The Magic downed the Celtics last night and rejuvenated themselves with a great win. The Puns team were inspired, and decided to discuss it. Yeah, we're still alive, sorry about that. So what did this win do for the Magic? Onto the roundtable!

The Nickel Steak:

 It was nice to see Dwight Howard lead the offense in the first half of the 4th. That's what he should have been doing, and was never really given a chance to do, since 2008. That doesn't even take into account how great his defense has been lately(better than ever). If nothing else, that, along with Rashard showing up last night, is a reason for cautious optimism.

El Fantasma de Carlos:

 This is it. Is it time to turn this around? Dwight Howard said so and he delivered. So did everyone else in the team, well except Vince Carter(but I'll give him a pass because of the shoulder). The team started slow which was no surprise, but all of a sudden, everything clicked. Down by 16 to an Elite team and conference rivals, the Magic where able to rise above and accept the challenge. JJ Redick was fantastic in the fourth. Dwight was unbelievable. Marcin Gortat was incredible. The twin towers finally showed us it can work. All the Blocks, Rebounds, Big Shots. This can be the start for the team to flip it all around. Fits perfect to. The December 25th game against the same team started the slump and all the .500 ball play. We finally exorcised those demons last night. You want proof. Check out the next game against the Hawks.

Jareth Cutestory:

This was the type of game that the Magic could leave the arena with a huge smile on their faces. Sure, it appeared to start off slow, but the Magic played hard for 48 minutes. Shots just weren't falling in the 1st, despite some good looks. Dwight Howard proved to be a man amongst boys, and delivered on his promise that change was here. Sure, it's one game, but the Magic had been coasting by and LOSING to sub .500 teams left and right. The morale of this team had to be at an all time low, after going into the season with nothing but championship in mind. This game gave them that confidence boost that they sorely needed, and wins over teams like the Kings couldn't really deliver. This was against a legitimate title contender. A title contender that crushed them for most of the game, only for them to leave the arena wondering what went wrong. The Celtics are the team this morning trying to regroup and bounce back to play an elite Hawks team, while the Magic could feel good going into a game against a team in which they usually dominate. All in all, solid victory for a group of players that may have finally found themselves.

The Big Train:

 Check 1, check 2, sibilance. Well, last night's game sure was entertaining, and it was nice to see Orlando come back from such a large deficit, considering how we blew an equally impressive lead the other night in Memphis. Will this be the game that will start a run of 10 in a row? Will they find a way to get free of Atlanta and Boston and begin to challenge Cleveland? I would like to think that, but perhaps this game told us more about Boston's age than Orlando's new found swagger. Aside from the first quarter Jameer was lousy, Vince still looks like he's lost, and there were plenty of frustrating moments. But maybe this will help Vince put it into the next gear (would that be 2nd?) and perhaps Jameer will remember he was an All-Star last year. Maybe.

Paul Ego:

Dwight warned us that change was coming. The shots didn't fall early on, but this Orlando team didn't put it's head down. They didn't take a quarter or two of the action off. Barnes brought his trademark intensity. Lewis was fighting KG for rebounds. Dwight showed that Perkins and 'Sheed can't keep him contained forever. Nelson gave us an early glimpse of what he can do when he is completely healthy and ready to go. JJ showed us he belongs. Gortat showed us how he earned that contract. Carter even showed some defensive intensity.

This team is on the verge of putting it all together and living up to their potential. Nelson needs to get back to some semblance of last season, and Carter needs something. I'm not sure. I hope it's just the shoulder. He sure seemed like he was getting back the last couple of games until last night. He showed some great moves and drove to the basket early and often against Memphis. I only remember one last night, and it came on the posession after he heard some booing from the crowd after a badly missed three.

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