5 greatest Orlando Magic postseason killers
5 greatest Orlando Magic postseason killers
Baron Davis, Charlotte Hornets (2002)
The Orlando Magic made the Playoffs three times in the four years Tracy McGrady was in Orlando.
He was a killer in the Playoffs too, averaging 32.0 points per game in 15 playoff games in Orlando. It was a shame McGrady never got out of the first round. Or never really played much of a competitive series.
The closest he ever came to winning, of course, was holding the 3-1 lead in the first round in 2003 against the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons erased that deficit in one of the lowest points for the franchise. But that was a 1/8 series. The Magic were never supposed to be in that position, to begin with.
Rather, the best chance the Orlando Magic had to advance in the McGrady era was when they earned the 5-seed against the Charlotte Hornets in the 2002 Playoffs (their final year in Charlotte before moving to New Orleans too). That was probably McGrady's best team. And their chances to advance evaporated quickly.
They have Baron Davis to thank for that who outplayed the Magic's guards in helping the Hornets advance to the second round.
The Magic tied the series at 1-1 with an overtime win in Game 2. In the best-of-five series, the Magic had control heading back to the TD Waterhouse Centre.
Davis wrested control seemingly with one shot -- and one that did not count.
Davis hit a three at the buzzer of Game 3 that would have given the Hornets the win. But without video replay the officials waved the play off.
The game went to overtime and the Hornets went on to win 110-100, taking out their frustration for the blown call on his shot. Davis scored nine points and hit two threes in overtime to ensure victory.
Davis averaged 25.0 points per game, 9.0 rebounds per game and 9.3 assists per game in the series, putting the finishing touches with a blowout 102-87 win in Game 4 to send the Magic home on their own floor. McGrady had 35 points in that game as the Magic lacked any support for their superstar player.
Davis' shot changed the league. The video replay showed he got it off in time -- there were 0.4 seconds left on the inbound -- and the video review was born for shots at the end of quarters. That might have saved the Magic five more minutes of torture.
The Hornets were ultimately a deeper and more diverse team than the McGrady-dependent Magic.
Davis's stat line that series was unreal and showed the Magic's weaknesses on the interior at that moment.