The WGOM

<SBG>Fresh off of a thumping at the hands of Michael Jordan's club (boy, that doesn't mean what it used to mean), the Wolves move from the frying pan into the fire and take on the Orlando Magic. The Magic got the stuffing kicked out of them by the World Champions the other night, but make no mistake, this is a good team. They've won 9 of 11 and sport a shiny 13-5 record overall.

The Magic are lead by Dwight Howard, a monstrous 22 year old who is clearly one of the best young players in the game. Howard's been an effective scorer and rebounder throughout his career and his potential is off the charts. Not only that, but he's the WWL's leading candidate for Defensive Player of the Year. Hollinger:

At worst, he'll rival Amare Stoudemire and Yao Ming for the title of the league's best center.

The only question, then, is how much of his mountainous potential he can achieve. If he improves from the stripe and cuts the turnovers, he's an MVP candidate. If not, he's merely a perennial All-Star.

Howard is almost a year younger than BAJ and he's better. Plus, the Magic have (a ridiculously overpaid) Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu on their front line. I'm thinking that's better than what the Wolves have to offer (BAJ, Collins, Gomes). Look for the Magic to assert themselves on the front line -- although, maybe not in the paint, aside from Howard.

Then again, the Wolves have won four of their last five in Orlando. I'm expecting that a pissed off Magic team will break that spell tonight.

Apropos of nothing else in this writeup, take a look at the Wolves depth chart: it must suck to be Brian Cardinal. He's listed as a fifth string power forward -- behind Mark Madsen! Oy. He'll have to console himself with the $6 million a year he's getting to side behind Mad Dog.

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<GreekHouse>Speaking of Brian Cardinal, I've only got one real thing to say here. What the holy hell was Cardinal doing playing 9 minutes in the second half of a winnable game???

I realize that Brewer was basically the cornerstone of this franchise, but I didn't realize that he was so essential that the Wolves would have to resort to giving Cardinal meaningful minutes in a close game (Yes, I realize that makes no logical sense when you think about it). When asked about it after the game, Wittman said it was because the young players didn't understand the defensive scheme and they needed him for some reason. I'm paraphrasing a bit here, but the non-paraphrased version didn't make any sense either. My only hope was that this was a one time deal and that he only did it because Brewer's absence from the game was fairly short notice. The only reason getting Cardinal was good for this team was because his contract expires a year before Marko's. Putting him in the game does no good for anyone.</GreekHouse>