving the role of “fly in the ointment.” From Dwight’s blog via FanHouse:
I told ya’ll the other day that we find it really disrespectful that everybody seems to be pulling for LeBron and Kobe to get to the Finals. Every time I look at TV, it seems like that’s all anybody is talking about. It’s like nobody is even giving us a shot at winning this series and we’ve used it as motivation.
We’re up 2-to-1 and we have a long way to go vs. the Cavs, but hopefully we can mess up those plans of getting Cleveland and L.A. in the Finals. If the lil’ ol’ Magic make it, what will they say then?
If the Magic do pull out the series it would be especially impressive considering it’s not just the talking heads they’ve had to deal with; the refs and the league office are doing what they can to keep the “lil’ ol’ Magic” from winning. They didn’t suspend Kendrick Perkins for his elbow on Pietrus, and they call ridiculous fouls on Dwight (see all the fouls called on him in Game 1 and the horrendous sixth foul in Game 3). As Dwight’s said before, the Magic are out to prove how good they are and they’re doing a fine job of it. And to think, they could be doing all of this even with the wrong coach!
