A year ago, the spit flew fast and furious as the Magic and Heat faced each other. Stan Van Gundy sent pot shots against his former employers and the Magic, feeling threatened atop the Southeast Division, played the role of past champion and put down the new team.
The second game of the season silenced the rivalry very briefly and showed, if it was not clear before, it was clear then, the Heat were ascending and the Magic were descending.
OK, Orlando and Miami split its four games last season. But the Magic needed a crazy 20-plus point comeback in the fourth quarter to get one of those wins. And in the other loss, the Magic had a big comeback to make the game relatively close.
That means, Orlando was more or less blown out in three of the four contests last season against its rivals downstate. And the two games after the trades (even though those were split too), were blowouts until wild fourth-quarter comebacks.
This year, the gulf between the teams seems to be widening and the...
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