Back In Town
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By Nick Adams | December 5, 2007
The Magic returned to RDV Sportsplex for practice Wednesday afternoon after a successful West Coast trip that saw Orlando take four out of five while increasing their NBA-leading win total to 16 games.
Their recent success has drawn a lot of attention throughout the entire NBA and the sports world in general. Feature articles in ESPN and Sports Illustrated, sports writers ranking the Magic atop their power rankings, and a growing buzz amongst the NBA nation..."How about them Magic?"
So, how about them Magic?
Despite the success and hype, a slight roster change is the only difference between the current Magic team and the 5-2 squad which last practiced at RDV on November 12th.
"The hype doesn't mean anything to us because it comes and goes and those things are so fickle," commented Adonal Foyle. "When you are winning everyone jumps on the bandwagon and the moment you lose they are off of it so coach has been telling us to just keep playing a good brand of basketball and not to worry about all the accolades."
Magic coach Stan Van Gundy still has the team focused and determined, striving to become better and concentrating on translating their road achievements over to their home games.
"We have a lot of confidence right now but we know we can improve as a team and get better," said Carlos Arroyo." "We did good on the road but it is now time to protect home court."
"The road in a sense has been our home away from home," added Foyle, "and we have played remarkable on the road but we have to protect our home court. Right now I don't think we are that great at home and we have to create that air of invincibility when people come into our arena."
The Magic have a 5-2 record at home this season, and despite their lack of overwhelming success at Amway Arena, the team holds a commanding six and a half game lead in the Southeast Division.
Even with the sizeable lead and no other division team possessing a winning record, the Magic is completely oblivious to these facts.
"I have no clue who is in second place in our division or any NBA team's records for that matter," stated J.J. Redick. "I guarantee you most of the guys on our team don't either because we are only concerned about what we are doing right now."
"From the very beginning coach has set a very good tone which was that the other team's records aren't going to mean anything," Foyle added.
The Magic's record, on the other hand, does mean something.
Their 16-4 start through 20 games matches a franchise best set by both the 1994-95 and 1995-96 teams, and if the Magic are victorious in their next two home games against Indiana and Atlanta, they will have the best start to a Magic season in franchise history.
The Magic are fully aware that early season success doesn't always translate into season success as last year's team started 13-4 and ended up with a 40-42 record.
This year's team is focusing more on improving their play every day rather than their wins and losses.
"We are just trying to play good basketball," Foyle stated. "If we play well and lose coach is still happy because that means we are continuing to play well and get better."
Foyle continued, "Winning games is important for position in the playoffs but for us we just want to be playing good basketball and if we are doing so then the record will speak for itself."
So far the Magic have let their 16 wins do the talking as they look for win number 17 Friday night at Amway Arena against the Indiana Pacers.
The Magic returned to RDV Sportsplex for practice Wednesday afternoon after a successful West Coast trip that saw Orlando take four out of five while increasing their NBA-leading win total to 16 games.
Their recent success has drawn a lot of attention throughout the entire NBA and the sports world in general. Feature articles in ESPN and Sports Illustrated, sports writers ranking the Magic atop their power rankings, and a growing buzz amongst the NBA nation..."How about them Magic?"
So, how about them Magic?
Despite the success and hype, a slight roster change is the only difference between the current Magic team and the 5-2 squad which last practiced at RDV on November 12th.
"The hype doesn't mean anything to us because it comes and goes and those things are so fickle," commented Adonal Foyle. "When you are winning everyone jumps on the bandwagon and the moment you lose they are off of it so coach has been telling us to just keep playing a good brand of basketball and not to worry about all the accolades."
Magic coach Stan Van Gundy still has the team focused and determined, striving to become better and concentrating on translating their road achievements over to their home games.
"We have a lot of confidence right now but we know we can improve as a team and get better," said Carlos Arroyo." "We did good on the road but it is now time to protect home court."
"The road in a sense has been our home away from home," added Foyle, "and we have played remarkable on the road but we have to protect our home court. Right now I don't think we are that great at home and we have to create that air of invincibility when people come into our arena."
The Magic have a 5-2 record at home this season, and despite their lack of overwhelming success at Amway Arena, the team holds a commanding six and a half game lead in the Southeast Division.
Even with the sizeable lead and no other division team possessing a winning record, the Magic is completely oblivious to these facts.
"I have no clue who is in second place in our division or any NBA team's records for that matter," stated J.J. Redick. "I guarantee you most of the guys on our team don't either because we are only concerned about what we are doing right now."
"From the very beginning coach has set a very good tone which was that the other team's records aren't going to mean anything," Foyle added.
The Magic's record, on the other hand, does mean something.
Their 16-4 start through 20 games matches a franchise best set by both the 1994-95 and 1995-96 teams, and if the Magic are victorious in their next two home games against Indiana and Atlanta, they will have the best start to a Magic season in franchise history.
The Magic are fully aware that early season success doesn't always translate into season success as last year's team started 13-4 and ended up with a 40-42 record.
This year's team is focusing more on improving their play every day rather than their wins and losses.
"We are just trying to play good basketball," Foyle stated. "If we play well and lose coach is still happy because that means we are continuing to play well and get better."
Foyle continued, "Winning games is important for position in the playoffs but for us we just want to be playing good basketball and if we are doing so then the record will speak for itself."
So far the Magic have let their 16 wins do the talking as they look for win number 17 Friday night at Amway Arena against the Indiana Pacers.
