| Updates : 19/04/03 : > Magic To Face the Bucks, 1st Round |
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The Magic, led by GM Tom Cattermole, have had an impressive season and will be pleased will a second spot finish, pipping the 76ers to the spot. The two men they have to thank for this are All NBA First teamer, Tracy McGrady (25.3PPG) and All NBA Rookie First teamer, Gordan Giricek (17.3PPG), who did a wonderful job filling in for Grant Hill at SF. Now Hill is back, the Magic look amazing. With him increasing his average of 12.8PPG and Giricek and McGrady continuing their top form, the Magic could go all the way this year. Drew Gooden and Darrell Armstrong are both in double figures for points to and Armstrong has 7.7APG to his name. Pat Garrity, Shawn Kemp and Jacque Vaughn all provide experience and talent off the bench but they do lack at the Center position. Will Cunningham, picked up as a free agent and Andrew DeClercq have been poor and if teams are to beat them, it is this weakness they need to attack. They should get the win, but with Cunningham in the starting five, it is hard to see how far they will go.
The Magic suffer from a poor man in the middle and the Bucks must look to take advantage of this and they have the ability to do so. The Bucks have All NBA Second teamer Zydrunas Ilgauskas as their starting Center and their is no reason why the second best C currently in the league can't get the points and rebounds required to beat this Magic side. And when he comes off, Cunningham and DeClercq can expect no let off as the Sixth Man of the Year, Joel Przybilla is their reserve C. Other key players include Antoine Walker who is averaging 20PPG but will need to improve his rebound tally. Kukoc and Bobby Jackson are both underperforming but Sam Cassell's 14PPG and 8APG could be too much for Armstrong. Other than Przybilla and Anthony Mason, the bench looks very weak and it could be this that costs them against a strong Magic one. If Ilgauskas comes to play though, the Bucks could easily provide an upset.
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since the 5th February 2003