Road trips out west are supposed to spell trouble for Eastern Conference teams. Featuring some of the league’s most rowdy arenas and what many believe to be the most dominant teams, the four and five-game stretches away from home can break any team down.

That’s why the Magic’s 4-1 performance on their recently completed west coast trip is such a good sign. It’s the final evidence that this Orlando Magic team will compete each and every night, regardless of location. And the teams they are playing have definitely taken notice.

After each of the wins on this road trip, opposing coaches and players have commented on how great the Magic team is playing. Phrases like “dominant”, “one of the best”, and “impressive” are being used to talk about all phases of the Magic’s game, especially their inside-out offense. The one stat that everyone loves to quote is that Dwight Howard has more dunks than two-thirds of the teams in the league, and more than double the guy in second. While leading that stat won’t win any awards at the end of the season (as far as I know), it does show just how much control Howard has of his game and of play in the paint.

If there were ever a year to have season tickets, this might be one of the best. We’ve got a team playing as well as any other in the league with one of the best players (if not the best player) to come along in years. With any luck, this will be the Magic team that gets the city excited about NBA basketball once again.

To summarize week five, the Magic had wins against Seattle, Los Angeles (Lakers), and Golden State, with only one loss to Phoenix. Their other game on the west coast swing, a win against Portland, came at the end of last week (Wednesday to Tuesday weeks, since their season started on a Wednesday).

The loss to Phoenix is a bit disappointing, since they came into Orlando and beat the Magic. The Suns are one of the league’s most explosive teams, though, so any single game against them is going to be tough. I think the Magic would be fine in a series against them.

Week-by-week record:

• Week 1: 3-1
• Week 2: 3-1
• Week 3: 4-0
• Week 4: 3-1
• Week 5: 3-1

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