ORLANDO -- After three seasons of banging his head against a wall, J.J. Redick finally has proven he belongs in the NBA.
He never thought it would take this long.
Redick may have come into the league as one of the most celebrated college basketball players in recent history, but it has taken a complete remaking of his game and his attitude to finally carve his niche.
"I've been thinking about it recently, and maybe I wasn't ready to do this last year, or my second year, and certainly not as a rookie,'' Redick said Friday night after helping the Orlando Magic hold off the Detroit Pistons 110-103. "I could not have stepped in and played well like this, but I've learned how to be a pro. And that wasn't easy.''
Title Chaste is the diary of Matt Snyder in his season a virgin fantasy basketball player.
Well, that didn't take long. Thanks to Mo Williams, Danny Granger, Amare Stoudemire, Brook Lopez, Jason Terry, Andrea Bargnani and Shawn Marion, I won my first career fantasy basketball game. I should also point out I owe the scheduling for the victory as well, because my team checked in as the sixth-highest scorer out of 12. Really, it could have gone either way. This victory was a sign that being lucky is just as worthwhile as being smart in fantasy basketball, just as I already knew in fantasy baseball and fantasy football. On the other hand, skill is still paramount -- as the top scorer for the week was, not surprisingly, Tom Lorenzo.
DeAngelo Hall has gone from widely loathed to universally loved since joining the Redskins midway through last season after lasting just eight games (and $8 million!) in Oakland. And I'll be honest, I was front and center in the "MeAngelo is more dime back than Pro Bowler" PR blitz.
Now, though, I'll happily admit that he's a completely different player. Hey, people change. One thing that remains the same, though, is Hall's love for gum-flapping. And this time, he can even back it up. Sort of.
Bloggers knee-jerking on the phone + roundtable style = RoundCast.
Wrapping up Game 2 of the NBA Finals, Gary Washburn and Matt Moore joined me to break down all the action. J.J. Redick's play was defended, as was Stan Van Gundy's handling of his point guard rotation this time around.
The big topic, though, was Dwight Howard, and whether or not he needs to dominate -- on both ends of the floor -- for the Magic to have a chance to get back into this series.
All that, plus we take a look into the future and see what might happen as the series shifts to Orlando. Will the Lakers pull off the sweep? Can the Magic win four out of the next five games to get the title? Give us a listen, and find out for yourself.
ORLANDO -- Magic guard Courtney Lee has regained his spot in the starting lineup, making him the only rookie starter among the four teams remaining in the NBA playoffs.
Lee, who spent four years at Western Kentucky University, is replacing J.J. Redick, who started all seven games in the conference semifinal matchup against the Boston Celtics but struggled with his shooting.
For all of the Cavaliers' success this year -- both posting the league's best record and winning their first eight games of the playoffs -- the Magic have actually held their own in head-to-head matchups, winning two of three games in the regular season and seven of 10 the last three years.
Much like your 401k, though, past results do not guarantee future performance, but at least the Magic won't come into this series questioning whether they have what it takes to win a single game against the vaunted Cavs, which was exactly the situation the dysfunctional Pistons and the injury-depleted Hawks faced in the first and second rounds, respectively.
Much of the year, Orlando's reliance on the three-point shot earned scorn from observers, who (en masse) dubbed the style as likely to fail in the playoffs. As recently as Game 5, Dwight Howard himself questioned the strategy to keep taking threes with a lead -- it was seen as a risky move. You live by the three, you die by the three ...
... or so they said. The Magic took more threes than anyone but the run-and-gun Knicks this season, but still finished with the sixth-best shooting percentage from deep. The threes weren't tics of the inside-out offense Stan Van Gundy employed, waiting to be turned off when the circumstances warranted. The threes made up Orlando's offensive identity. Without shooting them, the Magic die. Sunday's Game 7 win is a great example of how the threes work for Orlando.
ORLANDO -- Dwight Howard just took matters into his own hands Thursday night.
He complained about not getting the ball enough in a Game 5 loss in Boston – even threw his coach under the bus in the process – so he went and got the ball himself in Game 6.
Howard got the shots he wanted – scored 23 points -- but it still was his 22 rebounds that made the difference. He had an incredible 10 offensive rebounds, dominating around the basket at both ends in a 83-75 victory to even this best-of-seven series.
After losing Monday night, the Boston Celtics brought a must-win mentality into Game 2 of their best-of-seven series against the Orlando Magic, knowing another loss would drop them into a hole from which they could not climb out.
It had an early-series, now-or-never feel for the Celtics, who rolled to a surprisingly easy 112-94 victory.
On paper, Game 6 looked like a throwaway game for the Magic. Let's face it, not many teams can lose two starters (Dwight Howard to suspension; Courtney Lee to a broken face) and still pull off a win on the road, especially when going against a surprisingly feisty opponent with their backs against the wall.
But instead of following the script, taking their beating and regrouping for Game 7 on Saturday, Rashard Lewis and company reminded the 76ers that there's more to the Magic than Superman and an upstart rookie, clinching the series with a surprisingly easy 114-89 win.
ORLANDO -- After three seasons of banging his head against a wall, J.J. Redick finally has proven he belongs in the NBA.
DeAngelo Hall
Wrapping up Game 2 of the NBA Finals, 
ORLANDO -- Magic guard 
FanHouse previews 
Much of the year, Orlando's reliance on the three-point shot earned scorn from observers, who (en masse) dubbed the style as likely to fail in the playoffs. As recently as Game 5, 
ORLANDO -- 
Desperation often becomes a wonderful motivator.
On paper, Game 6 looked like a throwaway game for the Magic. Let's face it, not many teams can lose two starters (
