Orlando Magic's Only Hope Is To Stop Thinking That They're "Supposed" To Win

As I glanced at the puzzled faces of the Orlando Magic players, and from listening to what Dwight Howard had to say during the press conferences, it really looks like they approached the series with a mindset that they are "supposed" to win the series.

And who can blame them?

They steamrolled through their first two playoff opponents, they are facing a Celtics team that everyone in the world felt had no business being where they were, they had youth on their side, and they had one of the deepest benches in the league.

But with practical reasons comes a practical approach. In other words you start thinking that all you have to do is just play the way you are "supposed" to play and everything should come into place.

And then you start turning the ball over more, going down by a big deficit, and you are suddenly not getting the whistles you are used to getting.

And you ask yourself the worst question a player could ask themselves..."What went wrong?"

Now that they are down 0-2, the tone from Howard is still the same. It still sounds like he feels that this is more about Orlando "losing" more than the Celtics "winning."

What does that mean? That means that all they feel they have to do is minimize their mistakes, putting very little emphasis on how the Celtics forced those mistakes.

Now, to Orlando's credit, coach Stan Van Gundy did not think that way and seems like he has been having a hard time convincing his players otherwise. Vince Carter, seeing that the Celtics' "Big Three" are more his peers when it comes to age, knows what players of his generation are capable of and knows not to count them out. 

Other than that, the rest of the team is still wondering "What went wrong?"

In order for Orlando to get back into this series, they have to start thinking differently.

They have to accept the fact that the Celtics beat them in the first two games because the Celtics are a great team, and not because the Celtics simply "played well."

They have to accept the fact that the Celtics are also championship contenders, just like them, and realize that simply "playing their game" is not going to be enough to outplay the Celtics.

This is not a series they are "supposed" to win. This is a series they "HAVE" to win.

They should realize that Rashard Lewis is shooting 25 per cent from the field and 11 per cent from three-point range because his defender is not leaving him to help double team Howard.

They should realize that Dwight Howard's terrible attempt to show the Celtics that he can be physical only feeds to what the Celtics want him to do. (Hint: If you suddenly play out of character, the referees will notice it right away).

They should realize that Rajon Rondo is the real deal and, no, having Jameer Nelson does not mean the point guard match-up is a "wash."

They should realize that the only reason their bench has outscored the Celtics' (supposedly weaker) bench is because JJ Redick is getting a lot of playing time due to Matt Barnes ineffectiveness. (Switch their stats and you'll find the Celtics bench up 41-33 in two games).

They should realize that Kevin Garnett only is averaging 9 points per game and is shooting 30 per cent from the field, Rajon Rondo was sub par in Game One, and Ray Allen was 1-6 in Game 2, shortcomings that "normal" teams cannot usually overcome.

Yet it is the Magic that are down 0-2.

If they don't change their mindset now, they will never know what hit them and they will find themselves sitting with the Cavaliers trying to figure out "What went Wrong?"