The Orlando Magic had plenty to be upset about on Monday night. They had just crawled back into the game - a 100-93 loss in Detroit - and were about to take a lead into the fourth quarter when a clock malfunction allowed the Detroit Pistons to sink a dagger 3. And to make matters worse, Orlando’s flight out of Detroit on Monday night was forced to land in Cincinnati because of mechanical issues.

But, while the stars are apparently aligning in Detroit’s favor, the Magic could also place some blame on themselves for two bad road losses. A red-hot third quarter on Monday aside, Orlando trudged through two full games on the Pistons’ homecourt and dug themselves a 14-point hole in the first half of Game 2. Read more »

There are lessons to be learned from this postseason, where the Denver Nuggets and Toronto Raptors were the first teams sent packing on Monday night. Individual players like Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard are putting a stamp on their team’s success better than they have at any points in their careers.

Homecourt has again been a storyline, but for different reasons in each series. It has been cause for huge momentum swings in the Boston-Atlanta, Washington-Cleveland and Phoenix-San Antonio series, but been stripped away by the Lakers, Magic and Hornets. Read more »