Dwight Howard And His Orlando Magic Look to Live Up to Expectations

Magic fans can feel it in the air-- championship expectations. Those expectations will be validated or questioned Sunday afternoon at the Amway Arena.

You will have to forgive Magic fans for being a little leery. These same expectations existed in the past. With Shaq the expectations ended before they could really get started. Penny proved unable to carry a team alone. The Tracy McGrady era ended like it started, with McGrady never getting past the first round of the playoffs. Grant Hill as bearer of franchise expectations, failed due to injuries.

The Dwight Howard era took time to develop. He started as a gangly timid rookie, still finding his game. Magic fans watched, as he grew into the dominate player he would become. They all expect him to get better. They all hope he's good enough now. The Lakers will help establish whether expectations for this Magic lead man are warranted.

True, one game does not make a season. But for Howard and the Magic, this game will help put theory into results. During last season's playoffs, Howard pleaded for more touches on offense. With Howard getting a few more touches, and some hot three point shooting, they fought their way into the NBA finals. The Magic went cold from behind the arc, and couldn't find offense for long periods in the finals. Howard lacked the post skills to pressure the Lakers on defense. He also lacked a supporting cast capable of finding tough shots.

Howard committed to improving his game during the off season. It would be his first off season without any commitment to the USA basketball team. Otis Smith, the Magic GM committed to making the Magic better. He brought in Vince Carter, Matt Barnes, Jason Williams and others. But it wasn't until after the All-Star break that the Magic committed to the inside-out style of offense dictated by Howard's strengths.

After the All-Star break, Howard stepped up his offensive game, averaging 28 ppg in the first five games back. He demanded the ball in the post, and dominated opponents. As always, he continued to dominate the defensive end of the floor. The new look Superman's first real test came against the King and the Cavaliers. Orlando won a playoff-style grind out match, in which Howard scored 22 pts 16 reb and had 4 blocks. For now, Magic fans felt like winning the Eastern Conference this season was a reasonable expectation.

Now fans hope Howard can lay to rest another demon. The Lakers completely outmatched the Magic in last season's NBA Finals series. The Magic retooled, bringing in new pieces to better compete in the post season. Even so, everyone knows that Howard will be the key to any Magic success.

Beating the Lakers means Howard most likely played like a superstar. It means he played like a superstar against Gasol and Bynum-- not an aging Shaq or undersized 76ers front court. It means Howard dropped 28 points, dominated the boards, blocked five shots and had four assists. It means Howard can carry this team when it counts the most.

It means expectations will rise even more.

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Wil Bradley
ufrsports.com
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