Orlando won game one of its playoff series with the Pacers–surprisingly–and I have to say it. It feels like a tease. Dwight Howard is out, but, somehow, the Magic prevailed, so, of course, they would get better with him, right?
Well, I guess, but, if this kind of tease is the thing that convinces the Magic that they need to keep him, I would be pretty concerned if I were a Magic fan. Basically, he’s been dragging this out for years with the Magic without once giving them any semblance of hope, and, I must say, him agreeing to stay another year is not hopeful.
Watching the team perform without him should be more like an easy way to convince them to let him go. When Melo left the Nuggets and they excelled in the playoffs, that was all they needed to realize that they just needed to hold onto their core of other good players and move on. They did, and they haven’t fallen by the wayside like most people thought they would. Given that example, I think it would be much wiser to just trade him next year and do what the Nuggets did. At least they’re still competitive. Meanwhile, the Knicks just lost by 33 to the Heat in the first game of their first round series.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think Howard is a bad player, but he is definitely a bad influence right now. He will have everyone in Orlando thinking they really have a chance if they can go so far without him, but, then realize is that he just isn’t the answer. He may never have been. It just seemed that way.
So, I wish the Magic luck, and, while I don’t think they will win this series, perhaps them excelling is what they need to get the nerve to let him go.
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