Another day, another questionable Mike Bianchi column. As I’ve already discussed here, I think Bianchi is one of the best in the business when he puts his mind to it. There are just some columns, like the one in today’s Sentinel, and the one from a couple of weeks ago, that leave me scratching my head.

In today’s column, Bianchi argues that Otis Smith deserves a big share of the credit for the Magic’s playoff success. I agree with him, to a point, because Smith put this team together, but what I don’t agree with is the timing of the column, and the reasons Bianchi lists as to why Smith deserves so much praise.

First of all, Bianchi wrote this column after the Magic advanced into the second round of the playoffs, by beating Toronto. My problem is that the Magic were a better team than Toronto, any Magic fan will tell you that the team they have struggled with the most in the last few years is Detroit.

Now, if they can beat the Pistons in the second round of the playoffs, I will be impressed, and I believe that is when Otis Smith should get all the credit he deserves, and then some. He will have identified what the team needed to get past Detroit, a squad that has given the Magic fits, in the last few years.

It is definitely an accomplishment to be playing in the second round, but if the Magic can’t get past Detroit, what have they really accomplished?

My other problem with this column are the reason Bianchi lists as to why Smith should be praised. His words are in quotes, mine will come after those.

*We critics said Smith was crazy for believing in point guard Jameer Nelson and signing him to a lucrative extension during the offseason. Well, in the first round of the playoffs against the Toronto Raptors, Nelson averaged 17.2 points and outplayed perhaps the best point guard tandem in the league.

It’s true that Nelson played very well in the first round, and outplayed Toronto’s point guard tandem of T.J. Ford and Jose Calderon. The problem though, is that Nelson has never struggled against smaller guards like Ford, and slower guards off the dribble like Calderon. He’s struggled against big, physical guards, specifically, Chauncey Billups, whom he will face in Round 2, when the Magic play the Pistons.

For years, Billups has dominated Nelson, continually posting him up in the blocks on offense, and getting into his head on defense. Again, if Nelson and the Magic can get by Billups and the Pistons in the second round, then this column would make a lot more sense. Otherwise, how can you justify that giving Jameer Nelson a 6 year, 36 million dollar contract before the season was a good move?
If they don’t beat the Pistons, then why does Smith deserve any credit?

*His critics said Smith was insane for signing free agent Rashard Lewis to a $118 million contract during the offseason. Lewis (27 points and 13 rebounds) carried the Magic in Game 4 against the Raptors and his steadiness and unselfishness have been key components to the franchise’s breakout season.

Lewis played very well in almost every game of the first-round series, but Smith will probably still be viewed as insane by his peers, if the Magic don’t win a championship. Again though, that’s my problem with this column, the Magic have made it to the second round of the playoffs, if they go and get beat by the Pistons, and they are still on the hook for almost 140 million to Lewis and Nelson over the next six years, then where do they go? For better or worse, this is the team the Magic will be playing with for the next few years, because of their salary cap situation. If they can’t beat the Pistons, then they’ll be right back where they were before, on the outside looking in.

*His critics claimed Smith was asleep at the wheel for standing pat while other teams like Dallas and Phoenix were pulling off high-profile deals ( Jason Kidd and Shaq) at the trade deadline. Guess what? The Magic are still playing while the Mavs and Suns are out of the playoffs and either firing their coaches or on the verge of it.

Out of all of Bianchi’s claims, this one made the least sense to me. This is like comparing apples and oranges. The Magic play in the Eastern Conference, the Mavericks and Suns play in the Western Conference. The Magic didn’t have to make any moves to get out of the first round in the Eastern Conference, they were the better team, they were supposed to win. The Mavs and Suns had to try and make some moves, because they wouldn’t have made it out of the first round with they way they were both constructed.

A good GM is like a good gambler — you have to know when to hold ‘em (standing pat at the trade deadline) and know when to fold ‘em (dumping Francis). Smith doesn’t make moves just to make moves. He doesn’t just look at talent and technique; he looks at chemistry and camaraderie.

Again, how can Bianchi claim, right now, after the first round, that the Magic were smart to stand pat at the trade deadline? How can he claim, as he did in the column, that it is “easy to overlook Smith’s questionable draft picks,” when you make moves like he has. Consider this: How good would this Magic team be if they hadn’t selected Fran Vazquez and J.J. Redick in the NBA Draft? Or if they hadn’t traded away their pick in ‘07 to get Darko Milicic?

The part of the column that stood out the most to me, were the last few paragraphs.

He regularly walks the halls and asks everyone in the organization, “What have you done to make the Orlando Magic champions?”

If we were to ask the same question of Otis Smith, he’d probably answer, “Nothin’ much.”

But we know better.

We know he’s done just about everything.

Done just about everything? Seriously? After the first round of the playoffs? Look, I have no problem praising general managers, but the praise should at least be deserved. If the Magic can find a way to beat the Pistons, and advance in the NBA Playoffs, then people should praise Smith, but not after a first-round win over the Raptors.

Tags: Mike Bianchi, Orlando Magic, The Orlando Sentinel

This entry was posted on Friday, May 2nd, 2008 at 8:09 am and is filed under Sports Media. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.