A Super win in Boston for us!

What up, what up everybody out there? Did anybody out there tune in to the Magic-Celtics game before the Super Bowl or were you guys checking out the pregame show? Don’t lie, tell the truth.

Just messing with y'all. Hope you guys got to check us out because that’s probably the best we’ve looked all season. That third quarter was as good as it was bad the other night against the Wizards. We had like a 19-0 run there in the third against Boston, taking us from down 11 to up double digits by the end of the quarter.

Then, when we had to have a shot at the end, I was able to get that runner in the lane to fall. That was big for us because we had missed on the previous three possessions. I had KG hanging on me, Paul Pierce ran up under me trying to draw a charge and the shot clock was on zero, so that was crazy!!! But it fell, and we got out of there with a win.

That was a big statement win for us, especially after playing so poorly two nights earlier against Washington. We know that no team is perfect and there are going to be a lot of ups and downs during a season. There’s never been a perfect season in 82 games in the NBA and we know that.

But it’s all about how you respond in big games. I think this was sort of a big statement on national TV against an elite team and we showed a lot of people how good we are. We know that we can be really good if we just come together and play with energy and play defense.

We’ve got three more games before the break and we think we think we should be able to get them all. Monday night we got N’awlins at home. Then, it’s a tough Chicago-Cleveland back-to-back, but they’re all winnable games.

I’m looking forward to some downtime with the fam over the break, but first things first. Let’s get these three games. We know that second half is all about business and trying to get back that championship swagger. We still think we can win it all and nothing is gonna shake us from believing in that.

Well, I’m gonna run up outta here. I’ll hit ya back later. Tell me if you were watching our game against Boston or the Super Bowl pregame stuff? Keep it real and be honest.

By the way, thank you FLO TV for sponsoring my blog this month. I've recieved the FLO TV personal television in the mail. Technology these days are unbelievable, I can watch TV anytime and anywhere I want now! Lol

GO MAGIC!

SHARD

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My football memories and my Super Bowl pick

What up, what up? We’ve got it rollin’ these past few games and it finally feels like we’re starting to come together and gel as a team. I think people brushed aside the fact that we had five new guys and just expected us to pick up where we left off last season. We’re not last year’s team, we’re a new team and it takes time.

Of course, the NBA has us playing on Super Bowl day. We’ve already played on Thanksgiving in Atlanta, Christmas Day against Boston and New Year’s Day in Minnesota, so naturally we’re playing on Super Sunday as well. I’m so so so hoping we can get home for the second half of the game, but I’ll be following it on the plane home from Boston too.

I really want the Saints to win for the city of New Orleans. I was born in Louisiana and Houston isn’t that far from New Orleans, so I’m pulling for the Saints to do well.

The Saints got their work cut out for them, but I just feel like they are that team of destiny. The Colts are probably the better team, but the Saints just have that karma on their side right now. New Orleans could have easily lost to the Vikings by two touchdowns, but they found a way to win that game. It just seems like it’s their season.

Not many people know that football was actually my first love. I grew up playing football since I was a kid and growing up in Texas you had to love football there. I always watched the Houston Oilers and I still support the Oilers even though they are in Tennessee because that’s my old-time time. Plus, Vince Young is a real good friend of mine too.

I was actually a really good wide receiver growing up. When I played street ball and Pop Warner, I was always the best player. I could catch anything thrown my way, I was pretty athletic and I had some soft hands.

But when I got to high school at Elsik, they moved me up to the varsity basketball team as a freshman, but said they would put me back on the JV if I played football. They made me choose and it wasn’t really fair, but I went with basketball.

Every year of high school I always thought about going out for the football team. And I never missed my older brother, Kiah Johnson’s, games. That’s how big of a football fan that I was.

I’m convinced that I could have played football in college and maybe even the NFL. Who knows, I might have even been playing wide out for the Saints in Sunday’s Super Bowl and catching TDs from Drew Brees.

Oh well, I’d say this basketball thing turned out OK for me. We’re starting a tough stretch of five games in seven nights, but once we get through this we’ve got the all-star break to chill and then we ramp it up down the stretch.

By the way, thank you FLO TV for sponsoring my blog this month. They're sending me a FLO TV Personal Television in the mail so I can try it out and watch TV on the go. Once I get it I'll let you guys know what it's like. Too bad I don't have it yet to watch the Super Bowl!

OK, wish us luck. Go Magic!!! And Go Saints!!!

SHARD

5 Comments

A big win against the Celtics

What up, what up??? Hope all you guys got to see our big game with the Celtics last night in Orlando. It was a good one for us, especially me. I got to the rim at the end and made a layup to help us win the game.

When I got the ball I kind of hesitated near the baseline and KG played me for the jump shot. But then when I turned the corner I was most definitely surprise that the defense didn’t collapse. I thought I’d have to kick the ball out to a shooter, but no one ever came over and I got the big layup for us.

I’ve made plenty of game-winners in my career, but this one was really cool because we needed a win against Boston so bad. Everybody knows we have been going through a rough stretch and I’m hoping a win like this can get us on a hot streak before the all-star break.

We really need to go out there and get our swagger back real soon. We went to Boston last year in the playoffs and won because we knew we were the better team and that we were going to win. Winning a Game 7 in Boston did so much for our confidence, and I really think that’s why we advanced against Cleveland. We had so much momentum going into that Cavaliers series after beating the World Champs, and beating ‘em in Boston, too.

Boston is such a good defensive team and they really made us look bad back on Christmas Day when we played them here in Orlando. But to be a true professional, you have to learn from games like that.
I knew that KG would be trying to run me off the 3-point line and take away my jump shot, so I went into this game knowing I would have to drive the ball. Putting the ball on the floor got me going in the second half. I think I made seven out of eight shots in the second half because I was driving the ball hard and getting to the rim.

We still have Boston one more time, so now we know how we have to play them. Sometimes I think we as a team take some bad shots, especially too many jumpers, when we need to go inside to Dwight Howard more and play inside-out basketball. But our chemistry is getting better and we’ve started to play better together.

Well, I’m gonna get up outta here. We got another big game against Atlanta on Saturday and then we go back up to Detroit on Sunday. We see the Celtics again next Sunday in Boston, so I’m sure they won’t have forgotten how we beat them. But hopefully we can go up there and win again.

You guys take care and be good. GO MAGIC!!!

‘SHARD

10 Comments

We will get back on track!!!

What up, what up everybody???

Well, we’re finally back from that loooooong roadtrip out West. Let’s just put it this way: We’ve had much better trips in the last couple of years. We went 1-3 getting the first game and losing those last three.

We played pretty well in LA, but didn’t get the victory and that really hurt all of us.. We put a lot into that game and the way we played in that third quarter kind of reminded me of last season when we’d get defensive stops, run the floor and then hit threes before the defense could get set up to stop us.

Being back in LA to face the Lakers for the first time since the Finals brought back all these memories of getting so close to that gold ball back in June. We practiced at the Lakers headquarters in El Segundo the two days before Monday’s game and we all had to look at their championship banner from last season. And they also had all of the gold trophies in a window overlooking the practice court, so that was another reminder of what we missed out on.

It was such an honor just to get to the Finals, but it just kills me to think that we were just three wins away from getting that championship. That’s a feeling that will be with me forever until I finally win a title.

And I know some people out there have started throwing dirt on the Magic like we’re dead, but I still think we have what it takes to win a title this season. We just have to keep building our chemistry because we’ve actually had very little time together on the floor because guys have been hurt and sick.

We’re going to come through this rough stretch that we’ve been in. I still know we can be right there at the end with a chance to win it all. We were a damn good team early on, winning 17 of our first 21 games. That wasn’t a fluke. We can get that same flow back and get on another roll again.

We have too much talent, experience and hunger in our locker room to not be a really good team. Losing in the Finals just made us want that title even more than before. We’ll come out of this funk, and we just need our fans to stick in there with us.

See you guys back at Amway Arena on Wednesday night. We owe those guys after they beat us a couple of weeks, and we’ll be ready to get our second half started the right way. GO MAGIC!!!

RASHARD

4 Comments

We’re still struggling with our offense

What up, what up everybody out there??? Things aren’t so good here with us after we lost another tough one Wednesday night in Denver. We started missing shots and turning the ball over and then we stopped playing defense. That fourth quarter was ugly.

You guys know I’m usually not one to complain, but I just feel like now I need to speak up. Every night in order for me to have a good game I feel like I have to make every shot because I’m not getting many of them. I don’t like to complain too much about not getting shots, but if you’re losing ballgames and struggling then I feel like I might have to go say something.

Teams have done a good job of scouting us. Usually when Dwight Howard is posting up I’m at the top of the key or coming back to the top on pick and rolls and teams have been taking that away. So we’ve just got to find new ways to get our main guys the ball.

They talk about wanting to get me going, but I mean, I’ve been trying. We’ve got guys coming off the bench getting more shots than me and then there’s nothing I can do. I feel like I’ve got to go eight for eight in order to have a good game right now.

We have so many new guys on this team and we just haven’t gelled yet. I have to keep reminding myself that we’re not the same team that we were last year when we had it rolling so good. It might take us all regular season to get used to one another and understand how each other likes to play. Hopefully, we can figure it out by the playoffs and make another strong run.

I mean, we’re playing OK, but we’re not an elite team yet. Sometimes it feels like we’re a last-place team. We already have 12 losses and we didn’t have that many last year until we had won almost 40-something games. But we’ve got to find a way and make it work. This is our team and there’s not going to be excuses. We’ll get it all figured out sooner or later!

You guys be good. GO MAGIC!!!

SHARD

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