NBA

Hopeful start, then - poof!

Magic tinkered and tinkered, its once-promising season falling apart piece by piece.

By TOM JONES
Published April 20, 2005

ORLANDO - The steps - so many forward and one big one backward - can be traced through the headlines. The start was as surprising as the end was disappointing.

The Orlando Magic's season wasn't so much a roller coaster as it was a mountain climb. The Magic reached the peak with astonishing ease only to fall off the other side. As its season comes to an end tonight, the Magic can't look forward to what the postseason could be. It can only look back to what the regular season wasn't.

Revamped Magic team opens the season with a thrilling home victory

- Orlando Sentinel, Nov. 4

Even without Tracy McGrady, there was so much hope back then. So much promise. If only Grant Hill's ankles could hold up.

Magic Finish Strong, are 1st in Southeast

- Orlando Sentinel, Nov. 28

Hill looked like he was fresh out of Duke. Steve Francis made people forget about T-Mac.

Magic rolling again

- Orlando Sentinel, Jan. 9

The kid, Dwight Howard, looked like the real deal. Hill kept on ticking. Okay, so the Magic couldn't keep up in the standings with Shaq's Heat, but it was hanging with the Bostons, Detroits and Indianas of the East.

Season slip-sliding away

- Orlando Sentinel, April 2

Things were fine through February. Even through the first part of March. But then came the injuries. Then came the losses. The Magic fired its coach, looking for any spark to keep the season alive.

But when the Magic needed to play its best, it played its worst.

Stick fork in playoff run

- Orlando Sentinel, April 13

Then it was over. It was no sudden death. It was an excruciating slow and painful end as the Magic lost seven in a row.

Now that the season will be over late tonight, it's hard to describe what kind of season the Magic had. It was better than expected, but, ultimately, not as good as it should have been.

After a league-worst 21-61 record last season, the Magic cleaned house starting with the blockbuster trade that sent the franchise player (McGrady) for a guy nicknamed Stevie Franchise (Francis). The Magic placed its fate in the hands of Francis, a (fingers-crossed) healthy Hill and Howard, just weeks out of high school and the top pick in the draft.

Those hands were good hands. The Magic was 13-6 just after Thanksgiving. Hill, averaging nearly 20 points a game, played well enough to make the All-Star team. Francis averaged more than 21 points and seven assists a game. Howard was one the NBA's top rebounders while adding 10 points a game.

The Magic, barring a second-half collapse, looked like a playoff contender. Not a title contender, mind you, but a playoff team nonetheless.

But the collapse came. The Magic went into the All-Star break with a 28-24 record, good enough to be the fifth seed in the playoff race. But it then went into a 7-21 funk. Along the way, a trade for Doug Christie didn't pan out and, with 18 games left in the season and still time to save the playoffs, the Magic replaced coach Johnny Davis with 35-year-old assistant Chris Jent.

Nothing worked. Hill went down for the season just before the losing streak with a shin injury. Francis was suspended three games for kicking a photographer. There were too many injuries and not enough defense. As the season wound down, there weren't enough clutch wins and were too many upset losses.

"We're very disappointed," Jent said Monday night. "Even with the injuries, we're disappointed the season mapped out as it did. We felt we were a better team than our record."

Jent went 4-12 in his first 16 games, including the seven-game losing streak that sealed the season and didn't end until the Magic was eliminated. It isn't known if it sealed his chance at becoming the head coach next season.

"I'm not going to say that he has not been given a fair shot," Francis said. "But basically he's in a situation with his back against a wall with guys injured and things like that. ... I think he really knows what he's doing. The NBA is a billion-dollar business, but I hope he gets a shot. He deserves one."

Magic general manager John Weisbrod reportedly said Jent will be considered, but won't be the only candidate. The search is supposed to be quick but likely won't happen until Phil Jackson and, perhaps, Pat Riley select their seats in the coaching musical chairs.

"I have an inside track on (the players)," Jent said. "I know how they work. I feel I can get the most out of them."

Despite the sour end, the Magic is looking forward to next season, regardless of who is coaching. Hill, still only 33, appears to have overcome his chronic ankle troubles. Howard will be a year older. Francis, already one of the NBA's better players after five seasons, is just coming into his prime.

The players, though, at least publicly, are pulling for Jent.

"He has been awesome," forward DeShawn Stevenson said. "He knows the game and knows this team. We have a chance to be a good team next season and, hopefully, he will be coaching us."

For certain, Jent will coach tonight, the last game of a season that fits the Magic name: Now you see it, now you don't.

[Last modified April 20, 2005, 02:56:36]