Tribe fall to Yankees, have new hitting prospect
May 30, 2009Brief OSU football updates
May 30, 2009Ken Hornack is a native Clevelander who was the Magic beat writer for the Daytona Beach News-Journal from 1989 to 2008. He writes free lance pieces for the News-Herald these days and has been covering the series from Orlando.
The Orlando Magic were able to erase a 22-point first-quarter deficit in Cleveland on Thursday night largely due to forward Hedo Turkoglu, who finished with a team-high 29 points.
But what if Hedo doesn’t deliver against the Cavs in Game 6 in Orlando?
In one of the odder statistical patterns in this series, Turkoglu is shooting much better at the Q than he is at Amway Arena. He combined to go only 6-of-24 in Games 3 and 4, not even managing a field goal in the Magic’s 99-89 victory Sunday night until 3:39 remained in the game. In the three games in Cleveland, he is shooting 50 percent (23 of 46) and averaging almost 22 points.
This trend just didn’t start with this series. The only three playoff games in which Turkoglu was held to single figures have all come at home (two against Philadelphia, one against Boston). Meanwhile, he nailed a game-winning 3-point shot on the road against the 76ers in the opening round and hit what appeared to be the game-winner in Game 2 against the Cavs before LeShot.
During the regular season, Turkoglu finished with a better scoring average at home (17.2) than on the road (16.5) but made only 40.9 percent of his shots in the arena he has called home for the past five years.
Are the Cavs doing anything to get inside his head in Orlando? Perhaps, but the source isn’t necessarily coach Mike Brown or any of the players. With two minutes to go in the fourth quarter of Game 4, Turkoglu had a prolonged and profane exchange of words with a fan seated between the Cavs bench and the basket while Dwight Howard was at the free-throw line. It was out of character for Turkoglu, who is generally good-natured and has a habit of referring to people as “buddy.”
***
The key Saturday night could be whether Mo Williams can duplicate his 24-point performance or any other member of the Cavs besides LeBron James can come through in similar fashion.
In the five times the Magic have defeated the Cavs dating back to Jan. 29, not once did anyone on the Cavs other than James surpass 18 points. In the three times Williams exceeded that total to go along with a typically huge outing by James, the Magic are 0-3.
That statistic comes courtesy of orlandomagicdaily.com, where followers of the series can find a Florida point of view that is not prone to bombast and paranoia. One Orlando Sentinel columnist went so far to call Game 6 as huge “not just for (the Magic) and their fans … but for the entire world of sports.”
Hyperbole, anyone?
***
Clevelanders who aren’t inclined to believe in the existence of sports curses might have something to worry about in the form of a precocious 7-year-old girl.
The Magic are 5-0 this season, including 2-0 in this series, when Gina Marie Incandela sings the national anthem. Not only has she been profiled in the local media, but “Inside Edition” had a feature story Thursday on her.
When the crowd started roaring when she reached the “and the rockets’ red glare” line, TNT’s Ernie Johnson looked like his heart was about ready to explode.
***
Speaking of TNT, Mike Polk of Hastily Made Cleveland Video fame has applied his lampooning skills to EJ, Craig Sager, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley.
Not that he probably hasn’t been swamped with suggestions, but here’s one for Orlando that Polk might consider:
“Come on down to O-Town, everyone.
Take a look at our non-existent skyline.
Church Street Station is worse off than the Flats.
If you think West 6th Street is creepy,
You should check out Orange Avenue at night.
Tourists confuse us with Lake Buena Vista
And avoid heading downtown like the plague.
Our crime rate now rivals Miami’s.
Buy three t-shirts for the price of a Happy Meal.
I-4 is the world’s largest parking lot.
Don’t step outside in September or you’ll melt.
We spent the ’90s obsessing on boy bands
And swear that Creed is the Beatles or the Stones.
It could be worse, though:
At least we’re not Jack-son-VILLE!!!”
7 Comments
Now that little jingle which refers to Orange street and Church street is just plain ignorance. I’ve lived in Orlando for over a year and was down those streets every weekend. Downtown Orlando is one of the best places I’ve been for night life.
Nah, it’s a hellhole.
http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=4217077
I know its been a popular topic about Howard’s crybaby antics, just check out his reaction after every foul called on him.
Yeah, Orlando is awful. Dead on about boy bands and Creed. Orlando screams “corporate” in every way.
i try to avoid dowtown orlando as much as humanly possible. whoever said its the best place for going out must love big cover charges and over priced drinks. cant wait till thes fans go back into hibernation. go CAVS!!!
@TampaBrett:
http://www.orlandocondo411.com/general-updates/church-street-station-to-be-auctioned/
Latitudes, the rooftop bar on Church Street, is a cool place. But it’s not part of Church Street Station. Nor is Church Street Market in existence anymore.
Big cover charges and over priced drinks???? That’s Miami homie.
Everyone has an opinion. The only thing is if they haven’t lived in Orlando and just went there a few times. It’s invalid.