[quote author="irvine_home_owner" date=1245109219][quote author="usctrojanman29" date=1245074014]And of course the mini-riots begin as predicted. haha</blockquote>
OC 1 LA 0
I still don't understand why they need to riot... when does violence and mayhem = pride and celebration?
I'll pretend me and IPO bet on every game... so I owe him 3 rounds of Duffs.
The Magic should realize this was probably their best chance to see the trophy, I doubt they will make the finals again anytime soon. Losing two at home is embarrasing... especially when one is a rout.
So when will Lebron get his? Will it be with the Cavs?</blockquote>
I think Orlando and Cleveland will be battling it out in the East for a number of years to come.
Both are young teams. For Orlando, Courtney Lee and Howard are very young and should get materially better. Jameer is a bit older at 27 but not even at his basketball prime yet. Lewis is only 30. For Orlando, much will depend on what they do with Hedo. They have shown that the team as constructed can win it all in the East. Boston is getting older by the minute and their horizon is real short. In a couple more years, they'll probably have to blow that team up and start over.
Personally I think Orlando should let Hedo walk (or maybe get something back via a sign-and-trade) and use their cash on a more defensive oriented wing player of maybe a 4 that can still shoot the triple. Ron-Ron is a free agent. Imagine Orlando defensively with Artest and Howard?! They could sign Lamar or Marion to play the 4 position, moving Rashard back to the 3. Both Lamar and Marion are much better defensive players than Hedo but can still stretch the D... Rasheed Wallace would be a good defensive 4 to play along side Howard as well.
Cleveland is also pretty young, but 2 of their 3 bigs in the rotation aren't getting it done any longer. With Ben Wallace over and Big Z getting too old and slow, Cleveland is left with an offensively-limited Andy V. as their only decent big man. They need lock him up and get another big to contend with Dwight Howard. The rumored Shaq deal would be a good near-term answer until Howard develops some range. If he can take Shaq out of the paint via a 12-15 footer, he'll kill him... If that trade goes down, Howard should start shooting 200 15-footers every day.
