Orlando opened the season with an impressive win over Philly last night, blowing away the visiting team 120-106. It was a good night. Not only did the team play well, hitting 16 three pointers, but the crowd was large and loud, the pregame player introductions with the court sized projector was nice, and it was very cool to see that second Eastern Conference Champions banner. More after the jump.

What I learned

Orlando has the deepest team in the league. I didn't exactly learn this last night, as it has been evident the entire preseason, but much of Orlando's 41 point second quarter was sparked by the bench. Jason Williams settled in after some early turnovers and had an impressive showing, leading much of the second quarter charge and drawing a foul - and three free throws - on a last second prayer to end the first half. But aside from Orlando, perhaps Boston is the only team with similar depth, and half of their roster collects Social Security. Also, Jameer looked great, and so did Dwight. Interestingly enough, because of this depth, Coach Van Gundy has the luxury to control their minutes, which actually might lead to depressed numbers for the season... But don't let that fool you.

What I hoped I learned

Vince is going to continue to hustle like he did last night, and this team will mesh like last year's team. It's early, and there was no Rashard, but the team seemed to fit with each other very well during game one. Anthony Johnson seems to be the only player disappointed with his role, but the man is a professional and will not become a distraction. When Lewis returns, JJ will likely see his minutes shrink, but as he has done the first several years of his career, he should take his role and do his best with it.

What Made Me Happy

The crowd was great, and appreciative. They were loud when they needed to be, but perhaps more than anything else, they came out like the Magic did, expecting to win, and win big. I attended the game with a friend of mine who said about halfway through the first quarter, "Anytime now Orlando will go on a run and this game will be over." Sure enough, it happened.

What Made Me Sad

Two things. First, it was the last opening night at Amway, and as I said before, it was a good one. However, I will miss this place when we move on to the pretty new building down the street. The leaky ceiling, the red seats, the jumbo-tron that is barely legible, and the way too narrow hallways wont be missed, but the feeling of the building, and the sense of closeness with the players in the community that seem to be missing from these trillion dollar new places teams play in will be missed. Second, the new rule that is suppose to keep fans from getting up or returning to their seats during play didn't work very well. I am not surprised, and perhaps fans and ushers will get used to it as the season progresses.

So after one game we are starting to know some things about this Magic team, and the rest of the NBA. But there are still a ton of questions to be answered. Will they play the defense that carried them to The Finals last year? What's Cleveland going to do now that they know they have the exact same problems they had last year? Did anyone in Philly even watch last night's game, considering their baseball team was winning Game 1 of the World Series?

One last note. Former Magic players Courtney Lee and Rafer Alston struggled last night for the New Jersey Nets, combining for only 5 points, on 2 of 13 shooting, and 4 turnovers in 61 minutes. Up in Toronto, Hedo had a decent 12 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists. We wish them the best of luck.

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