After another seven days of NBA basketball, the Orlando Magic remain at the top of the Southeast division of the Eastern conference with a 6-2 record. Wins against Toronto, New York, and Seattle are signs that the team is playing at a consistent level and not to their competition. Unfortunately, their losses to Detroit and now Phoenix show that Orlando needs to take another step before any thoughts of a run to the Finals is in their future.

While Dane Cook is entertaining an audience at the Amway Arena here in Orlando tonight, the Magic hope to turn their game against the Cavaliers into a laugher up in Cleveland. With Tuesday night’s 103-76 win against Seattle, it appears that the team is capable of putting teams away early. Now it’s just a matter of taking that performance on the road against the best teams.

Following the game in Cleveland, the Magic have games against New Jersey, Boston, New Orleans, San Antonio, and Charlotte - four of which (including Cleveland) are on the road. All of these teams have winning records and could easily put a halt to the Magic’s early success. Orlando will have to be at their absolute best to get wins. It’s definitely not time for a letdown.

With the team playing this well, I think this is a great year to put Magic tickets on your Christmas list. I’m sure you’d love to “cheer” T-Mac when Houston comes to town in January. There’s also games against Detroit, Dallas or the Los Angeles Lakers on the schedule. I’d definitely take a pair (or two).

NOTE: By “cheer” T-Mac, I don’t mean “boo”. While Grant Hill will never be in my top-5 list of favorite Magic players, I was annoyed to hear that Magic fans booed him during the Phoenix game. The guy did everything possible while he was here to play games, and never had a bad word for the city. He may have collected a ton of money, but that’s the NBA and all major sports these days. It’s OK to cheer against teams, but targeting a single player is dumb.

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