Orlando Magic Pull A Disappearing Act

The Orlando Magic have the most fitting team name in the NBA.

They have magically turned victories into losses, and easy wins into nail-biters.

They should be watching film tape of LeBron James and company at the moment, but instead they are left to ponder a three-to-two series deficit to a depleted, but game champion, the Boston Celtics.

It is easy to overrate variables such as heart, coaching, and ability to thrive under the pressure. From my customary perch in section 316 at the TD Banknorth Garden, I witnessed last night how important these variables have played in this series.

The Orlando Magic have more talent than the current version of the Boston Celtics, but they lack the killer instinct necessary to polish off the proud and determined champion. This series reminds me of the George Foreman-Muhammad Ali fight that took place in Zaire. The Celtics take punch after punch after punch, and then look their opponent in the eye and ask, "Is that all you've got?"

Orlando has two deadly shooters in Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis, both of whom present matchup nightmares for their opponents. Both are 6'10" and athletic. Both lack the ability to provide toughness or intelligence, however.

Despite their size, they are unwilling to do the dirty work necessary to grab important rebounds or to take charges on the defensive end.

Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy looked like a deer in headlights, panicking along with his players. They decided to stop going inside to their seven foot behemoth Dwight Howard, and settled for fall-away jumpers with far too much time left on the shot clock.

As great a force as Howard is, he has not developed any low post moves, and is a poor foul-shooter.

Their heart can be questioned in almost every game of this series. In Game One, they barely won after they blew a 30-point lead in the third quarter. In Game Two, they came out as if they were satisfied that they had won Game One in Boston.

In Game Four, they were outplayed down the stretch, and defeated by a Glen "Big Baby" Davis jump shot.

In Game Five, they once again could not hold a big lead during the fourth quarter.

They are facing an opponent that is thriving on possessing all the qualities the Magic lack.

If they do not find it fast, they will pull one more Magic act. They will disappear from the 2009 NBA playoffs.