Orlando Magic and Miami Heat Rivalry begins Friday night
This is the game every one has been waiting for the whole summer. Orlando Magic are ready to face the Heat, Miami Heat. Coach Stan Van Gundy is the most excited man this NBA season as his team walked all the way over the Washington
Wizards to meet Heat at their Home Court. What is the hype after all? Is it about the LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, self proclaimed Big Three or is it just the resentment against Heat’s coach Pat Riley? Whatever the reasons maybe, neither are Heat
the regular NBA team nor is the Orlando matchup against them on Friday a simple game, out of 82 in the schedule.
As far as Magic are concerned, a perfect season opener and an unbeaten preseason are all reduced to dust when they talk about LeBron James and Miami Heat. As the Orlando backup centre Marcin Gortat puts it, "They looking good on
the paper, but they got to start winning." Much of the summer was spent by both the teams exchanging verbal threats. The Big Three splash by Miami was overshadowed by an opening loss to Boston Celtics and the $400 Million roster did not seem worthwhile at
all, but Miami handled the Philadelphia 76ers very cleverly and brought out the best of games that they have.
It is the start of a rivalry that is here to stay. For the first time in NBA history both the teams are championship contenders in the same season. That is an absolutely vital thing to share since both these teams have never contended
for any other title in the past. Not even a conference championship. The talents both these boast off are the Super Stars in their prime. Be it Dwyane Wade or Dwight Howard, both the players have got a lot of tricks up their sleeves.
It sure is not a rivalry yet but both Miami and Magic are all set to start one in NBA tonight. Wade thinks everybody in Florida wants a matchup against Orlando and a matchup is what they will get.
Both James and Bosh are trying to find something common too. Their 31 points against the 76ers are just not enough for what you expect from The Big Three. James of course is the more hopeful player with his average of 34.0 points
in last five meetings with Orlando. On the other hand, Howard’s average of 11.5, both in Points and Boards, against Heat in past four meetings does not seem competitive enough. Howard is not the one into the media hype at all. He believes that winning the
game does not mean anything except it is just another game out of the 82 and he does not want the media attention and hype. All he wants is to win the championship.
The Magic have all the talent to do that. They have been unbeaten in 7 exhibition games and they have won with an average of 26 points per game.
The key points to watch for in the Heat-Magic matchup includes Howard, at the 1st place as the best Centre in the League, who filled up the stats sheet with 23 points and 20 rebounds in just 30 minutes of play against
the Washington Wizards. He is definitely Magic’s best advantage over Heat. LeBron James and his athleticism will favour Heat as Quentin Richardson is not famous for his defence and will definitely struggle against James. Next up there will be a matchup of
Dwyane Wade against Vince Carter, who is struggling as an older player, and it will be difficult for him to stay with Wade if he repeats his 76ers point spree.
Both Chris Bosh of Heat and Rashard Lewis of Magic have declined as players but they still have to prove their worth against each other in this matchup.
Talent shows that Miami have got an edge with their star studded line up but Magic are a much deeper and experienced roster with already built team chemistry. On the opposite, Miami, lacking this chemistry amongst its Big Three,
relies on the home court advantage and the individual talents of their Knights in shining armours. The scenario shows it will be difficult for the magic to beat Miami on their home court with all the support from the fans and all the confidence their city
has in them.
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