That Orlando-Boston game Monday night was great entertainment. Back-and-f0rth, hard fouls, determination (aside from one guy that I’ll get too) and even an overtime session. Even the usually insufferable Mark Jackson didn’t grate on me.

These playoffs have been pretty terrible, overall, so it was nice to see. Looks like the Lakers-Suns series is picking up too.

Jeff Van Gundy called out Vince Carter a couple of games ago and thousands of people have been saying it for years. What a waste of talent. Nothing separated Kobe Bryant and Vince Carter talent-wise 10 years ago. Vince could have been just as good. He was a better jump shooter at the time and an even more ridiculous natural athlete. But, he never put in the work and just doesn’t have the mental makeup to take advantage of his gifts. He was atrocious in game 4 Monday. He almost shot the Magic out of the game and he haphazardly fought through screens all game and generall let Paul Pierce have his way with him.

After five years, nobody would have said Pierce would have the better career than Carter, but pretty clearly, he has. It’s a shame for fans of the game that Carter’s will never came close to matching his phsyical gifts. He could have been an all-time great.

It’s ironic that Hedo Turkoglu, a complete flameout in year one in Toronto, yet, is exactly what the Magic is missing right now. Jameer Nelson is the only facilitator on the floor. He can’t do it all himself. When the ball was in Turkoglu’s hands, everybody else looked much better offensively, particularly Rashard Lewis and Turkoglu’s defence wasn’t any worse than Carter’s has been. If I’m both sides, I find a way to send Carter to a third team and return Turkoglu to Orlando for something like Gortat and Bass. It will never happen because Otis Smith badmouthed Turk and who really wants Carter at this point, but it would help both teams a lot.