ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -The circle forms and the show begins.
Players clap as Anthony Johnson moves to the middle to direct the Orlando Magic’s choreographed warmup. He points to the crowd, calls out players’ alter-ego nicknames and starts a funky dance that others follow. Dwight Howard throws the ball off the glass and dunks over 6-foot-10 Rashard Lewis, riling up fans.
Then comes 6-foot-1 Jason Williams, hoisted in the air by Lewis for a dunk.
The Magic Show is on.
Orlando’s pre-game ritual is a bit odd by NBA standards, and only one of the team’s playful antics that some have criticized. Now with a 2-0 series lead against Charlotte, the act is hitting the playoff road.
“We have midgets and European guys riding around on motorbikes and we have dancing. It’s like a circus,” Johnson, Orlando’s veteran point guard, said. “Everybody has their role and they do it well in ‘The Magic Show.”’
ized for games. The routine blossomed into more than any of them could’ve imagined.
Now they have nicknames like DJ (Vince Carter) and superhero Hancock (Dwight Howard). Those who don’t participate end up in the “dog pound,” a reference to the old Arsenio Hall Show.
“It’s a bunch of shenanigans,” said guard J.J. Redick, who apparently was relegated to the pound after not giving a full effort before Game 1. “But I think it’s great. I love this team because we aren’t front-runners. We do that after losses. We do that in the playoffs, and we’re going to do it on the road.”
There won’t be too much fanfare away from home.
The rhythmic gyrations are already fueling critics. TNT commentator Charles Barkley said on the Game 2 telecast that he’d be ticked off and motivated more if the other team was acting that way, which players admit could be perceived as disrespectful – but that’s not their intention.
Magic coach Stan Van Gundy, who’s anything but laid back before tipoff, said he’d rather his players tone down their playful antics, but he has bigger things to worry about it.
“It’s not my cup of tea,” Van Gundy said. “I don’t really like it. But I leave them alone about it. I guess, sort of what I’ve come to is, there’s things I’m going to really push hard on, fight them on at times. It’s things on the court. It’s defense and it’s effort and it’s things like that.”
fun-loving bunch and the warm-up isn’t the Magic’s only lighthearted activity.
They were doing long snaps with a football after a recent playoff practice, and they have an ongoing game called “bet it,” where players offer money to complete challenges. The most common wagers are for full-court shots and trick shots after practice, although that’s hardly the most unusual.
The team was practicing in Atlanta in March the day before a game against the Hawks, and the arena had the hockey rink installed for the Thrashers. The team passed the ice and dared Matt Barnes to slide across it. Orlando’s small forward dove full speed on his belly, and he said he won $6,000 for the act.
The NBA currently has no rules banning gambling during team activities. NBA commissioner David Stern’s preference is to leave the decision to the clubs.
“It’s just something we always do to keep things light,” Barnes said.
The playful pranks might give the perception that the Magic aren’t serious and are perhaps immature. But players said their jovial and joking attitude shows the confidence of a veteran team coming off an NBA finals appearance, and that they’re not trying to disrespect anybody.
“We do that before every game. They’re just trying to find something to say,” Howard said of critics.
The funny business ends when the game begins.
Magic players said just because they’re having fun, it doesn’t mean they don’t take winning seriously. They also don’t believe the playfulness has any negative effects on their game.
“We’re about business when it’s time, when that ball goes up,” Carter said. “It’s an understanding. It’s nothing that was talked about. It’s understood with us.”
Don’t expect the Magic to tone down their routine on the road, either.
Orlando looks to take a stranglehold on the series when it shifts to Charlotte for Game 3 on Saturday in what will surely be a raucous atmosphere in the Bobcats’ first playoff home game in franchise history. The game shouldn’t be difficult to get energized for, but the Magic aren’t about to stop their ritual now.
After all, they don’t want to leave anything to chance.
“We started doing it, and we were winning,” Johnson said, smiling. “Maybe The Magic Show has a little to do with it.”
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