No chance of throwing your money away by betting against a Net win, says Joe

Opponent File
Orlando Magic
The Magic play in the TD Waterhouse Center in Orlando, Florida. Their 2002 - 2003 record was 42 - 40 (fourth in the Atlantic). What did Joe say about the Magic in his preseason preview? Here's the Orlando Magic Roster.

Local Paper:
Orlando Sentinel | Magic
Team Pages:
CNNSI.com | Magic
ESPN.com | Magic
NBA.com | Magic
The Sporting News | Magic
Sportsline.com | Magic

Head Coach: Johnny Davis
2003 Draft: G Reece Gaines, Louisville (#15); F Zaur Pachulia, Georgia (#42).
New Players: PG Reece Gaines (draft); PF Juwan Howard (Nuggets;) PG Tyronn Lue (Wizards); PF Donnell Harvey (Nuggets).
Season Slogan: Salvage what's left of Tracy McGrady's reputation while aiming to finish at .500 after the disasterous 19 game losing streak.
Record vs. Nets: 0 - 2
G22: Nets 99, Magic 95
G44: Nets 89, Magic 79
G48: Nets 120, Magic 99
Other Opponent Files

Projected Atlantic Division Standing:
Chris Carrino: 2
Tim Capstraw: 2
Ian Eagle: 2
Joe Netsfan: 2
Steve Politi: 5

Orlando Magic (19 - 59) - Thursday, April 8, 2004, 7:30PM EST -Continental Airlines Arena
Florida Sinkhole
The Magic are like those ubiquitous Florida sinkholes - something small turns into a giant crater and sucks in everything around it. From the poor start, the Doc Rivers firing, the continued loss of Grant Hill to the latest debacle, the shutting down on star F Tracy McGrady with knee woes, the league's worst team just can't wait until the 2004 NBA Draft as it plays out the string. Want some sobering stats on how far wrong things have gone? The Magic have lost 11 straight games and 17 of 20, they give up an NBA worst 101.4 points per game, and lose by an average of another league-worst 7.2 points. Not much chance of the rearmed Nets losing to this bunch, is there? Hey, you never know. Can the Nets continue to re-establish Jason Kidd and Kenyon Martin back into their offense with some time against the hapless Magic? Or will the Magic stun the Nets into complacency and come up witha a surprise win?
- Joe

Orlando Magic Cheat Sheet
The Story From Orlando: Who might Tracy McGrady want the Magic to draft with their first round pick? Try Emeka Okafor. McGrady practically gushed when he said, "Wow. He's a beast defensively. He can block some shots. He's not a 7-footer, but Ben Wallace is, what, 6-7, 6-8?" Lord knows they could use the defensive help.

Pain Game: F Grant Hill (ankle), F Tracy McGrady (knee) and F Pat Garrity (knee) are on injured reserve.

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